Miscellanies

“… In our entertainment-saturated culture we find another kind of gospel, however — the gospel of avoidance. And this gospel is about putting our faith in distractions. We use entertainment to save ourselves from the pain of our lives. Unlike the real gospel, though, the ‘good news’ of entertainment doesn’t truly save us from our problems. It only masks them, helps us repress them. Keeps us from becoming the men God created us to be.

Rather than going to the cross, many of us take our wounds to our computers, TVs or game consoles and say, ‘Here, you take them.’ And all these technologies oblige … for a time. At some point, though, we have to press the off button, go to class and face the challenges of the world outside our entertainment bubble. What do we do then? Distract ourselves to such a degree that we haven’t got the time to ponder what’s really going on in our lives?

That’s the gospel of avoidance. And for too many of us, it’s our only saving grace. …”

- Matthew John, Entertainment: The Gospel of Avoidance

Understanding the differences between medieval Roman Catholicism and the Protestant Reformers is important because many of the core distinctions exist today. In the final week of September we have interviews planned with scholars to help further unpack the contemporary importance of the Protestant Reformation.

Today we post the comments of Scott Manetsch, associate professor of church history at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In a recent book review (download pdf) he wrote it is “impossible to reconcile the classic Protestant solas with the teaching of the Catholic Catechism.”

Manetsch summarizes the differences well:

- For Roman Catholics, Scripture and Tradition are two distinct but equal modes of revealed authority which the magisterium of the Roman Church has sole responsibility to transmit and interpret. For the early Protestant reformers, the holy Scripture provides final normative authority for Christian doctrine and practice, standing as judge above all institutions and ecclesial traditions.

- For Roman Catholics, sinners are justified because of inherent righteousness. For the mainstream Protestant reformers, sinners are accepted on the basis of the righteousness of another―namely, the alien righteousness of Christ imputed to them.

- For Roman Catholics, sinners are both justified by unmerited grace at baptism and (subsequently) justified by those infused graces merited by cooperating with divine grace. For the magisterial reformers, sinners are justified before God by grace alone.

- For Roman Catholics, sinners are justified by faith (in baptism), but not by faith alone. For the sixteenth-century Protestant reformers, sinners are justified by faith alone.

- For Roman Catholics, justification is a process of renewal that affords no solid basis for Christian assurance in this life. For reformers such as Luther and Calvin, justification is God’s decisive verdict of forgiveness and righteousness that assures Christian believers of the acceptance and love of their heavenly Father.

HT: Justin Taylor

Yesterday morning I realized my post on organizing a library was incomplete. I answered Noah’s question about books, but without explaining the bigger picture of my organizational method I left out key pieces. So today I hope to complete the puzzle.

When I initially set out to organize my library, I was thinking only of printed books. And because I was only thinking of printed books, I invested in an electronic book organization software called Booxter (Mac only). Loved it! I hooked up my webcam and the webcam read the barcode off most books, automatically retrieving the book information from Amazon. It was fun. I scanned about 10 books per minute. All my books were added into the database and I felt all organized.

But then reality hit.

First, I realized I have 3,000 original Puritan and Reformed electronic books on my computer. How do I organize those on Booxter? Then I realized I had a massive mp3 sermon collection on my hard drive, and I had no idea what content I actually possessed. Then I came across great quotes on blogs and websites. How do I catalogue them? And what about my file folders of magazine clippings? And what about my personal sermon notes? And what about favorite quotes? I realized printed books comprised less than half of my library!

Which is why I eventually scrapped Booxter and returned to the Microsoft Excel database (explained last time).

Although it seems a bit archaic, in a customized database I can equally categorize books, chapters of books, single quotes from books, magazine articles, blog posts, websites, mp3 audio sermons, DVDs, personal sermon notes, online videos and any other form of media.

Here’s what I mean.

Using the same format I proposed in the last post, I will to add to my database.

1. Blog posts or websites

Spreadsheets allow me to hyperlink text to the web or an electronic file on my computer. Sometimes I forget the rich quotes I posted in the TSS archives! I never want to forget the quote by John Piper on “What is sin?” But I don’t want to print this quote out and stuff it into some forgettable file folder. Here are two examples of how I index blog posts in my database:

• Hamartiology > What is sin? > rebellion towards God > John Piper > TSS post 2/19/07 [hyperlinked]
• Hamartiology > What is sin? > woven into heart > David Powlison > TSS post 6/25/07 [hyperlinked]

2. Audio and video

Audio sermons and videos, either on your hard drive or on the Web, are easily organized, too. Even your DVD collection will fit. Let me give you some examples:

• Biographical > 18th century > Jonathan Edwards > John Piper > online video [hyperlinked]
• Christian life > Perseverance > Don’t waste your life > John Piper > mp3 on HD
• Parenting > Cross Centered > overview > C.J. Mahaney > mp3 on HD
• Theology > Calvinism > overview > R.C. Sproul > What is Reformed Theology? DVD series

3. Personal sermon notes

I take a lot of sermon notes because I sit under excellent biblical preaching! I write in a Moleskin notebook I fill annually. Once the notebook is stuffed, I write in my own page numbers so I can index. As of today I’m over half done with volume three. Here are my recent sermon notes …

