Of Bald Men and Bears

Nebraska looked fantastic last week against Nevada, winning handily at 52-10. Our offensive line made me reminisce to the days of Tom Osborne's "Pipeline" (a group of beefy linemen who actually came to Hastings one day and autographed some of my Husker paraphernalia...but I digress). I was extremely concerned about our running back situation coming into this season, but I am not too worried about that any more. Actually, our wide receiving corps looked worse than our running backs, dropping perfectly placed passes. Defensively, our team (especially Steve Octavian) looked great, and I think that our defensive line should hold its own better than was expected over the course of this season.

So, I think that we should have a good game today against Wake Forest. I expect us to run fairly well, although nowhere near as successfully as last week, and I don't think that our receivers will drop as many balls this week. I am expecting us to have improved by a couple of notches, and I think that today we will see the unveiling of what most of our season will look like: a very good team, much closer to what we hoped for in Callahan's regime than we have seen to date.

I expect our defense to play hard, and I think that our secondary will step up to play better than they have in the past. Still, I think that Wake Forest's offense will put up a fair number of points. I am highly optimistic, but I don't want to be unrealistic.

My prediction: Nebraska 41, Wake Forest 20.

---

I have been reading Recalling the Hope of Glory, by Allen P. Ross (my Hebrew professor and my professor in Worship Leadership for this semester), which is a book that attempts to map out a biblical theology of worship. I have heard vastly differing reports on the quality of the book, but I am very much appreciating it, having read through the third chapter.

The title of his book is quite descriptive of the theme of his book: the biblical theology of worship is extremely reminiscent of the paradise of Eden (he points out, for example, numerous textual and thematic links between the design and construction of the temple and the creation of the Garden), but it also anticipates the hope of glory in Jesus Christ. We worship both by looking back at God's act in creation--and in his re-creation of the world in Christ's resurrection--and by looking forward to the glory that awaits us when Christ returns.

This book is the textbook for my Worship Leadership class this semester, so we will be reading it over the course of the next couple of months. As an FYI, Dr. Ross teaches the class not only from the book, but also from a perspective of looking at how different churches over the course of church history have put these worship principles into practice. His goal, Lord-willing, is to write a second volume on worship where he will discuss these issues. From what we have discussed in class so far, I think that second volume will be very helpful as well.

Labels: Bible, Books, Church, Football, Nebraska, Seminary, Theology

Posted by Jacob at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments

Yesterday in my theology class, my professor expressed his disagreement with Augustine's conception of the nature of evil. Augustine essentially argued three things:

1. God created all things, so that nothing exists that God did not create.
2. God created all things to be Good.
3. Therefore, from (1) and (2), evil cannot be a creation of God, and therefore evil cannot exist in the way that Good exists. Therefore, evil is not the presence of something in its own right, but the lack of the Good that God originally instilled in his creation.

When we examined this argument in a class I took in my undergraduate years, I found it very persuasive. My professor, however, argued that it would be silly to say that evil doesn't exist since the Bible affirms evil as a terrible reality. He likened Augustine's thought with the Christian Scientist understanding of sickness, where they say that, in reality, there is no such thing as sickness, so that we are all healthy--we simply have to believe in the reality of our health through faith. With respect, I don't think that's what Augustine was getting at.

It seems unfair to say that Augustine was denying that evil exists (rightly understood) in the world, since he spends an entire book, his Confessions, talking about how he and the rest of humanity are sinful wretches. So, he wasn't saying that there is no such thing as evil in the world, but he is merely saying that what we call evil is actually a condition where some Good that should be there is not.

This is vastly different from the Christian Scientist understanding of sickness, because, to extend the metaphor, Augustine wouldn't deny that people are "sick" spiritually. This is important, because many liberals today argue that everyone in the world is, in reality, saved (so that no damnation "exists"), and that we merely need to accept the reality of the salvation that we already have. Augustine, in stark contrast, would say that we have a very real problem, but the problem is not the existence of "sickness"--our problem is the lack of "health." That doesn't mean that we don't need to be "cured," but it does mean that we are trying not so much to get rid of our "sickness" as we are trying to re-establish our "health," even if getting rid of the "sickness" is a necessary first step in restoring the "health."

