Feed aggregator

Late last week, we confirmed our scholarship winners, sent out $2,000.00 in tuition checks, and two free copies of Logos Bible Software 4 Scholar's Library collections which should be arriving to the students any day now.

Our SeminaryScholarship.com winner was selected and confirmed right away, but because our varied attempts to reach the originally selected BibleCollegeScholarship.com winner were of no avail, everyone who applied had a second chance to win as we selected an alternate winner. So, without further ado, here are our winners:

SeminaryScholarship.com Winner: Mrs. Barbara W. of Raleigh, NC.

Barbara is currently an online student at Baptist Bible Graduate School and Seminary in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Walston has been teaching Social Studies and MS Band and Choir at Friendship Christian School since 2002. After receiving a MA in Biblical Ministries she plans to continue teaching at FCS and begin work in women’s ministries through teaching and writing Bible studies.

BibleCollegeScholarship.com Winner: Joseph K. of Kenosha, WI.

Joseph attends LeTorurneau University in Longview, TX. Along with Bible courses, he is currently studying computer science with a focus in network security. Come to find out, while connecting with him and his family back home, Joseph is the grandson to well-known Christian apologist and philosopher Dr. Norman Geisler, who is author or co-author to some 70 books and hundreds of articles, many of which are available for Logos Bible Software.

Apply or Reapply for the new round!

Thank you to all who have applied for the scholarships. Whether you applied before or not, be sure to visit the sites as a new giveaway round has begun. Remember that you can enter once per round, but you can increase your chances of winning by telling friends and family to apply as well. Just make sure they enter your name in the "Other" box, when they're asked how they heard about the scholarship.

Seminary students, apply here:

Bible College students, apply here:

You should follow us on Twitter here.

Yesterday I finished up Nancy Pearcey’s new book Saving Leonardo. Nancy doesn’t write a lot of books, but when she does, they are worth reading. She’s a unique thinker and one who puts into words what for so many of us are just ideas flitting around the edges of our minds. This new book is just like that.

When I finished it up I began to write a review but found that I was having trouble distilling my thoughts. I did something I try not to do, at least until I’ve finished writing my own review—I went looking for what others are saying about it. As I did so, I came across a really good review written by David Steele (who blogs at veritas et lux). David was kind enough to give me permission to simply re-post his review. It nicely captures my own thoughts on Saving Leonardo!

*****

Nancy Pearcey has done it again. Her book Total Truth captured the attention of thousands and helped equip a new generation of thinking Christians. While some consider the term “thinking Christian” somewhat of an oxymoron (think, “military intelligence,” or “jumbo shrimp”), nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, clear thinking and warm-hearted devotion are crucial characteristics for anyone who professes faith in Christ. Anyone who rejects the notion of a “thinking Christian” should pause and consider the thought process generated in order to make the claim!

Pearcey’s newest masterpiece, Saving Leonardo is, as the subtitle suggests, a call to resist the secular assault on mind, morals, and meaning. The primary assertion: “The only hope lies in a worldview that is rationally defensible, life affirming, and rooted in creation itself.”

The Threat of Global Secularism

In part one, author clearly articulates the necessity of a Christ-informed worldview. She challenges readers: “Do you have the tools to detect the ideas competing for your allegiance in movies, school textbooks, news broadcasts, and even Saturday morning cartoons?”

Pearcey reveals the goal of the book at the outset: “The goal of this book is to equip you to detect, decipher, and defeat the monolithic secularism that is spreading rapidly and imposing its values on your family and hometown.” As such, she calls Christians to abandon the “fortress mentality” that has been prominent for years; a mentality that gravitates to isolation from the world. Rather, Christ followers ought to become familiar with their audience and engage with them on a worldview level. “The first step,” writes Pearcey, “is to identify and counter the key strategies uses to advance the global secular worldview.”

Next, Christians must understand how secularism views the nature of truth. Pearcey demonstrates how empiricism has spawned what we know today as the fact/value split. This divided concept of truth is the most important feature of a secular approach to epistemology and is “the key to unlocking the history of the Western mind.” The author is quick to explain the biblical concept of truth; a notion that was the theme of Total Truth: “Because all things were created by a single divine mind, all truth forms a single, coherent, mutually consistent system. Truth is unified and universal.”

The fact/value dichotomy finds values in the so-called upper story (a scheme developed by Francis Schaeffer). These values are private, subjective, and relative. Values include religious claims and personal preferences. Fact are found in the lower story. These facts are public, objective and universal. The author gives numerous examples of how the fact/value dichotomy is diametrically opposed to the biblical view of truth. For instance:

• “Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
• “Science yields facts but not ‘value judgments’; religion expresses values but cannot ‘speak facts.’” - Albert Einstein

Clearly, values posed in the fact/value dichotomy are never considered to be true. Rather they are expressions of an opinionated individual; i.e. a so-called “bigoted Christian.”

Two Paths to Secularism

Part two uncovers two paths to secularism, namely, the Enlightenment and Romantic movements respectively. The Enlightenment (or Analytic Tradition) is fixated on reason and relies on the scientific method. Immanuel Kant plays a central role here with his nature/freedom dichotomy. Various worldviews have been spawned as a result of Enlightenment thought including empiricism, rationalism, Darwinism, logical positivism, linguistic analysis, utilitarianism, and materialism.

The Romantic stream (or Continental Tradition) relies on story and is fascinated by myth and imagination. Again, various worldviews have resulted including idealism, Marxism, deconstruction, phenomenology, existentialism, pantheism, and postmodernism. Both streams are reductionistic and the author is careful to bring this point home repeatedly.

Pearcey dissects both streams carefully and skillfully. Her depth and insight is very helpful and encouraging. The final two chapters are the most helpful and practical. The author prompts readers to give up the typical Christian fortress mentality: “Christians must go beyond criticizing the degradation of American culture, roll up their sleeves, and get to work on positive solutions. The only way to drive out bad culture is with good culture.”