• Theology > Nature of God > Sovereignty > Rick Gamache > 7/1/07 sermon, MS 3:75-76
• Christian life > Fellowship > Bound by love > Rick Gamache > 7/8/07 sermon, MS 3:77-78
• Christian life > Fellowship > Humility > Rick Gamache > 7/15/07 sermon, MS 3:79-80
• Christian life > Fellowship > Confession > Mark Alderton > 7/22/07 sermon, MS 3:85-86
• Christian life > Fellowship > Correction > Mark Alderton > 7/29/07 sermon, MS 3:87-88
• Christian life > Fellowship > Speech that gives grace > Rick Gamache > 8/19/07 sermon, MS 3:95-96
• Christian life > Fellowship > Maintaining unity of > Rick Gamache > 8/26/07 sermon, MS 3:97-98

Putting it all together

So let’s assemble the entire database from today and last time:

• Biographical > 18th century > Jonathan Edwards > John Piper > online video [hyperlink]
• Biographical > 19th century > Robert Murray M’Cheyne > Iain Murray > The Banner of Truth Magazine: Issues 1-16 (pages)
• Christian life > Evangelism > [undefined] > J.I. Packer > Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
• Christian life > Fellowship > Bound by love > Rick Gamache > 7/8/07 sermon, MS 3:77-78
• Christian life > Fellowship > Humility > Rick Gamache > 7/15/07 sermon, MS 3:79-80
• Christian life > Fellowship > Confession > Mark Alderton > 7/22/07 sermon, MS 3:85-86
• Christian life > Fellowship > Correction > Mark Alderton > 7/29/07 sermon, MS 3:87-88
• Christian life > Fellowship > Speech that gives grace > Rick Gamache > 8/19/07 sermon, MS 3:95-96
• Christian life > Fellowship > Maintaining unity of > Rick Gamache > 8/26/07 sermon, MS 3:97-98
• Christian life > Perseverance > Don’t waste your life > John Piper > mp3 on HD
• Christian life > Prayer > call to diligence > J.I. Packer > Growing in Christ (pages)
• Ecclesiology > Outreach > Evangelism > J.I. Packer > Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
• Hamartiology > What is sin? > rebellion towards God > John Piper > TSS post 2/19/07 [hyperlink]
• Hamartiology > What is sin? > woven into heart > David Powlison > TSS post 6/25/07 [hyperlink]
• Parenting > Cross Centered > overview > C.J. Mahaney > mp3 on HD
• Soteriology > Union with Christ > [undefined] > J.I. Packer > Growing in Christ (pages)
• Theology > Calvinism > Defense of > Iain Murray > The Banner of Truth Magazine: Issues 1-16 (pages)
• Theology > Calvinism > overview > R.C. Sproul > What is Reformed Theology DVD series
• Theology > Nature of God > Sovereignty > Rick Gamache > 7/1/07 sermon, MS 3:75-76
• Theology > Nature of God > Sovereignty > J.I. Packer > Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (pages)

As you can see, my system provides great flexibility to organize any type of media as specifically as you prefer, a limitation of Booxter and Library Thing.

All these categories are customizable. Change and modify as needed and then simply sort the data alphabetically (Excel does this with one click of a button).

Added benefits

There are three great benefits to creating your own categories on a spreadsheet (besides an organized library).

1. Mental organization. In essence you are forced to organize your thoughts systematically. If you have trouble seeing the big picture (as I do) a list of categories will help you organize your thoughts systematically.

2. Prioritizing the small. Small bits of information and precious short quotes are easily forgotten between all the books in your library shelves. In my system it doesn’t matter how wide the spine is, because it places importance not on the size of the work, but its value to you.

3. Strengths/weaknesses. Being forced to categorize all your media will reveal your interests and strengths but also your library’s weaknesses that should be more thoroughly studied.

LibraryThing

I get a lot of questions about LibraryThing, an online book organizing system. I guess this is a good place for some thoughts…

Part of my occupation is online marketing and I can spot online money-making techniques fairly quickly. I noticed LibraryThing is affiliated with Amazon and makes commissions on all Amazon purchases through LT links. This is why book recommendations and Amazon are both prominent themes of the website. LT is essentially a brilliant marketing tool that uses your public library information to unite readers with similar interests to convince them to buy books through Amazon and make an affiliate profit though these sales (on top of payment for LT services).

I’m not against LibraryThing and see great social benefits to using it. But please remember they can use your library to sell similar books to readers of similar interests. I cannot find where this is disclosed on the website.

Please, always consider buying from a reformed bookseller (like Monergism Books) to support them in their valuable ministry.

Does this post help clarify my organizational system? Let me know and thanks for reading TSS!

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UPDATE: Augustine’s Confessions is a personal favorite (Vintage Spiritual Classics edition). Augustine covers several diverse topics and gives great examples of various life situations. To help give you a better understanding of the value of indexing quotes and ideas, I post a pdf edition of my personal notes. The index is old and detailed and my system has since changed in some ways but it illustrates the important freedom needed to categorize single books in various categories and point to specific pages/chapters. See for yourself and download my personal index.

