Brotherly Wisdom: Lewis on Your Reading List
"It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between."
-C.S. Lewis in his introduction to St. Athanasius' De Incarnatione Verbi Dei
Last year I decided to put into practice the brotherly wisdom shared by Dr. Lewis. This advice works well for me, since I treat books much like a multi-course meal. I cannot move on to one course until I've completely finished the previous one. (There was one exception to this rule in 2010...sorry, Sam.) My experience in doing this was wonderful, and I highly recommend it to everyone. Four suggestions I would make coming out of 2010:
1. Read the Bible cover-to-cover in a relatively short period of time. I read it during Lent (40 days, plus Sundays), which amounted to 22 pages/day in my NIV thinline Bible. There are tons of reading plans out there, Chronological, Biographical, Topical, etc., but cover-to-cover, or you might say Canonical, can't be beat. I believe there is a reason the Bible is bound the way it is.
2. Use free resources for the older books. Most older books are in the public domain, which means the text itself is free. As a result websites like ccel.org can offer them free of charge.
3. Utilize your commute. Listening to books can be a beneficial way to pass the time in the car or at the gym, and can actually make the time pass more quickly. Christianaudio.com offers a free download of a professionally produced audiobook every month. Librivox.org has a huge audio library of public domain literature (read by amateurs) for free.
4. Broaden your definition of "old." I once heard a friend refer to the Puritan Era (400 years ago) as "the Early Church." This would be the equivalent of a 70 year old man referring to his late 50's as his childhood. Folks, our family tree is a lot taller than we think, and honestly, things are a lot flimsier out on the limbs. The branches are much stronger closer to the trunk, and we do well to spend some time there.
Below are the books I read in 2010, in order (I think):
Origen, On First Principles (I think I started this one in 2009)
Hans Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method
The Holy Spirit, The Bible
Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies
J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Summer Staff book)
Joshua Harris, Dug Down Deep (TAG Team book)
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Audiobook)
Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something
Jaroslav Pelikan, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600)
Daniel Treier, Introducing Theological Interpretation of Scripture
Augustine of Hippo, On Christian Doctrine (Audiobook)
Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity
John Calvin, Of Prayer and the Christian Life (Audiobook)
Justin Martyr, First Apology
Justin Martyr, Second Apology
*It may appear that I failed to keep Lewis' standard, but if you consider that the work by Origen actually consists of four books, and the work of Irenaeus five, I actually came out a little heavy on the old book side.
What did you read this year? What recommendations do you have for 2011?
Brotherly Wisdom
"I've often reflected on the rather obvious thought that when his disciples were about to have the world collapse in on them, our Lord spent so much time in the Upper Room speaking to them about the mystery of the Trinity. If anything could underline the necessity of Trinitarianism for practical Christianity, that must surely be it!"
-Sinclair Ferguson, in a person email to Robert Letham (cited in The Holy Trinity, p. 375)
Two things scare us away from considering the Trinity as a practical truth of the Bible:
1. Its status as a "mystery." We think a doctrine's being mysterious excludes it from our contemplation and adoration. (Note how many prayers of our could easily be prayed by Jesus Only Pentacostals, and how many of our hymns and praise songs could be sung to a unitarian god) Add to this the fact that the cross is a mystery, and we must conclude that a. we've overestimated our ability to comprehend the cross or b. mysteries can be and, in fact, do belong at the heart of a vibrant faith in an ineffable God.
2. A cultural separation between academic and devotional knowledge. (Historians, I know, our culture didn't create this, Scholasticism and then the Enlightenment did, but it thrives in our atheological climate.) Somewhere, someone started the ridiculous notion that there are some truths of the Bible that belong exclusively to seminary professors and academics. Nevermind the fact that they will nurture your faith, enrich your prayers, and vivify your affections for a God who so loved the world that He gave His Son so believers in Him could have His Spirit, the Giver of Life...you can't have those truths, they belong in the academy, and if they escape and creep their way into sermons, devotional materials, or favorite evangelistic Bible verses, those materials will become stale and cold.