The author reminds Christian parents that they cannot protect their children from unbiblical worldviews. But they can “help them develop resistance skills, by giving them the tools to recognize false ideas and counter them with a solid grasp of biblical concepts … Christians are responsible for evaluating everything against the plumb line of Scriptural truth.”

Nancy Pearcey is picking up where Francis Scheaffer left off. And she gives Schaeffer the last word on the subject: “One of the greatest injustice we do our young people is to ask them to be conservative. Christianity is not conservative, but revolutionary … We must teach the young to be revolutionaries, revolutionaries against the status quo.”

Saving Leonardo will likely win the Gold Medallion award in 2010. It’s that good!

*****

So there you have it. This is yet another fantastic book from Nancy Pearcey. It’s one of those books that will require a lot of thought and a good deal of concentration. But it’s one that will reward the effort.

You can buy Saving Leonardo at Westminster Books or Amazon:

Sponsor:

 

Do you watch the movements of your hands as you read a printed book? Maybe not. I don’t. Perhaps that’s why I was intrigued by this video:

When all exposed the gestures are a bit odd aren’t they? What comes to mind as you watch this video?

Download the audio file.

I know that there are far more who read this web site than listen to the podcasts. Well and good. But today I want to encourage you to listen in to this one; it’s just 20 minutes or so but along the way our guest shares some things that I’m convinced will be a blessing to you.

In this week’s podcast we speak to a man who helped begin an amazing ministry. Jeff Anderson, working through International Bible Conference, helps train pastors from around the world. From very humble beginnings this organization has grown to the point where they are now leading conferences in Africa with 5,000 pastors attending, many of whom have no training and no Bible. Each of these pastors is exposed to sound doctrine, learns the value of expositional preaching and walks away with a Bible. In this interview Jeff shares some of the ways God has worked through this small organization, drawing people to himself (saving hundreds of pastors in one of the conferences!) and grounding thousands of pastors in the truth of the Word. I was encouraged to hear about it and I know you will be too.

You can learn more about International Bible Conference at internationalbibleconference.org. Here is just a short snippet from one of their reports:

The Pastor’s Conference emphasized “family,” teaching mostly from Ephesians 5. Again, hundreds professed faith in Christ and thousands were encouraged and strengthened by sound doctrine and expository preaching. Over 8000 copies of the MacArthur Study Bible were received with indescribable joy and commitment. Two pictures describe it best: after running to receive the Bible, pastors lifted both hands toward heaven and knelt in an open field giving thanks!

Imagine 8000 voices resounding with upraised Bible in hand, “I will study the Word. I will obey the Word. I will preach the Word!” Alleluia! The shout of praise shook the earth!

Much of what encourages me about this ministry is simply its humble beginnings and low profile. This is not an effort brought about by a major international ministry, but one carried on by a single local church that simply seeks to obey God. It’s a beautiful thing!

If you want to give us feedback on the podcast or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or another program. As always, feedback and suggestions for future topics are much appreciated.

Sponsor:

 

Happy September, blog readers. If anyone can explain to me how it got to be September so quickly, I’d love to hear an explanation. We’re six days away from my kids heading back to school (including my youngest who begins this year!). And it seems like it was just yesterday that the last school year wrapped up. Tempus fugit and all of that.

Switchfoot iTunes Sessions - Here’s one for the Switchfoot fans.

Her Part in Haiti - It was neat to see this article in our local newspaper. LeeAnn is a neighbor of ours and someone we used to go to church with. For the past year she has been serving in Haiti.

Not the Root of All Evil - Andrew Peterson has some good things to say about money in this article, showing that while money is the root of all kinds of evil, it isn’t intrinsically evil.

Beware of Professional Weaker Brothers - Michael Patton nails it in this post. “I remember Chuck Swindoll talking about this saying: ‘Be careful, there are some people out there who are professional weaker brethren.’”

Marriage and the Seinfeld Effect - “Americans appear to accept same-sex marriage more than they really do, perhaps because they believe it to be more widely accepted than it really is.”

Church Planter - I’m not a big fan of trailers for books but here is one that was done right. It is for this book, which I actually just began reading yesterday.

The important thing about a man is not where he goes when he is compelled to go, but where he goes when he is free to go where he will. —A.W. Tozer

Sponsor:

 

Calling the Gospel of Luke the "Gospel within the Gospel," Norval Geldenhuys brings us a classic commentary on the book of Luke from the New International Commentary on the New Testament. New International Commentary: The Gospel of Luke was written "to provide earnest students of the New Testament with an exposition that is thorough and abreast of modern scholarship and at the same time loyal to Scripture as the infallable Word of God." The commentary, which walks verse-by-verse through Luke's g...

Not many people can say they work for one of the best workplaces in their state, but the 200 or so Logos Bible Software employees can say that very thing.

After an extensive and rigorous process, which included the completion of surveys by nominee-company employees across the state, Logos has been recognized as a finalist for Puget Sound Business Journal's Washington's Best Workplaces. To celebrate this accomplishment, companies that were identified as Washington's best, based on various employee benefit offerings, leadership culture, and work/life balance philosophies were invited to a special awards event at Safeco Field, home of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners.

When asked about this recognition, here is what Bob Pritchett, President/CEO of Logos, had to say:

"I consider it a blessing to get to work with so many wonderful people at Logos Bible Software, and am glad to see our team recognized. Hopefully this will lead even more great people to join us!"

Bob generously offered to cover the costs for all employees and their spouses who wanted to attend. Once a final head-count was set, he announced that two limousines were set to take us down to Seattle for the event. [Thanks Bob!]

Once we entered the ballpark, we were greeted by Puget Sound Business Journal's staff and ushered toward tables and tables of food, drinks, and concession snacks. After all, we were at a baseball park! You can be sure we had our share of peanuts and crackerjacks, hotdogs, soda, popcorn, and so much more.

Awards were presented to finalists in the small, medium, large, extra large, and non-profit categories, with special recognition— including a custom Mariners jersey—going to the #1 company in each of the five categories. Although Logos was not selected as the top workplace in our category (large), it was a huge honor to be recognized amongst so many great companies who are doing great things for their employees.

