Nothing Is More Dangerous

Nothing is more dangerous than to become tired of the Word. Just as [God] initially gives us faith through the Word, so later on He exercises, increases, strengthens, and perfects it in us by that Word…Therefore, let every faithful person…employ humble prayer to God with continual study and meditation on the Word.

~Martin Luther, from his “Lectures on Galatians 1535”

NTHBGNNNGGDCRTDTHHVNSNDTHRTH

If someone asked you where to find the Bible verse that begins, “For God so loved the world…you’d probably know he was asking about John 3:16. If you had a Bible, you could find it for him in no time. But there was a time when no one could find a single verse in the whole Bible. There was no John 3:16, Genesis l:l or any other verse because the Bible wasn’t divided into verses or even chapters. Worse yet, there were hundreds of years when there weren’t even any word divisions. Punctuation marks, capital letters and even vowels were omitted. In those days, if Genesis had been written in English, it would have started: NTHBGNNNGGDCRTDTHHVNSNDTHRTH.” You would have had to spend hours or days just to find your favorite verse.

Words were divided by Jesus’ time, but vowels weren’t used in Hebrew Old Testaments until the sixth century A. D. Gradually, capitalization, punctuation and paragraphing worked their way into the Old and New Testaments. But Bible chapters such as we have today didn’t come into being until the 13th century. They were the work of Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

For the next 200 years, the Bible, now divided into chapters, continued to be copied by hand. Then in 1448, Rabbi Nathan startled the world by breaking the Old Testament into verses. The New Testament wasn’t divided into numbered verses until 1551 when a French printer, Robert Estienne did the job. He was planning a study Bible that would have side-by-side columns in three translations when he got the idea. He was so rushed for time he decided to do the dividing on a trip from Paris to Lyons. Some people have suggested he did the work on horseback and his sometimes awkward divisions resulted when his “jogging horse bumped his pen in the wrong places.” Yet, with a few exceptions, Estienne’s divisions provide us with the verses we have today.

So just as number of people were used in writing of the Bible over a period of centuries, it was the contribution of countless scribes, hundreds of years, and three men in particular—a Catholic archbishop, a Jewish rabbi and a Protestant printer—who turned “NTHBGNNNGGDCRTDTHHVNSNDTHRTH” into Genesis l:l.

—Miller Clarke, Campus Life, March, 1981

More Real and Relevant than Cleverly Devised Myths

The following is my religion column for today's issue of the Tribune & Georgian. The topic is familiar to regular readers as I try to have a column a year promoting daily scripture reading. I just try to find new ways to put out that old idea as it is the most life-changing practice I can recommend:

The Bible is a very awkward book. I know that is hard to admit for a book that many of us in Camden County consider our favorite book of all time. In fact, we do more than like it, we read and re-read the Bible and pattern our very lives on its words. But being this familiar with the text can blind us to how the Bible seems to those diving between its covers for the first time.

The Bible is far more than A book. The Bible is a collection of sixty-six texts including such diverse types of writing as history, hymns and letters. The individual texts are not presented in a strict historical order and so one has to become quite familiar with the Bible to know, for example, which books were written at the same time as others.

This is just the structure of the Bible itself. Beyond issues of various types of literature found within the collection and the way the books are ordered, there is the content itself. As an Old Testament professor of mine once proclaimed during a lecture on Israel’s great king David, “The Bible is not for children. I’m sorry. It’s just not.”

That sounds a bit blasphemous. But it is true. While we do want children to grow up knowing the stories of scripture, there is good cause for leaving David and Bathsheba out of children’s story books. Children should wait to learn of David’s adultery and a cover-up that was nothing short of murder plotted by the man we like to consider the hero of the story. They probably should hold off on the full story of Samson and Delilah as well. These stories are awkward to say the least, at least when it comes to sharing them with children.

But it is these awkward stories which make the Holy Bible the life-changing Word of God that it is. For the Bible is nothing if not realistic. In its pages we read of real people. People who do not live perfect lives and who do not always do all the right things. We read of these fallible humans and how God loves them and wants something more for them than to leave them in their sorry state of affairs.