This great quote on the Cross-centered life was brewed by our friends at the Of First Importance blog.
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“Learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him, and say, ‘Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and given me what is yours. You have become what you were not so that I might become what I was not.’” - Martin Luther

Book review
Morning Thoughts and Evening Thoughts
by Octavius Winslow

Over the past five years, Reformation Heritage Books (Grand Rapids, MI) has become a household name in reformed publishing. It was RHB, under the direction of Dr. Joel Beeke, that brought us the Works of Thomas Goodwin 12 volume reprint (2006), The Inner Sanctum of Puritan Piety by J. Stephen Yuille (2007), Jeremiah Burrough’s commentary on Hosea (2006), The Path of True Godliness by William Teellinck (2003), A Sweet Flame: Piety in the Letters of Jonathan Edwards (2007) and the other ‘Profiles in Reformed Spirituality.’ Our friends are now sweating over the six-volume Works of William Perkins (volume one expected out early in 2008). And, of course, RHB produced the 2006 TSS book of the year, Meet the Puritans, by Beeke and Randall Peterson.

Another noteworthy achievement from this five-year span is the re-typeset and newly reissued devotionals written by Octavius Winslow – Morning Thoughts (2003) and Evening Thoughts (2005). These two volumes, first published 150 years ago, should be considered some of the greatest devotional literature in print today.

Octavius Winslow (1808-187

Winslow enjoyed a lengthy ministry as a pastor and writer. His many books all rise to peak expressions of the beauty of our Savior. Rich reformed spirituality saturates each page and few authors have risen to his levels of sustained doxological expression of thanks for the Cross, of sobering real-life reminders of living under the Cross, and helping the reader draw spiritual strength from the Cross.

Several years ago, at a time when I needed to learn how to affectionately respond to my growing theology, I was told to read The Precious Things of God (now sadly out-of-print). This was my introduction to Winslow and it made a significant impact on my soul. The Precious Things of God became, from that point onward, my favorite book apart from Scripture — and Winslow became my favorite author.

Morning Thoughts and Evening Thoughts both capture this same warm spirituality of Winslow.

It’s no surprise his many works are accessible online for free. Thankfully this has not prevented many of his works to be reprinted by multiple publishers like Banner of Truth and Tentmaker. Just recently RHB has edited, re-typset and reprinted The Fullness of Christ (2006) and Our God (2007). Both are classics!

Morning and Evening

A morning with Christ is the best way to begin a day with Christ. But the evening devotions – oftentimes overlooked – play an important role as well. Winslow begins the second volume by looking to the evening temple lamb sacrifice as our pattern. “The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even” (Num. 28:4 KJV).

“The devout Israelite was thus taught to close the day as he began it: with a sacrifice for sin” Winslow writes in the preface to Evening Thoughts. “Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb of God, meets this new and depressed condition of the believer. To Him how blessed, before slumber seals the eyelid, to take all the sins, the imperfections, the wanderings of the day, and with a fresh believing view of the cross lie down peacefully and repose beneath a loving, forgiving Father’s care!”

Specs

These two devotionals were originally published in 1856 and 1858. The selections are hand-picked by Winslow from his pre-existing works. They begin with a passage (KJV) and then expound one or two principles from the text at hand. The text has been re-typeset and slightly edited to increase the readability of Winslow’s writing.

Morning Thoughts was originally published in a larger print to accommodate an elderly audience (approximately 14 pt font). The text in the second volume, Evening Thoughts, was shrunk because of space limitations (approximately 12 pt font). The sharp re-typeset editions make them easy to read in either size.

The readings are short (2+/- pages each) and I normally read them slowly, and always I read them twice.

Both volumes are similar in size and construction. Morning Thoughts is 788 pages and Evening Thoughts is 733 pages in length. Both are hardcover and feature durable Smyth-sewn binding and very clean white paper. An index to all main Scripture citations is found at the end of the second volume. There is no topical index, which would have been helpful for preachers and readers using the devotionals as a reference.

Editing

The text is only slightly edited and eliminates minor hindrances to readability. One example will highlight this. Here is the original text from the morning of January 7th:

“The Atonement itself precludes all idea of human merit, and, from its very nature, proclaims that it is free. Consider the grandeur of the Atonement- contemplate its costliness: incarnate Deity- perfect obedience- spotless purity- unparalleled grace and love- acute and mysterious sufferings- wondrous death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession of the Savior, all conspire to constitute it the most august sacrifice that could possibly be offered.”

And here is the edited RHB text:

“The atonement itself precludes all idea of human merit, and, from its very nature, proclaims that it is free. Consider the grandeur of the atonement, contemplate its costliness: incarnate Deity, perfect obedience, spotless purity, unparalleled grace and love, acute and mysterious sufferings, wondrous death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession of the Savior. All conspire to constitute it the most noble sacrifice that could possibly be offered.”

Notice the many dashes are removed for commas and “august” is replaced with a more contemporary word “noble.” On the whole, the editing is minimal but effective.

TSS Certified Cross-Centered

Winslow is one of few writers I know who within five minutes will turn my heart back to the Cross. It’s what I have come to expect. These devotionals (and really all of Winslow’s works) are TSS Certified Cross-Centered. At all times, at all points, the Cross is within view.

Benefits

Winslow was particularly skilled at broad application to hit each reader. He would apply one theme across a wide spectrum of saints in various life situations – the joyful, the suffering, the lazy, the struggling, the young and the old. These volumes will appeal to a broad readership and will make great general gifts for Christian friends.