Making the evening even better was the opportunity before and after the awards presentation for attendees to go onto the field to throw baseballs while being clocked for speed and to "walk the bases." But when presented with the opportunity to go onto a Major League baseball diamond, would you just walk, or would you run? Run!

Here is a short video of Adam Navarrete, from our marketing department doing just that.

Now doesn't that look fun? Why not check out our jobs page for current opportunities? Maybe next year that could be you!

You should follow us on Twitter here.

by Frank Turk



Yeah, I ran out of week before I could give you the full treatment on the Keller paper from Biologos – and forgive me because I’m actually in Amsterdam for work committing random acts of evangelism (no fruit yet, but you could pray about that).

So rather than leave the blog blank, or publish a “best of” as a poor substitute for the Keller paper, I wanted to talk about something which is very central to thinking about the BioLogos issue: the old duckling of “Science”.

See: one of the features of the Keller paper is that it questions putting “Science” and “Faith” at odds – and I think it’s right to question whether that’s a fair way to position the discussion. I mean seriously: this is a blog about the orthodox Christian faith on the internet which uses all kinds of science – not incredulous pleas to magic or pneumenological phenomena – to deliver commentary, preaching, and fun to your very door. It’s somewhat stupid to say that we take science for granted or are somehow “ag’in it”.

But there I am, if you follow the “BioLogos” tag on the blog, berating “Scientists” for their claims that you don’t have to read Genesis the same way you read the newspaper in order to be a Christian. Am I not anti-Science for that?

In a word? No.

I take Lipitor. I use Naproxen Sodium. I use disposable razors. I drive a car. My kids go to the Doctor when they swallow nickels – not the shaman, and not the evangelistic faith healing service held every other Thursday at the Pentecostal church. When I’m in Amsterdam, I Skype my family – which is better than a phone call. I use zip-loc bags to keep food fresh. I wear glasses. I wear shoes with rubber soles. I mean: the only thing Science doesn’t do for me is blog. I still write my own blogs – until such a day when they can program a bot to do it, and then I’ll probably comment on his blog because it’ll be quite a slow-motion car wreck.

And the other thing that Science can’t do for me is save me from my own wickedness. Listen: I had dinner this week with a guy who told me that until Science could prove to him that Jesus walked out of the tomb, he would remain agnostic (at best) about the subject – and he was the one who brought it up! And Science, frankly, is not working on that project – because let’s face it: Science doesn’t care about that project.

See: Science is worried about replicating what happened at the sub-atomic level at the moment of the start of time and space – without regard to the fact that the experiments they are running under the cover of time and space. Science is worried about how many planets are like the one we are on in the hope of proving we are not unique in the universe – in spite of never once finding any traces of creatures like us in the known universe. Science cannot decide whether or not a baby which does not receive normal gestation while in the process of sex differentiation is a patient needing treatment, a citizen with rights, or a blob of tissue which ought to be scraped out.

So Science has managed to give us some really cool stuff, but when it comes to knowing something about us for the sake of telling us about who we are, and why we are here, and whether or not we are valuable? It falls a little flat.

I see Science like a really amazing dog: he can do a lot of stuff when he’s trained the right way, but if you give him the run of the house, he’ll be teaching you all kinds of stuff that, let’s be honest, you otherwise wouldn’t be caught dead doing. I had some great examples of that which I thought would make a great title for this post, but I'll spare your the vulgarities.

Science is not made to run the place: it’s made to serve, and to be a tool as we do what God intended – which is to rule over the Earth, and have dominion. It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less for a slave to rule over princes. Under three things the earth tremble -- under four it cannot bear up: a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food; an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.

Ponder that, and I hope to do right by you and Pastor Keller next week.

Facebook. In so many areas of life it’s no longer an if, no longer an option. With 500 million users it is quickly becoming a near-essential tool for families, for businesses and yes, even for churches.

The good news is that Facebook has a lot to commend it; there many things it does very well and thus there are many ways in which Facebook can assist pastors and other ministry leaders. The bad news is that there are also (and inevitably) ways in which it can hinder ministry if not used well. Today I want to look at Facebook as a ministry tool and suggest a few ways in which it can help and hinder. Because of practical limitations I cannot tell you how to go about setting up an account, but at least I can give some suggestions on what to do once you’ve already joined and started to be active.

One of Facebook’s great benefits for you, as a ministry leader, is that it lets you be where your people are. If you are like most pastors, you will find that your church members are not only members of Facebook, but that they are active members. This is where people socialize, where they entertain themselves and where (occassionally) they discuss serious issues. This is not to say that you need to be on Facebook in order to effectively minister to your people, but it does give you one more way of interacting with them, and one that can be very effective. Facebook is at its heart a social media, one used to coordinate communication and this is where you will find that it assists ministry. However, there are a few areas in which you will need to be cautious.

Use Facebook to Supplement Real-World Ministry

As you consider using Facebook in your ministry, or as you consider how you are already using it, spend a few minutes thinking about what Facebook has replaced. It is generally true of new technologies that they do not just add something to life, but that they also replace something that is already there. In the case of Facebook, it may well be that it is replacing real-world face to face ministry. Facebook builds social connections and in some ways enhances them; but it can just as easily diminish them as it replaces offline life with online. There is always the temptation to take the easy route (Post “Happy Birthday” on someone’s wall instead of calling him; Send an email instead of meeting him for lunch). Be sure that you are not allowing Facebook to be an easy way of getting around difficult ministry. And make sure you are not using it to disincarnate yourself, to remove your physical presence from people’s lives.

So as you use Facebook, be careful to use it in a supplementary way, a way that supplements your real flesh and blood contact with the people you are seeking to serve. Use it to share event information, to get people remembering last week’s sermons and thinking toward next week’s, to get people singing the songs you sing and praying for what needs to be prayed for. Use it to share photographs of great events and to encourage people to make contact with one another. The ways it can supplement ministry are nearly endless. But all the while use it to push yourself toward, not away from, face to face contact.

