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A few days ago Andy Naselli had an interesting post about why it can be profitable to read the Apocrypha. He breaks his argument down into three reasons, which I found to be helpful:
1. Exegetical Value
The Apocrypha is valuable because it sheds light on the history of Second Temple Judaism. Understanding this period is especially important to discern the religious, political, social, and literary context of the New Testament.
2. Cultural Value
The Apocrypha has had a pervasive influence on Western literature and music. Knowledge of the Apocrypha’s content is useful for interpreting works it has inspired spanning from William Shakespeare’s plays to Charles Wesley’s hymn compositions. Dozens of Wesley’s hymns including “Now Thank We All Our God,” “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” and “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” incorporate ideas, phrases, and even whole sections from the Apocrypha (cf. Bruce M. Metzger, “The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979], 1:174).
3. Devotional Value
Christians recognize that it is possible for non-inspired sources to possess devotional value (e.g., books, hymn lyrics, the words of a preacher). The Apocrypha has devotional value in the sense that a generally useful devotional book does. (And it is certainly not completely free from error!)
The life of John Bunyan is a classic example. At a crucial point in his life, Bunyan questioned whether or not he was one of God’s elect, and after a great mental struggle, God used a verse from the Apocrypha to comfort him. Bunyan could not find the reference to what he thought was a Bible verse, and he tried in vain to find it. He wrote in his autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners:
I continued my search for more than a year, but I could not find this text. Then at last, having cast an eye over the Apocryphal books, I found it in Ecclesiasticus 2:10. At first this somewhat daunted me, but because by this time I had more experience of the love and kindness of God, it troubled me less, especially when I considered that though it was not in those texts which we call holy and canonical, it did contain the sum and substance of many of the promises and it was, therefore, my duty to take comfort from it. I bless God for that word; it was for my good. That word still often shines before my face (1966; update, Auburn, MA: Evangelical Press, 2000, p. 45).
Naselli finishes by giving a suggested list of Apocryphal books to start reading.
Christianity Today has an interesting and short quiz on the history of Thanksgiving.
I got 3 out of 6 right. How did you do?
Denny Burk explains the results of the ETS vote last week on the proposed amendment to the Society’s doctrinal basis. In short, 130 members were opposed and 47 were in favor of the amendment. Though the proposal was defeated, Burk is encouraged by what he has seen:
Ray and I [Ray Van Neste and Denny Burk co-sponsored the proposal] are realists. We knew over a year ago that our proposal had very little chance of getting the support of a majority of the ETS, much less of the 80 percent super-majority that is required to amend the doctrinal basis. When the Executive Committee (EC) made clear their intentions to oppose our measure last year, we knew that its passage would be highly unlikely. Nevertheless, we pressed forward with our effort because we thought that there would be something to be gained by soldiering on.
First, we believed that if we pushed forward we might be able to spur the EC on to take this matter up for themselves. It was clear on Friday that we had achieved that goal. After the final business meeting, we were assured that the EC would be taking up this issue to see if there is any significant interest among the membership to clarify the ETS’s evangelical commitments. We are grateful for this result and will support the EC’s efforts in this regard going forward.
Second, we thought it would be good and healthy for the Society to debate the matter publicly and for everyone to get their cards out on the table. I have to say that the two sessions of debate and discussion were some of the most stimulating sessions I have ever been to at ETS. To hear the members speak both for and against was highly instructive. I think we have a much better feel for how different members think about things as a result. Moreover, Ray and I were encouraged that so many distinguished members stood to speak in favor of our proposal: Wayne Grudem, Al Mohler, Michael Haykin, John Warwick Montgomery, Robert Saucy, and others. We have the utmost regard for dear brothers who stood to oppose it. ETS needs to be a place where people of good will can debate and disagree without rancor and without fear of recrimination.
Read the whole post for more details.
This question is not simply limited to a church service. It could apply to a presentation, a board meeting, or any situation in which a silent audience is expected. In such an event, how do you open the plastic wrapper on a peppermint, for example, without causing undue distraction? I see at least four options:
- Gradually unfurl the wrapper, timing each crinkle to match times of greater volume in the speaker’s presentation.
- Cough very forcefully and loosen the wrapper all in one motion. You will draw attention to yourself, but it will be directed away from your fumbling hands and may even be mingled with some momentary pity.
- Bank all your hope on the fleeting short-term memory of those around you and get it over with as quickly as you can.