Augustine was trying to avoid the dualism that asserts that both Good and evil have existed from all eternity, a dualism where believers are encouraged to support the "good" god against the "evil" god. C. S. Lewis rightly points out in Mere Christianity (and other places) that, if such a theology were correct, there would be no real reason for us to see good as having primacy or superiority over evil, since both sides have equal claims on our lives. Evil cannot exist in the same way that Good exists, since that puts evil on equal footing with Good. Thus, Lewis talked about evil as "twisted" (i.e., corrupted) Good, and I think that he is closely following Augustine on this subject.

So, as I pondered this issue, I thought of a great illustration from the movie The Neverending Story. In the movie, the conflict is that a world called Fantasia is slowly being consumed by something called the "Nothing." I recall the book saying something to the effect of "If you looked at the Nothing, you felt as if you had gone blind." This wasn't blackness or space, since both of those are something--the Nothing was nothing at all, and that was the problem in the story.

In one sense, the Nothing was a very real problem (i.e., it "existed") because it was destroying all of Fantasia; however, in another sense, the problem with the Nothing was that it didn't exist, and that it was causing more things not to exist. Accordingly, in Augustine's thought, evil is a very real problem (i.e., it "exists") that has destroyed everything, to some extent, that God created to be Good; however, in another sense, the problem with evil is that it doesn't exist (since God only made Good things to exist), and it is causing more of the Good in the world not to exist.

In The Neverending Story, the solution could never have been simply to get rid of the Nothing--or, at least, this would never have been a satisfactory solution since too much had already been destroyed. Instead, the solution could only come about through a restoration of the Good. In our world, God could never have saved us simply by getting rid of evil as though removing our evil would leave us with Good--our incompleteness demanded that salvation could only come through New Creation, where God would recreate humanity and all the rest of creation to be perfectly Good. Put another way, it was never enough for Jesus simply to die on the cross as a punishment for our evil--the resurrection to new life was necessary in order to restore to us the Good we had lost at the Fall.

Labels: Bible, Books, Movies, Philosophy, Seminary, Theology

Posted by Jacob at 6:36 AM | Permalink | Comments

I just had a dream that someone hacked into this blog and posted something to the effect of, "I'm appalled that Jacob hasn't written anything since Monday, especially since he has told us that he really wants to keep this thing updated. I'm not sure we can trust him any more." If the Lord has skilled any of you in dream interpretations--for do not interpretations belong to God?--I would be interested in what that means. Personally, I think that it had something to do with the 4-Alarm Spicy Chicken Sandwich that I had from Wendy's at 10:00 last night.

In other news, I am currently back in Nebraska for my Spring Break. I had an incredible flying experience on Delta through Cincinnati (both completely on time; good in-flight snacks; no layover to speak of; my luggage got in), and my parents and brother picked me up in Omaha to drive me back to Hastings. Yesterday was a long day (two tests and a paper due), so I am excited for a little R&R.

Although I have a 700-page book on the Reformation that I need to read in order to write a paper that is due next Thursday, I'm really wanting to read two books for fun. The one I haven't started yet is called Virtue and the Voice of God: Toward Theology as Wisdom, by Daniel Treier. I've continued to ponder the concept of wisdom in the Bible, and this looked like a great book to provide fodder for my thinking.

The second book is Progressive Dispensationalism by Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock. I'm reading this for two reasons: (1) I don't have a very good idea of how Progressive Dispensationalism differs from the type of Dispensationalism that I know (I read Charles Ryrie's Dispensationalism Today, now called Dispensationalism, when I was trying to decide between Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology); and (2) Beeson will be hosting Darrell Bock in April for our Biblical Studies Lectures, and I want to read something by him in order to get more out of the conference. I read about 130 of the 300 pages on the plane last night, and I was actually very pleased with how "progressive" Dispensationalism is becoming. I'll write more about it later.