Learn, But Don’t Be a Stalker

There are parts of the shepherding ministry that are active and parts that are passive. This is to say that in many cases you will inadvertently encounter information relevant to your ministry—things you need to act on. You may be told by a mutual contact that there is an important date coming up in another person’s life or that someone has committed a grevious sin. You did not go looking for the information; rather, it came to you. There are other times that you will be more proactive in seeking out information. You may approach a person and ask how he has been doing recovering from a surgery or you may ask him how he has done in the battle against a particular sin.

Facebook can help with both of those components of ministry, with both the active and the passive. But you will need to guard against the temptation to be constantly trolling for information (negative information in particular), to go looking at vacation photographs to see if something is amiss (“She shouldn’t be wearing that on the beach!”), to read walls to find errant messages and responses (“Whoa! That sounded a bit snarky!”). There are times you can use the information you encounter in a way that will bless and encourage and there are times you can use that information in a way that will seem downright creepy. The societal rules about what we may do with information we encounter on Facebook are still being written; until they are, be careful. It may be that you will offend people even as you seek to help them.

Use it to learn about the lives of the people you love, to encourage them, and just generally to be aware of what they are doing in life. But do not use it to stalk them; and be careful how you introduce information you’ve learned from Facebook into real-world conversation.

Be Aware

Be aware that much of what happens on Facebook is public and be aware that what is public and what is private seems to be in constant flux as Facebook matures. Posting “Had a great time last night!” on a friend’s wall may just be a little confusing (especially if that friend is a woman). Also, be careful as well that you do not assume too much from information you encounter about others on Facebook. Because much of what you will encounter will be torn from context, you will need to use that information very carefully. Believe the best whenever it makes sense to do so.

As much as Facebook can grow community within the church, it can also hinder it. When you post photos of an event that only ten or twelve families were invited to, understand that all of the families in the church will see them and all those who were not there will wonder why they were not invited. Be aware of those aspects of Facebook that will alienate people and convince them that they are outsiders. I’ve said it before: I didn’t know how much fun my friends have without me (and how often they have it!) until Facebook came along!

Be Present but not Always Present

Though Facebook can be a valuable tool for the pastor, it is a tool that is far more often used to waste time than to redeem time. Your congregation will be glad to see that you have a presence on Facebook, but they will be dismayed if they see that you have a constant presence. if they see that you are continually commenting, chatting, posting notes, interacting and racking up high scores on Bejeweled Blitz, they will come to believe that you are spending your entire day there. Even if that is not the case, you will want to be very cautious to give them no reason to think that you are wasting your study time or sermon preparation time stalking them on Facebook. So use it, but use it carefully and sparingly.

Don’t Play Farmville

Just don’t. It’s stupid and it will make you stupid.

Sponsor:

 

by Dan Phillips

40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible, by Robert L. Plummer(Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010; 347 pages)
I dug right into my review copy of Plummer's 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible, frankly, because I myself wanted to see how he handled the questions. Plummer sets himself a terrific array, including:

• Who determines the meaning of a text?
• Can a text have more than one meaning?
• What is the role of the Holy Spirit in determining meaning?
• What is the overarching message of the Bible?
• Is the Bible really all about Jesus?
• Do all the commands of the Bible apply today?
• Why can’t people agree on what the Bible means?
• How do we interpret historical narrative?
• How do we interpret prophecy? (Part 1—General Guidelines)
• How do we interpret prophecy? (Part 2—Typology)
• How do we interpret apocalyptic literature?
• How do we interpret proverbs?
• How do we interpret poetry?
• How do we interpret parables? (Part 1—History of Interpretation)
• How do we interpret parables? (Part 2—Principles of Interpretation)

But it is one thing to set a laudable goal. The question is: did Plummer succeed?

Generally, how did Plummer do? Amazingly well. It's really a terrific book, and I'm glad to commend it to you.

The chapters are mostly 6-8 pages long, with 12 pages the longest ("Who Determined What Books Would Be Included in the Bible?"), and 6 the shortest (several). Therefore Plummer has to dive right into his subjects, without dilly-dallying. Yet he nicely bull's-eyes a balance between the solidly academic and the engagingly conversational. While obviously resting his instruction on solid, conservative scholarship, Plummer nonetheless brightens up the chapters with humor, personal illustrations and observations. He makes it look easy, but anyone who's tried can attest that it isn't.

Overview: I was delighted to find such an up-to-date, yet thoroughly faithful, Christ-centered survey. Plummer says his aim is to help the reader understand the Bible, addressing himself to "any curious Christian," though specifically hoping that the text would serve for introductory Bible courses in college or seminary (11). He succeeded admirably. I would unhesitatingly put this in the hands of any new Bible reader, or recommend it for Bible study electives in church or in institutions. I will note a reservation or two, but they'd not give me a moment's pause. I don't know any work of its kind nearly as useful.

The book is divided into four main parts, of which the second and third have two and three subdivisions, respectively. The first part contains seven questions dealing with issues of the text of Scripture itself, the books of the canon, and translation. The second part is more general, containing six questions relating to interpretation, and seven relating to meaning.

The third part is more specific in scope, containing three subdivisions. The first of these encompasses both testaments, responding to seven questions about various literary genres and specifics. The second aims four questions at the OT genres of proverbs, poetry, and psalms. In the third, NT genres of parables and epistles are treated in four questions. The fourth part contains five questions about more recent issues such as Biblical criticism, "speech act theory," and others.

Specific pluses. As I mentioned, Plummer's style is very readable, while conveying a lot of content. I appreciate how unapologetically Christ-centered he is, and how unapologetically faithful he is to the text. Nor is Plummer apologetic about being conservative. He alludes to a 15th-century (not 13th-century) Exodus several times (i.e. 20-21), refers to conservative writers like Stott and Archer (20), and mentions the possibility that Job antedates the Pentateuch (20).

Plummer's also an emphatic inerrantist, explaining and defending the position very helpfully and well in a full chapter (37-46).