The choice selections are easy-to-read and will suit family reading times. Even small children can easily follow the beautiful selections. And family prayer will be compelled from these powerful readings.

Pastors will find here a wealth of quotable material. Older readers, as intended, will find the text easy on the eyes. Couples may find these excerpts of perfect length for breakfast and dinner readings. These are excellent volumes to keep on hand and pick up when your heart is downcast, lacking affection, or enticed by worldliness.

Conclusion

Truth be told, I’m no fan of daily devotional readings. Probably due to my lacking attention span, most devotionals lose my attention after about a month. But not Winslow. I know every morning and evening Winslow will refocus my wandering heart back to Christ. This excellence is true of all his works, but especially here in these choice excerpts from a master of warm reformed spirituality.

It’s with great joy I recommend Morning Thoughts and Evening Thoughts.

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Title: Morning Thoughts (1856) / Evening Thoughts (185
Author: Octavius Winslow (1808-187
Editors: Joel R. Beeke and Kate DeVries
Reading level: 1.5/5.0 > excellent editing makes them very readable
Boards: hardcover (not cloth)
Pages: 788 / 733 = 1,521
Volumes: 2
Dust jacket: no
Binding: Smyth-sewn
Paper: very white and clean
Topical index: no (would be helpful)
Scriptural index: yes (for both volumes at end of Evening Thoughts)
Text: perfect type, re-typeset
Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books
Year: 1856 and 2003 / 1858 and 2005
Price USD: $20.00 from RHB / $20.00 from RHB
ISBNs: 1892777290 / 1892777452

Noah writes: Tony, I know you read LOTS of books and probably have lots of books. I have somewhere around 2,500 to 3,500 books in my personal library. It has gotten so big I can’t use it effectively. I am trying to organize it but don’t know how. How would you suggest organizing a library? I don’t want something as detailed as the Dewey Decimal system, but I need something more than ‘Commentaries’ and ‘Christian Living’ as categories. Also, how do you know which category a book belongs in? For example, R.C. Sproul’s stuff is written on a popular level and could be classified as ‘Christian Living’ or as ‘Theology’ as in the case of The Last Days According to Jesus. Thanks for your help. Noah

TSS says: Hello, Noah! This is a great question I get a lot. First, scrap the idea that your books are best organized physically on shelves. This is a big mental hindrance, as you know. Sadly a number of computer and online programs are better suited for book collectors rather than detail-minded Christian readers.

The physical location is important only so far as is makes each title (not each topic) easy to find. I arrange my topical and theological books by author, and commentaries by the biblical book covered (i.e. all commentaries on Romans are grouped together). Commentaries are easy, topical and theological books are tricky. Let’s talk about theose tricky topical books.

The key to organizing topical and theological books is electronic. I find electronic databases critical because (as you mentioned) most books fit multiple categories.

It’s very easy. Here’s what I do…

I start with a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. I run five columns across (A-E). The first three are topical (A-C) and grow increasingly specific as you move to the right. The fourth column (D) is the author and the final column (E) is the book title and page number where the specific subject is addressed. Once I input my data for each subject on a horizontal line, I sort the data into alphabetical order.

Here is one example. For our purposes I have taken 3 books and begun my spreadsheet. It looks like this:

• Biography > 19th century > Robert Murray M’Cheyne > Iain Murray > The Banner of Truth Magazine: Issues 1-16 (pages)
• Christian living > Prayer > Call to diligence > J.I. Packer > Growing in Christ (pages)
• Christian living > Evangelism > [undefined] > J.I. Packer > Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
• Ecclesiology > Outreach > Evangelism > J.I. Packer > Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
• Theology > Calvinism > Defense of > Iain Murray > The Banner of Truth Magazine: Issues 1-16 (pages)
• Theology > Nature of God > Sovereignty > J.I. Packer > Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (pages)
• Theology > Soteriology > Union with Christ > J.I. Packer > Growing in Christ (pages)

I hope this makes sense, Noah. The key is to use electronic tagging system like this that allows you unlimited breakdowns of each book. Establishing this system takes some work on the front but will be worth it in the end. Feel free to modify the system to your own preferences!

Blessings to you, Noah! May God bless your reading and thank you for reading The Shepherd’s Scrapbook!

Tony

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ADDENDUM: A second post was added to answer some common questions raised in the comments of this post. Click here.

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Have a question of your own? Pass it along via email (tony AT takeupandread DOT com). Thanks for reading! Tony

Super-athlete Michael Vick has pled guilty to dog fighting. Possibly his NFL career is over, certainly it’s on ‘hold.’

It’s his post-guilty plea statements I find curious. In part he said …

“… I’m upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God. And I think that’s the right thing to do as of right now.

Like I said, for this — for this entire situation I never pointed the finger at anybody else, I accepted responsibility for my actions of what I did and now I have to pay the consequences for it. But in a sense, I think it will help, you know, me as a person. I got a lot to think about in the next year or so.

I offer my deepest apologies to everybody out in there in the world who was affected by this whole situation. And if I’m more disappointed with myself than anything it’s because of all the young people, young kids that I’ve let down, who look at Michael Vick as a role model. And to have to go through this and put myself in this situation, you know, I hope that every young kid out there in the world watching this interview right now who’s been following the case will use me as an example to using better judgment and making better decisions.

Once again, I offer my deepest apologies to everyone. And I will redeem myself. I have to.”