Labels: Blogs, Books, Fun, Life, Nebraska, Seminary, Theology, Travel

Posted by Jacob at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments

I just completed George Marsden's Jonathan Edwards: A Life. I'm not sure how to begin summarizing such a comprehensive work of incredible breadth and depth, so instead I'll just provide a few historiographical thoughts. In describing his goal for the book, he writes

As a biographer attempting to understand Edwards first as an eighteenth-century figure, I have been working most directly as a cultural historian. Yet I have been doing this always with an eye on the theological question, taking his thought seriously as part of the larger Christian tradition.

I think Marsden succeeds marvelously at this, balancing cultural with intellectual and theological history, understanding Edwards not simply as the result of historical forces of the times, nor as a disembodied theological mind working apart from the influence of the times and culture, but rather as an (albeit exceptional) eighteenth-century clergyman, writer, husband, and father whose theological framework greatly shaped his life and work. By viewing him in this way, he finds an extraordinary, but also humanly-flawed, Jonathan Edwards.

In addition to being inspired and overwhelmed by the amount of research, thinking, and writing involved in crafting this 600-page work, as an aspiring historian I also found insight in Marsden's perspective on the value of biography for Christians:

If one has, as I do, theological mentors from across the ages, then it is valuable to realize that their insights on spiritual matters come framed by their particular personal and cultural circumstances. My belief is that one of the uses of being an historian, particularly if one is part of a community of faith, is to help persons of such communities better understand what they and their community might appropriate from the great mentors of the past and what is extraneous and nonessential...to employ historical consciousness for developing more discriminating assessements of the wisdom of the past...We need to use history for the guidance it offers, learning from the great figures of the past - both in their brilliance and their shortcomings. Otherwise we are stuck with only the wisdom of the present.

Labels: Books, History, Theology

Posted by andrew at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments

This past year that I have been in seminary in Alabama, I have still tried to keep up with the Daily Nebraskan, the school newspaper from my undergraduate institution, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. On Wednesday, they ran an editorial asserting that the Bible should be read as literature and nothing more. I wrote a letter to the editor in response, and they printed it today. You can read my letter here.

Labels: Bible, Books, Life, Nebraska, Philosophy, Seminary, Theology

Posted by Jacob at 4:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

I am writing a paper for my church history class that will contrast sacramental theology in the Westminster Confession of Faith and one of the Baptist confessions--probably the Baptist Faith and Message of 1925. In my research, I just came across an excellent essay by G. Todd Wilson called "Why Baptists Should Not Rebaptize Christians from Other Denominations." As you read this, remember that, when he speaks about baptism's "biblical intent," he is writing in the belief that the New Testament teaches that new believers should be baptized as a symbol of joining the faith community of the church:

If we opt for that alternative [i.e., rebaptism], however, we are put in the uncomfortable position of insisting that while baptism is not essential for salvation, it is essential for membership in a Baptist church. We must also take this view in the realization that we are giving baptism a different meaning from its biblical intent, and this weakens our appeal to the authority of the Bible for our faith and practice. Furthermore, if we change the meaning of baptism, can we really insist that others are not free to do the same, even if they choose to baptize infants? (44)

It does seem that Baptists cannot logically say that both of the following are true: (1) biblical baptism is only the kind of baptism that is administered as a sign of entry into the community of faith; and (2) those who were (unbiblically) baptized as infants, but have been members of the community of faith for years, must be rebaptized before becoming members of a Baptist church. Wilson makes an excellent point that the rebaptism of (2) is not the "biblical" baptism of (1), nor can it be, by definition.

I wonder if this argument would have made any different in John Piper's recently failed attempt to admit certain infant-batized Christians to membership in his Baptist church (see here and here).

Here is the second quotation, which, I think, stands alone:

In this same regard it is interesting to compare our practice of baptism with our emphasis in the Lord's Supper. In baptism we have focused upon the form and letter, but in the Lord's Supper our concern is with the spirit and substance. We have held firm on the mode of immersion, but we have ignored the "one cup" and "one loaf" so vitally significant to the meaning of the Lord's Supper in the biblical account, not to mention that we also substitute grape juice for wine. Our rigidity in baptism is so different from our freedom regarding the Supper, and this marked inconsistency deserves attention. The integrity of our Christian symbols is at stake. (45)

I would encourage believer-baptists and infant-baptists alike to read the entire article, if possible. Here is the bibliographic information:

Wilson, G. Todd., “Why Baptists Should Not Rebaptize Christians from Other Denominations.” In Proclaiming the Baptist Vision: Baptism and the Lord's Supper, edited by Walter B. Shurden, 41-47. Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 1999.