Plummer gives a solid, brief overview of the history of Biblical interpretation in chapter 9, starting with the New Testament itself and going on to the present (85-94). In the following two chapters' survey of general principles of Bible interpretation, we find a happy marriage of the spiritual (pray, trace the text to Jesus, meditate, approach the text in faith and obedience) and the intellectual (note the genre, be aware of historical/cultural issues, attend to context). This is blessedly characteristic of Plummer's book as a whole.

In chapter 13, Plummer lays out helpful resources for Bible interpretation, including study Bibles, concordances, and rules for word studies, commentaries, and even software programs and web sites.

I was particularly interested in how Plummer would respond to a couple of questions. One was, "Can a Text Have More Than One Meaning?" (chapter 15, 135-141). He quotes Robert Stein defining meaning as "The paradigm or principle that the author consciously willed to convey by the shareable symbols [i.e.writing] he or she used" (135). Plummer distinguishes meaning from implication (submeanings legitimately falling within paradigm or principle), significance (reader's response of acceptance or rejection), and subject matter (focus of the text; 135-136). He illustrates this from Proverbs 11:1 (136-137).

Plummer's treatment of the sage's aphorism is, in my opinion, more successful than his subsequent handling of Isaiah 7:14, which he asserts flatly refers to a child who would be born to the prophetess (137). Plummer suggests that Matthew (in 1:23) is not asserting a second meaning, but either an implication (so Robert Stein) or a typological fulfillment. Plummer creatively brings out his understanding by means of an imagined dialog between himself and Isaiah (138-139) which succeeds in terms of communication, but falls far short of persuasion. He also leaves the door open for multiple fulfillment here and in Isaiah 9:6 (139-140).

On the other hand, I really appreciated Plummer's chapter on the role of the Holy Spirit in determining meaning (143-150). Believer and unbeliever alike may see the same data in the text, but the Holy Spirit works in the heart of the believer to lead him properly to value and to love the truths he sees therein. I love Plummer's analogy opening up the Spirit's illumination: two boats manned by treasure hunters, representing believers and unbelievers. Both see something gold and shimmery at the murky bottom. The unbeliever says "I see light reflecting off of the sand," and stays in the boat. The believer with the Spirit working in his heart says "I see something that shines like gold, and I want it," and dives in. (This summary doesn't do Plummer's explication justice; get the book and read 144-149!)

I also appreciated the clear-eyed way Plummer takes the concept of Christ being the center of the Bible and moves it from the level of slogan to a practical reality (Questions 17 and 18, 151-166).

Disagreement, odd facets,  or just-wondering. I'm a little puzzled as to why Plummer sums up Job through Song of Solomon as "Wisdom books" rather than "Poetry" (25, 62); I think not many would agree with that categorization. I also wondered why, in the fine chapter on ancient manuscripts, he didn't include another really fine book from Kregel.

Plummer has a chapter titled "Which Is the Best English Bible Translation?" (69-75), which does not remotely come close to answering the question. Oh, he talks about the history of English translations, and philosophies of translation (which features an odd double typo: "On one side is the functionally equivalent translation, sometimes called dynamically [sic] equivalency.. [sic]" [71]). Then he's done! The titular question is never answered. Not even, "The best formal equivalent version is ___, and the best dynamic version is ___."

Plummer takes a gratuitous (and wrongheaded) potshot at dispensationalism, saying that "Traditional dispensationalists...sometimes insist on literal interpretation of figurative language, though they have no defensible basis for doing so" (82). Really? Who, specifically? When, for instance? Plummer does not say. Without examples, documentation, and explanation, it just reads like a cheap shot at a safe caricature. Straw flies, the scarecrow topples, a false coup is counted.

Plummer's approach to prophecy is similarly valuable, yet it falls short here and there as well. He begins with an inadequate definition of prophet ("someone who is sent by God with a prophecy--that is, a message from him" [197]), proceeds to water down the gift too much for the New Covenant era, defining prophecy again as "Spirit-inspired utterance" (198). But then Plummer rightly urges attending to introductory matters and context (199). For this blog, I'll leave off other criticisms, except to note my disappointment at Plummer's concession to the Grudem error ("the ongoing gift of Christian prophecy is different from the inscripturated prophecies we have in the Bible"; 202). Yeah, except no.

Sum. More detailed interaction would be beyond the scope of a blog review, so let's sum it up. Do I have disagreements? Sure. Would I recommend the book? Without hesitation. The book is a great help and a great contribution, and I see it having a great use in Sunday School and other church discipleship settings.

How Netflix Pays Its Employees - This is an interesting article. It details the ways in which Netflix pays its employees and assigns their vacation. It’s fun to see clever innovation in this way.

Caring for Widows - Brian Croft (whose blog really is becoming a must-read for pastors) has some good words about training young women to care for the widows in a congregation.

HCSB Online - HCSB has a new online version of their Study Bible that offers all kinds of interesting interactivity. People who want to dig deep into the text will particularly enjoy it, I think.

What’s Next for Francis Chan? - I really enjoyed this video where Mark Driscoll and Josh Harris talk to Francis Chan and even push back a little bit as he describes his plans. Be sure to watch for the great missed fist-bump at 5:55.

What’s Next for Francis Chan? A Conversation with Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris from Ben Peays on Vimeo.

How marvelous it is that we do not hate sin more than we do! Sin is the cause of all the pain and disease in the world. God did not create man to be an ailing and suffering creature. It was sin, and nothing but sin, which brought in all the ills that flesh is heir to. It was sin to which we owe every racking pain, and every loathsome infirmity, and every humbling weakness to which our poor bodies are liable. Let us keep this ever in mind. Let us hate sin with a godly hatred. —J.C. Ryle

Sponsor:

 

This is a follow up to an older post where I made reference to something going on in Exodus 18. My topic today is the practice of orienting participants to a situation. For instance, I could be introduced or "anchored" as "the Logos scholar-in-residence," "Mike's friend," or "the owner of the white GMC truck." All of these relations are accurate, but not all are relevant for a given context. It might be relevant at a crash scene that I own a white truck (but it wasn't my fault), but not at the beginning of a Logos Lecture series, right? We use the most relevant anchoring expression for the given context. Most of the time, it is so routine that we don't give it a second thought when we read or hear one. But there are places where this general rule is broken, and paying attention to anchoring expressions can have a huge impact on your Bible study.