I suggest an alternative. Worship, pray to, and know the God of the Bible. The God(the Father) in whose Light(the Spirit) we see Light(the Son). Ps. 36:9
Brotherly Wisdom: Niebuhr on the Source of American Propserity
"From the [Puritans' days] to this it has remained one of the most difficult achievements for our nation to recognize the fortuitous and the providential element in our good fortune. If either moral pride or the spirit of rationalism tried to draw every element in an historic situation into rational coherence, and persuades us to draw a direct continuity between our good fortune and our virtue and skill, we will inevitably claim more for our contribution to our prosperity than the facts warrant." Reinold Niebuhr, The Irony of American History, p. 48.
I've often been impressed with the Christian double talk that refers to their material wealth as their "being blessed," but clings tightly to those resources as if they belonged to them...as if they earned them. Allow me illustrate. It's no mystery that my family lives on support from generous donors. What would my supporters think if I bought a Corvette? Whose money am I spending on that Corvette? Would it be more appropriate for one of my supporters to buy a Corvette? Why? Whose money are they spending?
Brotherly Wisdom
"The measure of church effectiveness has to be different than 'Do people like it?' and 'Are more people coming?' Radically different."
-Mike Holmes
Mike Holmes is neither the CNN anchor nor (as you might expect from this blog) the NT and patristics scholar from Bethel. He is my former ministry leader and mentor. I love this statement because too often "effectiveness" is evaluated on these bases, however, the question is begged, "What is the measure of church effectiveness?" And yet the language of effectiveness itself, I think, betrays a cultural bent. The church is seldom evaluated on the basis of what it is. Rather, the starting point always seems to be what it does (or should do). A lot of ink has been spilled as of late over the "purpose" of the church. Very little on the nature of the church. Is this valid?
Brotherly Wisdom
"...My peers and I were among the first ones to experience grade inflation, where we got A's for excavating our feelings and "doing our best" at calculus. We were among the first to be programmed for self-esteem, as we learned that having a pulse made us wonderfully special. For as long as we can remember, we've been destined for superstardom. Some of us have been prepped for elite schooling since before we could use the potty, and we've been on the traveling soccer teams before we knew not to touch the ball with our hands. We've been stuffed full of praise for mediocrity and had our foibles diagnosed away with hyphenated jargon and pop psychology.
It's no wonder we expect people to affirm us for everything, criticize us for nothing, and pay us for anything we want to do." -Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
DeYoung nails it. If you haven't read this book, you should. In the age of the adultolescent DeYoung's advice is sage, and his voice should be heard amidst and above the pseudo-spiritual ramblings of some/many popular Christian authors.
I Love...
May through August might be slow blogging months, but you can get a good idea of what I'm up to by visiting eastiowa.org.
Brotherly Wisdom
"All performance is interpretation. All interpretation is highlighting." - Hans-Georg Gadamer Truth and Method p. 401
I vividly remember the class. The course was entitled "Issues in Theological Method." Dr. Kreider showed us this video:
[Scrapped it because I couldn't make it stop auto-playing...figure both of my readers have already seen it anyway. Otherwise, Youtube it: "NIN-Hurt"]
then he showed us this video:
He then leaned back in his chair slowly stroking his goatee and asked, "Was that the same song?" Silence ensued. You could tell by the smirk he was hiding behind his bearded grimace that there was a right answer and that he fully expected us to get it wrong. I decided whatever the first person said, I'd say the opposite. Don't remember what the right answer was, but I know what Gadamer would say. He'd say "Es ist das gleiche Lied." Which is German for "It's the same song." (Thank you, Babelfish) But he would go on (in German) to show how this is a perfect example of how each performance is another interpretation. Granted, Trent Resnor's interpretation at the Town Theatre in Kansas City may be very similar to his interpretation at the Paramount in Cedar Rapids, but they are different. (This was never more apparent than when James Taylor sang "Fire and Rain" on the 9/11 memorial special.) So, now allow me to sit back and stroke my baby's bottom chin and ask: What did Johnny highlight? What did Resnor highlight?