- Petition candy companies to wrap their products in cloth.
Which do you prefer? Do you have any other ideas?
Thabiti Anyabwile introduces his readers to the traditional African-American style of preaching known as whoopin’. This was really enjoyable to read and watch.
At the Miami Pastors’ Conference, one of the best things to experience is the genuine Christian fellowship and laughter. I laugh there and in Chicago at the New Life conference more than any place on earth. That’s ’cause the bruthas are silly.
This past conference, Ken Jones, Michael Leach, and Anthony Carter grilled a young man about why he feels compelled to whoop. Now whoopin’ is a staple of traditional African-American preaching. If you can’t ‘hoop, you can’t preach. And don’t let Leach fool ya; he’s a ‘hooper :-). Anyway, if you’ve never seen a preacher ‘hoop, it’s better to illustrate than describe. Here’s a video for the uninitiated.
Now what’s new to me in this video is the lady in the corner doing sign language for the hearing impaired. Ever seen a ‘hoop signed??? She’s smooth with it. Check her out as the preacher gets rolling!
I just finished my first full day of ETS yesterday. One of the benefits of convening a whole herd of scholars is that it creates a ripe opportunity for hearing very choice vocabulary words. Here are ten of my favorites so far:
You get ten cool points if you guess which ones were uttered by Al Mohler. I’ll give you a hint: you have a 60% chance of being right.
As best I can tell, there are primarily three types of bloggers:
- Innovators. These are the really smart and creative folks who have ideas sprouting like dandelions and just pluck one up and give it a puff of digital wind each day.
- Harvesters. These are the bloggers who drive their combine over the blogosphere every day (or hour) and pass on whatever crops they find to be tasty. Their primary task is pointing to other people’s posts.
- Personalizers. These are the people who share their lives for anyone who is interested.
I have two observations about these categories:
- The appeal for each of these types of bloggers is that they save their readers time. The innovator saves the reader from having to think of something creative himself and lets him expend his mental energy critiquing what he reads. The harvester saves the reader search time by giving her a central location to access relevant information. If the harvester is good, the reader may not feel the need to go elsewhere. The personalizer saves the reader from having to call or e-mail to find out what is happening in the blogger’s life. If the reader does not know the blogger personally, he can enjoy following from a distance and commenting when he pleases.
- Ideally, a blogger should be all three types. This is not a universal necessity, but in general, a blog devoted to innovation should include a dash of harvesting and a dash of personalizing. The same goes for the other two types. Having all three components keeps a blogger interesting (because he doesn’t just repeat what he hears), humble (because he recognizes other people have good ideas), and real (because he doesn’t just sit in front of a computer all day…at least he shouldn’t).
If you would like to catch your reader off guard with a sumptuous portrayal of an event, try explaining sense perceptions in terms of another sense. That is, describe sights in terms of sounds, smells in terms of vision, touch in terms of taste.
Here is an example from C.S. Lewis:
But of course this didn’t prevent Edmund from seeing. Only five minutes later he noticed a dozen crocuses growing round the foot of an old tree — gold and purple and white. Then came a sound even more delicious than the sound of the water. (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, page 132)
Now, everyone knows that sounds aren’t delicious. Or are they? What Lewis has just done is create an alternate sensual universe for his readers to romp around in.
Let’s try this out:
- The lake looked like a whisper.
- She pulled a sunset out of the oven.
- His voice sounded like sweet tea on a summer afternoon.
Can you think of other examples?
Today I’m heading out with the guys from TBI to travel to Providence, Rhode Island for the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). To be quite honest, I am more pumped than a pair of old-school Reeboks. The theme is “Text and Canon.” This will be my first time attending ETS, so I’m not quite sure what to expect.
One of the features of this year’s meeting will be the vote on a proposal by Denny Burk and Ray Van Neste to amend the ETS’s doctrinal statement. Right now, it only includes affirmations of the Trinity and the inerrancy of Scripture, leaving wide room for divergence on other matters. For more information, you can check out Burke’s explanation.
I have a post scheduled to be published for tomorrow since we’ll still be on the road then (it’s about a 22-hour trip). I’m not sure about internet access while we’re there, however. I’ll see what I can do.
This is so much less impressive than “Escape from Alcatraz,” but I guess it got the job done.
A manhunt is under way in western Germany for a convicted drug dealer who escaped by mailing himself out of jail.