Labels: Baptism, Books, Church, Communion, Seminary, Theology

Posted by Jacob at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

This summer, I read the book Biblical Interpretation: Past and Present by Gerald Bray (incidentally, Dr. Bray was my professor this January for my Puritan Spirituality class). This line, more than any other in the book, has had me thinking since I read it:

The modern tendency to regard Proverbs as a collection of useful but rather boring advice, Ecclesiastes as the work of a jaded humanist and the Song of Songs as a piece of erotica shows how little the Wisdom tradition is understood or appreciated nowadays, in sharp contrast to earlier times, when these three books were regarded as among the choicest in the whole Scripture. Literal interpretation has removed these books from everyday church use, and they have almost ceased to be a part of the canon for all practical purposes. (p. 160)

So, what should we make of the Wisdom Literature that God gave to his people?

As I have been thinking about this, I have been wondering if we Christians are too interested in a narrow conception of "truth." When modernism rolled onto the scene, claiming scientific ability to get to the bottom of every mystery in the universe, its first task was to rid the world of "superstitious" things like Christianity. So, we Christians responded in kind: we began to direct much research toward rationalistic fields such as textual criticism (trying to get the Hebrew and Greek texts as close to the originals as possible), archaeology (trying to get definitive proof that biblical events happened in just the way that biblical writers portrayed them), and apologetics (trying to use logic and reason to demonstrate the truth of Christianity, essentially beating the scientific naturalists at their own game).

Now, these things are all good in themselves, and we have made tremendous advances in these fields. The problem, though, is that Christianity now tends toward being an intellectual, scientific philosophy rather than being a life built upon the fear of the Lord through the person and work of Jesus Christ. So, when we evangelize, we often (consciously or unconsciously) try merely to persuade people of a certain number of facts about God and about Jesus. When we make disciples out of our converts, we generally try to stuff them with Christian information.

Of course, I would be a fool if I said that I were the first to point this out. Many have become so disillusioned with this intellectual-only approach to Christianity that they have rejected the intellectual part altogether and insisted that Christianity is totally about "relationships," both with God and with other people--these are the postmoderns and the emergents. In response, some Christians have reacted by an even greater emphasis on biblical exegesis, theology, and teaching-heavy preaching. I find myself in the latter category.

But what of wisdom? In my Old Testament Survey textbook, in the section on the book of Job, John Walton writes:

An interesting contrast of focus can also be seen in modern lists of God's attributes. They often emphasize omniscience (knowing everything) instead of infinite wisdom. They tend to focus on omnipotence (being all-powerful) perhaps at the expense of sovereignty (control and maintenance). (p. 338-39)

I wonder if both intellectual, modernistic Christians as well as relational, postmodern Christians need to grow in their understanding of God's wisdom. Instead of trying to evangelize and disciple so that people merely give their intellectual assent to Christian theology, or instead of trying to reduce Christianity to its lowest common denominator, we Christians should give a renewed emphasis to our study and interpretation of Wisdom Literature.

I am becoming increasingly persuaded that one of our biggest needs as a Church is to seek Jesus Christ in order to gain wisdom rather than facts, virtue instead of narrow dogmatism, and the fear of the Lord instead of flawless theology. This doesn't devalue truth, but rather heightens its value because it puts truth in its right context. Furthermore, this doesn't devalue relationships, but finally gives us a framework within which we might understand what exactly our relationships should look like.

So, instead of doing yet another scientific study of the book of Romans or a fuzzy reflection on Jesus' friendships in the gospels, let's read and study and pray through Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. We might not only discover why the early Church and the Old Testament Hebrews were so enamored with these books, but we also might come to know God in ways in which we find ourselves desperately lacking.