Fatherly Advice
"God does not delight in numbers! You count your tens of thousands, but God counts those who will be saved; you the immeasurable grains of sand, but I the vessels of election. Nothing is so magnificent in God's sight as a purified reason and a soul made perfect by the doctrines of truth. One cannot offer anything to God that is worthy of the one who created all things, from whom are all things and to whom are all things." Gregory of Nazianzus Oration 42.8
I've never been a "numbers guy." You know, the guy that sits in the vision-casting meeting and sets specific goals for numerical growth. I've known many of them (numbers guys), and as much as the need for numbers annoys me, I'm not totally immune to its seductive lure. This is the time of year when registrations start rolling in and I start sweating over whether or not we'll have enough campers this summer--a valid concern when the result of too few means we'd have to shut the dorrs on the few who come (not going to be the case this year). Gregory was given the awesome task of preaching the full deity of Jesus Christ in a city that was dominated by the opinion that while He was "divine," he was not of the "same nature" as the Father. That's a gross over-simplfication of perhaps the most significant theological debate in the Church's history. At the end of his time in Constantinople the tide had turned in his favor, and yet those who would agree with Gregory concerning the Son would not follow him down the biblical/logical path that considered the Spirit, too, as "of the same nature" as the Father. He was still in the minority. It is from this vantage point that Gregory looks back in confidence that the significance of his work in that (at one time) little congregation called Anastasia (Resurrection) was not determined by her size, nor would his work in the Council of Constantinople 381 be descredited even if the majority was against him. Perhaps confidence isn't the word for whatever it was Gregory felt at the time (he basically fled the scene...again). And yet no one in the bounds of orthodox Christianity reads the Creed ratified by that Council (Nicaea 381) to say anything other than that the Holy Spirit is of the same nature as the Father. Which it doesn't literally say...(But it does say it.) Score another one for the little guy.
Brotherly Wisdom
"In both legal and theological hermeneutics there is an essential tension between the fixed text on the one hand and, on the other the sense arrived at by applying it at the concrete moment of interpretation, either in judgment or in preaching. A law does not exist in order to be understood historically, but to be concretized in its legal validity by being interpreted. Similarly, the gospel does not exist to be understood as a merely historical document, but to be taken in such a way that it exercises its saving effect." Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method, p. 307
Gadamer is reminiscing about a time when legal and theological hermeneutics were treated together. The benefit was that a text was not said to be "interpreted" until it had been applied to the readers current situation. This doesn't fit a culture where the pastor and the biblical scholar are two different people who got different degrees from different schools, or--at best--pursued two very different majors.
It's sad to say that our pastors have a lot to learn from our lawyers.
Brotherly Wisdom
"History does not belong to us, we belong to it." -Hans-Georg Gadamer in Truth and Method
Gadamer is speaking against an attitude toward history that sees it as an external object of research similar to scientific data. He suggests that only as a participant in history are we able to understand history. Imagine the implications this has for a view of Scripture. What if we forget an approach to Scripture that says, "read it like any other book" or "collect the facts, find out their meanings, and determine their significance," and instead view ourselves as living participants in the story itself?
Brotherly Wisdom
"I guess that's what bothered me so much about the 'are they brothers?' (spoken of two adopted sons) question. There was almost a note of implied pity--as though, if they were biologically brothers, well, at least they'd have each other. The query seemed to be asking, 'Is this a real family or just a legal fiction?' The question seemed to render them orphans again...
Our adoption is about more than just belonging. Our adoption is about the day when the graves of this planet will be emptied, when the great assembly of Christ's church will be gathered before the Judgment Seat. On that day, the accusing principalities and powers will probably look once more at us--former murderers and fornicators and idolaters, formerly uncircumcised in flesh or in heart--and they may ask one more time,'So are they brothers?' The hope of adopted children like my sons--and like (you and) me--is that the voice that once thundered over the Jordan will respond, one last time, 'They are now.'"
-Russell D. Moore 'Adopted for Life' pp. 26 and 57
I Love...
...shopping for books.
