Review: The Man Without a Face

The Man Without a Face by Holland Isabelle

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The Man Without a Face is about a 14 year old boy named Charles who, while spending the summer at his family's beach house, asks the local recluse (Justin McLeod) to tutor him. McLeod is nicknamed by the local kids, the "man without a face" because he was terribly burned in a car accident a number of years before. The story is told from Charles' viewpoint, and explores the complicated relationships within his family, and eventually, with McLeod. Charles is struggling to deal with his a absence of his father, his fear of friendship and love, and his resentment of all the women in his life.

I saw the movie (starring Mel Gibson) a number of years ago, and remember liking it a lot. There are some significant differences between the book and the film, and I have to say, this is one of those rare occurrences when I preferred the movie version.

Isabelle Young is purportedly writing for young adults, but I think a lot of the story's subtleties would be lost on younger readers. Additionally, there's some stranger parts, and a lot of ambiguous sexuality that may be confusing for younger kids.

UPDATE: I went back and re-read a couple of sections in the book, and I think I might be more confused now than when I read it the first time. The relationship between Charles and McLeod is sexually ambiguous. Unlike the movie, there are a series of scenes that seem to blur a healthy relationship (father-son type of relationship) and a sexual one, and one scene in particular that seems to imply that something happened between them. What's disturbing is that quite possibly, the intention of those scenes seems to be to "wonder" if sexual attraction between a man and a boy is a "normal" aspect to any father son (or mentor) relationship. The answer is: "no." Pedophilia is not normal, or appropriate, and I'm very surprised this book has made itself onto recommended reading lists for young adults. I'm not a book banner by any stretch, but I would never give this novel to a child, fearing it could dangerously distort their idea of what healthy, safe relationships with adults look like.

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Book Review: Clergy Killers

Clergy Killers: Guidance for Pastors and Congregations Under Attack by G. Lloyd Rediger

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Clergy Killers is a book about antagonists in the church intent on destroying pastors. The great strength of the book is in documenting the pervasiveness of the problem - with case studies and statistics detailing the abuse clergy receive at the hands of antagonistic members. (FYI: Rediger also has a chapter on Killer Clergy, who destroy their congregations).

I've seen just enough of this in the lives of pastors I know to understand this is a real danger. The long-term retention rate for pastors in their vocation is not very good, and clergy killers are one of the reasons. Rediger makes clear that there is normal conflict in any church, even healthy churches. But he goes on to discuss unusual and abnormal conflict: resulting from people either with some kind of serious problem (in some cases mental, most often spiritual). Perhaps the saddest reality is the collateral damage (harm done to the pastor's spouse and children). It's sad when anyone has problems at work, and a child may see their father suffer and come to hate their dad's workplace. How much worse when what they hate is the church (and sometimes, by extension, God).

What worked: Rediger does a pretty good job laying out the problem, or at least establishing that there is one. And also presenting the case that most of us are unprepared for it (pastors, churches, and denominations).

What didn't: I was severely underwhelmed by his prescriptions for dealing with the problems. He relies heavily on strategies for intervention and basic psychotherapy techniques for mental wellness. It seemed pretty sterile, and frankly, not all that helpful. What I would have liked to have seen were basic strategies for a pastor to practice self-care: a detailed discussion on spiritual disciplines, healthy living practices, and encouragement to build a healthy family life and close friendships. All these things get mentions, but aren't fleshed out with any real thoughtfulness.

Additionally, this book begs for a healthy discussion of the role of the elders in shepherding the pastor. How does an elder board or session care for and protect its pastor? A large discussion of Matthew 18 is needed and wanting in this book, as well as discussions about the importance of church discipline and how to practice excommunication, when needed.

Rediger does talk about exorcism a good bit - literally the casting out of evil. This is normally a term used for casting out demons, but he uses it more broadly here to mean dealing with evil of any kind. These sections were helpful, and I need to do a good bit more thinking about this.

Read it if: you can't find any other good books on conflict in the church. Elders may want to read it to think about how they can better care for their pastors.

There's got to be better books out there on this subject. Can anyone make some recommendations?

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Book Review: Brave New World

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aldous Huxley published Brave New World in 1932, a dystopian fantasy written as a counterpoint to H.G. Wells' optimistic view of the future presented in Men Like Gods. Perhaps what's most amazing about Brave New World, is that Huxley wrote it before WWII, when the prevailing attitudes about the future were overwhelmingly positive.

Brave New World is set in London in the year 2540. After years of war, a single World State is in control providing community, identity and stability for all of society. Sounds pretty good, until you hear what's been given up in order to get it. Reproductive technology and sleep-learning make this society possible. People no longer live in families. There are 5 castes of people all "hatched" and grown in "factories" of a sort. Alphas (the highest caste) are allowed to develop naturally and, to some extent, experience a kind of individualism. The other 4 castes are tampered with at some point in fetal development to limit intelligence and physical growth. All people are bred for certain jobs. These jobs aren't a prison, however, because the breeding also happens at the level of desires. They only could want to do these specific jobs. "Sleep-learning" is a kind of conditioning that keeps each caste in its place, and also creates in them consumer desires that keep the economy running smoothly. Additionally, the world population is strictly kept to 2 billion assuring there are enough resources for everyone.

Much of the plot revolves around describing this society. The critical event is the recreational visit two Alphas take to an Indian reservation in New Mexico. They go to see the "uncivilized savages" who are not apart of the world society. They end up taking John Savage and his mother Linda back to London, to introduce them to civilization. This is where the title of the book comes from, a direct allusion to Shakespeare's The Tempest, where Miranda (living as a slave on an island) first encounters other people. She exclaims "O brave new world! That has such people in it!" It's an ironical title, as John Savage is not at all impressed with Civilization, and eventually tries to flee from it.

What works: Huxley's fears, as it turns out were well-founded. Neil Postman, in Amusing Ourselves to Death compared Brave New World with George Orwell's 1984, and he contends (rightly) that Huxley's fears were closer to the mark (at least for modern Western society):

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egotism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that our desire will ruin us.

The most poignant parts of the book are discussions about the World State's decision to exchange the noble, the true, and the good for absence of pain and easy happiness.

What didn't work: While necessary to set the stage, some of the factory tours in the first 6 chapters of the book were laborious to read. The book's entertainment value increases drastically from chapter 7 on.

Read it if: you like dystopian novels, or are interested in cultural critique of Western society.

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Book Review: Planets in Peril

Planets in Peril: A Critical Study of C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy by David C. Downing

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

David Downing has written a first class treatment of C.S. Lewis' Ransom Trilogy. His burden is to classify the trilogy as "theological fantasy" and show how some of Lewis' own biography find their way into the books. Downing does a fantastic job situating the books in Lewis' own life, placing it among his other works, and explaining the many, many literary and theological allusions in the series. Downing also makes an effort to asses the series on its merits, interacting with the reviewers and criticial essayists who have come before.

If you like the series, then this book will help you appreciate all the nuances of Lewis' ingenius writing. If you're just going to skim, make sure and read chapters 1-2 and 6-7.

Table of Contents:
1 - "Transfiguring the Past": Lewis' Reading of His Early Life
2 - "Smuggled Theology": The Christian Vision of the Trilogy
3 - The Recovered Image: Elements of Classicism and Medievalism
4 - "Souls Who Have Lost the Intellectual Good": Portraits of Evil
5 - Ransom and Lewis: Cosmic Voyage as Spiritual Pilgrimmage
6 - Models, Influences, and Echoes
7 - The Achievement of C.S. Lewis: Assessing the Trilogy
Appendix: "The Dark Tower"

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Book Review: That Hideous Strength

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wish I had time to give this a little longer review, because there's so much packed into this final story in the Ransom (or Space) Trilogy. Perhaps the most interesting thing is the way Lewis blurs genre throughout the series. You can call the whole series "science fiction," but that's not quite accurate. It best describes the first book Out of the Silent Planet , which Lewis writes as science fiction in the vein of H.G. Wells, but with the intention of communicating a medieval cosmology. The second book Perelandra reads more like a myth. In many ways it's a re-imagining of Milton's Paradise Lost, except in this case, Paradise Retained. That Hideous Strength is a fairy tale, or romance. It's full of academic satire, Arthurian legend, and a critique of scientism and theological liberalism.

It's the longest of the three books (longer than the first two combined), and it starts rather slowly. But it's worth trudging through the first 50 pages or so to get into the plot. The characters are thin (that's pretty normal for a fairy tale), but the focus is not in character development, but in ideas and ideologies and the battle between good and evil.

Recommended for anyone interested in theology, medieval worldview, Arthurian legend, fairy tales for adults.

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Book Review: Perelandra

Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The second in Lewis' Space Trilogy, Perelandra tells the story of Dr. Ransom's journey to Venus and back again. This sci-fi adventure is a theological meditation on sin and temptation. In many ways it's a re-telling of the first three chapters of Genesis, with a twist. What would it be like if the world were unspoiled, if sin had never entered in, if the first parents had resisted the serpent's temptations? In Perelandra Ransom is sent to young world to help the first woman battle against the temptations of the Evil One.

I highly recommend this book. Easily the best in the trilogy, and I rank Perelandra among Lewis' best books (along with Mere Christianity, 'Till We Have Faces, The Screwtape Letters, and The Magician's Nephew).

Read it if you have a pulse. (And especially if you want to think more about the first few chapters of Genesis)

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Peril and Peace

Peril and Peace: Chronicles of the Ancient Church by Mindy Withrow

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Peril and Peace is a brief introduction to the early church aimed at children ages 8-12. The style is narrative (dramatic even), interspersed with some historical reflections on martyrdom, the formation of the canon, early creeds and councils, etc.

Chapters include stories about Polycarp, Justin, Origen, Cyprian, Constantine, Athanasius, the Cappadocians, Ambrose, Augustine, Chrysostom, Jerome, Patrick, and Benedict.

This could be a helpful supplement to a child's education. In particular, it might make for good summer reading for a Christian child in public school (unlikely to be exposed to this aspect of church history).

That said, as an adult, it wasn't a great read. Was ready to be done with it.

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King's Cross: Short Review

King's Cross by Timothy Keller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

King's Cross is a series of reflections on the life of Jesus based on the Gospel of Mark. In fact, the book is really a re-working of some of Keller's sermons on Mark over the years at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. It's broken down into two main sections reflecting the organization of Mark's Gospel. Part One: "The King" attempts to give the reader an understanding of who Jesus is. This is seen in Jesus' teaching, but also in his interactions with people, his answering of critics, as well as his miracles. Part Two: "The Cross" tells the story of what Jesus came to do. Namely, he came to die. And through his death, Keller argues, the deepest issues of the world find their meaning and resolution.

Keller's great strength is in his unique ability to address the believer and the skeptic at the same time. He does this again, arguing that the story of the world finds its meaning in the story of Jesus Christ.

I only wish this book came out before I preached through the Gospel of Mark at my church. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to reflect and meditate on the life of Jesus, or is just curious about the significance of Jesus' life.

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Book Review: The Monster in the Hollows

The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the third in Andrew Peterson's award winning fantasy series The Wingfeather Saga. The Monster in the Hollows tells the story of the Wingfeather children hiding from Gnag the Nameless in the Green Hollows, one of the few places in the land of Aerwiar not overrun by the Fangs of Dang.

It's a story about the children attempting to assimilate into a new culture and figure out how to do life (simple things like make friends, go to school, survive bullies, etc.). It's also a story about Kalmar's battle against guilt and shame, and Janner's struggle to protect his little brother. There also is a wonderful side story about Sarah Cobbler and the rebellion at the Fork Factory.

Of the three Wingfeather books, this has the least "laugh out loud" passages (there were many in the first two books). However, what it lacks in laughs, it more than makes up for in suspense. I read the majority of the book in two nights. I'd finish a chapter and not be able to put the book down because I simply had to know what was going to happen next (this rarely happens for me; I almost always choose sleep over resolutions in plot lines). There also were a few tear jerker moments, beautifully written and wonderfully woven into the plot line.

Fairy tales are great because they create for the reader (especially in kids) a moral imagination. You can't learn compassion or sacrifice or courage from definitions. We need to see examples in great stories. The Monster in the Hollows is one of those great stories that helps to form the good, the noble, and the beautiful in our minds and hearts. Peterson may very well be a better novelist than he is a songwriter (and that's saying something). I can't wait to read these books to my daughter.

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Book Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mystery novel by recently deceased Swedish writer, Stieg Larsson. The story behind the book's publication is almost as interesting as the novel itself. Larsson died when The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and the final two books in the trilogy had been sent off to a publisher. After his death, a battle ensued between his long time live in girlfriend of 30 plus years (a common law marriage almost anywhere else) and his brother (whom he was not close to) for the rights to the work (and the proceeds). As it stands, I don't think the girlfriend is getting much of anything, but she is writing a book of her own about what life was like with Stieg Larsson.

The book itself is a mystery. A financial journalist gets drawn into a decades old investigation of a missing (and presumed murdered) 16 year old girl. Complicating matters is the history of the family: a rich industrialist clan whose members largely hate each other. On the day of the girl's disappearance there was a car accident that closed down the only accident to Hedeby Island. Where could the girl have gone? If she was killed, where is the body? There was a limited number of people on the island that day, and yet they all seem to have an alibi.

The murder mystery plot is quite good. I want give you any spoilers. But rather than just fun, the subtext of the story is violence against women - indicated both in what is uncovered as the story goes along, and Larsson's section headings (all of which list statistics about violent crimes against women in Sweden). In addition to wanting to write a page turner, Larsson wanted to raise awareness of a very real issue in Swedish culture.

Why only three stars? While I thought the plot was great (especially about 200 pages of the 620 pages in), and the dialogue was interesting, I never really connected with the characters. Perhaps they weren't sympathetic enough. Perhaps I operate from too different a worldview. I never felt like I understood where the main characters were coming from, or why they would decide what they would decide. It was still interesting, but it left me with a disconnect to the book.

Additionally, there were several depictions of violent rape in the story. While I'm sure Larsson included this in an attempt to call attention to how heinous these crimes are against women, I found these pages terribly uncomfortable to read. I believe the fierceness and the horror of the crimes could have been depicted by describing the long-term affects on the victims and their families without a blow by blow account of the attacks themselves. This I'm sure is a point of debate, but I'm writing the review - so there's my opinion.

Not sure if I'm sufficiently motivated to read the next two novels.

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Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl - Short Review

Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide Eyed Wonder in God's Spoken World by N.D. Wilson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Imagine a Rob Bell book, but with longer sentences and better theology. I suppose that's mean. Fans of Bell will think I'm taking a swipe at him (which I suppose I am). Fans of Wilson will think I'm dragging him down by comparing him to Bell (which isn't my intent). Okay, let's start over.

I read a review this morning talking about Francis Chan's book Erasing Hell. Chan's book is a response to Rob Bell's controversial Love Wins. The reviewer said of Chan's attempt, "right time, wrong book."

Trevin Wax: "Bell’s book is troublesome, not because it is a thoughtful representation of [his position]... It’s troublesome because it is seeking to make inclusivism beautiful. Bell succeeds at “dressing up” falsehood. Meanwhile, his evangelical critics aren’t even bothering with the wardrobe. We are Nixon, and he is Kennedy. From a purely rhetorical, debating standpoint, we win. But Bell understands the medium."

Wax goes on to suggest that reformed types do great exegesis and historical theology and win the substantive battle every time. But folks like Bell and William Young (author of The Shack) continue to craft great stories. "We grasp the issues, but others grasp the medium." So true.

That's where Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl comes in. It's hard to classify what this book is: philosophical musings, spiritual memoir, travelogue. It has something of all of these. But mostly, it's just beautiful writing. Wilson gives us a great example of robust theology artistically expressed. He grasps the issues and the medium. I can't recommend this book highly enough. And you also ought to check out the hour long DVD (a bookumentary of sorts - trailer below).

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What the Bible is All About

At my church we've been preaching through the first 11 chapters of Genesis. Here are a few reflections.

5 Great Realities from Genesis 1-11
1.) God himself: Genesis begins with God, and it really couldn’t be any other way. The Bible tells us that God is the ground of all being – everything that exists only exists because he exists. If this is true, then we’ll never really understand the meaning of life unless we begin by seeking God (Prov 9:10). It’s like buttoning a shirt: if you start with the wrong button, you’ll always be off.

2.) The created world has meaning and purpose: The world was made by God, and because it was made, it has meaning and purpose. Perhaps the most persuasive case for this was made by an atheist – Jean Paul Sartre. In his essay “Existentialism is a Humanism” Sartre uses the example of a paper-knife. A paper-knife has a designer, and the designer makes it with a purpose (to cut paper). The knife can be said to be good or bad only because it has a purpose (if it cuts paper, it is good; if it doesn’t, it’s bad). If humans were created by God, then they (like the paper-knife) were designed with a purpose. So we can talk about right and wrong, good and evil. But if there is no God, then there is no such thing as human nature, or right and wrong. As Dostoyevsky wrote: “If there is no God everything is permitted.”

3.) The reality of human sin: What is wrong with the world? How you answer that question determines what you will do to try and make the world better. The Bible says that sin has marred the world that God originally created as good. Genesis 3 tells us of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God. In chapter 4 the sin spreads from the parents to the children. And then throughout civilization, so that by the time we get to chapter 6, violence has filled the earth. In chapter 11, the first great civilization is founded and has as its first principle, rebellion against God.

4.) God’s judgment: God is holy and just, and is not indifferent about the spoiling of his world. The Bible tells us that God judges sin. Sometimes that judgment is active, as when God expels Adam and Eve from the Garden, destroys the world in the flood, or scatters the people in Babel. At other times God’s judgment is the removal of his blessing, allowing sin to run its course. Shame, guilt, violence, and death are realities in a world tainted by sin.

5.) God’s grace gets the final word: Even in the most severe of judgments, Genesis points us to God’s grace. Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden, but they are clothed by God and sent out with a promise that God will someday send a Redeemer (Gen 3:15). Cain is sent away, but is marked by God for his protection. God sends a flood but, in Noah, preserves a people. Shortly after Babel, God calls Abraham from among the scattered peoples and tells him that he will be blessed, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

For a longer treatment of these things, check out this sermon.

Out of the Silent Planet

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My least favorite of the trilogy, but an important set up to the other two. The main character, Ransom, is kidnapped and taken to the planet Malacandra, where he discovers that the rest of the universe is in harmony with God - that is, everywhere except earth (the silent planet).

There's some great nuggets in this book - on the nature of sin and temptation, as well as reflections on epistemology and cosmology. I wasn't crazy about the dialogue, and I had often had trouble picturing what Lewis was describing in Malacandra (though that may owe to my own lack of imagination).

It's worth the read, if for no other reason than to prepare you to read the second book in the series, Perelandra.

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Church Planter

Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission by Darrin Patrick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The worst thing about this book is the title. "Church Planter" is about much more than church planting, or what qualifies one to plant. It's a book that all kinds of church leaders should read, and churches in all stages (pre-planting, new plant, established church, church revitalization) can benefit from.

Darrin Patrick is the pastor of The Journey in St. Louis, a multi-campus, growing church in the Acts 29 Network. Most folks familiar with the reformed church planting culture will find that most of Patrick's ideas in this book can be found elsewhere (especially in Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and Richard Lovelace). But even so, "Church Planter" is helpful because of the way Patrick distills and communicates information.

The book is divided into three main categories: The Man, the Message, and the Mission. The chapter breakdown looks like this:

1 - A Rescued Man
2 - A Called Man
3 - A Qualified Man
4 - A Dependent Man
5 - A Skilled Man
6 - A Shepherding Man
7 - A Determined Man
8 - A Historical Message
9 - Salvation-Accomplishing
10 - Christ-Centered
11 - Sin-Exposing
12 - Idol-Shattering
13 - The Heart of Mission: Compassion
14 - The House of Mission: The Church
15 - The How of Mission: Contextualization
16 - The Hands of Mission: Care
17 - The Hope of Mission: City Transformation

A big hurdle for some will be Patrick's complementarian understanding of manhood and womanhood - particularly his conviction that the office of elder should be reserved for men alone. He anticipates this and provides an excellent defense in the Preface. Still some will be turned off, but my hope is that wherever you stand on this issue, you'd still give the book a hearing. It's worth it. And certain chapters are worth copying and getting everyone in your church leadership to read (esp chapter 3 - the best succinct exegesis of Biblical texts on qualifications for church leaders I have read).

Read this if you are a church leader of any kind - especially if you are involved in church planting.

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Short Review: Practicing Affirmation

Practicing Affirmation: God-Centered Praise of Those Who Are Not God by Sam Crabtree

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A helpful book on the ministry of affirmation (or encouragement). The premise is this: every good thing comes from God. When we see a good thing, we ought to affirm it. When we don't, we actually pass over something good God is doing, therefore demeaning or undervaluing his work in the world or in other people. So this is a vertical issue (how we praise God), but it's also a horizontal issue (there are tremendous benefits in affirming other people).

To the first point: we need to affirm good things God is doing in others - this a helpful corrective to cynics (who see only negatives), and to the "high truth" people (who think all encouragement is fluff). To the second point: affirming others helps to build up other people. Commending what is commendable tends to reinforce good behavior in others. It helps encourage folks when they make strides in their walk with the Lord. It generally makes you a more pleasant person to be around (contra the quarrelsome person who is like Chinese-water torture). And it is a great way to gain hearing with people (so that you have the opportunity to say hard and corrective things at other times).

Perhaps the most practical lesson in the book is Crabtree's mention of the "Affirmation Ratio." Basically he argues that there is a proportionality that needs to happen with our words - we must affirm much more than we correct. This helps us see well, believe the best, have open eyes to God's work in others, and create space to be heard when we do correct. This is especially important in marriages and with children. How many relationships are in crisis because communication is primarily negative (see Proverbs for warnings about this)!

I gave this book three stars, not because the content was bad, but because it was highly repetitive. It easily could have been boiled down to a long article (20 pages or so). Chapters 2-3 are the most helpful, and could give you the essentials of the whole book. John Piper's Foreword is also worth reading.

Read this if you are a parent.

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Review: Instruction in Faith by John Calvin

Instruction in Faith by John Calvin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love Calvin. I not only think the Institutes of the Christian Religion has stood the test of time, but is one of the most accessible systematic theologies available. Instruction in Faith, however, is not nearly as useful. Written as a short, summary of the faith (33 short chapters, 90 pages) I'm sure this was extremely useful in the 16th century when there hadn't been many Protestant faith summaries circulated. But since then, there have been many, and I'm not sure this is one worth reprinting.

The best parts are that Calvin is succinct and tends to do a good job of pressing the reader to think about Christian doctrine as it applies to both head and heart. It may be a bit weaker when it comes to Christian living (much better in the Institutes). For my money, the reformed catechisms are more useful (esp Heidelberg and Westminster, and even Luther's shorter catechism). More recently, Berkhof's Summary of Christian Doctrine or Packer's Concise Theology are more helpful.

Not a waste of time (because it's so short), but this book has generally outlived it's usefulness. Read it if you are interested in the development of Calvin's thought.

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Almighty Comforter

I've really been enjoying Cardiphonia's new collection of songs for Pentecost. You can download it here (22 songs) for free.

I think, so far, this one is my favorite.

Stealing Hearts

So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. (2 Sam 14:6)

Playing second fiddle is a difficult thing. It's always been hard, and especially so now in a culture that tells us our worth is tied to how high we rise, how much power we wield, how much money we make.

I was meditating this morning on the story of Absalom's rebellion against David. There's a lot to this story, beginning with Absalom's (justifiable) anger over the rape of his sister. After murdering the perpetrator (his brother) he had to flee from Jerusalem. Eventually he was welcomed back to Jerusalem, but lived for two years shunned by David without any contact. Once their fellowship was (mostly) restored (1 Sam 14:23), Absalom set to work in turning the hearts of David's people against him.

His strategy was simple - find David's leadership weakness and exploit it. David wasn't good at hearing the disputes of people coming from other tribes. Absalom waited at the gate, heard these disputes, and lamented with them that the king didn't hear them. Over time Absalom began to have a following. He was helping people to see how he would be a better king than David. (Contrast this with David's respect for Saul's position, even though Saul was a crappy king)

Perhaps we're tempted to play the part of Absalom in our work places and churches. We don't have the position we think we should, so we set to work undermining the leaders who are in place over us. A couple of quick thoughts about this:

1. This betrays a lack of respect for authority. Ultimately all authority is put in place by God (see Romans 13). When we undermine authority, we do so usually believing we know better than God does. We don't say that, of course, but that is what's going on.

2. We often undermine authority under the guise of wishing things were better. But in reality, detracting from present leadership makes things worse. If we really wanted to make things better, we'd work with existing leaders to help them improve in the areas where they are weak, and by encouraging them in the areas where they are strong.

3. If we're not in a position of leadership, we should trust that God has us where he has us for a reason. He knows where we need to be in order to become the person we are destined to be. We may be in our present situation to learn humility, or simply to learn what it means to work hard without a whole lot of immediate gratification. Embrace the place God has you.

4. Generally, we're too cynical about other people. We have to ask: are my criticisms of my boss/leaders justified, or I am just being a cynic? Do I appreciate the challenges they face, or am I just being a nitpicker? One good indicator is to ask if we are able to point out any positives of those in authority over us. If we can't name any, it's likely we're not seeing things clearly.

Think about Paul's words - For there is no authority except from God, and those that have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (Romans 13:1-2).

The War Within

The process of becoming more like Christ isn’t something that happens all at once, but over time. And in Galatians 5, Paul tells us it isn’t easy either. The reason for that, Paul says, is that there is a battle going on within us. Once we become a Christian, it’s not as if we all of sudden have been zapped in such a way that we only do the right thing all the time, aren’t tempted any more, and never struggle. Nothing could be further from the truth. Martin Luther (who knew a little something about the Christian life) said: “We (Christians) are not stocks and stones who are never moved with anything, never feel any lust or desires of the flesh.”

Paul says the flesh and the Spirit are battling within us. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do (Galatians 5:16-17).

The Flesh
Paul says that there are two distinct principles within each and every Christian. The first of these principles is the flesh. When you read the word flesh, don’t think about your physical body. That’s not what Paul means here. The flesh is that sin-desiring aspect of your whole being. It’s our fallen condition. The NIV renders it best here – “sinful nature.” So on the one hand, even after embracing the gospel and coming to Christ, we still have the sinful nature (the flesh) as a part of us.

The Spirit
But we also have a second principle – the Spirit – at work in us. The Holy Spirit has born in us what Paul calls in Ephesians "the new man."

Irreconcilable Antagonism
But the old man, the sinful nature, still remains us with us. And these two do battle within us. John Stott calls it an “irreconcilable antagonism.”

Two Different Motivational Systems
How does this work? The flesh and the Spirit are enemies because they operate as two completely different motivational systems within us. On the one hand, the flesh (the sinful nature) is that aspect within us that wants total and complete control of our lives – we want to be our own savior and Lord. The sinful nature doesn’t want to come to Christ for righteousness and salvation, because if we get all that by grace, then there is no limit to what God could ask of us. If it’s all from God, He can ask us to do anything, go anywhere, serve Him in any way He chooses. The sinful nature doesn’t want that. The flesh wants significance and purpose and salvation - but only on its own terms.

The motivation of the Spirit is entirely different. The Spirit in us, and the new man recognizes that everything good comes from God. And so the motivation for all we do then is the love of God, and gratitude for His grace.

So these two principles are in conflict. For the flesh, the goal is earning worth, or earning righteousness through what we do. But the goal of the Spirit is entirely different. The Spirit’s goal is not to earn anything, but to turn our attention from ourselves so that we might see who Christ is and what He has done so that we might glorify Him.

Tomorrow: Outcomes for following either the flesh or the Spirit

Affirmation on the way to gospel proclamation

I found it helpful, for example, when interacting with a self-proclaimed atheist to take this approach: "I can see that you are an intelligent person. I'm inclined to think that you are interested in following the evidence wherever it goes, embracing reality, whatever it may be." Notice that I affirmed his ability to think, and gave him the benefit of the doubt that he has some measure of interest in the truth. "May I ask you to answer a question?"


Once granted permission to pose my question, I asked, "Would you be willing to describe the god you are pretty sure you don't believe in?" This question does several things. First, it affords me an opportunity to listen, which is both honoring to him and enlightening to me. Second, it elicits from him a clear articulation of just exactly what it is he denies, an exercise that helps me understand his mental obstacles and helps him rethink his own objections as he spells them out. After all, if we are going to have differences, it will be helpful to know exactly (and not merely imagine) where they lie. Third, it - surprisingly, to him - revealed common ground. You see the puzzled and startled look on their faces when I say to self-professed atheists who know I am a God-fearing Christian, "I don't believe in that God either." We still have a difference, and we both know it. But at this point, he knows I treat him with respect as a thinking human being and that we actually have some thinking in common. We have something in common to build on. I don't believe in that god either, but now he may want to know what kind of God I do believe in.
(Sam Crabtree, Practicing Affirmation, 22)

Short Review of Genesis 1-4 by C. John Collins

Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, And Theological Commentary by C. John Collins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Helpful, and I'm sure I'll go back to it as I preach through the early chapters of Genesis. But it's not at all an easy read, especially in the portions where Collins labors to explain how the text should be divided up into pericopes.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect to the book is his view of creation days. Collins takes the "analogical days" perspective, which I was familiar with from the PCA's position paper (this is considered an orthodox view, according to our denomination's General Assembly). But up until reading Collins, I always thought this was the weakest of the 4 orthodox views. He does a good job defending it, however, and while I was not convinced, I am much more open to that reading of Genesis 1-2, and seeing the structure of the creation account as God's Work Week (i.e. communicating the truth of God's creative activity within the analogy of the human work week).

Read this if you're studying Genesis (esp for pastors preaching on the early chapters). I don't think it's a book you'll want to read cover to cover.

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The Gospel in Genesis by Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The Gospel in Genesis: From Fig Leaves to Faith by Martyn Lloyd-Jones

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm frustrated because I just wrote a lengthy review that got deleted. So I'm going to be much more brief. Martyn Lloyd-Jones ("the Doctor") was the minister at Westminster Chapel in London for 30 years. His influence in the Reformed evangelical world is hard to overestimate. He's know for his Biblical preaching and his ability to push the text to affect the minds and hearts of his hearers.

Crossway has done the church a great service in publishing previously unavailable sermons from Lloyd-Jones. The Gospel in Genesis is a collection of 9 sermons on Genesis 3-12. Lloyd-Jones argues that these chapters are important, first, because the whole story of the Bible can be seen in the first few chapters of Genesis (at least in seed form). He also argues that the story of the world makes sense when we view it through the lens of Genesis. And lastly, Genesis makes sense of your life personally: who you are, who you want to be, your pain, struggles, and obstacles.

Chapter 4 "Where Art Thou" is the most powerful sermon. Lloyd-Jones challenges the reader to consider how God is pursuing you, like he did Adam and Eve in the Garden. And also to consider how you may be trying to evade him.

Read this book if you're a pastor planning to teach from the early chapters of Genesis, or a lay person looking for a devotional based on the exposition of Biblical texts.

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Friday Roundup: 04/08/11

I've been sick most of the week and haven't posted all that much. My week's also been more meeting and phone conversation heavy than normal. I hope I haven't said anything really weird, because in most of those conversations I've been in a medicated haze.

:: What's a Congregation Worth: Univ. of Penn professor Ram Cnaan (who describes himself as non-religious) in a 2009 study found that the average urban church adds $477,000 of value to their community every year. One church added $6 million (10x its annual budget). HT: Ray Cannata.

:: Why We Need Jane Austen: Fun article. An excerpt: "Right from the start I must admit that I was not trained in an English department so I am hampered to the extent that I’m rather inept at reading great works of literature for their sublimated eroticism, their homo-erotic subtexts, and covert commentaries on sexual, racial, and economic oppression." HT: Tim Challies.

:: Getting Ready for Sunday: A preview of our worship gathering at New City this week. You should come.

:: The Next Story: I'm excited for this new book by Tim Challies.

Book Review: Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics: U2 in Theological Perspective

Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics: U2 in Theological Perspective by Robert Vagacs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have the same feelings about this book that I have for the movie "Million Dollar Hotel" that Bono wrote and Wim Wenders directed. Great idea. Great setup. Not so hot with the execution.

Robert Vagacs is a theological student at the University of Toronto, and a huge U2 fan. This is true of his mentor, Brian Walsh as well. In the foreword, Walsh narrates his own experience of encountering God at a U2 concert. Walsh almost didn't go to the show, as the daughter of close friends lay in a hospital bed on the brink of death. But at the suggestion of one of his students, Walsh and friends decided to go to the concert anyway, feeling a little guilty at the prospect of enjoying such a spectacle of entertainment while their friends suffered just down the road at the hospital. What Walsh found at the concert, however, was not mere entertainment, but a worship experience. As U2 sang about life and love and death and pain, Walsh was intermittently transported to a place of lament and then prayer and ultimately to a place of joy and hope. This was no mere concert. It was a worship experience.

Unfortunately, Vagacs' writing cannot match that of Walsh, and thus the book goes down hill from there. Vagacs does an admirable job, however, of applying Walter Brueggeman's hermenuetical framework to the U2 catalog. Brueggeman (in Psalms and the Life of Faith) argues that one can see the Psalms through the lens of "orientation - disorientation - reorientation." "Psalms of orientation would include wisdom psalms where everything in creation is in order. God is sovereign, the righteous are blessed, and the wicked are dealt with according to their crimes (e.g., Psalms 104, 127, 128, 131, 133, 145)." Psalms of disorientation include psalms of lament (Psalms 88, 42, 44 among others). These psalms cry out in pain for the present circumstances and long for another time and place. And lastly there are psalms of reorientation. These picture not just a return to the "good old days," but picture a new, hopeful, and imaginative reality. What once was impossible is now possible: "Grace makes beauty out of ugly things."

This idea is not just a way to classify the psalms, but also a way to understand spiritual journey. For example, one can read the great Pilgrim's Progress through the lens of orientation - disorientation - reorientation. And, so argues Vagacs, you can understand U2's poetry through this lens as well.

Vagacs makes mention of U2's early work, but he really begins with The Joshua Tree. This is an album of orientation. This is protest poetry, giving the listener a clear picture of the world as U2 sees it -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. Songs like "Bullet the Blue Sky," "In God's Country," and "Mothers of the Disappeared" are both descriptive and offer critiques of Western culture (and particularly the United States). But there is also a longing for something more in the record, an eschatological quality. Bono sings about a longing for the kingdom of God to come in its fullness. This is something they have yet to see ("I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For") but expect to come ("Where the Streets Have No Name").

The 1990's were U2's period of disorientation. The trilogy of albums Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and Pop are much darker than U2's earlier work. The songs are filled with doom, gloom, irony and satire. Vagacs argues that in these albums U2 is describing the "Babylonian state of Zooropa." "Zooropa is the anti-matter of 'Where the Streets Have No Name'... [It] offers no fulfillment, no certainty, no hope, no compass, no map, no religion. Zooropa is hell on earth." "Love is Blindness" is a funeral procession, depicting the hopelessness of a loveless world. "The Wanderer" might serve as the archetypal song for all three albums. Bono sings of "a city without a soul, under an atomic sky, where the ground won't turn, and the rain it burns...Love is clockworks and cold steel." Vagacs explains, "This city robs its citizens of any semblance of community. Identity is comprised of slogans. This city is the opposite of 'Where the Streets Have No Name.' Instead of hope, there is consumerism. Instead of shalom, there is conformity. Instead of life, there is only numbness. Welcome to the new and improved Babylon...Welcome to the wasteland called Zooropa."

Zooropa leaves The Wanderer feeling less than human, as in "Numb" and "Lemon." And since there is little purpose or destination to his travels, self-indulgence seems to be the way to go in "Playboy Mansion" and "Mofo." But this ultimately leads to dissatisfaction and despair, questioning if God exists or, if He does, whether He cares in "Wake Up Dead Man."

Vagacs misses a great chance here to elaborate on this period of disorientation by analyzing the Zoo TV and Discoteque tours. He mentions them briefly, but a chapter talking about the gluttony of Zoo TV and the long hangover of Discoteque would have been appropriate. After all, the irony and humor of Bono singing "Desire" to himself in a mirror while wearing a gold suit, and dressing as MacPhisto and throwing copies of The Screwtape Letters into the crowd, and playing the part of Judas while singing "Until the End of the World" would really have bolstered Vagacs' argument.

Lastly, Vagacs places U2's next two albums, All That You Can't Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in the category of reorientation. (The book came out before U2's most recent release, No Line on the Horizon). Vagacs cites Salmon Rushdie "recalling a meal in Bono's home in Killiney, south Dublin, when German film director Wim Wenders 'announced that artists must no longer use irony. Plain speaking, he argued, was necesary now. Communication should be direct, and anything that might create confusion should be eschewed.'" This is exactly what U2 did with their next two albums.

Bono himself has said that the theme of All That You Can't Leave Behind is "joy." And on the Elevation tour he shouts "It's all about soul!" What a contrast to move from "Wake Up Dead Man" to "Beautiful Day." The lyrics also intimate a move from "the wanderer" to "the sojourner." Now there is a destination. The cover art suggests this as the band stands at an airport in front of gate J33-3, a reference to Jeremiah 33:3 -- "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know." Bono has referred to this verse as "God's telephone number."

"Walk On" speaks of the journey to a better place and "In a Little While" seems to answer the timing questions to songs like "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "40". "Vertigo" consciously juxtaposes the trials of Christ in the wilderness with the disorientation of life in this time, but both records ultimately are hopeful in God's providence and the coming of His kingdom ("All Because of You" and "Yahweh" are most obvious in making this point).

It's hard for me to admit that I didn't really like this book. Especially because I agree with Vagacs' premise, and I LOVE U2. But the book didn't do much for me. I found the book wanting because, after the first chapter, Vagacs mainly strings together U2 lyrics that seem to support his point. I was hoping for more than that. More reflection, more biographical sketches and anecdotes about the band, more engagement with their performances as well as their lyrics.

In some ways, this book suffers from the same deficiency as Mark Pinsky's The Gospel According to the Simpsons. The premise is good, but it is workman-like from thereon out. A book about The Simpsons ought to be more than descriptive. It ought to be funny. And Pinsky's book wasn't. And a book about U2's poetry ought to be more than insightful. It ought to be beautiful. And this book wasn't.

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The secret of contentment

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Philippians 4:11-12)

What does it mean to be content?

Perhaps the most striking feature of the Biblical notion of contentment, is that exists independent of circumstances. Think of Paul's statement in Philippians 4. According to Paul, covetous people need a change of heart, not a change in circumstances. The reason for this, is that your deepest needs are not for better things, bigger things, more excitement. Changes in external circumstances will not bring lasting contentment, because lasting contentment only comes through satisfaction in God.

This is a very counter-cultural argument Paul is making. It’s very counter-human even, at least in our sinful state. This is one of the paradoxes of Christianity. Jesus promises us the abundant life, and yet also promises persecution and hardship, calling us to take up our crosses. The abundant life is something that exists apart from external circumstances.

I haven’t had a lot of those experiences, like Paul describes in Philippians 4 – that kind of contentment. But there is one moment in my life that really sticks out to me. I spent some time in Albania in the summer of 2000, showing the Jesus Film (evangelistic movie based on the Gospel of Luke) in remote mountain villages. In particular, I remember riding in the back seat of a Russian made automobile. It was over 100 degrees, the windows were sealed shut. I was packed in with the film equipment we needed in order to show the movie in the next village. I was a vegetarian at that time in my life, but had just eaten a plate of sheep's kidney (because it was rude to refuse what was given in an Albanian home).

At this moment, all the external circumstances were poor (to say the least). My stomach was unsettled, I was overheating. The road was unbelievably bumpy (or at lest the vehicle was not up to the task of a smooth ride). I was fearful of how we would be received in the next village.

And yet, this was one of the happiest moments of my life. I remember feeling unbelievably content, despite the circumstances. Some of this was the novelty of the situation, I'm sure. But there was also a sense that this is what I should have been doing with that summer of my life. I felt as if I was truly experiencing the abundant life (even as I was about to yack).

Coveting is desiring something so much that you lose (or are distracted from) your contentment in God. Contentment is letting God have his rightful place in your life – the ultimate source of your security, your joy, your happiness. And so we might say, that at its root, covetousness is a worship deficiency.

This is why Paul calls coveting a form of idolatry in Colossians 3:5. When we covet something, we lose ultimate trust and satisfaction in God. We make a god of something else – money, relationships, power, career, whatever. When we covet something, it becomes the controlling factor in our life.

So what’s the solution to the disease of coveting? What’s the secret to contentment? It’s loving the Lord our God with all our soul, strength, and mind. Contentment consists in recognizing that God is God, and that there is nothing else more satisfying in all the universe than a relationship with him. The secret to contentment is to want God so much that we can’t be bothered with inordinate wants for anything else.

You might say then, that we need to learn how to desire God above all other things. We need the Holy Spirit to reprogram our affections. Some have said that we need “rightly ordered desires.”

God does not call us to stop having desires. But rather we are to desire the right things. And put them in the right order.

C. S. Lewis puts it brilliantly:

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

Contentment doesn’t consist in trying to curb your desires. It will come in learning to desire the right things, for the right reasons. Namely, contentment comes when we desire God more than anything else in the universe. More than money, more than sex, more the perfect romance, more than power, more than a trouble-free life.

True, there are things that we need. There are even worldly things that are good. It’s not wrong to have possessions. You should love your spouse, and your kids. It’s good that you enjoy your home, and your car. But we must always have before us the command to “Seek first the kingdom of heaven.” Seeing God face to face is our goal. The pleasures in life, when we recognize that they come from him, become means to the end of desiring God. But when we make them an end in themselves, we become coveters, and we are in sin.

5 Effects of a Coveting Heart

Covetousness never brings satisfaction
Covetousness is deceptive in that we think it will bring satisfaction. But the satisfaction isn’t lasting. We’ll always want more.

It’s like cotton candy. When you get it at the fair, or at the baseball game, it looks like a huge portion. But as soon as you put it in your mouth, it begins to dissolve. There’s never as much of it as you thought. It tastes good for a moment, but then it’s gone.

Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Gathering more things will not satisfy.

Covetousness chokes off the spiritual life
Coveting is a form of unbelief. When we covet a situation other than the one given to us, then we show a lack of trust in God’s ability to provide the best for us. Worry, insecurity, inflexibility – all these are examples of covetousness. We desire something different than what God has given us.

“O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:30-33)

Covetousness spawns many other sins
I wrote about this yesterday. Violence, murder, theft, lying, adultery – all these things begin in the mind. This is why your thought life is immensely important, and why seemingly “private” sins, like lust and pornography can have disastrous consequences.

Covetousness lets you down when you need help the most
This is certainly true concerning money and material things. “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it” (1 Timothy 6:7).  On your deathbed, money and possessions are not going to be a big asset to you.

But this is also true of circumstances. "If only I wasn’t married to this person, if only I wasn’t single, if only I had a better job…" Changes in circumstances will not bring lasting contentment. They are mirages on the horizon.

Covetousness destroys the soul
Ultimately, coveting, thw desire for more, or for something other than what we have, will destroy us if left to run its course. Envy led Ahab to forcibly take Naboth’s vineyard in 1 Kings 21, leading to his destruction. The coveting of another man’s wife led David into adultery, arranged murder, and eventually led to the death of a child. The coveting of money (or power) led Judas to betray Jesus, and to spiritual ruin.

We'd all do well to heed this warning from the Apostle Paul. Addressing money (but applicable to all kinds of covetousness) he says: “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9).

*The framework for this post is based on John Piper, The Purifying Power of Faith in Future Grace, p. 225-226

Short Review: Unbroken by Laura Hillebrand

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Laura Hillenbrand (author of Seabiscuit) tells the story of Louie Zamperini. A colorful character in his youth in California, Zamperini becomes a track star, even making it all the way to the Olympics in 1936 in the 5,000 meters. The mile was his specialty, however, and he seemed poised to be the first person to break the 4 minute mile. He was on track in his training to do just that, and then the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Louie entered military service as a bombadier. After flying several missions in the Pacific, he was shot down and lost at sea for 47 days. Eventually he was picked up by the Japanese, and spent the next two and half years experiencing the closest thing to hell on earth - internment at 4 different Japanese prison camps. He was experimented on, savagely beaten, and made the personal "project" of a sadistic guard.

But he survived - "unbroken" as Hillenbrand says. Well, not actually. Like so many who experience war, Zamperini was traumatized. His captors haunted his dreams. He coped by drinking. His behavior became more erratic. His marriage seemed on the verge of ruin. His only hope was revenge - he needed to kill th sadistic guard who tormented him all those months and ruined his life.

I'll stop there, because you'll want to read the last chapters for yourself. Or at least, you can stop reading here. I'll give away the ending in the next paragraph. But before I do that - let me say that Hillenbrand is a great writer. She has tremendious sense of pacing, giving the reader plenty of detail to fill out Zamperini's experiences, while pushing the story forward to its climax. This is a really good book. I'm not sure I've read a more well-written biography - EVER!

Here comes the Spoiler:
Okay, so Zamperini is on the brink of despair. His wife is about to leave him, along with his young daughter. He can't keep it together. No money. No hope. And then he goes to a Billy Graham crusade and hears the gospel. His life is transformed almost immediately. His marriage is repaired. He speaks evangelistically around the country and works for a Presbyterian church in Hollywood. And Zamperini even goes back to Japan to proclaim the gospel, even having the opportunity to share his faith with some of the former guards.

I've been told this is going to be made into a movie in the near future. The only surprise there, is that Zamperini's life hasn't already been portrayed in film. I highly recommend Unbroken. It's one of those rare times when an extraordinary writer gets to write about an extraordinary life.



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The disease of covetousness

You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Exodus 20:17)

This is the tenth commandment. The previous four commandments concerned mainly deeds or actions (murder, adultery, stealing, lying). But this ones goes deeper - to the level of your thought-life, and even to the level of desire. John Calvin said of this commandment, “They were not only to abstain from evil doing, but also, that what he had previously commanded should be performed with the sincere affection of the heart.” In other words, this commandment concerns our attitudes, our desires.

The tenth commandment speaks to an area, namely your thoughts and your heart attitude, that no one can see but God. This makes it especially difficult. No one but God really knows when you’ve broken it, and thus, it makes us more likely for us to tolerate our own disobedience. After all, who would know?

Listen to what Edith Schaeffer says:

Each of us is capable of being two people, doing one thing which people are observing, even saying one thing which people are hearing, and thinking and feeling a totally opposite thing, being schizophrenic with no one but ourselves and God being aware of it. Each of us has a struggle over some form of hypocrisy, and we are troubled in varying degrees about the situation. (Edith Schaeffer, Lifelines: The Ten Commandments for Today, 198)

This is the very thing that Jesus pointed out again and again with the Pharisees. “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:” ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Mark 7:6). It is possible to keep the other commandments outwardly, and still be in sin because of the attitude of our hearts.

But the Scriptures tell us it is even more than that. A covetous heart will lead to the breaking of the other commandments as well. This is one reason why it is a fitting close to the Ten Commandments.

The principle is this: wrong ideas, wrong desires precede wrong actions. Our thought life is the place where all sin begins. Coveting proceeds from the heart (Prov 6:25), brings forth sin, which is finished in the “act” (James 1:14-15).

I don’t think those Enron guys just woke up one morning, and decided it was a good day to steal money from their investors. Rather, years of greed, and ambition, and selfishness culminated in sins of lying and deceit. The same is true with adultery. I don’t think people just wake up one day and decide, “I think I’m going to have an affair, and tear my family apart.” No, it begins with coveting a different life, a different spouse, a more exciting sex life.

Your thought life matters. It is the place of preparation for sin. The principle of reaping and sowing is in play here. You sow a thought, reap and action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.

Don’t let the sin of coveting go unchecked in your mind and in your heart, because you think no one will know. God knows, and others will know soon enough when the disease takes it toll on you.

The Dogma of Increasing Wants

The tenth commandment forbids coveting. The flip side of the command, of course, is to be content. I imagine that being content was challenging in any time and place, but never more so than in our society. For we live in a discontented world. Our advertisers and marketers count on that, and capitalize on it.

A few years ago, a Cincinnati Enquirer editorial spoke to this very phenomenon. The author comments:

American advertising doesn’t want us to become to content with what we have, how we look, what we drive, where we live, or the sex we’re having. “You and your life, are deprived,” marketers imply, “you’ll never reach happiness and contentment unless you have more and look better.” That’s devious! While they promise contentment and happiness, they are really inflicting discontent and dissatisfaction.

“It is the tragedy of our times,” says psychotherapist Robert Johnson,” that no matter what we achieve, how much money we earn, or how many blessings come our way, more is never enough. For every desire you fill, another one always follows on its heels…” (Father Lou Guntzelman, “Contentment: The Experience of Being Satisfied,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 21-22, 2004)

American advertising (along with our own sinful nature, and Satan himself) have taught us that the secret to contentment is in the marketplace. We need bigger things, better things, faster things, more stylish things in order to be happy.

But it’s never enough, is it? We buy what we think we need, and almost before we’re out of the store, we’re told we need something else. A couple of years ago I bought a Macbook. Two days later the Macbook Air came out. Instead of being content with my new (and great) purchase, I could only think, “Darn it! Why couldn’t I have gotten the newest one!”

D. R. Davies, in a provocative book called The Sin of Our Age, wrote: “The good life has become inseparable from the maximum possible consumption of things. . . The dogma of the new religion is the dogma of increasing wants.”

And if it’s not the marketplace and its enticements that keep us from real contentment, then it’s probably circumstances. Many of us have adopted a “just as soon as” mentality about life. Life will be good just as soon as:
• I finish working
• Get married
• Finish school
• Have a child
• Buy a bigger house
• Botox my face
• Or hit the lottery
Just as soon as that happens, then I’ll be happy and content. The grass is always greener somewhere other than my current situation. And so I wait, for that hypothetical time in the future, to really enjoy contentment.

Oh to be like the Apostle Paul, and learn the secret of being content.

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Philippians 4:11-12)

How to love your parents

You can do better than this kid.

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

What does it mean to “honor your father and mother”?
The word most English versions translate as ‘honor’ is the Hebrew word kabbed. Kabbed is used in several places in the Old Testament, and these uses give us a sense of what it means for us in the 5th commandment.

Prize highly
Proverbs 4:8 uses the word to speak of the way we should value and treasure wisdom. To honor your parents means to cherish them, guard them, treasure them, prize them.

Care, affection
In Psalm 91:15, kabbed is the word used to describe what the Lord does for His people when cares for them, when He hears their cries, and delivers them from trouble. Duty itself does not fulfill the 5th commandment. Our calling is above and beyond – we are to care for and show affection for our parents.

Respect
Leviticus 19:3 – “Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.” Contemporary American culture has largely lost a sense of respect for our parents and grandparents. I was in Japan for a summer a few years ago, and I was struck how much that culture continues to honor the aged, while ours pays very little attention. As soon as an older man or woman would get on a train, young people would automatically pop up and offer their seats without even thinking about it. I’ve ridden a lot of trains in New Jersey and New York, and I can’t ever remember that happening.

Obey
Obedience is a large part of honoring our parents. This is the way Paul interprets the command in Ephesians 6 – “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” This probably one of the first verses you’ll want to teach your kids when they’re old enough to memorize Scripture. For children, honoring your parents means first and foremost, obeying them.

Honoring you parents changes a bit when you reach adulthood. For most adults, honoring your parents will be predominantly about affection, time, and respect. For me, this task of honoring my parents often takes the form of listening patiently to the advice my parents love to give me. My parents don’t have the authority or the responsibility to command me, as they used to. But they still have the responsibility and the right to be involved in my life. And I am to honor them by letting them.

Financial and General Care
Lastly, the honoring of your parents has a financial aspect. One of the primary purposes for the 5th commandment was the ensuring that elderly parents would be cared for, after they had gone beyond the age where they could provide for themselves.

This has enormous implications for our situation today. We live in a culture that brainwashes us into thinking we have a right to a convenient, problem-free, inconvenience-free life. This is the ideal in America. And it doesn’t seem that many American Christians think too differently.

So what happens, then, when our parents grow old and begin to have trouble caring for themselves? The culture tells us, “Don’t inconvenience yourself! You have plans, after all.” And so we ship our parents and grandparents off to nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Sure, we’ll make an occasional visit, but we won’t bother ourselves with real care.

If you are having to make some decisions regarding your parents’ health, let me suggest to you that in response to the 5th commandment, we have the obligation to at least prayerfully consider caring for our parents at home. The world will tell you – do what’s best for you. Do what’s more convenient. Do what’s easier. But the Christian call to honor and serve demands that we think about it differently. What’s best for mom and dad? Where will they be happiest? Where will they be most comfortable?

I want to affirm that there are times that honoring your parents may involve putting them in some assisted-living facility. That might be best for them, given the level of care they need. It might be even what they want. But let’s make sure that we make that decision based on what’s best for them, not on what we think is best or easiest for us.

The largest hidden people group in Cincinnati

Cincinnati is full of old people. You just don't see them much. Because many have been ghettoized into nursing homes, removed from the rest of society.

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

Who are we supposed to honor?
The rule of Biblical interpretation is to begin with the most plain and simple reading of the text. At its base, this commandment is about how we treat our parents. We sometimes try to make it about other things, but at the most foundational level, this command is about how you as individuals treat your particular parents. People of my generation especially are tempted to interpret this command in other ways, simply to avoid taking any particular action.

We’re tempted to think the 5th commandment is mostly about an attitude toward old people.
“You like old people?”
“Yeah. Do you like old people?”
“Yeah.”
“Sweet, we kept the 5th commandment.” High five!

But it’s not quite that easy.
Listen to what Joy Davidman says:

Nowadays we sometimes like to get rid of the Commandments by broadening them into lofty moral sentiments too vague to apply in daily life. Thus “Honor your Father and mother” is often broadened into something like, “We have a collected responsibility for the aged,” which though perfectly true, can in practice be used to evade our individual responsibility for our own old folks – to justify treating our parents with the same cold benevolence we feel toward indigent strangers in a home for the aged. We plume ourselves on having eliminated selfishness and narrowness from the Decalogue by lifting it above the sphere of personal human contacts; but we have only eliminated reality, for all principles of conduct must come down in the end to the actual relations of flesh-and-blood people. And we have forgotten that the Commandments are not a set of divine ethical abstractions, but a set of quite practical rules for getting along in a very rough world. (Smoke on the Mountain, p. 61)

Your Own Parents
The simplest and most plain reading of the text is that you have an obligation to your parents. You have a divine mandate for honoring them. Part of the way you love and serve God, is by loving and serving your parents. “If you love me,” Jesus says, “then you’ll obey my commands” (John 14:21).

This is something I always tried to drive home with the teenagers when I was a youth pastor. You can have all the warm fuzzies in the world when the worship music is going, but that’s not the ultimate measure of your love for Jesus. Claiming to be on fire for God and having disrespect for your parents are mutually exclusive things. They don’t go together. They can’t go together. If you love God, you'll obey his commands.

The Elderly in our Society
But at the risk of getting too far a field from this primary meaning, I do think the 5th commandment has implications for our treatment of the elderly in general. We live in a culture that prizes youth and productivity to the point that the aged among us have been devalued and seen as burden, rather than as a treasure to society. We no longer revere our elderly and seek out their wisdom. The growth of nursing homes and assisted-living communities, while providing an important (and even necessary) health care service, has had a negative effect on our attitudes toward the aged by the very fact of drawing the elderly out of everyday society. It is now entirely possible as a young person to go months at a time without really encountering an elderly person. We are the first society in the history of the world where that is true. We go to jobs with people our age, hang out in our age-specific coffee-bars, and then on Sundays go to our increasingly more common age-specific worship services. It is myopic to think that this is not affecting the way we see and deal with the needs of elderly people.

This a great analysis of the situation from a friend of mine.

[Assisted-living communities] have the effect of drawing the elderly out of public life and into a separate world of their own, one which is often literally or figuratively at the periphery of society. Geographically and symbolically, many of the oldest citizens of this country live in isolation, left behind by a society that moves ever too fast for them to play any part in it. It is little wonder, then, that the elderly are often forgotten and lonely, as there is such a dearth of their presence in many communities. Especially in suburban communities where walking and public transportation are not common ways of getting around, seniors who lose the ability to drive are effectively barred from lifestyles that would allow them to mix with the general public. In some cases it would not be too extreme to say that the elderly are ghettoized in nursing facilities that are poorly run or where family members never visit. (Jessica Bratt, in a paper presented at Princeton Theological Seminary)

The aged have been moved to the edges of contemporary society. So much so, that I wonder how many of us are aware of the issues facing the elderly in our own midwestern cities. In a ten year period in the '90s, the number of officially reported domestic elder abuse cases rose by 150 percent, from 117,000 to 293,000 cases. Senator Christopher Bond estimates that (b/c many of these cases are unreported), there may be anywhere from 500,000 to 5 million victims of elder abuse (violence and mistreatment of elderly persons) annually. One man in Hamilton, OH was recently sentenced to life in prison for an attack on an elderly woman.

My point is that most of us are simply unaware of the loneliness and hardship and even danger that many aged people deal with daily in America. These people often cannot speak up for themselves. As you know, part of our role as the church is to serve and advocate for marginalized peoples . To borrow a term from missions, the elderly may be the largest “hidden people group” in greater Cincinnati.

Short Review: Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas

Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010), 542 pages plus end notes

Summary
A splendid and thorough biography of German theologian and pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Metaxas might be best known for his biography of William Wilberforce (which spawned the movie, Amazing Grace). But many Christians will have come across his work without knowing it - as he wrote for a number of years for Veggie Tales.

Most know the basics on Bonhoeffer. German theologian-pastor who taught briefly at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and pastored churches in Germany, London, and Spain. Bonhoeffer is best known for his involvement in the Confessing Church movement, opposing the Nazi-controlled Reich church. Bonhoeffer directed an underground Seminary, which led him to write Life Together, a great little book about the community and Finkenwalde. His most famous book, The Cost of Discipleship, had a huge impact on me in college when I first began to consider what the Christian life ought to look like. It also was prophetic, as Bonhoeffer was soon called on to live what he preached. He stood with the Jews in Germany, counted the cost, and involved himself in the conspiracy to kill Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer was found out, imprisoned, and executed just weeks before the end of World War II.

What Worked
I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I came to this book. I've read most of Bonhoeffer's books, took a class on his theology while at Seminary, and read a biography written by his friend, Eberhard Bethge. Despite an extensive background in Bonhoeffer, I learned a lot from Metaxas' treatment of his life. In particular I was struck by Bonhoeffer's commitment to piety, Bible reading, and prayer. I was challenged by the excerpts from Bonhoeffer's journal detailing his rich devotional life.

I was surprised Bonhoeffer's pastoral side, and his commitment to people. To read his books (often very heady), you'd expect him to be a cool academic. But far from it. Bonhoeffer was brilliant. But he was thoroughly committed to his work as a pastor and, like the apostle Paul, was deeply involved in the lives of a wide range of people. I especially enjoyed reading about Bonhoeffer's tenure as a Sunday school teacher, working with teens in a working class neighborhood.

Historians and scholars are often not very good writers. Sometimes bad writing even seems to be a badge of honor - as if boring prose somehow proves the biographer's diligence in research. But Metaxas writes beautifully. And because of it, the book is an easy read, and sometimes feels more like a novel than history.

What Didn't
Cries of hagiography are nothing new to religious biographers. And Metaxas has been getting his fair share of those criticisms. In particular, critics have claimed that Metaxas seems to re-shape Bonhoeffer into an American evangelical. While it is obvious that Metaxas greatly admires Bonhoeffer, I didn't get the sense that he massaged Bonhoeffer's theology to make it more palatable to theological conservatives. Rather, I think this book is a helpful corrective.

In Letters and Papers from Prison, Bonhoeffer speculates about "religionless Christianity." Liberals have attached to this and a few other spurious statements and have claimed Bonhoeffer is one of their own. But Metaxas rightly points out that you cannot interpret the whole of Bonhoeffer's theology through the lens of these statements made in personal letters at the end of his life. For one thing, he didn't mean most of these for publication. Rather than mature statements, they were musings made to close friends and family. Second, some of the letters were written in code, intentionally innocuous because Bonhoeffer knew that his correspondence was being reviewed by the Gestapo. And third, he was under intense duress in those last days. Martin Luther says some curious things in his Table Talk, especially during those years where he suffered chronic pain. His legacy shouldn't be determined by those statements and neither should our view of Bonhoeffer be shaped by these statements in his letters. Taken as a whole, Bonhoeffer's work suggests that while Bonhoeffer probably shouldn't be classified as an evangelical, he certainly is orthodox.

Grade
Four out of five stars ****

Read it if
...you are interested in Bonhoeffer, World War II, or historical theology.