Labels: Bible, Books, Church, Philosophy, Seminary, Theology

Posted by Jacob at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments

Classes began today for the Spring semester. Well, I actually only had one class (Church History: Reformation-Present), but it's going to be a doozy. We will have to read almost 3000 pages of books (not counting all the other books we will read to write two 10-page research papers), including a lovely 700-page tome called Creeds of the Churches. This book is bursting with--you guessed it!--creeds, church council decisions, confessions/statements of faith, and even a couple of early church letters thrown in for good measure. The book spans Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Baptist, and Methodist traditions, so I suppose that it will be worthwhile to read, but it will also be extremely boring at parts.

I guess that's what I get for taking a class from a guy who is just finishing up his Ph.D. work at Westminster Theological Seminary.

Of my other four classes, I only have the syllabus for my Hebrew II class. My professor is going to allow us to skip the final if we get A's on all the quizzes and tests through the semester. That's going to be extremely difficult to pull off, but I have already been studying a ridiculous amount for the quiz that we are going to have tomorrow (it will cover the first semester's material).

It feels good (and slightly painful) to get back into the swing of things.

Labels: Alabama, Books, Church, Life, Seminary

Posted by Jacob at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

Since I first heard about "Federal Vision" Theology, I've read quite a bit about it on two blogs, The Presbyteer and Blog and Mablog. (Blog and Mablog has something just about every day on the controversy; both this blog and the Presbyteer's are very strongly pro-Federal Vision theology.) Also called "Auburn Avenue Theology" or the "Monroe Doctrine" (Auburn Avenue is the church in Monroe, LA, where much of this theology is being developed), there are some very interesting developments that could significantly shape the landscape of Reformed Theology over the next decade, and perhaps even for many years to come.

[Edit, 1/26/07, 10:37 am: In a comment below, The Presbyteer clarified his position on the matter; also, I realized that Doug Wilson, the author of Blog and Mablog, is not only supportive, but he was one of the contributors for my book on the pro-Federal Vision side. Just wanted to make that clear, lest I misrepresent anyone.]

But, that doesn't mean that this stuff is simple. There are some things these people are saying that seem very logical and natural extensions of the theology that led me to paedobaptism, but there are some things I read and cringe a little bit. The stuff that makes sense seems extremely helpful; the stuff that bothers me seems potentially disastrous.

So, to get a better understanding of the issues, I picked up The Auburn Avenue Theology Pros and Cons: Debating the Federal Vision from the Samford University Library. The book is filled with five papers from "pros," five from "cons," and responses to each paper from the respective "other side" after a weekend of in-person debate and weeks of e-mail exchanges with each other. The whole conference was designed to get rid of misunderstandings surrounding the issue and to get to the big issues. I have only read the first few essays, but I finish up my Puritan Spirituality class this morning, and I will try to spend a good part of the day continuing to read it. My goal is to finish it before my Spring semester classes start on Tuesday, but I can't promise anything. I'll let you know my thoughts in a few days.

---

Also, in case you were wondering, I haven't forgotten about the third part to my "Outward Sign, Inward Reality" post series (read part one and part two here)--I simply am trying to make sure that I have a really good grasp of the issues before I slap something down I my blog. This Auburn Avenue Theology stuff, for example, is really making me think through a lot of the issues involved in what I would write for the third part. So, I'm making progress toward writing more about baptism, but I'm not even comfortable writing an interim report at this point. "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness..."

Labels: Baptism, Books, Theology

Posted by Jacob at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments

At the end of Part 2 of Pilgrim's Progress, when Mr. Stand-fast is summoned by his Master, who "was not willing that [Stand-fast] should be so far from him any longer." As Stand-fast readies himself to die by crossing the River, so that he might enter the Celestial City, he says:

This River has been a Terror to many, yea the thoughts of it also have often frightened me. But now methinks I stand easy, my Foot is fixed upon that, upon which the Feet of the Priests that bare the Ark of the Covenant stood while Israel went over this Jordan. The Waters indeed are to the Palate bitter, and to the Stomach cold; yet the thoughts of what I am going to, and of the Conduct that waits for me on the other side, doth lie as a glowing Coal at my heart.

