I admit it. The pictures accompanying this blog are more often than not courtesy of a search on Google Images. I hope that is not offensive to anyone. However, contrary to what has been assumed by some, the bear in the post below is REAL. The cub was captured on real film on Matthew’s SLR. Good job, Matthew.
Category: Uncategorized Page 66 of 71
Here is an article that I have found interesting and stimulating. Perhaps those of you who like movies will find it so as well. It is called “Why Do Heathens Make the Best Christian Films“. Admittedly, the title overstates the case, but it is interesting nonetheless.
I post this on the day that Evan Almighty is released, but that is mere coincidence. That film puzzles me. I’m not sure I can find much redeeming in a film that turns a Biblical story of judgment out of which grace is displayed into a comedy.
I certainly don’t see much there that will pry $$ out of my wallet.
It seems to me that all it takes to be a radio news guy is an ability to read and a great sounding voice. Apparently most think that NPR’s news caster Carl Kasell has both those qualities. I do appreciate the fact that he is self deprecating and seems to be an all around great guy. But for the past couple of mornings, I could not listen to him read the news. It sounds as if he is drinking maple syrup while he speaks. Is this just me being a crotchety old man?
The “Mystery Book” of yesterday generated several responses to which I would like to reply.
First, yes, the author is Jonathan Edwards, but no, the book in question is not Charity and Its Fruits (though I would like to get the Yale edition of that work — Volume 8 — but I am not willing to come up with the $100 to do so, yet). The book is rather his treatise on Religious Affections. I was first made aware of this book and its importance nearly 20 years ago. I probably bought it ten years ago with all good intentions. It may take me another five years to read it, but I will.
One respondent said that after trying to read the book, he stopped, finding it “too long” and “a bit redundant after a few sections”. Yes, that can be the downside of reading Puritan or Puritan-like authors. I’m not deep enough in to pick up on either the length or redundancy. I will no doubt agree once I’m another 100 pages in. As you can imagine, Edwards is treading into a subject that is laced with minefields and ripe with possibilities for misunderstanding. He must hedge his argument with all kinds of qualifications in order to avoid being wrongly understood. That probably feeds his redundancy.
Should reading it cause us to feel awful about ourselves, as this respondent went on to confess? Like him, I don’t need any help doing THAT! I am predisposed to severe self-criticism. I come by it naturally. I understand. But I’m also aware that my heart is cold, my passion lukewarm. I fear abandoning my first love and losing the sense of the simple joy of God’s salvation. Edwards may not be the place to go to have the fires renewed. But I know that Edwards has fueled the fire of men whom I respect, and I’m anxious to mine for myself something of what they mined.
One response says that she (or he? the screen name is both unpronounceable and unknown to me) found the quote in an article by a man arguing in favor of contemporary worship music. Thanks for the reference, though I’m not sure what your take on the article is. I found it quite good. He is responding to an article by Chuck Colson, and he does so respectfully. (My response to Colson, mentally at least, when I read his article, was more like this: “crotchety old man”. Maybe I do need to read Charity and Its Fruits!) His reference to Edwards shows the relevance of Old Books. There really is nothing new under the sun, so it is good to bring the wisdom of some of the church’s greatest thinkers into contemporary controversy.
And finally, to the friend who quoted a scholar saying “Books are to be referenced, not read” I reply, “He is a scholar. I’m not.” That’s not completely true. Just yesterday I pulled several books off my shelves that I had not looked at for years to reference a particular subject. Many books in my library are there simply for that purpose: reference. Others, however, sit there as ripe fruit ready to be picked and enjoyed. The same is true for you as well.
This post is way too long already, but I must say one more thing. As we read, we must resist the temptation to allow contemporary debate to define our reading. I find some who read and study only what is “hot” and do not reserve time to read what might really nourish their soul. The latter should be primary.
Old books scare us. We assume that they must, because of their age, be hard to read and irrelevant to our modern situation. That may be true in some cases, but in others the fact that the old book is still around is because of its quality and its relevance.
I dove into an old book today, one I’ve been wanting to read for a long time (I bought it many years ago), and one which i know has been greatly influential upon people who have influenced me. It was written originally in the middle part of the 18th century by a man considered by many to be one of the most influential and gifted theologians ever. (That line alone will scare most of us away.) And yet I find his writing to be very accessible and engaging and highly relevant.
I’ve given enough info for some of you to guess the author. The following quote will give you further clues to his identify, the name of the book, and a hint to its contemporary relevance. I’ll be posting often, methinks, in response to this book.
“If it be so, that true religion lies much in the affections, hence we may infer, that such means are to be desired, as have much of a tendency to move the affections. Such books, and such a way of preaching the Word, and administration of ordinances, and such as way of worshiping God in prayer, and singing praises, is much to be desired, as has a tendency deeply to affect the hearts of those who attend these means.”
And the author and book would be?
On the eve or two of Father’s day, it has been instructive to spend a week home alone with a six year old.
One of the things that has happened repeatedly through the week is that my son, Colin, from some other part of the house would shout, “Dad?” I would say, “Yes, Colin.” “Are you still here?” “Yes, Colin. Would I leave you?” “No.”
He knows I would never leave him, but the certainty of that knowledge ‘leaks’ and he needs it to be filled up now and then. This has happened so many times that it has begun to bother me. I am clueless how I might settle his mind once and forever that I will never, no never, no never forsake him.