While reading Exodus 18, I noticed that Jethro, Moses' father-in-law is called father-in-law a lot, like almost twice as many times as he is called Jethro in the context. This is the story where Jethro teaches Moses about delegation following the exodus from Egypt. Why is he called father-in-law so often? Why not priest of Midian, since most commentators seem to think this is the more relevant anchoring expression? After all, this is a story of one priest teaching another priest about administration, right? This is true, but there is a bit more going on under the hood.

In all but one instance where Jethro is introduced in Exodus, he is anchored as "priest of Midian" (here is a link to the search in Logos 4). After Moses marries Zipporah, Jethro's daughter, he is also anchored as Moses' father-in-law (here is another search on the Hebrew lemma for father-in-law in Exodus). This means we have competing options available. One of the primary principles in my approach to discourse is this: "Choice implies meaning." If I chose option A instead of option B, then there is some meaning to be gleaned from the choice. What is the meaning here? Let's take a look at the opening details of the story.

If a biblical writer includes a detail in a story—e.g. that Esau was hairy, or that Sarai was beautiful, or that David was ruddy and handsome while Goliath was tall, dark and ugly—then chances are you need to know the tidbit to get the point of the story. We have a few such details like this in Exodus 18, ones that are often overlooked.

The first important detail is the location. Moses has returned to the same place where the Lord had appeared to him in the burning bush, just as the Lord had announced in Exodus 3:12. This is the same place where Moses had been herding sheep for Jethro (his father-in-law, remember?), probably fairly near Jethro's encampment. Detail One: after the exodus, Moses has returned to the very place he started, his old stomping grounds where he had herded for Jethro.

The second important detail is found in Exodus 18:2, where we learn that Jethro (Moses' father-in-law, remember?) is coming to see Moses, and is bringing along Zipporah, Moses' wife and their two boys After he had sent her away. Say what? When did Moses send Zipporah away? No matter how good the Logos 4 search engine is, you will not find reference to Moses sending Zipporah away in the OT, it ain't there, this is the only mention of it. So why mention it here? Remember, if its there its important, right? We must need to know it to get the point of the story.

Let's recap a bit so we can pull all these details together. The Lord has used Moses to deliver Israel from the Egyptians, and they have all returned to where Moses was first called by the Lord. Next, Moses has sent Zipporah and his sons away at some point before the trip. Even though Moses and Israel have been camping on Jethro's back 40 acres, so to speak, Moses hasn't taken the time to send for his wife and kids. Why not? What could be preventing him from doing so? Let's keep reading.

After Jethro (Moses' father-in-law, remember?) arrives with Moses' wife and kids (whom he'd sent away, remember?), he takes the time to re-establish rapport with Moses. He listens to all that the Lord has done for Moses and Israel (see Exodus 18:8, even though v. 1 makes it clear that he had already heard these things through the grapevine. Have you ever (re)listened to old news from someone just because you knew it was important to them? This seems to be what Jethro was doing, as a good father-in-law. Then they enjoy fellowship together along with Aaron and the elders, sharing a sacrifice together.

Finally, Jethro (Moses' father-in-law, remember?) goes to work with Moses the next day, and oh what a sight it must have been. Verse 13 tells us that the people stood around from morning to evening waiting to have their disputes resolved. What does Jethro do (Moses' father-in-law, remember?) He watches patiently. Then at some point he asks the same kind of "What are you doing?" question that my dad used to ask me when he saw me doing something the hard way. "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” (Exo. 18:14, ESV). It is one of those questions that is not so much for Jethro's benefit as for Moses'. It requires him to look at things from a different perspective. And like a good father-in-law, Jethro highlights key details: Moses is doing it alone, and the people are standing around from morning to evening.

So why is Jethro called Moses' father-in-law so many times? Why is this anchoring expression more relevant priest of Midian, even though most commentators stress the priest role? It is to counter the very thing that the commentators focus on. Even though Jethro could have used his authority as priest to tell Moses to do things differently, he doesn't. Instead, the writer anchors him as father-in-law.

Stated differently, Jethro brings his daughter and his two grandsons to his son-in-law. Why bring them? Apparently because even though Moses had been so near for months, he had not taken the time to send for them. Why? Perhaps it had something to do with his day job consuming too much of his time. So what's needed? To get Moses to change how he does things so that doesn't wear out himself or the people (18:17-18). How does Jethro bring about the change? By coming as a father-in-law (who may have wanted to box the ears of the guy who didn't have time for his daughter!) who took the time to reestablish rapport (vv. 6-12), who hung out with Moses enough that the latter knew he understood the problem (vv. 13-16). Then instead of shoving the solution down his throat on the basis of his authority as priest or father-in-law, he offers it up for Moses' consideration (v. 19-23).

Anchoring expressions can play a big role in exegesis, and are one of the many kinds of things that you'll find annotated in the Lexham Discourse Hebrew BIble and Lexham High Definition Old Testament. If you found this commentary helpful, then you'll find more like it in the High Definition Commentary, a new series from Logos that helps you identify exegetical keys in the discourse, and understand the role they play. The Philippians volume is under way, to be followed by Romans.

If you'd like to read an article I wrote on this same topic of redundant anchoring expressions applied to Genesis 32, it is posted at my blog site. You should follow us on Twitter here.

It is time for another of these irregular roundups of books that I didn’t review. It’s not necessarily that these are bad books or ones I purposely chose not to read and review. It’s just that, life being what it is, I cannot read them all. So here are a few that came in this week that I wish I could have read but that I just did not have time for. And here are a couple that I wouldn’t read if you paid me.

The God Who Is There by D.A. Carson. “It can no longer be assumed that most people—or even most Christians—have a basic understanding of the Bible. Many don’t know the difference between the Old and New Testament, and even the more well-known biblical figures are often misunderstood. It is getting harder to talk about Jesus accurately and compellingly because listeners have no proper context with which to understand God’s story of redemption. In this basic introduction to faith, D. A. Carson takes seekers, new Christians, and small groups through the big story of Scripture. He helps readers to know what they believe and why they believe it. The companion leader’s guide helps evangelistic study groups, small groups, and Sunday school classes make the best use of this book in group settings.” It looks like a very useful book. I may well go through it with a small group at some point.