The Bible does not read like a cleverly devised myth. There is too much truth and too much tragedy. All of our scripture’s heroes are flawed, except for Jesus. And yet in Jesus, we find the ultimate tragedy as the sinless one is put to death. Humans see the way he is turning the world upside down and they want Jesus dead. And it is in this greatest tragedy in human history that we discover how deep and how broad is God’s love for us.

The crucifixion is humanity’s answer to God and yet that is not the end of the story. The resurrection is God’s reply. The power of God’s love is so strong that death can not defeat it. God loves us to much to leave us in our sin and through Jesus offers a way to redemption.

This is why the Bible tells all its awkward tales of the people who got it wrong. The folks who had every chance to live as God wanted them to live and went their own way. The Bible does not shrink back from telling the story of God’s love in such a way that we discover how flawed all the people who came before us really were. This is where we find ourselves in scripture—in the mistakes of others and God’s redemption of those flawed folks.

I read in the Gospels how the impetuous Peter was always going off half cocked. I find his betrayal of Jesus revealed in heartbreaking detail. And I also get to read how he not only denied Jesus three times, but how Jesus gave him the opportunity to say “I love you” three times after the resurrection. In this I find the life-giving Word of God showing me how I can change the way I live and find life and love, meaning and purpose.

So while the Bible may be awkward in parts and reading it through may be daunting, there is no replacement for reading and inwardly digesting its words. As one who loves the Bible deeply, I do want to offer a couple of pieces of advice to those who wish they could read and understand the Bible better: 1) read the Bible through daily and systematically, 2) do so with others.

Too often I find that people hit a bump in life and they want to run to the Bible to find the answers. Its not that the answers are not in scripture. The problem is that the text is not created to work in quite that way. There is no section with explicit advice for parents of teenagers. There is no book in the collection that tells step by step how to fix a marriage going through a rocky stretch.

The better way to encounter scripture is to read a bit each day. Doing so with a study Bible will help, as it will answer some of the questions that will naturally arise. Just keep reading it. And whenever possible, read with your spouse or with a friend. Attend a Bible study at your church or create one at your work. You will be amazed at how much more will stand out in the text when you encounter it with others.

By doing this faithfully, you will marinate yourself in God’s Word. The end result I find is that people who do this are better prepared to conform their lives to God’s will and to face whatever life throws at them.

In the past few months, I have known well two people who were faithful daily readers of scripture who learned they had terminal cancer. Both people were late in life and in each case the cancer was all through their bodies by the time they learned of it. I can’t imagine what it would be like to get that news and then to go running to the Bible to find comfort. I hope the Holy Spirit would guide someone in that case to the many verses that would provide comfort.

But I am writing of believers who well knew God’s Word. Each not only bravely faced their own death without fear, but they comforted others as their bodies wasted away. Both have gone on now to be with the Lord they met in prayer and worship and came to know better though their daily reading of scripture. In their lives and witness at the hour of their deaths, these two showed that while it may be awkward to one first encountering it, the Bible is a life-giving text.

Blowing the Dust Off The Good Book

I was talking about the Book of Numbers this past weekend with my wife and daughter. That sentence sounds a little overly pious. The pastor’s family sitting around and talking about the Old Testament may fit some sort of stereotype, but you’re not sure you actually want to invite them over for dinner.

But the sentence is true. We were discussing the Book of Numbers the other night and the night before that we were talking about Leviticus and a couple of nights later we were discussing Deuteronomy. And I don’t get any credit for this. In fact, if I had gotten what I wanted, it wouldn’t have worked like this at all.

So begins today's religion column for the Tribune & Georgian on the how and why of reading the Bible for yourself. The full text of the article is online here: Twenty One Days of Love.

There are various ways to take on scripture on 15 to 20 minutes a day. The time spent is minimal. The pay off is unbelievable until you actually see it through for yourself for a year at a time. What's holding you back?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

A Child's Bible - condensed version

The following bit of silliness purports to be a condensed version of the Bible written by a child. Apocryphal, no doubt, but kinda funny:

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is One,' but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did. Then God made the world.

He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something. One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel lights every day with manicotti. Then He gave them His top ten Commandments. These include don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your Neighbor's' bottom (the Bible uses a bad word for bottom that I'm not supposed to say. But my Dad uses it sometimes when he talks about the President).

Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy Mother. One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua, who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town. After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.

After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn, too, because my mom is always saying to me, Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him. Jesus was a great man He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven, but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

There! Now you understand it.

