Torrey Gazette is the combined work of everyday Christians blogging on books, family, art, and theology. So pull up a seat and join us. Family Table rules apply. Shouting is totally acceptable.
The Bible Tells Me So is a valuable example of hermeneutical criticism with an equally faulty hermeneutic. Enns, alongside the conservative Christians who refuse to commune with him, remains a puzzling example of enlightenment thinking that continues to tell people what the Bible must say and do.
Our daughter, who is familiar with the creation account, loved the story. Aware of the Heidelberg Catechism’s answers concerning “Adam and Eve in paradise” she instantly recognized the depiction of “our first parents” and their fall and disobedience. Admittedly, she calls it her “coronation book” (thanks Frozen) but God’s Great Creation has been an excellent addendum to our family worship and Biblical education.
There is nothing contained in this volume that is not found in a higher criticism commentary on the book of James. Even the “messianic focus” of the material seems timid in its depth and will prove to be short on insights for those familiar with technical scholarship on James.
Wisdom incarnate (Jesus), spoke in parables and hid the things of the kingdom of God from the wise and revealed them to innocent babes (Luke 10). Again, as the apostles went out into the kingdom of Rome armed with the story of the Gospel their ultimate aim was a subversive one. Everywhere they went they started a riot because of the story they were telling: "Jesus is Lord, not Ceasar." & "You are now citizens of Heaven, not Rome." To us these often serve as empty words on the pages of an ancient text. In the first century these words were telling the story of a conflicting narrative to the story so many inhabited. Moreover, these words were telling the story of the emergence of a new world (the world of the New Adam) and the decaying of an old one (the world of the Old Adam).
“Yet the question remains: Why include a Roman Catholic in a series of biographies on Reformational heros?”
Well I just keep cranking all along. As of my writing tonight this delightful book is now finished. That said, I have a couple more detailed posts coming before I put forth the effort for a concise and rather limited review.
When we are called to worship God week in and week out we are reminded that we have been called to be human in a new way, the way of Jesus. One of the clearest ways that this is evidenced is in the fact that Christians come together each week to worship together rather than remaining in their individual lives.
We have gone so far down the rabbit hole of the Modern nation-state that it is difficult for us to imagine anything (institution, program, or belief) having any weightiness to it unless it is backed (in some way or another) by the government.
I finished reading James K.A. Smith's book Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation a couple weeks ago. I would have to say that it is the best book I've read this year (so far). The book does a wonderful job at challenging the popular conversations surrounding "Christian Worldview" talk without being over critical while at the same time offering an attractive alternative. Smith argues throughout the book that centering the Christian faith around something like a "worldview" has many pitfalls. Again, it should be noted that Smith is not advocating that we abandon the concept of developing a "Christian Worldview" but suggests that such a center cannot hold.
While all of the Scriptures funnel to the ultimate Word of God in Jesus Christ, we must remember that Christ was sent to reveal the Father we had not seen. He is the image of the invisible God. Preaching Christ is to glorify the Father whom He reveals. It is note solely to end at Christ.
One of the biggest faults and failures of modern churches and modern Christian families has got to be their failure of teaching the story of the Old Testament (on both a macro & a micro level) to their congregants & children. Due to our ignorance of the Old Testament we reduce our readings of the New Testament to an individualistic mining exercise: we search the text for "timeless truths" that will apply to us. The result is often that we are woefully ignorant of what the text is actually SCREAMING at us and consequently miss out on the REAL ways the text necessarily applies to our lives.
Thankfully, Simonetta Carr and Reformation Heritage Books are providing introductory level biographies that are engaging. The latest in their “Christian Biographies For Young Readers” series, Jonathan Edwards focuses on the theological and pastoral giant of the 18th century.
Tomorrow I will turn 28. It is hardly 30 but I'm growing sentimental. Maybe it is the three kids. Granted, I am already giving away my young age by not titling this with "LPs." But I am also not of the "hit single"-download-off-iTunes era.
Our daughter absolutely loved the book and our reading it during family worship. The Christmas Story for Children is an excellent little book for the advent season.
"Public truth" is how Wright (and others) have described the Christian faith. What this means is that Christianity serves as an over-arching storyline in which the Christian makes sense of the world. There is no part of the world which the Christian does not see through the lens of the "Christian story." To say that a Christian must keep such a thing private is to demonstrate such a degree of ignorance that is almost unbearable.
Fans of the KJV will be hard pressed to find a more stylish and efficient edition. Individuals seeking a more literal translation will thoroughly enjoy the KJV Skinii Bible as well.
We must always be telling ourselves that it is never "whether" but always "which." It is not whether we will have a liturgical calendar that will rule our years, it is which liturgical calendar will rule our years. There are many competing liturgical calendars that are vying for your service.
It seems clear that much of the public outcry for "planet-saving" is steeped more in the desire to be glamorous than in the desire toward small, humble, and unrecognized work at home. Ultimately, like almost all things that are worth doing, the desired results can only be accomplished through humble faithfulness with a multi-generational perspective: in other words, covenantally.