Getting the Reformation Wrong by James R. Payton Jr. “Most students of history know that Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the Wittenberg Church door and that John Calvin penned the Institutes of the Christian Religion. However, the Reformation did not unfold in the straightforward, monolithic fashion some may think. It was, in fact, quite a messy affair.” This one looks quite interesting, though I suspect it’s best left to those who have at least some background in church history in general and Reformation history in particular. So I would not recommend making this book your introduction to this period of history. I believe we’ll have a review of this at Discerning Reader before wrong (but someone else called dibs on it!).

The Faithful Parent: A Biblical Guide to Raising a Family by Martha Peace & Stuart W. Scott. “A compelling read, this book offers practical advice and biblical hope to parents of children of all ages. Most parenting books, outright or indirectly, promise a good outcome if you only follow their suggestions. The Faithful Parent contains a wealth of practical, biblically-based suggestions, but it maintains that the most important relationship in any family is vertical—between parents and God. It is the Christian parent, in being faithful, who glorifies God. Look inside to discover how the faithful parent has the biggest impact on his or her children.” It’s not like we are hurting for more books on parenting, but this one comes from two good authors and comes highly recommended by Ted Tripp, Wayne Mack, Lance Quinn and Al Mohler. I appreciate that this book’s emphasis is particularly on drawing your children into a relationship with the Lord.

The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven by Kevin & Alex Malarkey. Don Piper’s 90 Minutes from Heaven has spawned all kinds of imitators and this is the latest and greatest. It’s another book that seems to clash with Scripture but which we are all supposed to just accept because the authors say it’s true. “In 2004, Kevin Malarkey and his six-year-old son, Alex, suffered an horrific car accident. The impact from the crash paralyzed Alex—and medically speaking, it was unlikely that he could survive. “I think Alex has gone to be with Jesus,” a friend told the stricken dad. But two months later, Alex awoke from a coma with an incredible story to share. Of events at the accident scene and in the hospital while he was unconscious. Of the angels that took him through the gates of heaven itself. Of the unearthly music that sounded just terrible to a six-year-old. And, most amazing of all … Of meeting and talking to Jesus. The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven is the true story of an ordinary boy’s most extraordinary journey. As you see heaven and earth through Alex’s eyes, you’ll come away with new insights on miracles, life beyond this world, and the power of a father’s love.”

A few quick hits:

• Ministry Shall Not Destroy My Marriage by Bishop Ernest and Apostle Laequinla Hunter. Words fail.
• Better for Life: Turning Financial Hardship into Your Finest Hour by Daniel J. Jones. I haven’t looked over it carefully, but there isn’t a whole lot of book here for $22.
• Afterwards I Knew and The Merciful Eye by Christine Farenhorst. These are two collections of fictional stories targeted at teens and tweens and they look quite good.

Sponsor:

 

The ninth chapter of John describes a scene from the life of Jesus and one that was all too common. I wrote about it just a little bit last Monday (God’s Losers and Gainers) but want to return to it today. Let me set the scene. Jesus is walking from one place to another somewhere in the city of Jerusalem and passes by a man who has been blind from birth. During his ministry Jesus encountered hundreds of blind people and countless others who were lame or deaf or otherwise suffering from the effects of the Fall. We read endless examples of his sovereignty in healing these people, in touching them or spitting upon them or in simply commanding that the disability leave them

John 9 is just a little bit different. As he walks by this man, his disciples ask a question. “Rabbi,” they ask, “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The disciples assume that this man’s blindness is a punishment that has been justly given him as a curse for his sin or perhaps for the sin of his parents. Somehow they just know that some action has necessitated this punishment. Jesus shocks them by answering, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” In other words, he says “Neither—he was born this way so that God’s works should be shown in him.”

As I looked into this passage I came across Matthew Henry’s commentary on it. Henry does just an amazing job of showing what God was teaching here, what he wasn’t teaching here, and how it matters to you and me.

[Sufferings] are sometimes intended purely for the glory of God, and the manifesting of his works. God has a sovereignty over all his creatures and an exclusive right in them, and may make them serviceable to his glory in such a way as he thinks fit, in doing or suffering; and if God be glorified, either by us or in us, we were not made in vain. This man was born blind, and it was worth while for him to be so, and to continue thus long dark, that the works of God might be manifest in him.

Henry says here that God makes people serviceable to his glory and that he does so in the way he thinks fit. He may let us serve him in our actions or in our suffering. Regardless, as long as God can be glorified in us, then our lives are not in vain and our suffering is not in vain. No situation is useless or hopeless or irredeemable if God uses it to glorify himself. This man was born blind and suffered with blindness for a long time so that God could make himself known through him.

That is, First, That the attributes of God might be made manifest in him: his justice in making sinful man liable to such grievous calamities; his ordinary power and goodness in supporting a poor man under such a grievous and tedious affliction, especially that his extraordinary power and goodness might be manifested in curing him. Note, The difficulties of providence, otherwise unaccountable, may be resolved into this—God intends in them to show himself, to declare his glory, to make himself to be taken notice of.

God uses all situations, including suffering, to allow us to glimpse his attributes. In this blind man we see the justice of God in allowing sinful men to become subject to pain and calamity; we see the goodness of God in taking mercy on him; and we see the sovereign power of God in restoring him. According to Henry, all suffering comes down to this—God intends to show himself, to declare his glory, to make us take notice of him. So this is the key to suffering: God uses it to show us himself!

Those who [do not regard God] in the ordinary course of things are sometimes alarmed by things extraordinary. How contentedly then may a good man be a loser in his comforts, while he is sure that thereby God will be one way or other a gainer in his glory!

This is an interesting statement and one that requires a bit of reflection (at least in my case). People who are not accustomed to seeing God in ordinary, every day life tend to be alarmed when God works in extraordinary ways. And I suppose it is true that if we do not expect God to work in ordinary ways, neither will we expect him to work in extraordinary ways.