What Is a Bible Worth?

Anglican Journal tells of Janet Carlile, an accredited antique appraiser, who regularly assesses items at fund-raising events for charitable organizations such as public libraries and local museums. Bibles come up frequently. She knows that while they are “near and dear to people’s hearts, the majority are worth less than $50 and some a good deal less.”

In a career spanning three decades, the most expensive Bible she recalls sold for $1,200 and it was a very unusual volume. Such Bibles make the news but are a rarity. The article continues:

People bring Bibles to Ms. Carlile because they are often the oldest item in their homes. Tucked away in a cupboard in my parents’ den is a set of Swedish Bibles brought here by my maternal great great-grandparents when they immigrated. Although the language was lost many generations ago, the Bibles were not. Their yellowed pages, brittle leather binding, and foreign words belie their status as an heirloom. They are the only tangible link with our Swedish heritage and as such are valued.

Many Bibles are big, beautiful books. Produced in large quantities and instant best-sellers, publishers can afford to use fine quality materials. According to the staff at the Master’s Way Book Store in Pembroke, Ont., Bibles are a popular gift to commemorate a first communion or confirmation milestone. New translations are always sought after and the Catholic Bible and King James Version are perpetually in demand.

Some people cherish a Bible even though it is an unremarkable edition because it was a source of comfort, strength, or advice at an emotional time. Bev York, a lay reader and pillar of St. Augustine’s church in Beachburg, Ont., treasures her Bible because she relied on it through trying times of illness and bereavement. Then, and at countless other times, the words offered her solace and hope. She also holds dear a Bible that belonged to her mother and one that she rescued from a garbage chute. Although Ms. York has worn Bibles out, she won’t throw them away, preferring instead to give them to someone else, especially a new believer.

For Christian faith communities, a Bible is a collection of sacred writings. The content between the covers is the source of value, not the trappings. This leads to an answer to my original question: a Bible has an incalculable worth.

Incalculable worth. But unlike other valuable books, the Bible is worth more when it is in worse condition. The pristine copy with unmarred gold foil edges and a fine layer of dust is practically worthless compared to the dog eared copy with coffee stains and some portions underlined in pen and others marked with tears.

Bible Book Introductions

Virginia Theological Seminary, my alma mater, has just announced a new series of free publications on the books of the Bible. The notice follows:

Virginia Theological Seminary is a school that loves the Bible. We are committed to the serious study of the Bible, which includes the learning of the Biblical languages. We recognize the centrality of the Bible as an authority in the life of the Church. Given all this, our gift to our alumni and friends (indeed the entire VTS community) is an opportunity to study the Bible. You will find this morning on our website ‘Bible Briefs’. The goal is to provide a short introduction to the different books in the Bible—an introduction you can download, print out and use for individual or group study. Perhaps as the Lectionary turns to a new book of the Bible, you might print out the relevant pamphlet and read that prior to attending a service; perhaps in your own Bible study, you might read an appropriate pamphlet to prepare you for a particular book of the Bible.

VTS is deeply committed to biblical literacy. This is a small contribution to increasing that literacy. As we enjoy this Advent season and prepare for the moment when we celebrate the birth of the Eternal Word among us, so we recognize that we learn of the Eternal Word through the pages of Scriptures. Here is a tool that helps us all understand the text of Scripture.
—The Very Rev Ian Markham, Dean and President

Wrong Ways to Read the Bible

Wrong way #1—look for rules and follow them (all)
The Year of Living Biblically was the brain child of Esquire Magazine editor at large A.J. Jacobs. Having written a book on the experience of studying the Encyclopedia Britanica, he decided to spend a year living as dictated by scripture and the more than 700s rules found in its pages. It was admitedly a stunt designed to help the agnostic author sell books.

According to an article in New York's Daily News,

He heeded the Ten Commandments, natch, and didn't lie, steal or covet. He tithed his income. He wore white and attached tassels to his shirt-sleeves. He didn't touch his wife, Julie, or any woman, at certain times of the month. He pelted an adulterer with a pebble. "It was a surprisingly intense encounter," says Jacobs.

He consulted regularly with priests, rabbis and ministers. He wore biblical attire, purchased at a Halloween store. He invited a Jehovah's Witness into his upper West Side home. "I realize this fact already puts me in an extreme minority," he muses. "It's like volunteering for jury duty or paying to see a Vin Diesel movie."

He also did field study. He tended sheep in Israel, visited with the Amish and chatted up evangelical Christians at the Creationism Museum in Kentucky...

Jacobs' book has been bought as a movie and has brought some lessons. "The outside shapes the inside, like Method acting," he says. "If you behave like a good person, you eventually become a better person."

Not that he always got it right. "I failed on an hourly basis, and that was one of the lessons," he says. "You'll never be perfect."

Nonetheless, he has changed in ways big and small.

"I spent so much time giving thanks while doing the book, I'm more thankful now. I focus on the 100 little things that go right every day.

"I'm a workaholic," he adds. "But there's a mandatory day of rest, if you follow the Bible. I see the beauty of it."

His wife is planning for his next book to be "A year of foot massages." That's perhaps a better idea as the Bible is more love letter than rule book.

Wrong way #2—use the Bible like a Magic 8-ball
There is an online random verse generator that allows you to ask a question and then it pops up a random verse to answer your question. It's online here: Biblical Lot. It's an amusing web gadget, but not the best way to decide anything.

A Healthy Alternative
Read some of the Bible daily. You will find that the narrative does amazing things in time. It's not starting with a problem and going and finding a solution. Instead you marinate in God's Word and find yourself slowly transformed over time. You get the same result of the thankfulness and being a better person that the Esquire Editor experienced, without the wacky clothing and facial hair.

peace,
Frank+
The rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

Your story above all other

To be a Christian means gradually, Sunday after Sunday, to be subsumed into another story, a different account of where we have come from and where we are going, a story that is called “gospel.” You are properly called a “Christian” when it’s obvious that the story told in Scripture is your story above all other stories that the world tries to impose upon you and the God who is rendered in Scripture is the God who has got you.

—William H. Willimon (1946- ) from his blog.
The full text is here: We Believe in the Triune God

Prosperity Gospel

Retired NHL goalie turned theology student Scott Bailie takes on the prosperity Gospel—the idea that God wants to bless you with money and a big house etc.—in a blog post he calls More Pastoral Stupidity. Scott writes in part,

First, go out and find out what “worldview” means. First-century people did not understand money the way you do, or have the same assumptions towards money that you do. There were no banks. There was no ATM’s. There was no interest. You have to understand how they understood money before you can use their writing to substantiate your argument. Investigate how much money a first-century Galilean fisherman would have seen and used in his lifetime. I think the verse about having all of your needs met might take on a different meaning.

Secondly, some how some way, you are going to have to show me prosperity in the lives of Jesus, his disciples, and the early church. Jesus: poor and crucified. I’ll give you a pass because he had to do that whole atonement thing and all, but couldn’t he have at least done it in style? Let’s see, disciples? poor and martyred. Peter? martyred. Paul? poor and martyred. James the brother of Jesus? Killed by the Sanhedrin. Justin the martyr? Well, his name is a small clue. Polycarp, Ignatius, I mean the list goes on and on.

Where is Peter and Paul in Rome living in a large villa with slaves at their beck and call, piles of money all over the floor, living Their Best Life Now? Why was Jesus not the head of the Sanhedrin, or one of the priestly elites? Why was he a poor outsider? Seriously, at some point you are going to have to harmonize the life of Jesus and his followers to what you speak. Where is Paul writing, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified… and of course, how to be rich, healthy, happy, and the most successful people in Corinth“? Where does Peter write: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed…in your finances“? The “prosperity” you preach cannot be found in their lives.

Finally, the priestly elite that Jesus so often clashed heads with, and were largely responsible for his death, were the richest people group in Jerusalem!....

One of the writers of the Bible had this to say to his ‘little children,’ “By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.” There are many ways to do theology badly, but I’m not sure if the plot has been more lost by any other group. You can’t get much further than turning the enemies of Jesus and their lifestyle into the “Gospel.”

I once preached on a related theme in the sermon The Inside-Out Gospel. Jesus wanted a fuller, more rewarding life for you. That's why he said that he came that we might have life and have it abundantly. But did Jesus define an abundant life as one in which you have a lot of money, a big house, an expensive car, etc.? Jesus seems more interested in a flourishing life that is not all about having more and better stuff.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

Note:
Today's religion column for the Tribune & Georgian is now online here: How to Be a Genuine Imitation

Abandoning God?

At his blog, biblical scholar Dr. Jim West lists a favorite question of his from scripture to say why Jeremiah is one of his favorite books of the Bible,

Jeremiah gets pride of place because of sentences like this one: כה אמר יהוה מה־מצאו אבותיכם בי עול כי רחקו מעלי וילכו אחרי ההבל ויהבלו׃.

Indeed! Oh, sorry, that’s Jeremiah 2:5, in English Thus says the LORD: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?

Now that’s a good question! What’s wrong with God, that you abandon him?

Jeremiah knows that when we wander away from God, we are wandering after worthless things and making ourselves worthless in the process. In what ways do people abandon God? For Jeremiah the answer was in chasing after idols and other gods. But it is clear that Jim feels the question is still relevant and I agree with him. We still can pursue worthless things even if they are not actual idols made to represent other gods. Right?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

The One Verse

Over at The Washington Post/Newsweek's On Faith website, the noted authors and the like on their panel of writers is answering the question,

What passage or verse in scripture or literature best defines your own faith or beliefs? Why?

You can read their answers from a variety of faith traditions at Defining Your Faith.

The Christians in the group varied from Brian McLaren pick Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, to Anthony Stevens-Arroyo selecting Mary's song, the Magnificat, to Martin Marty who emphasized the all-encompassing nature of Colossians 1:16b-17, "For all things have been created through [Jesus Christ] and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

I'm sympathetic with Thomas Reese, editor of the Catholic magazine America who wrote,

I have never been comfortable picking just one Scripture passage to sum up my faith. I remember a Berkeley professor once trying to teach humility to a group of bright political science students: “The world is very big. The human mind is very small.” Add God to that equation and we are very small indeed. No single passage can sum up God or our relation to him.

But with that said, I do have to acknowledge that there is a verse so meaningful to me that Victoria and I have it written in large gold type on the wall of our dining room. It is the words of Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." The fuller text (which didn't fit well on the wall in large type) completes that verse and goes on to verse 6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Lean not unto your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him
and he will direct your paths.
It doesn't sum up my faith, for which I need more texts. But it does sum up what I hope my response is and will be.

What about you? Do you have a favorite verse or passage?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

Strong Women

There is an intersting look at Proverbs 31 and its description of a Virtuous woman from a Bible scholar at the blog God & Mammon, which says in part:

Contrary to many Christian stereotypes of proper female behavior, this passage does not depict the virtuous and praiseworthy wife as a submissive homebody whose sole purpose in life is to raise children and do dishes. No, this noble wife is a shrewd and profiting businesswoman! Even the Hebrew word for "noble character," often translated as "excellent" or "virtuous" literally means "power" or "strength." Of the 244 times this word is used in the Bible, it almost always means "strength", "army", or "wealth." The woman in Proverbs 31 is described in this manner, as is the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings (10:2) and 2 Chronicles (9:1). Her strength is mentioned several more times throughout this passage.

and further in the post

Part of what makes this virtuous wife so praiseworthy is what she does with her wealth. She provides for her family and servants, but then she helps the poor and needy out of her excess. Her wise use of time and money enables her to be charitable, just like Lydia in the New Testament.

After she has provided for the needs of many, she still has the means for a little luxury.

The full text of the original post is found online here: Business Lessons from the 'Wife of Noble Character'. The biblical text on which the author muses is found here:

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She senses that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness...
—Proverbs 31:10-27

Something fun to try
And something I had fun with this week, is a BBC News quiz called Sex I.D. which is a series of visual challenges and questions used by psychologists to find out if you think like a man or a woman. It's online here: Brain Sex. I ended up at 30% toward male where 50% is typical. No problem preferring feminine faces and knowing objects set in different configurations—both male traits. However, my empathy (shown by identifying emotions on faces properly) and my ability to notice things out of pattern are more typically feminine than masculine abilities. Like I care.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

Spiritual Grandfather

I have learned that while I was away on vacation, Brevard Childs (1923-2007) passed away. Childs was a professor at Yale Divinity School for 41 years. I never studied with him personally. I studied with professors who studied with Childs. So he is something like my grandfather in biblical studies. His influence on four of my professors (both in Old Testament and New Testament) was profound as was their influence on how I read scripture.

Following his death, a professor of mine in Hebrew and Old Testament, Dr. Ellen Davis wrote,

His scholarship was very fully integrated into his character, it would be very difficult to separate those two. He was a Christian. His work was a form of discipleship.

I think that integrated feeling between what he studied and how he lived says much about the approach to scripture he taught them and they tried to pass on to me.

Childs is known in biblical scholarship for his respect for the final canonical form of scripture (the Bible as we have it in the form one can buy translation in stores) as important for all biblical work. It is called the Canonical Method and is exemplified, to cite one example, in Child's own excellent commentary on Exodus.

To try to simplify the great scholar's work...one can break down the scripture for study, but an important step is putting it back together and seeing how the text in its final form speaks even with what the detailed scholarship teaches us. This is not a pre-critical reading the Bible without a deeper understanding of the language, archeology, historical contexts and what else scholarship teaches, as if Saint Paul wrote the King James Bible. Nor is it a merely critical reading that tears the Bible apart and leaves it in discrete units or peeled apart like an onion looking for central core and finding only layers. I was taught a post-critical approach that fully takes into account scholarship and uses it in service of the Church and a given congregation. This involves a close reading of the biblical text with a reverence for it that isn't afraid to break it open and learn nor afraid to let it break me open so that I can better see.

While I don't always live up to the level at which I was trained, the work of my professors Stephen Cook, Ellen Davis, A.K. Grieb and John Yieh was not for nought. And so I remember today the man who made such an impression on them that I am thankful for the life and work of Brevard Childs though we never met (except through his writings and students).

There is a tribute at the Society for Biblical Literature: Brevard S. Childs (1923-2007) and another at Dr. Stephen Cook's blog More Details on Childs's Passing.

And as part of a passing of a generation of scholar's Dr. Jim Ross (1927-2007) also died while I was away. Dr. Ross had taught at Virginia Seminary prior to my coming there. He and I both worked on creating web resources on biblical studies in the late 1990s and I appreciated his pointing me to some very useful sites. While he was not personally influential for me or my teachers, he was a great professor who taught a generation of priests in our church and I am thankful for his ministry as well. More on Dr. Ross is found here at SBL's page: James F. Ross.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

Basic biblical familiarity

The following is written by the Rt. Rev. Harry Shipps, retired Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia:

Check yourself out on basic biblical familiarity, as well as your spouse, children (and grandchildren). Prove that Episcopalians know their Bible!

Old Testament/Hebrew Bible
What books comprise the Torah? Supposedly written by whom?
What is the name of the son Abraham offered to sacrifice?
What did the Burning Bush say to Moses?
Name the 10 Commandments.
What is the name of the Hebrew priestly tribe?
What river did the Hebrews cross to arrive in the Promised Land?
Who was Israel’s first king?
What was David’s great sin?
Who were the two great prophets whose names begin with E?
The loss of what caused Samson to loose his strength?
What happened to poor Job?
Who are the three ‘greater prophets’ writers?
Who wrote “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God”?
How many Psalms are there? Your favorite (apart from 23)?

Apocrypha
Name one book in the Apocrypha. Two
Does your bible contain the Apocrypha? Why not?

New Testament
What are the names of the four Gospels?
Who was Jesus’ cousin? His cousin’s mother?
“The Word became flesh” is found in which Gospel?
In which Gospel nativity account do we find the “Hail Mary”?
Name the apostle who took Judas’ place.
Who assisted Jesus in carrying his cross to Calvary?
The Acts of the Apostles tells us primarily which two apostles?
Who wrote the Epistle to the Romans?
Where will you find St. Paul’s ode to love, along with faith and hope?
Justification by faith is taught by whom? Where?
Name three of the seven churches addressed in Revelation.
Where can you find qualifications for bishops, deacons & presbyters?

+HW Shipps

Thinking about Scripture

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, gave a lecture on scripture this week to a group of theology students, beginning with the point,

One of the things that most clearly and universally identifies Christians as Christians is that they habitually read the Bible.

He went on to note that for most of its history, the Bible has been primarily a public document, one encountered through hearing it read. He said,

the Church's public use of the Bible represents the Church as defined in some important way by listening: the community when it comes together doesn't only break bread and reflect together and intercede, it silences itself to hear something. It represents itself in that moment as a community existing in response to a word of summons or invitation, to an act of communication that requires to be heard and answered.

Interesting. We are primarily a community who gathers to hear. And what we gather to hear is God speaking to us in a fresh way through the scripture read in our midst. Not new thoughts, but interesting to put together. I feel worship is our primary purpose to come together and still think so, but in our worship we primarily listen.

The archbishop said, "all this is essentially about seeing Scripture as the vehicle of God's act to bring about conversion." He made 6 key points:

1. Scripture is something through which the community affirms its identity and seeks its renewal;


2. we need to develop the skills needed to avoid the misuse of texts by abstracting them from the questions they actually put;


3. thus also, the discernment of what are the changes a reading sets out and proposes for the reader/hearer;


4. an understanding that this last is decisively and authoritatively illuminated by hearing scripture in the setting of a communion service;


5. the consequent holding together of our communion service and the Scripture read in it through a strong doctrine of the Spirit's work in constructing the community of Christ's Body; and


6. the recognition that neither Scripture nor communion make sense without commitment to the resurrection of Jesus as the fundamental condition of a Church whose identity is realised in listening and responding.

The full text of his lecture is online here: The Bible Today: Reading & Hearing

Thoughtful Blogs
If this seems a little heavy, perhaps it is because I am trying to honor the Thinking Blogger Award given to Irenic Thoughts. It's awkward in that the first blog that comes to mind for this award is the one that gave it to me, November in My Soul, but here are five I follow and want to recommend (not already awarded that I know of):

Biblische Ausbildung
Dr. Stephen Cook's Blog from Virginia Seminary

Questing Parson
The Rev. Guy Kent's Blog

World of Your Making
The Rev. Rick Lord's blog at Holy Comforter in Vienna, Virginia

Father Steve+ Blog
from Waynesboro, Georgia

Sunrise on the Marsh
The Rev. Linda McCloud's blog at Our Savior Honey Creek

Here are the instructions:1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

Teaching the Bible in Public Schools

This week, Time magazine has a cover story Why we should teach the Bible in Public Schools. The article says in part,

According to Religious Literacy, polls show that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the Bible holds the answers to "all or most of life's basic questions," but pollster George Gallup has dubbed us "a nation of biblical illiterates." Only half of U.S. adults know the title of even one Gospel. Most can't name the Bible's first book. The trend extends even to Evangelicals, only 44% of whose teens could identify a particular quote as coming from the Sermon on the Mount.

So what? I'm not a very religious person

SIMPLY PUT, THE BIBLE IS THE MOST influential book ever written. Not only is the Bible the best-selling book of all time, it is the best-selling book of the year every year. In a 1992 survey of English teachers to determine the top-10 required "book-length works" in high school English classes, plays by Shakespeare occupied three spots and the Bible none. And yet, let's compare the two: Beauty of language: Shakespeare, by a nose. Depth of subject matter: toss-up. Breadth of subject matter: the Bible. Numbers published, translated etc: Bible. Number of people martyred for: Bible. Number of wars attributed to: Bible. Solace and hope provided to billions: you guessed it. And Shakespeare would almost surely have agreed. According to one estimate, he alludes to Scripture some 1,300 times. As for the rest of literature, when your seventh-grader reads The Old Man and the Sea, a teacher could tick off the references to Christ's Passion—the bleeding of the old man's palms, his stumbles while carrying his mast over his shoulder, his hat cutting his head—but wouldn't the thrill of recognition have been more satisfying on their/own?

For me it becomes a difficult set of questions involving who teaches what? Who creates the curriculum and who uses it in what setting?

It's not that I don't want kids to learn their way around the Bible and to learn to love its stories and teachings. I'm a member of the National Association of Episcopal Schools and plan to grow our present Preschool upward into grades. I also know that biblical literacy is an important part of cultural literacy in the west and yet I favor private schools for teaching the Bible. I realize this leaves out the vast majority of children who can not attend a private school, but then church and home is still the appropriate place to share the faith. Then parents have the choice of which school and church are teaching what to their children. What do you think?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

Note:
Tonight King of Peace will have a service of Holy Communion at 7 p.m. Our full Holy Week schedule is online at www.kingofpeace.org