I pray that Vick has found his Savior! This would be amazing grace covering a violence-addicted heart. But we’re also aware now is a great time to publicly “find Christ” in the hopes of swaying more lenient sentencing. May Vick truly find his peace in the Cross and find wise counsel from pastors in his life. We can pray to this end.

But there is a deeper lesson in these words for us all. We want to “find Jesus” and, at the same time, want to redeem ourselves. We don’t say it like this, but it’s a real struggle. We struggle against legalism because we struggle to rest our full eternal redemption into the hands of another.

Trusting in the gospel is to be eternally redeemed in Christ, relinquishing all hope of becoming redeem-able. It means crying for mercy in light of the impossible demands of self-redemption. We have seen the sin in our hearts, the holy standards of God, and cannot be redeemed today or tomorrow or in a year by our self-improvements.

In Scripture it’s one sinful tax collector and one bloody criminal hanging next to Christ that both find redemption by relinquishing self-improvement. This is hard for us to grasp in a society bent on self-improvement and image and perception. We are repulsed from the idea that our souls cannot be improved to God’s approval. We don’t want to be helpless. We need Jesus for an initial push of momentum in the right direction.

Recall what Mark Lauterbach recently wrote: “I have wondered for a couple of years where the Gospel intersects modern American life — and I think it is here. The Gospel calls us to stop trying to improve ourselves.”

At some level the words of Vick are the words of us all: ‘Redeem me so I can redeem myself.’ This prideful contradiction energizes legalism, undermines the humbling power of the gospel, undermines the grace-sustained Cross-centered life, undermines our Cross-purchased eternal security, and undermines honesty over personal sin in small group meetings.

At the least, these words reveal a false dichotomy between private, spiritual ‘redemption’ and public, PR ‘redemption.’ At the worst, Vick’s words reveal a misunderstanding of the gospel, a gospel so confused in popular culture that to “find Jesus” may now be the first step towards self-redemption.

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photo (c) 2007 Doug Mills/The New York Times

Book review
Mere Humanity by Donald T. Williams

Debates between atheists and Christians over the question of God have become commonplace and especially as Presidential elections roll around.

For debate is the question: Is God a myth? But another related and important question is often neglected: Is man a myth?

You’ll recall in the world of Narnia, the fawn Mr. Tumnus owns an interesting book by the title, Is Man a Myth? This book, discovered by Lucy on her initial visit, was carefully shelved by author C.S. Lewis who asks his readers a pointed question: Are all living beings mere animals of various evolutionary development, or is there something essentially special and different about the Daughters of Eve and the Sons of Adam? Do these special men/women even exist? Or, are they the mere fantasy of animals?

This question is very relevant today in the torrent of secularism. Humans, we are told, are nothing more than superiorly evolved animals. Man – as an eternal soul and bearing the image of God – is a mythical fantasy.

Dr. Donald T. Williams has set out to rediscover the biblical portrait of man through literary classics in his book Mere Humanity: G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien on the Human Condition (B&H, 2006). Williams serves as both a scholar and pastor.

Mere Humanity is a lively and thought-provoking answer to the question of man from the writings of Chesterton, Lewis and Tolkien. But I most appreciate Williams’ helpful interpretive contexts for great literary works like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Space Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings.

For C.S. Lewis, theology saturates his storyline and often lays on the surface (ex. Aslan portraying Christ). But a Christian worldview is also rooted deeply in the storyline of Lord of the Rings. Unlike Lewis, the theology of J.R.R. Tolkien is buried deep under the surface and excavating Tolkien’s Christian worldview is where Williams is at his finest. He has taught me one crucial point about Middle Earth – it is no eternal home (more on this later).

Williams does not shy from correcting these authors in their writings. For example, C.S. Lewis was wrong in denying the doctrine of depravity and Williams corrects him (see p. 63). And Williams is willing to reveal some of the flaws in the literature of these men. This is a discerning book.

So is man a myth? Is man just another animal or an advanced orangutan? We may look to the talking, man-like beasts of Narnia and be tempted to answer “yes.” But this would be wrong. It’s only when the Daughters of Eve and the Sons of Adam take their rightful place on the throne of creation – under the authority of Aslan – that Narnia is set aright.

Williams concludes that man as “the product of evolution who can be explained fully in terms of material and mechanical process, is definitely a myth, a myth created by man the mythmaker” (p. 134).

Mere Humanity is a wonderful and thought-provoking book.

The Everlasting Hobbit

Williams pulls themes from Tolkien almost effortlessly as you can see from this excerpt from chapter six, ‘The Everlasting Hobbit’ (pp. 127-130).

“To be human is to live in hope. … But to be human is also to live with the fact that there is no final fruition of that hope in this world, for our destiny lies beyond it. In the tension between those two truths lies the temporal paradox of the works of man, always beginning, always marring, always failing, only to begin again, never achieving for long the greatness that always seems promised but never finally failing at the last or losing sight of that promise either. …

The brevity of human life, and hence the bittersweet quality of all that man accomplishes in this life, is brought into sharp relief by the contrast between mortal man and immortal elf. Legolas promises, ‘In days to come, if my Elven-lord allows, some of our folk shall remove hither; and when we come [Gondor] shall be blessed, for a while. For a while: a month, a life, a hundred years of Men.’ Our lives in this world are short because this life is not our ultimate end. Nevertheless, we are to love this world for the sake of our Father who made it, not despise it. That is the difficulty of the human condition. We are tempted to take one of the two easier paths: to try to love this life as if it were our final end (like the Numenoreans), that is, to fall into idolatry; or to reject this world and turn from it as cynics always doomed to be disappointed by it. But our true calling is much more difficult: to love it and then to let it go.