The 42-year-old Turkish citizen - who was serving a seven-year sentence - had been making stationery with other prisoners destined for the shops.
At the end of his shift, the inmate climbed into a cardboard box and was taken out of prison by express courier. His whereabouts are still unknown.
The chief warden of the jail told the BBC this was an embarrassing incident.
Crystal and I went on a date to LeAnn Chin last night. If you had been sitting beside us, you may have been eating Orange Chicken like me. You may have also heard the following exchange:
Me: Now, I can’t pontificate on that…
Crystal: Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute.
Me: I mean, I can’t be dogmatic about that…
Crystal: I know what it means, but we’re at LeAnn Chin, not the White House.
You have to hand it to ‘em for innovation. Target is offering a gift card that doubles as a 1.2 megapixel digital camera and comes with 40 free prints.
What do you think? Good idea or marketing flop?
I originally intended this post to be a tribute to Hanson, the pre-pubescent musical phenomenon of the late 90’s. That is still my aim, but I plan to use it as a bridge to something bigger. Now for the anecdote.
Hanson’s first commercially released CD (”Middle of Nowhere“) came out in May 1997. My brother, Jesse, and I went in together to purchase the album that summer. I was a spindly middle-school graduate with a girly voice and it did my heart good to hear two out of the three Hanson brothers cruising at an octave above manly range for a full 50 minutes (the oldest brother, Isaac, was seventeen at the time and had already donned pit hair. He was the vocalic tuba in the threesome).
Jesse and I were fiercely territorial with our purchases, which created a problem when each of us owned half the CD. If I remember correctly, we worked out a deal where we would each have rights over the disc for a month at a time, and then it would switch hands. To make up for my off months, I recorded the CD onto a cassette tape and drew a really sweet copy of the Hanson logo on a piece of paper to use as a cover. The quality of the tape recording was fair-to-middling, but I now had perpetual access to high-pitched wonder.
One of my favorite songs was the wildly-popular “MMMBop,” a squirrely ode to relational vicissitude (watch the music video). I quickly committed the lyrics to memory. For better or for worse, they are still in my head, and I was reviewing them briefly before drifting off to sleep last night. One stanza in particular struck me as a specimen of particularly poor poetry:
So hold on to the ones who really care,
In the end they’ll be the only ones there,
When you get old and start losing your hair,
Can you tell me, who will still care?
Now don’t get me wrong. I love Hanson. I just think the care/there/hair/care connection could have used a little tweaking.
This brings me to my question. What are the worst song lyrics you’ve ever heard? Anything’s fair game. Just keep it clean.
I’m reading through a book called “Total Church” right now. It’s by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, British co-founders of a church-planting initiative called The Crowded House. It’s been delightful.
In short, the authors call us to structure our ideas of how to “do church” around two realities: gospel and community. I find the implications of this for evangelism to be life-giving. Rather than advocating door-to-door evangelism or street preaching (which certainly have their place but tend to be a-relational), Chester and Timmis envision a three-strand model of evangelism involving building relationships, sharing the gospel, and introducing people to community. This is based in part on Jesus’ words to the disciples in John 13:35 — “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Here’s what this looks like practically. This makes me excited:
So often the call to evangelism produces guilt and despondency. This is due in part to ungodly attitudes such as pride and the fear of man. Paul is clear in 1 Corinthians that we have a “foolish” message to proclaim in a foolish manner (1:18-2:5). So evangelism often makes us look foolish, and few people relish that prospect.
However, not all of us are eloquent or engaging. Not everyone can think on their feet. Some people are simply not good at speaking to strangers and forming new friendships. One of the practical benefits of the three-strand model of evangelism is that it gives a role to all of God’s people. By making evangelism a community project, it also takes seriously the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in distributing a variety of gifts among his people. Everyone has a part to play — the new Christian, the introvert, the extrovert, the eloquent, the stuttering, the intelligent, the awkward. I may be the one who has begun to build a relationship with my neighbor, but in introducing him to community, it is someone else who shares the gospel with him. That is not only legitimate — it is positively thrilling! Pete may never share the gospel verbally with Duncan, but his welcome and love are an integral part of the evangelistic process and should be honored as such. Meanwhile Susan can make friends and introduce them to the community, confident that others will present them — at an appropriate point in an appropriate way — with the challenges of the gospel. It is lovely to think of us making up for one another’s deficiencies with our collective community strengths.
If evangelism is a community project, our different gifts and personalities can complement one another. Some people are good at building relationships with new people. Some are socialites — the one who will organize a trip or an activity. Some people are great at hospitality. Some are good at initiating gospel conversations. Some are good at confronting heart issues. In each case I can think of individuals in our small congregation who fit the bill. I am not good at any of these things. I was the one who did evangelistic Bible studies with Al. At the end I said, “You ought to be baptized,” and he said, “Okay.” Simple as that! But I would never have got that far if I had not been part of a team. (Pages 62-63)
My wife and I often drive by a bakery near our house. Every time we pass it’s like a massage for my nostrils. Perplexingly, however, my wife has noted that bread never tastes as good as it smells. Here are five other culprits:
- Coffee
- Twizzlers
- Popcorn
- Watermelon
- Mouthwash
Any others?
The winner of this month’s giveaway of “Death By Love” is Greg Vruggink. Thank you to everyone who participated, and stay tuned for future giveaways!
BBC News reports that more than half of the babies (8 out of 15) born in a hospital in Kisumu, Kenya the day after the election were named either Barack or Michelle Obama. Kisumu is near the village where Obama’s father was born and raised.
Fortunately, I was not born after an election. I might have come out a Ronald. Or a Nancy. Thankfully, my first name is partially an inheritance from my father John, and my middle name (Edward) comes from my great-grandfather Edward Albert Zindorf. He asked that I be named after him before he died.
How about you? Where do your names come from?
CNN was kind to broadcast Obama’s acceptance speech and related celebrations live on their website last night, which was great for a TV cheapskate like me (Crystal and I have a small dinosaur of a set that we lug out for the occasional DVD). I watched a decent amount of the introductory fare, but I only caught the first and the last parts of the speech proper. From what I saw, Obama did a fine job honoring those who had helped him in his campaign. I thought his words about John McCain were particularly gracious, and I commend him for that.
Here’s my one thought about the event: this was a church service for many people.
Think about it. There was an opening prayer (concluded in Jesus’ name), special music (National Anthem), liturgical recitation (Pledge of Allegiance), dancing, tears, and an address by a national savior. I think for a lot of folks, last night was akin to a religious experience.
I was flipping through an old hymnal recently and found a hymn called “A Student’s Prayer” by a man named John W. Peterson. I find it fascinating for two reasons:
- It expresses a bold desire to conquer the intellectual frontier in submission to the Word of God. It’s not every day you find a Jesus-loving battle song for cerebral expansion. I like it.
- It warns of the dangers of academic pride. In other words, it calls for a big mind and not a big head. That’s rare.
Here are the words.
God, the all-wise, and Creator
Of the human intellect,
Guide our search for truth and knowledge,
All our thoughts and ways direct.
Help us build the tow’rs of learning
That would make us wise, astute,
On the rock of Holy Scripture:
Truth revealed and absolute.
O how vast the shores of learning–
There are still uncharted seas,
And they call to bold adventure
Those who turn from sloth and ease.
But we need Your hand to guide us
In the studies we pursue,
And the presence of Your Spirit
To illumine all we do.
May the things we learn, so meager,
Never lift our hearts in pride
Till in foolish self-reliance
We would wander from Your side.
Let them only bind us closer,
Lord, to You, in whom we find
Very fountainhead of wisdom,
Light and life of all mankind.
Words copyright Singspiration 1965. From Praise! Our Songs and Hymns, ed. Norman Johnson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), #145.
This month I’m giving away a free copy of Mark Driscoll’s “Death by Love” to any new or current subscriber to The Fool’s Gold.
Here’s what to do:
1. Subscribe to The Fool’s Gold by RSS or by e-mail.
2. Contact me letting me know you’re a subscriber, whether new or old.
3. I will randomly select a winner on Friday.
About the Book
“Death by Love” is a collection of twelve letters written by Mark to people he has interacted with as a pastor at Mars Hill Church. The purpose of the letters is to apply some facet of the cross (redemption, gift righteousness, propitiation, etc.) to very real — and sometimes very awful — situations (lust, legalism, rape, abuse, etc.). This book will be a rich resource to anyone who wants to know how to love people better by pointing them to the Lamb who was slain.
For more information, see the reviews by Tim Challies, Adrian Warnock, or Erik Raymond (HT: Vitamin Z).