In case you hadn't noticed I've begun to file my posts under three categories. I decided I should make this post fit one of those categories. I'm stocking the bookshelf in our camp bookstore and want some community input. Here's what I currently have on the shelves:
Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers (4 vols.) by Joey Allen
-The Gospel
-The Trinity
-The Mission
-The Scriptures
(This is quite the commentary on our little corner of Christianity: The Gospel and The Scriptures keep running out...The Trinity and The Mission are just not as popular)
Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham
Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
I Am Not but I Know I AM by Louie Giglio (I'm discontinuing this one...disappointed)
Desiring God by John Piper
Life as Vapor by John Piper
Finally Alive by John Piper
The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
Day by Day with the Church Fathers by Christopher Hudson
Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
Death by Love by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
Then we have the books I've already decided to add this year:
Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung
Why We Love the Church by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck
Dug Deep Down by Joshua Harris (This is our TAG Team book for the summer)
The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
Knowing God by JI Packer (This is in the #1 spot right now for the Summer staff study)
Comments? Suggestions?
Brotherly Wisdom
"The man who seeks to occupy himself with dogmatics and deliberately puts himself outside the Church would have to reckon with the fact that for him the object of dogmatics would be alien, and should not be surprised if after the first steps he could not find his bearings, or even did damage. Even in dogmatics familiarity with the subject must be there, and this really means familiarity with the life of the Church." -Karl Barth Dogmatics in Outline p. 10.
Theology as a (strictly) academic exercise is a contradiction. One cannot seek to know God and not be in relationship to His Son. This does not mean that theology cannot be done in academic contexts or to the greatest degree of erudition. It does mean that those in such contexts must always have in mind how their task of learning will be useful for the building up of the Body of Christ. They must pray with one of my favorite professors, "Lord be helpful to us, that we may be helpful to the Church."
Brotherly Wisdom
"Don't think you know a lot about the church just because you've read a bunch of contemporary books on church models and leadership." -Tyson Guthrie, New Found Kin
A bit of my own wisdom encouraging my brothers and sisters to look outside your own decade, century, yea, even millennium for information on what the Body of our Lord is. Because if you want to know how it's "done" you darn well better know what it "is." And the opinions of a few white 21st century Americans aren't going to paint you the clearest picture. But that's just the opinion of this white 21st century American.
I love...
...when truck-driver-looking men with beards bend over to smell the flowers in the Wal-mart bathroom.
Brotherly Wisdom
"Most people seem to assume it's God's job to love them. Of course God loves us. What else does he have to do? He is weak, small, and maybe even a little nerdy. He needs us. He pines for us. And if we pay him any attention--go to church, do a good deed, recycle, or maybe meditate while listening to soothing music--then we've done him a really big favor.
The love of God is wonderful news only when we understand his transcendence--when we tremble at his holiness, when we're awed by his perfection and power." -Joshua Harris Dug Deep Down p. 46.
Fatherly Advice
"For now full of what was in fact my punishment, I had begun to desire to seem wise. I did not mourn my ignorance, but rather was puffed up with knowledge. For where was that love which builds upon the foundation of humility, which is Jesus Christ? Or, when would these books teach me this?" -St. Augustine of Hippo Confessions 7.20.26
The books Augustine speaks of are the books of the (neo)Platonists--books he is grateful to have had knowledge of, but books he is even more grateful to have placed under the Holy Scriptures. I used to have this quote framed, setting on my bookshelf.
Fatherly Advice
"Grant me, O Lord, to know and understand whether first to invoke Thee or to praise Thee, whether first to know Thee or call upon Thee. But who can invoke Thee, knowing Thee not? For he who knows Thee not may invoke Thee as another than Thou art.
It may be that we should invoke Thee in order that we may come to know Thee. But 'how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe without a preacher?' Now, 'they shall praise the Lord who seek him,' for 'those who seek shall find him,' and finding him, shall praise him. I will seek Thee, O Lord, and call upon Thee. I call upon Thee, O Lord, in my faith, which Thou hast given me, which Thou hast inspired in me through the humanity of Thy Son, and through the ministry of Thy preacher." -St. Augustine of Hippo The Confessions 1.1.2
Brotherly Wisdom
"The acute sense of the inadequacy of words explains why Augustine at the beginning of the Confessions experiences difficulty in finding any way of addressing God intelligibly, or speaking about God correctly. The answer to the question he finds in the reception of Scripture in the Christian community. The Bible consists of words, human indeed but for the believing community a gift of God so that within the sign there is also the divine reality..." --Henry Chadwick, "Introduction" to The Confessions p. 22.