Little lettings go, little deaths like Pippin’s casting away of the brooch, are practice for the larger one that awaits us all. Frodo’s loss of the ability to enjoy the Shire he worked so hard to save is perhaps the most poignant image of this truth. Because it is the preparation for something higher, the letting go is necessary and ultimately blessed when not rejected. But it is seldom easy.

… The Lord of the Rings is ‘founded on the rock-bottom Christian belief that this world is not our home.’ And so we learn to live in Middle-Earth as true men and women, and to leave it as Gandalf teaches us: ‘Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-Earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.’”

Title: Mere Humanity: G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien on the Human Condition
Author: Donald T. Williams
Reading level: 3.0/5.0 > fairly advanced concepts
Boards: paperback
Pages: 212
Volumes: 1
Dust jacket: no
Binding: glue
Paper: normal
Topical index: yes
Scriptural index: no
Text: perfect type
Publisher: Broadman and Holman Publishers
Year: 2006
Price USD: $14.99 from publisher
ISBNs: 9780805440188, 0805440186

The Harry Potter series is over. The seventh and final volume sold 8.9 million copies in its first 24 hours. That’s over 100 copies per second! Wow.

So how should Christians respond to the popular series? Dr. Donald T. Williams — a Christian literature scholar — wrote a very helpful review. In part he writes:

The central ideas of the series then resonate powerfully with central doctrines of the Christian faith, and I do not believe Rowling could have developed them as profoundly as she did without being influenced by Christian teaching.

But they do not quite rise to a Christian view of the world. For love as it comes from fallen human hearts does not conquer all. Love conquers all only because God is love and because he has sacrificed himself in his Son.

The good Potter characters seem to find this all-conquering love by somehow looking within themselves, not by looking up and outward to the Source of it, which is Christ.

One is left with the impression that it could be just love itself, love in the abstract, which conquers all, rather than the scandalously specific Love which comes only from the heart of God in the sacrifice of Christ. And only the sacrifice of that divine and innocent Victim could provide the propitiation which is necessary to the conquest of the evil which is found at the core of our own hearts. We as believers follow Christ in taking up our own crosses, in recapitulating his loving sacrifice in our own lives, indeed. The Hogwarts heroes could be read as exemplars of this truth. But only as our acts flow from that supreme Act do they participate in its power. Do Harry’s, Snape’s, and Dumbledore’s? It is, alas, unclear. To separate love and sacrifice from their Source, as if they could operate independently of it on their own, is to risk losing them as the Gospel evaporates into a bloodless humanism.

- Donald T. Williams from his review of the series.

I posted this worship video by Kari Jobe a few weeks past but it’s worth re-posting here again. This is a great song filled with the majesty of our Alpha and Omega God! “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”(Rev. 1:8).

Worthy is the, Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to him who sits on
Heaven’s mercy seat
[2X]

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be
to You the only wise King

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of your name
Jesus your name is power
Breath, and living water
Such a marvelous mystery
Yeah…

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You
[3X]

Oh, how I need to hear this continually! From Mark Lauterbach at the Gospel Driven Life blog:

It takes no advanced degree to find fault with another man — or to show the stupidity of someone else’s thinking. It takes much grace to see God at work in a fellow redeemed sinner whose life is marred by sin and marked by grace. It takes grace to see it and strengthen it. It takes grace to encourage them in a way that glorifies God and strengthens faith…

My children tell me I am very hard to please.  I do not think I am — I think I have very good standards and they need to measure up.  I wake up in the morning and the first thing I see is what has not been done.  I see faults all over.  I am God’s agent to make them excellent.

A few years ago a friend saw my sin and encouraged me to spend a whole summer doing nothing but encouraging my children.  It was one of the hardest things I have ever done.  Every day I would look for grace in them but find faults.  I had to bite my tongue all the time.  But the fruit on their lives and our relationship was amazing.

So — as I lead my family, do they hear my criticism more than my commendation?  Do I see myself as the great and indispensable fault-finder?  As I relate to fellow-Christians, am I more aware of their sin or of their growth in sanctification?

I am learning this most crucial element of fellowship — and seeing it as the first step.  Until I see grace in others I am in no position to help them grow by pointing out their sin.

I say: Well done, Mark. Thank you for this reminder!

On this topic Mark also recommends C.J. Mahaney’s message: Grace and the Adventure of Leadership. How would you respond to the incestuous, sin saturated Corinthians? Be humbled by this message. Another excellent (and now free) audio message from Sovereign Grace Ministries.

Words play a central role in our lives, but it’s easy to become overwhelmed with words.

Yesterday and today on TSS we ask: How do I value God’s words over the avalanche of words pressing in on all sides of my life?

Last time we broadened our definition of ‘words’ to include the person and works of our beautiful Savior as the self-disclosure of the Father who dwells invisible in unapproachable light. Christ is the Word of God, the self-disclosure of a loving God who seeks to be known through His Son.