The next line is one that has really been stirring my heart (and it was the subject of last week’s article). “How contentedly then may a good man be a loser in his comforts, while he is sure that thereby God will be one way or other a gainer in his glory” If we understand that God will receive glory, we may then have great contentment even in suffering, knowing that our discomfort serves as higher purpose. We do well to ask, Am I willing to be a loser in my comfort so that God can be a gainer in his glory?” Every Christian should be willing to cry, “Yes!”

Secondly, That the counsels of God concerning the Redeemer might be manifested in him. He was born blind that our Lord Jesus might have the honour of curing him, and might therein prove himself sent of God to be the true light to the world. Thus the fall of man was permitted, and the blindness that followed it, that the works of God might be manifest in opening the eyes of the blind. It was now a great while since this man was born blind, and yet it never appeared till now why he was so.

Looking back we can now see why this man was born blind. And, in fact, we get a glimpse of why sin exists at all. In all these things the might of God, the character of God, the glory of God will be made manifest.

I think Christians tend to look for immediate answers, to want to find the reason for our suffering, not in the big picture but in the details. So we tend to say, “I am suffering because God wants to address this particular issue in me” or “I am going through this situation because God wants me to grow in this one area.” And yet here is what Henry says about this:

The intentions of Providence commonly do not appear till a great while after the event, perhaps many years after. The sentences in the book of providence are sometimes long, and you must read a great way before you can apprehend the sense of them.

The sentences are lengthy and sometimes you will need to read a long while before you can understand them. In other words, be careful about assuming that you know the fine details of why you are suffering. It may well be that God is accomplishing secondary purposes through this trial. Primarily God intends to glorify himself, but maybe he seeks to do that through drawing out some of your sin or breaking down your pride. But do not be too quick to assume that you know exactly what he is seeking to accomplish. It may take 5 or 10 years or even a lifetime to read to the end of the sentence and only with that kind of perspective will you be able to make sense of it all.

But in the meantime, we are to endure, we are to remain fixed upon God, and we are to be willing and more than willing to be losers in order that God may be the gainer. And somehow through all of this he will make his glory known through us, even as he made his glory known through this blind man 2,000 years ago.

Sponsor:

 

God, the Gospel and Glenn Beck - Russell Moore looks at this weekend’s happenings is Washington and is not thrilled. “A Mormon television star stands in front of the Lincoln Memorial and calls American Christians to revival. He assembles some evangelical celebrities to give testimonies, and then preaches a God and country revivalism that leaves the evangelicals cheering that they’ve heard the gospel, right there in the nation’s capital.”

The Bride Wore Cowboy Boots - Mark Altrogge: “I knew it was going to be different when the bridesmaids and bride came in wearing cowboy boots.  But I knew the wedding would be wonderful long before Saturday, because the couple is an amazing couple.”

Insolence Upbraided - Read this little snippet from the life of G. Campbell Morgan: “An incident occurred in connection with meetings held in a town in England, which shows a side of Campbell Morgan few people ever knew, and those who did, it is likely, never forgot. Soon after concluding a series of meetings at which the offering had been particularly generous (which was not always the case!) Dr. Morgan received the following letter…”

Life Together - or Maybe Not - Carl Trueman has some really good things to say in this post. “I am immensely grateful that I have only ever held membership in churches of a size where the pastor has always been accessible and available.  Indeed, my pastors have always even known my name, my wife’s name, my kids’ names, and even what sports they play (this latter may seem trivial but it has been peculiarly important to me: my kids may not always enjoy going to church; but they have never doubted that the pastor actually cares for them; and that is something for which I am more grateful than I can articulate).”

Nancy Pearcey in Washington - This may interest you if you’re in or near DC. “Nancy will be speaking at a ‘Faith and Law’ event in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on September 1, the date of the release of her new book Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, & Meaning.

Remembering Katrina - The Big Picture looks five years into the past to remember Hurricane Katrina and all the devastation it caused.

“Endurance and perseverance are qualities we would all like to possess, but we are loath to go through the process that produces them.” —Jerry Bridges

Sponsor:

 

What am I reading? Well, when I have time to sit and read these days it is usually something to do with canon issues:

• Paul D. Wegner, The Journey from Texts to Translations: The Origin and Development of the Bible (amazon.com). pp 75-162.
• Arthur G. Patzia, The Making of the New Testament: Origin, Collection, Text & Canon (amazon.com), pp. 102-111.
• Michael W. Holmes, “The Biblical Canon” in the Oxford Handbook to Early Christian Studies (amazon.com), pp. 406-426
• Wilhelm Schneemelcher (tr. R. McL. Wilson), “General Introduction” in New Testament Apocrypha, Volume One: Gospels and Related Writings (amazon.com). Revised Edition. pp. 9-50. Particularly §2, “On the history of the New Testament canon”, pp. 15-34.
• Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development and Significance (amazon.com).
• F.F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture (amazon.com).

My primary interest is in early Christian conception of “canon”; and this is of course problematic. Most interesting to me have been Holmes and also Schneemelcher, who deal with the Septuagint. It really throws a wrench into thoughts of canonicity in early Christendom. I love that the introduction to a volume on NT Apocrypha has such a great essay on the topic of canonicity. Can’t agree with everything, but this essay in particular is really great stuff. And Holmes is top-notch too. Both are highly recommended.

OK, my real primary interest is because the topic of canon in early Christianity will be a decent chunk of the class I’m teaching in spring 2011 on “How We Got the New Testament”. I want to make sure I’ve got my bases covered. Wegner is the text I’ll be using, so the NT portions of his section on canonicity will be primary, though I hope to supplement with at least portions from Holmes and Schneemelcher.

Yes, that is a very accurate description of me at the moment: Newbie.  I am currently attending summer classes at a Bible college in Chicago!  It’s so much fun.  But I have to say, I don’t have a clue what I’m doing!  Seriously, I had to ask how to use the elevator yesterday. Isn’t that [...]