The believing community receives the Word of God as a gift. A gift. A treasure. In it they find everything necessary for life and godliness. God has spoken and it is sufficient. It pains me to see so many today claiming to be part of this same believing community who are apparently dissatisfied with the Word of God. To say that God has spoken seems so "limiting." They want to say He speaks to them internally and privately. Now, that definitely sounds more exciting, more romantic. But think for a second about what they are saying about God's Word. (Without putting words in their mouths) I hear them saying, "Sure the Bible is useful for teaching, reproof, training in righteousness, etc, but I need more." It seems to me that Paul's concern in the context of that great passage on Holy Scripture is exactly our need for more. He warns "evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and been convinced of. Because you know those from whom you learned it." (2 Tim 3:13-14) The main difference between Paul's opponents and what he is asking his readers (us) to be is continuance in what has been received. This is why he assures us in vs 16 that the Scriptures are sufficient. They are enough. Eat them. Listen to them. Dwell on them day and night. In the words of Ron Heine, "Inhabit them."
Fatherly Advice
"The same thing appears in the nature and design of the sacraments,
which God hath appointed. God, considering our frame, hath not only
appointed that we should be told of the great things of the gospel, and
of the redemption of Christ, and instructed in them by his word; but
also that they should be, as it were, exhibited to our view, in
sensible representations, in the sacraments, the more to affect us with
them." -Jonathan Edwards The Religious Affections 1.2.9
Edwards wants to point out God's design in worship is to have physical actions which engage the mind and the affections. "Affect" or "affections" are Edwards words for the inclinations of our will. The opposite of being "affected" is being indifferent.
Brotherly Wisdom
"Jonathan Edwards, as a defender of the Great Awakening, always insisted that a living spirituality was the one indispensible thing. Yet Edwards also realized how vital it was to struggle toward distinctly Christian views of the world. To him there was no antithesis between heartfelt devotion and the most recondite labors of the mind." -Mark Noll Scandal of the Evangelical Mind p. 77.
You might ask which Brother's Wisdom is this, Jonathan Edwards' or Mark Noll's? History, as little as we like to admit, is always biased. Noll is not offering us an objective account of the demeanor of a Christian figure. He is holding Edwards up as an example of the Evangelical ideal. He even tells us in this quote those specific qualities that make him so venerable. Edwards becomes a vehicle for Noll to communicate the need for Evangelicalism to recapture the vision for critically thinking coupled with hearty devotion.
Fatherly Advice
"Gracious light of the holy glory
of the holy, blessed,
immortal, and heavenly Father,
Jesus Christ!
Having come to the setting of the sun,
seeing the evening light,
we hymn the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit of God.
Worthy are you at all times
to be praised with holy voices
Son of God, the giver of life.
Therfore the world glorifies you."
-A Greek Evening Hymn
(Everett Fersuson, Early Christians Speak: Faith and Life in the First Three Centuries, pp. 149-150)
Brotherly Wisdom
"Sometimes we say and do the silliest things, but one of the silliest things we could possibly imagine, is that somehow within us naturally there dwells, apart from grace, the possibility of being authentically and truly pious." -D. Jeffrey Bingham, The Possibility of Piety (Sermon delivered at Redeemer Church)
Fatherly Advice
Think for a moment, and ask yourself if the business of the world could be carried on without the figure of the cross. The sea cannot be crossed unless the sign of victory--the mast--remains unharmed. Without it there is no ploughing: neither diggers nor mechanics can do their work without tools of this shape. The human figure is distinguished from that of brute beasts solely by having an upright posture and the ability to extend the arms; and also by the nose through which the creature gets his breath, which is set at right angles to the brow, and displays just the shape of the cross. It was said of the prophet, "The breath before your face is the Lord Christ." (Lam. 4:20) --Justin Martyr Apologia 1.55.