Today I want to pursue a second answer to our question: God’s words are intended to establish and maintain a deeply personal relationship with His children.

Cheap words

In our culture, words tend towards the impersonal because words are showered over our culture like a hurricane rainstorm. The flood of spoken and written words saturate the ground of mass consumption like talk radio, books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs. This current philosophy of words – downpour and hope a few words are absorbed before running off – has brought with it the impersonalization of words. We neglect 75-percent of the words in a newspaper, and find nothing missing in our lives as a consequence.

In contrast, Scripture reminds us that words are intended as deeply personal means of connection. At a foundational level, an inability to communicate drives us apart whereas common language and words tie persons together into close relationships.

In a culture saturated in cheap words, I think this deserves some further reflection.

Tower of Babel

Maybe the best example of how words unite and draw people together comes from the story of the Towel of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9. It reads:

1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves (self-glory), lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.’ 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the LORD said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them (constraining wickedness – God prevents societies from being as evil as they could be). 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ 8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Lesson number one: To confuse language is to confuse relationships, disperse and separate. Sinners in Genesis 11 were conspiring towards self-glorification in the form of a tower. God intervenes and constrains the full expression of their wickedness. He constrains sin by separating sinners and He does this by confusing the common language.

Confused language separates. Using “the same words” unites.

This is not difficult to illustrate. What did immigrants do once they crossed into America through Ellis Island? The first step was to find their respective ethnic communities: Italians found their Italian communities, Germans found a home in the German communities, Irish, Polish, British, etc. Why? Because when you speak the same language you are naturally bound together. Communities, even in new lands, are established and bound by common words.

Lesson number two: The intimate communion between the Triune God operates by words. Now, I’m not saying God speaks Hebrew or English or even that God needs words like we do. The point is when Scripture reveals God’s intimate Triune communication, it says God uses words. So it is accurate to say the Triune God – the most intimate of all relationships – communes through words.

Intimate words

What all this means for the 21st century blog reader inundated with words is that God’s words are intended as a personal communication of Himself to us. God has spoken His words as an act of drawing sinners into an intimacy and closeness to Himself.

Carl Trueman writes, “God’s use of language is the basic element which allows the encounter between God and humanity to be considered as a personal relationship” (The Wages of Spin, p. 46).

God created words to speak to His children.

Words and friendship

Last time we highlighted that Jesus Christ (the Son) is the revelation of the Father. It’s significant that God did not just speak the Bible but His words came in the form of a man – Christ Jesus! His Word is the incarnate God-man to illustrate the personal nature of God’s self-disclosure.

Now listen to those Christ considers the closest and most intimate of friends: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).

Christ’s words reveal the very thoughts of the Father. When God opens our sin-blinded eyes to the beauty of Christ’s words in Scripture, we hear the Son echoing the words of His Father. And when we hear the voice of God through Christ in Scripture, we have entered into personal communion with God.

By God’s sovereign grace, we can hear the words of Christ disclosing the motives of the Father. For those who have ears to hear, Christ considers them close friends.

To state it another way: By His disclosed words, God draws us into intimate communion and fellowship with Himself!

Such amazing grace!

Conclusion

Abiding in Christ’s words – that is, reading and meditating upon Scripture and letting His words richly dwell in our hearts – means we are engaged in nothing short of intimate communion with Christ! To abide in His words is to abide in Him (John 15:7-9)!

May God prevent the mountain of words in our lives from making God’s words impersonal. They are not. Words are the “basic element which allows the encounter between God and humanity to be considered as a personal relationship.”

————–

Related: See part one of this two part series here.

If you have not listened to John Piper on Jonathan Edwards in a message entitled A God-Entranced Vision of All Things: Why We Need Jonathan Edwards 300 Years Later you are missing one great message! And if you’ve never seen the video, that’s because it’s been unavailable.

Until now.

Today DG released several conference videos from the years (see here). The priceless message A God-Entranced Vision of All Things can be read, heard and watched here.

Evangelicalism today in America is basking in the sunlight of ominously hollow success. Evangelical industries of television and radio and publishing and music recordings, as well as hundreds of growing megachurches and some public figures and political movements, give outward impressions of vitality and strength. But David Wells and Os Guinness and others have warned of the hollowing out of evangelicalism from within…

What is missing is the mind-shaping knowledge and the all-transforming enjoyment of the weight of the glory of God. The glory of God-holy, righteous, all-sovereign, all-wise, all-good-is missing. God rests lightly on the church in America. He is not felt as a weighty concern. David Wells puts it starkly, “It is this God, majestic and holy in his being, this God whose love knows no bounds because his holiness knows no limits, who has disappeared from the modern evangelical world.” It is an overstatement. But not without warrant.

What Edwards saw in God and in the universe because of God, through the lens of Scripture, was breathtaking. To read him, after you catch your breath, is to breathe the uncommon air of the Himalayas of revelation. And the refreshment that you get from this high, clear, God-entranced air does not take out of the valleys of suffering in this world, but fits you to spend your life there for the sake of love with invincible and worshipful joy.

Words, words, words. My career and ministry center around words – selecting the ‘right’ words and assembling these ‘right’ words into a correct sentence order that follows some cohesive progress towards stating and defending an argument. Likewise, my favorite hobby is reading words. Some of my favorite books promise to help me select and order my written words better. What I’m saying is words are central to my life.