I see myself now at the end of my Journey, my toilsome Days are ended. I am going now to see that Head that was Crowned with Thorns and that Face that was spit upon, for me.

I have formerly lived by Hearsay, and Faith, but now I go where I shall live by sight, and shall be with him, in whose Company I delight myself...

Labels: Books, Devotion, Seminary, Theology

Posted by Jacob at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

Thanks to a great Christmas gift from my girlfriend's parents, I have begun reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Vol. I (I also have Vol. II for when I finish the first book). I didn't quite know what to expect, but I have been very pleased with the book so far.

Still, I do have one major complaint against what I have read. Midway through one of the stories, Doyle writes:

In the central portion of the great North American Continent there lies an arid and repulsive desert, which for many a long year served as a barrier against the advance of civilization. From the Sierra Nevada to Nebraska, and from the Yellowstone River in the north to the Colorado upon the south, is a region of desolation and silence....there are enormous plains, which in winter are white with snow, and in summer are gray with the saline alkali dust. They all preserve, however, the common characteristics of barrenness, inhospitality, and misery. (p. 55, my emphasis)

Doyle might be a good writer, but he knows nothing of Nebraska.

Labels: Books, Nebraska

Posted by Jacob at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jesus brooks no rivals. There have been, there are, many religious leaders. In an age of postmodern sensibilities and a deep cultural commitment to philosophical pluralism, it is desperately easy to relativize Jesus in countless ways. But there is only one Person of whom it can be said that he made us, and then became one of us; that he is the Lord of glory, and a human being; that he died in ignominy and shame on the odious cross, yet is now seated on the right hand of the Majesty on high, having returned to the glory he shared with the Father before the world began.

--From D. A. Carson's meditation on Matt. 17 in For the Love of God, Vol. I

Labels: Bible, Books, Devotion, Philosophy, Theology

Posted by Jacob at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

An excerpt from my homework:

Prudence: And what is it that makes you so desirous to go to Mount Zion?

Christian: Why, there I hope to see him alive, that did hang dead on the Cross; and there I hope to be rid of all those things, that to this day are in me, an annoyance to me; there they say there is no death, and there I shall dwell with such Company as I like best. For to tell you truth, I love him, because I was by him eased of my burden, and I am weary of my inward sickness; I would fain be where I shall die no more, and with the Company that shall continually cry, Holy, Holy, Holy.

--John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress

Labels: Books, Devotion, Seminary, Theology

Posted by Jacob at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

On about four different occasions, I have experimented with switching from Microsoft Office to a free office software called OpenOffice.org (yes, its name actually looks like a web site address). On each of those occasions, I quickly became frustrated with a few minor issues, and I switched back. And why not? Microsoft Office was made available to me, as a student of the University of Nebraska, for something like $5.

Now, however, the situation is a little bit different. For Christmas, I received a new laptop computer to replace the one I had been using for four years. I was thrilled with the computer, but I quickly realized that it had no office software, and Microsoft doesn't exactly encourage installing their software on multiple computers. So, I either shell out $100+ to get a word processor (the only thing I really use), or I take another stab at OpenOffice.org.

But, as Providence would have it, I ran across a book today when I was hanging out at the Hastings library: OpenOffice.org for Dummies. I'm going to try to read through the important stuff before I have to go back to Birmingham (I leave Saturday). Maybe my fifth time (with the help of a book with a demeaning title) will be the charm! We'll see how it goes...

---

In other news, I had tried to register for the class "Puritan Spirituality" for the January term, but I was only able to get on the waiting list. Yesterday, I got a phone call telling me that a bunch of people had defaulted on their seats in the class by not paying their bills, so I got in! I will be spending the next two weeks with Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor and John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Try not to become envious of me.

