The Fiction is Merely a Vehicle for the Theology

I started The Shack a couple weeks ago, read up to Ch. 4 and haven't picked it up since. I still want to finish it but for good personal reasons I have other books to read first. I'll hopefully pick it up again soon and speak a bit to it.

I found this article written by Mary Kassian that has been posted on CBMW. I like the way she worded what the fiction does:

"The fiction is merely a vehicle for the theology."

I've had many people also tell me that "it's just fiction." But then those same people have tried to justify the "god" of that book as biblical and I've seen people's views of God shaped by the book. That doesn't sound like "just fiction." It sounds like theology through the medium (or vehicle) of fiction.

Gentlemen of the Cloth

I haven't yet read through Robertson's grammar for which I know him primarily, so this is my first real exposure to him, and I really like him!

"Christian education should not emasculate the ministry, but develop a sturdier type of man with a larger and firmer mental grasp. The phrase, "gentlemen of the cloth," is not a good expression. It is always repulsive to my conception of a minister of Jesus Christ. A minister is not a gentleman of cloth and ease, but a man of work and sturdy manliness and rugged virtue, anything but smooth and sleek. He should be more like John the Baptist with his raiment of camel's hair and his homely message of repentance than like the Pharisee with his soft raiment and softer speeches for the people." (pp. 30-31, see previous post for link)

Dainty with Delicate Fingers

If I had a quote of the day, this one would make it in for sure:

"If you are too dainty to touch sinners with your delicate fingers, you had better quit preaching." (A.T. Robertson, Preaching and Scholarship, 1890. p.20-21)

Idolatrous Reverence of the Artifact

In D.A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo's An Introduction to the New Testament, they spend time in the introductory chapters discussing the history of textual criticism, (i.e. the discipline of deciding what the original Greek text of the New Testament actually was from the ensuing breadth of manuscripts and translations). They express that "the overwhelming majority of the text of the Greek New Testament is firmly established. Where uncertainties remain, it is important to recognize that in no case is any doctrinal matter at issue." (p.31)

While that is of extreme importance (perhaps even more than what I latched on to), an interesting speculation is made (for that is all we can do about the missing autographs): "Perhaps too, it is worth speculating that, in God's providence, we are better off without the originals, for we would almost certainly have treated them with idolatrous reverence focused more on the mere artifact than on what the manuscript actually said." (p. 31)

I can certainly picture this. Although I'm not aware of any claims in the world currently to an original autograph of the Koran, that thought of "idolatrous reverence" reminds me of what I've heard from Muslims in conversation with them on the university campus when it comes to the Arabic version of their Koran.

Jack of All Trades

Michael F. Bird and Craig Keener have an excellent article here called "Jack of All Trades and Master of None: The Case for "Generalist" Scholars in Biblical Scholarship."

A Response to the Latest "NOOMA"

Here is a good response to the latest NOOMA video by Rob Bell called "She." Christopher W. Cowan does a good job in graciously showing agreement on certain points as well as pointing out the flaws in Bell's exegesis of the Bible which leads to wrong teachings. My concern with Bell's preaching has continuously been that his handle of the Bible is extremely poor and shows surface-like understandings that lead to wrong teachings. They sound great to the ear but miss the mark of truth and end up doing damage to the gospel in the end.

You Serve; the Question is 'Who?'

My heart lept at reading this tonight:

"Whether being a servant is a matter for shame or for pride depends on whose servant one is."

(Knowing God, J.I. Packer, p. 36)

I gladly proclaim I am a servant of Jesus Christ.

Packer's Definition of, Purpose for, and Effect of Meditation

With the focus on studying the Word a couple weeks ago, the issue of meditation came up. In J.I. Packer's Knowing God, he has a great section dealing with it early on. (all quotations from p.23, italics his)

"How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God."

So, here is his definition:

"Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means to communion with God."

The purpose:

"Its purpose is to clear one's mental and spiritual vision of God, and to let his truth make its full and proper impact on one's mind and heart. It is a matter of talking to oneself about God and oneself; it is, indeed, often a matter of arguing with oneself, reasoning oneself out of moods of doubt and unbelief into a clear apprehension of God's power and grace."

Finally, its effect:

"Its effect is ever to humble us, as we contemplate God's greatness and glory and our own littleness and sinfulness, and to encourage and reassure - "comfort" us, in the old, strong, Bible sense of the word - as we contemplate the unsearchable riches of divine mercy displayed in the Lord Jesus Christ."

The Basis of Old Testament Theology - Two Horizons

I bought Bruce K. Waltke's tome this week, An Old Testament Theology. It is a theology and not an exegesis manual or hermeneutics text, but a 1000 page book usually requires some discussion of the exegetical and hermeneutical methods employed. I thought this fit well with what has been focused on this week in the blog. Situated in the first chapter, "The Basis of Old Testament Theology," Waltke writes,

"... in interpreting Scripture there are two horizons. First, there is the finite horizon of the inspired author that encompasses all the knowledge of the author and his historical situation. Second, there is the infinite horizon of God, who sees all things holistically. The existence of this larger horizon allows modern interpreters to go beyond the specific historical context of the biblical writers and in retrospect pursue connections and themes in the metanarrative that embraces the whole range of biblical material. As a result, we may arrive at themes and interpretations that are grander and more evocative than the human biblical authors could have ever thought of, restricted as they were by their historical horizons; yet God intended this fuller understanding from the beginning." (p. 46)

Use Words if Necessary?

I've heard the saying, "Preach the Gospel; use words if necessary," many times before in order to imply that the way of life is the means toward converting people to Christ and words are often times not necessary. Here's some good discussion on the flaw in it.