Now, this deep exposure to words has a few drawbacks. Besides the natural tendency towards weight gain and nerdiness, the bigger problem is a spiritual one. In the avalanche of words read and written, I easily forget their value and importance. Specifically, I forget the value of God’s Word.

Let me explain.

I tend to put God’s Words on the tall stack of other words I need to read. I have newspapers, magazines, how-to books, books about writing, biographical books, dozens of blogs, emails, Christian living books, websites, electronic books and commentaries all waiting for attention like a quiet dog staring at its owner. What this means is that I have a hard time correlating my stack of words alongside God’s Word.

Today and tomorrow I want to answer this question: How do I value God’s Word over the avalanche of words pressing in on all sides of my life?

Defining ‘words’

First we must expand our understanding of ‘words’. Remember how the Gospel of John begins?

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).

What’s all this about? This prologue sounds foreign because we think of words only as sound waves in the air, ink on paper or pixels on the screen. But understanding God’s Word is a bit more complicated than written words. Let me broaden the theme a bit.

Unapproachable light

Crucial to properly valuing God’s Word is to understand God, Who “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see” (1 Tim. 6:16, cf. 1:17). We cannot approach (still less see!) God in His magnificent holiness and glory. Moses, you recall, asked to see God’s glory and God told him, ‘I will show you My abundant goodness but you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live’ (Ex. 33:18, 20).

The face is what most identifies us. Our mug shot captures ‘us’ for the yearbooks (or for the police records). We have Botox, facelifts and facial implants of all types because a general improvement of our face is an improvement of the perception of our entire being. Yet surprisingly in Scripture we are told we cannot see God’s face (i.e. we cannot see “Him”). There is a majesty and holiness to the glory of God that we cannot behold. This is another way of saying He is unapproachable and invisible.

If I preached with a veil over my head (like the minister in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Minister’s Black Veil), you would naturally perceive me to be impersonal. Being shielded from God’s face means He is (at some level) impersonal. Hawthorne’s minister veiled himself in shame. God veils Himself in perfection.

We recognize we are utterly different than He is and we worship Him in His transcendent majesty and holiness. (Now hold this thought until tomorrow when I pick up this impersonal/personal theme.)

Now all this does not mean God’s existence is unknown to the world. We can all see enough of God to know He exists and that we should bow in thankfulness for all He has given us (Rom. 1). Atheism is inexcusable. But at some level, God the Father in His full-orbed majesty and glory is impersonal. His face is veiled to us.

An understanding of this veiling sets the foundational bedrock for developing a deep value for God’s Word.

Today and tomorrow I want to build from this foundation and construct two profound truths that will change how we view Scripture. Tomorrow we will look at the intimate, personal nature of God’s Words to draw us to Himself. But today I want to capture the importance of God’s Word in the person of Christ.

Seeing God

So how do we see God? This question takes us back to Christ as the Word.

At one point the disciples ask to see the Father – we’ve seen the Son, but we really want you to show us the Father, too. Jesus says, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me … Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” (John 14:9).

Christ reveals His Father to us. “He is the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18).

What all this means is the arrival of Christ Incarnate is an act of God’s self-disclosure. How do we know the “invisible” God? Through the visible Son. This is what makes Christ the Word of God. He is God’s revelation to us. He is the Word of God as the message of God spoken to sinners. Christ is our hope, He is our life, He is our light! Christ is the self-disclosed Word sent from the Father who dwells in an unapproachable light.

(Later, when we look at Communion with the Triune God by John Owen we will see that God’s love, grace and truth is revealed in the Son’s love, grace and truth. This is super important to grasp if we are to understand God the Father as our loving Father. More later.)

God reveals Himself holistically, not merely in written words but also in Christ’s humility, mercy, grace, truth, sinless nature, awesome works, blameless character and especially in His substitutionary action on the Cross! Everything about Christ speaks the Word of God to us. Scripture is the infallible account of God’s self-disclosure in Christ.

Conclusion

I find myself neglecting Scripture simply because I fail to see God’s Word as the precious self-disclosure of an invisible God. Without Scripture, where will we find Christ? Without Christ, where will we find God? Without Christ, where is life and hope?

Armed with this awesome reality, pull your Bible from under the stack of words begging for attention. It’s more than words. It’s life. It’s God’s self-disclosure to you.

If you don’t know where to begin, start in the Gospel of John and read the precious Words of God as they display the Incarnate Word of God.

May God reform our definition of ‘words’.

Sovereign Grace Ministries has opened the floodgate to offer all their mp3 message for free! This is a great resource, but let me point you specifically to a few messages:

• The message on over-introspection by David Powlison at the 2007 Leadership Conference is one great one.
• Mike Bullmore on preaching.
• Ligon Duncan on N.T. Wright and the New Perspective(s) on Paul.
• Ligon Duncan on preaching from the Old Testament (from T4G’06).
• C.J. Mahaney on ‘Interrogating the Legalist Within.’
• C.J. Mahaney’s personal testimony.
• C.J. Mahaney on the main thing.
• Don’t miss the parenting messages.
• Don’t miss these messages on the Cross.
• For more mp3s see this page.

These are some of the best audio resources on the web. And now free!