Labels: Books, Life, Seminary, Technology, Theology

Posted by Jacob at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

Over every break, I try to maximize my reading by having a plan in advance. Breaks are the best (not necessarily the only, but the best) time to read books that don't make class reading lists. So, for the Christmas break, here is my list (in order of probable reading):

1. Surprised by Joy, by C. S. Lewis. This is one of the few nonfiction apologetic works by Lewis that I have not yet read. Also, I bought a copy for $.50 from the Samford Library, so it's been burning a hole in my bookshelf.
2. God of Promise, by Michael Horton. This is a short book on covenant theology. I deemed it worth reading because I saw a good review of it awhile ago, and covenant theology is always worth studying. It should make good airplane reading.
3. Till We Have Faces, by C. S. Lewis. I read this two years ago, and it just didn't click for me. This bothered me because it was Lewis's favorite, so I want to give it another shot.
4. The City of God Against the Pagans, by Augustine. I started to read this over the summer and had to quit because the semester started. I was about 400 pages into it and just about to get to the good stuff, so I'm looking forward at finishing it.
5. Any suggestions for a wildcard book?

Labels: Books, Life

Posted by Jacob at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

What J.S. Bach gained from his Lutheranism to inform his music, what Jonathan Edwards took from the Reformed tradition to orient his philosophy, what A.H. Francke learned from German Pietism to inspire the University of Halle's research into Sanskrit and Asian literatures, what Jacob van Ruisdael gained from his seventeenth-century Dutch Calvinism to shape his painting, what Thomas Chalmers took from Scottish Presbyterianism to inspire his books on astronomy and political economy, what Abraham Kuyper gained from pietistic Dutch Calvinism to back his educational, political, and communications labors of the late nineteenth century, what T.S. Eliot took from high-church Anglicanism as a basis for his cultural criticism, what Evelyn Waugh found for his novels in twentieth-century Calvinism, what Luci Shaw, Shirley Nelson, Harold Fickett, and Evangeline Paterson found to encourage creative writing from other forms of Christianity after they left dispensationalism behind - precious few fundamentalists or their evangelical successors have ever found in the theological insights of twentieth-century dispensationalism, Holiness, or Pentecostalism.

-Mark Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

Labels: Books, Church, Theology

Posted by andrew at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

"The point of Christian scholarship is not recognition by standards established in the wider culture. The point is to praise God with the mind. Such efforts will lead to a kind of intellectual integrity that sometimes receives recognition. But for the Christian that recognition is only a fairly inconsequential by-product. The real point is valuing what God has made, believing that the creation is as "good" as he said it was, and exploring the fullest dimensions of what it meant for the Son of God to "become flesh and dwell among us." Ultimately, intellectual work of this sort is its own reward, becuase it is focused on the only One whose recognition is important, the One before whom all hearts are open."

-Mark Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

These are encouraging words to read in the midst of the stress of my last semester, and as I think about what it means to become a Christian scholar.

Problem: I'd rather read this book than work on my thesis. You can expect more quotations from and thoughts about the book in the near future.

Labels: Books, Life, Theology

Posted by andrew at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

"We believe in whatever we consider useful," Bazarov said. "These days negation is more useful than anything else - so we negate."
"Everything?"
"Yes, everything."
"What? Not only art, poetry, but even...it's too shocking to utter..."
"Everything," Bazarov repeated with indescribable coolness.
Pavel Petrovich stared at him. He had not expected this. Arkady, on the other hand, flushed with pleasure.
"But look here," Nikolai Petrovich broke in. "You negate everything or, to be more exact, you destroy everything. But who is going to do the building?"
"That's not our affair. The ground has to be cleared first."

-Turgenev, Fathers and Sons

Labels: Books, Philosophy

Posted by andrew at 3:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

Here's a fun Christmas Break project for you bibliophiles; LibraryThing is like Audioscrobbler for books. You enter your book collection and then it networks you with other people who have similar collections. It also allows for tags (a la flickr), reviews, ratings, comments, and more. A free account will let you enter up to 200 books, so I suggest checking it out.

Of course, if you see that I'm lacking something in my collection, feel free to give it to me. :)

My Profile
My Catalogue

Labels: Books

Posted by andrew at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments

Here is what I did today:

1. Read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
2. Watched The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

All in all, a pretty good day.

(FYI: I also updated my reading list for the first time in about three months.)

Labels: Books, Life, Movies

Posted by Jacob at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments