Luther + Reinke = Chums

My friend David was reading a bio on Martin Luther and stumbled upon this excerpt from Twelve Reformation Heroes by G. A. Neilson:

I take great joy in knowing (or hoping) that one of my direct ancestors (or someone’s ancestor) was a “chum” of Luther, and helped feed the starving boy. My guess is without this clever Reinke intervention Martin would have starved and the spark of the reformation would have been extinguished.

I’ve never been more proud to be called Reinke! (By the way, “Reinke” is pronounced most accurately through a manly, deep, and robust German declaration that sounds more like RAIN-KAAH!!).

So thank you, David! This excerpt makes my reformation day. And you, the blog reader, should feel the freedom to voice thankfulness that we (the Reinkes) kept Martin fed and healthy (good work John-boy). You can direct your thankfulness (and/or gifts) to me personally in the comments.

Sincerely,

Tony REINKE

Worm Theology

$elf-Piercing

This week I stumbled across an online photo collection taken at a recent body piercing expo. And it was nasty!

I’ve never seen so many people together piercing all regions of their head with all types of metal. I’m a bit bummed I didn’t note the url but I’m not about to attempt a Google search for “body piercing expo photos.” So let me describe what I saw.

One photo captured a man who pierced his cheeks with two full-sized, glistening swords. Dribbles of blood were still running down his cheeks when the photo was taken and I guess the swords were now the jewelry. Literally it looked like a crisscrossed sword display transplanted from a wall into a man’s face, each sword entering through one of the man’s cheeks and then out his mouth. Another man appeared to have a game of pick-up-sticks embedded into his facial tissue. Eight-inch bamboo sticks were running through his nose, lips or cheeks in all directions. This collection was the most bizarre assortment of pictures I’ve seen on the web (which says a bit). Behold the power of futility under peer pressure.

I fill your minds with disgusting piercing stories for a purpose. Because when I think of jabbing a bamboo stick through my nose two things come to mind. First, how hard do you need to push to get it through? Yowza. And secondly, I think about money.

As you’ve noticed, we have entered a period of economic ‘uncertainty.’ But as far as I can tell, the state of the economy is fairly certain: dismal. Clearly recession has hit and I’m thankful for the economic smart guys putting Humpty together again. I know enough about economics to know the The Dow Jones index should not be plummeting like it is. But more importantly, this means the average American is financially struggling to some degree or other. Struggling to pay for gas, struggling to refinance, struggling to pay for groceries, even struggling to find work. Like no other time in my short life experiences, money is on the minds of us all.

And in times like this it’s good to be reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6:6-10:

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

This is one of the clearest, most tangible, and universally relevant passages in Scripture on contentment. From the day Paul wrote these words until now—some 711,000 days later—humans have been daily pursuing food and clothing. And with these, Scripture says, we can learn to be content and remain content.

The promise of contentment, and how to find it, is simple and clear. And so is the opposite. Contrary to joyful contentment is a love of money, a betrothal to wealth. And money makes for an unfaithful spouse. Because when money (in the form of equity, stocks, retirement) begins disappearing, the love of money pierces hard. Like jabbing a bamboo stick through our nostrils.

See, Paul’s contrast in this passage is clear. I either pierce the love of money or I pierce myself. Which means the pain we feel while watching the value of our assets bomb may not simply be the pain inflicted by big banks and Wall Street. It may be self-inflicted.

Our only hope in times like these will be contentment—hearts satisfied with the riches of grace, hearts thankful for what Christ has accomplished on the cross, and hearts hopeful for the greater promises to be fulfilled in the future when our food will be in the form of a feast and our clothes will include a crown. Until then, we have food, and clothes, and the One who was pierced for our transgressions. We have enough to be daily joyful.

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pic by aaron dieppa

Single-Issue-Dominating-Politics

An interesting narrative:

Ballot Box Blues by J. Budziszewski

HT:DB

Bavinck Conference Audio

Recently Calvin Seminary hosted the A Pearl and A Leaven: Herman Bavinck for the Twenty-First Century conference (September 18-20, 2008). Some of the sessions are very good. The audio recordings are now available via stream:

[listen]	John Bolt	Conference: Herman Bavinck’s International Reception	Sep 20 2008 10:30 am
[listen]	Paul J. Visser, Allan Janssen	Conference: Religion, Mission, and Kingdom: A Comparison of Herman Bavinck and Johan Herman Bavinck	Sep 20 2008 8:30 am
[listen]	Syd Hielema, Darwin Glassford	Conference: Herman Bavinck and the Pearl/Leaven Imbalance in Contemporary Youth Ministry	Sep 20 2008 8:30 am
[listen]	Nicholas Wolterstorff	Conference: Herman Bavinck and Reformed Epistemology	Sep 19 2008 8:00 pm
[listen]	Barend Kamphuis, James Payton	Conference: Herman Bavinck on Catholicity	Sep 19 2008 4:15 pm
[listen]	John A. Vissers, Cornelis van der Kooi	Conference: Karl Barth and Herman Bavinck	Sep 19 2008 4:15 pm
[listen]	Henk van den Belt, Raymond Blacketer	Conference: Autopistia, the Self-Convincing Character of Scripture in H. Bavinck and B. Warfield	Sep 19 2008 2:30 pm
[listen]	Richard B. Gaffin, Ron Gleason	Conference: God’s Word in Servant-Form: Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck on Scripture	Sep 19 2008 2:30 pm
[listen]	David Van Drunen, Nelson Kloosterman	Conference: Natural Law and the Two Kingdoms in the Thought of Herman Bavinck	Sep 19 2008 1:00 pm
[listen]	Dirk van Keulen	Conference: Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Ethics	Sep 19 2008 1:00 pm
[listen]	George Harinck	Conference: Herman Bavinck and Geerhardus Vos	Sep 19 2008 10:30 am
[listen]	James Bratt, Mark Noll	Conference: The Context of Bavinck’s 1908 Princeton Stone Lectures	Sep 19 2008 8:30 am
[listen]	John Bolt, Gordon Graham	Conference: Herman Bavinck Speaks Today: A Panel	Sep 18 2008 7:00 pm

Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries

On October 31 many of us will celebrate Reformation Day, an annual reminder of a time when the sharp scalpel of biblical convictions smoothed and refined the church in many of Her priorities, associations, methods, preaching, and ordinances. Not much was left un-reformed during the period and we see this in the abundance of reformed creeds produced during the period.

To commemorate the date, Reformation Heritage Books is preparing to release the first of a three-volume series beginning with the first title, Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries in English Translation: 1523-1552 edited by James T. Dennison, Jr. (2008). It will be shipping by Reformation Day. In total, the large cloth covered volume contains 33 confessions. Flipping through the volume I’m reminded of the speed with which the flame of reformation spread from country to country and find it difficult to comprehend the tumult of the period.

Some snapshots of the new volume.

The confessions are chronologically organized, and several of them translated into English for the first time. A brief introduction is included for each of the 33 confessions. The first volume includes:

1. The Sixty-Seven Articles of Huldrych Zwingli (1523)
2. Zwingli’s Short Christian Instruction (1523)
3. The Ten Theses of Bern (1528)
4. Confession of the East Friesland Preachers (1528)
5. William Farel’s Summary (1529)
6. Zwingli, Fidei ratio (1530)
7. The Tetrapolitan Confession (1530)
8. Waldensian Confession (1530)
9. Zwingli, Fidei Expositio (1531)
10. The Bern Synod (1532)
11. Waldensian Synod of Chanforan (1532)
12. The Waldensian Confession of Angrogna (1532)
13. The First Confession of Basel (1534)
14. The Bohemian Confession (1535)
15. The Lausanne Articles (1536)
16. The First Helvetic Confession (1536)
17. Calvin’s Catechism (1537)
18. Geneva Confession (1536/37)
19. Calvin’s Catechism (1538)
20. Waldensian Confession of Mérindol (1541)
21. Waldensian Confession of Provence (1543)
22. The Waldensian Confession of Mérindol (1543)
23. The Walloon Confession of Wesel (1544/45)
24. Calvin’s Catechism (1545)
25. Juan Diaz’s Sum of the Christian Religion (1546)
26. Valdés’s Catechism (1549)
27. Consensus Tigurinus (1549)
28. Anglican Catechism (1549)
29. London Confession of John à Lasco (1551)
30. Large Emden Catechism of the Strangers’ Church, London (1551)
31. Vallérandus Poullain: Confession of the Glastonbury Congregation (1551)
32. Rhaetian Confession (1552)
33. Consensus Genevensis: Calvin on Eternal Predestination (1552)

Links for the Ladies

Lately there have been several resources Christian ladies may find beneficial so today I’m posting some links specifically (though not exclusive) for the ladies:

1. Carolyn Mahaney; audio message; “Beauty.” Her message to the ladies of Covenant Life Church last Friday evening (Oct 17 2008) was excellent! “I have to confess: Many times I have knocked myself out on the treadmill not because I am seeking God’s glory…but Carolyn’s glory.” Humble, honest, practical, and valuable. Worth every second of the 63-minute investment. As a husband, I found the message helpful in caring spiritually for my wife. Listen or download here.

2. Carolyn McCulley; book; Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World (Moody, 2008). Carolyn traces out the history of the three distinct waves of feminism and how God’s ever-relevant Word gives direction and hope to women. As the title suggests, to be a godly woman is radical! The book is fantastic and will easily finish in our top 10 books of the year. Very important content that I doubt could have been written more engagingly. Actually, Carolyn is one of my favorite authors and I find in her an excellent blend of a journalist’s eye with an objective and personal tone. And Wayne Grudem wrote the foreword. Carolyn is a friend and fellow co-laborer in the office! If you want more information about her latest book, click over to her book website here (the video on this page is excellent). And Carolyn’s blog is one of the finest in the blogojungle.

3. GirlTalk; blog. Ladies, likely you are already aware of the excellent GirlTalk blog. At some point this week I noticed my precious wife was being especially generous (I think it sunk in after we had grilled salmon one night for dinner and grilled steak the next). Something extra-special was happening and I think I discovered the culprit. The GirlTalk ladies have been discussing and carefully applying the words of Proverbs 31:12 to wives—“She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” A wonderful series that started on Oct 7th. Thank you, Carolyn, Nicole, Kristin, and Janelle! Ladies, please consider extending the series on until, oh, say, Thanksgiving?

4. Margaret Elizabeth Kostenberger; book; Jesus and the Feminists: Who Do They Say That He Is? (Crossway, 2008). A more scholarly book. I read the manuscript a while back and really appreciate this work by Mrs. Kostenberger (wife of N.T. scholar Andreas). She focuses in on so-called “evangelical feminists.” Her challenge to them is clear: Are you willing to take Christ at his word? “The diminishment of biblical authority in feminism has left a vacuum that has been filled by a vast array of feminist readings of Scripture and interpretations of Jesus. These readings make Jesus an extension of feminist aspirations, domesticating him rather than allowing him to speak with his own unique voice to today’s world and church” (p. 34).

Happy clicking, watching, listening and reading, ladies!

Tony

ESV Study Bible

Todays unboxing of a new TruTone Classic Black (in pictures)…

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Other versions avaliable …

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Spiritual Appetites

Sifting through the online manuscripts of Jonathan Edwards, I came across one of my favorite lines in all of his works. In his sermon on Song of Solomon 5:1 (“Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love!”) he developed this doctrine: “That persons need not and ought not to set any bounds to their spiritual and gracious appetites.” A precious truth he developed in many of his works. See the full page here.

John Piper has used this quote and sermon in a number of places. Here is one …

Jonathan Edwards argued for this in a sermon that he preached on Song of Solomon 5:1. The text reads, “Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love!” Edwards drew out of the text the following doctrine: “Persons need not and ought not to set any bounds to their spiritual and gracious appetites.” Instead, he says, they ought

“to be endeavoring by all possible ways to inflame their desires and to obtain more spiritual pleasures. . . . Our hungerings and thirstings after God and Jesus Christ and after holiness can’t be too great for the value of these things, for they are things of infinite value…[Therefore] endeavor to promote spiritual appetites by laying yourself in the way of allurement…There is no such thing as excess in our taking of this spiritual food. There is no such virtue as temperance in spiritual feasting.”

Therefore, be encouraged that God made you to rejoice in him. Do not settle for any lesser joy. Lay yourself in the way of allurement. That is, fix your eyes on the all-satisfying treasure of Jesus Christ who loved us and gave his life as a ransom for our everlasting joy. [What Jesus Demands from the World, pp. 90-91]

One-Issue Politics

Theologian Dr. John Frame:

“…in some cultures (like the ancient Roman, in which the New Testament was written) there is not much that Christians can do, other than pray, to influence political structures and policies. But when they can influence them, they should. In modern democracies, all citizens are ‘lesser magistrates’ by virtue of the ballot box. Christians have an obligation to vote according to God’s standards. And, as they are gifted and called, they should influence others to vote in the same way.

This is not to say that political choices are always obvious. Often we must choose the lesser of two evils. Candidate Mershon may have a better view of one issue than Candidate Beates, while Beates has a better view on a different issue. It is an art to weigh the importance of different issues and to come to a godly conclusion. Each of us should have a large amount of tolerance for other Christians who come to conclusions that are different from ours. Rarely will one issue trump all others, though I must say that I will never vote for a candidate who advocates or facilitates the killing of unborn children.” [The Doctrine of the Christian Life (P&R 2008). p. 617.]

Preacher/author Dr. John Piper:

“…When we bought our dog at the Humane Society, I picked up a brochure on the laws of Minnesota concerning animals. Statute 343.2, subdivision 1 says, ‘No person shall . . . unjustifiably injure, maim, mutilate or kill any animal.’ Subdivision 7 says, ‘No person shall willfully instigate or in any way further any act of cruelty to any animal.’ The penalty: ‘A person who fails to comply with any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.’

Now this set me to pondering the rights of the unborn. An eight-week-old human fetus has a beating heart, an EKG, brain waves, thumb-sucking, pain sensitivity, finger-grasping, and genetic humanity, but under our present laws is not a human person with rights under the 14th Amendment, which says that ‘no state shall deprive any person of life . . . without due process of law.’ Well, I wondered, if the unborn do not qualify as persons, it seems that they could at least qualify as animals, say a dog, or at least a cat. Could we not at least charge abortion clinics with cruelty to animals under Statute 343.2, subdivision 7? Why is it legal to ’maim, mutilate and kill’ a pain-sensitive unborn human being but not an animal?

These reflections have confirmed my conviction never to vote for a person who endorses such an evil—even if he could balance the budget tomorrow and end all taxation.”

Princeton prof Dr. Robert George on 10/14/08:

“Barack Obama is the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever to seek the office of President of the United States. He is the most extreme pro-abortion member of the United States Senate. Indeed, he is the most extreme pro-abortion legislator ever to serve in either house of the United States Congress…”