And then it struck me. How often do I question God’s presence. I shout out into space, wondering if he has somehow left me alone in the universe, only because things do not proceed as I’d like them to proceed. But did he not reveal himself as father and me as his adopted child? And did he not say that he would never, no never, no never forsake me?
I’m no better at learning this lesson than my son.
Another thought: Through the week, being the thoroughly modern father I am, I have succumbed to letting “Animal Planet” and the occasional movie give me a hand in child care. Colin, to no surprise for those of you who know him, adores “Animal Planet”. He is particularly enamored with the BBC series they are airing called “Planet Earth”. He has been anxious all week that I would forget to record the episodes that he has missed. So, he has asked me repeatedly if I have taken care of this detail, fearful that I will overlook it or somehow muck up the DVR controls (a definite possibility).
Why does he do this? Because as much as he wants to trust me fully, he doesn’t. He can’t. I’m human and have failed him too many times.
This, too, struck me. His lack of complete trust in me, though to some degree justified, bothers me. I want his complete confidence. But do I give to the sovereign God of the universe the trust HE deserves, the God who in his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions has my deepest and greatest needs well considered and provided for?
I wonder if my lack of confidence in Him bothers Him in the same way? I am so sorry.
But like a child, trust and security are not automatic, but learned. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit would more and more direct my heart to Christ that I will find in him all the confidence I need. My prayer is as well that that same Holy Spirit would take the heart of my son, and direct it beyond trust in me to an early and deep trust in his God and savior.
It used to be that people would ask me how I was doing, and I would reply “busy”. I think I liked being busy even though I complained about it at every juncture.
And then Eugene Peterson challenged that thinking in his book The Contemplative Pastor by saying that ‘busy’ and ‘pastor’ used together ought to sound to us as jarring as ‘adulterous’ and ‘husband’ or ’embezzling’ and ‘banker’.
Below are comments on this which I have since found worthy of frequent reflection. They are direct quotes from Peterson’s book, and have application no matter one’s profession.
“I (and most pastors, I believe) become busy for two reasons; both are ignoble.
“I am busy because I am vain.
“I want to appear important. Significant. What better way than to be busy?… I live in a society in which crowded schedules and harassed conditions are evidence of importance, so I develop a crowded schedule and harassed conditions. When others notice, they acknowledge my significance, and my vanity is fed.
“I am busy because I am lazy.
“I indolently let others decide what I will do instead of resolutely deciding myself. Let people who do not understand the work of the pastor write the agenda for my day’s work because I am too slipshod to write it myself…. It was a favorite theme of C. S. Lewis that only lazy people work hard. By lazily abdicating the essential work of deciding and directing, establishing values and setting goals, other people do it for us; then we find ourselves frantically at the last minute, trying to satisfy a half dozen different demands on our time, none of which I essential to our vocation, to stave off the disaster of disappointing someone….
Okay, so why do I love my MacIntosh computer? There are several reasons, but this video of Steve Jobs discussing the newest edition of the Mac OS reveals one of them. Enjoy!
The General Assembly of the PCA will win no awards for great entertainment, but it does have its occasional bits of drama. If you ever wanted to sit in and see and hear what goes on, it is being broadcast live through its end on Friday. You can view this on line at http://www.pcaga.com/. Enjoy!
Speaking of being busy….
I have since Saturday been home alone with my six-year-old son Colin. I’ve also been trying to do a sensible amount of work. This has required some strategic effort, which, in anticipation of Father’s Day, I thought I’d share with you all.
Saturday: the “Keep busy and let him nip at your heel” strategy worked fine, but that’s what happens on most Saturdays. In most ways, it seemed like a normal Saturday. He even went to bed okay.
Sunday: the “Forget you are responsible and then ship him off to the neighbors” strategy. This is a risky approach, and should only be tried by trained professionals. As some of you know, it was 9:45, or 15 minutes into the worship service before I realized that I had not checked on Colin to make sure he made it into the auditorium for the service. A quick glance assured me that he was where he was supposed to be. Later, he went to swim with the family of a neighborhood friend, and was there through supper. Quite relaxing.
Monday: the “Keep him with you until you crack” strategy. I decided on Monday that a six year old asks an average of 8.2 questions/minute that demand an answer. These are not simple questions. “Dad, what’s evolution?” “Dad, are scientists evil?” “Dad, can I have a snack?” “Dad…” and so forth. At 8.2 questions/minute, that amounts to close to 500 questions/hour. I think that’s about right. I was trying to do a real day’s work as well. When he wanted me to reconstruct a deconstructed transformer, and was not satisfied with my reconstruction, he whined, I cracked and sent him to his bed. That is, it took until 3:23 EDT on Monday to reduce him to crying, “I want my mommy!” (He has, for the record, uttered this twice since then.) So, at 4:30 we were on the way to the library and to Blockbuster for some videos. I was done.
Tuesday: the “Throw in the towel” strategy. Took the day off and took the kid to Adventure Island, even though Mom forgot to leave me his pass. We managed. My plan was to do whatever he wanted to do, and we did. My plan was also to not leave until he was ready. I fudged on that, suggesting subtly at about 4:15 that movement toward home might be a good idea and greasing his palms with Doritos and Coke. It worked.
I’m running out of strategies, and there is a lot of week left.
I want my mommy wife!