One space or two?
January 17, 2011
It’s time to go public with this, thanks to a recent piece on Slate.com by Farhad Manjoo on why you should never, I repeat, never put two spaces between a period and the beginning of the next sentence. I was taught to do the two-space thing in high-school typing class in the early 1980′s. I learned sometime in the last decade that two spaces were unnecessary because of the way that word processors and printers devote space to small or thin lettering. What Manjoo’s article taught me is that the two-space rule was an aberration in the history of typography. It was the advent of the manual typewriters and its letter-spacing limitations that brought the two-space rule into the picture. Prior to that, standard typography was one-space. I should have known that with all the old books and reprints of old books on my library shelves.
Happy 400th, King James Version!
January 17, 2011
On this day in 1604, King James appointed 54 scholars to produce a new English translation of the Bible. The result 7 years later: the KJV. The more accurate and official name is the “Authorized Version.” I prefer to call it the AV simply because I had giving such a wicked fool of a monarch as James I such good press!
The AV gets a lot of bad press. The archaic “thee” and “ye” pronoun forms are…well, archaic. The English language has changed over the last 400 years, and thus some of the expressions are odd. But no one should deny the sheer beauty of the language. I still contend that it is easier to memorize than many of the contemporary translations. Although I use the ESV in daily reading and in my preaching and teaching ministry, the AV is an old, dear friend, not an enemy. It was the version of my earliest Bible memorization. As long as I retain the faculties of memory, Ephesians 4:32 will come up in my mind as “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” The newer versions just don’t stick like that. A friend and I are currently memorizing the entirety of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, and I keep running across the same phenomenon in efforts to memorize chapter one.
Allen Yeh has written a short tribute to the AV at Scriptorium Daily. It’s worth reading.
Bible reading plan
January 13, 2011
Many folks start a through-the-year Bible reading plan in January. It’s a good practice. There are all kinds of methods available, and the best one is the one you will actually use. Here’s a new method which takes you through the entire Bible in a thematic sort of way. I am interested in what you think of it as you use it.
The Church has waited long
December 28, 2010
A hymn from the great Horatius Bonar:
“The Church Has Waited Long”:
The Church has waited long,
Her absent Lord to see,
And still in loneliness she waits,
A friendless stranger she.
Age after age has gone,
Sun after sun has set,
And still in weeds of widowhood,
She weeps a mourner yet.
Saint after saint on earth
Has lived, and loved, and died;
And as they left us one by one,
We laid them side by side;
We laid them down to sleep,
But not in hope forlorn;
We laid them but to ripen there,
Till the last glorious morn.
The serpent’s brood increase,
The powers of hell grow bold,
The conflict thickens, faith is low,
And love is waxing cold.
How long, O Lord our God,
Holy, and true, and good,
Wilt Thou not judge Thy suffering Church,
Her sighs, and tears, and blood?
We long to hear Thy voice,
To see Thee face to face,
To share Thy crown and glory then,
As now we share Thy grace.
Should not the loving bride
Her absent bridegroom mourn?
Should she not wear the signs of grief
Until her Lord return?
The whole creation groans,
And waits to hear that voice
That shall her comeliness restore,
And make her wastes rejoice.
Come, Lord, and wipe away
The curse, the sin, the stain,
And make this blighted world of ours
Thine own fair world again.
Redeeming Santa
December 14, 2010
Hey, I’ve been blogless for a while. If you’re still interested in following and considering, I’m back in business…
Mark Driscoll has a good piece in The Washington Post about “redeeming” Santa from the “You’d better watch out and behave or Santa won’t visit you” crowd and the “No Santa has ever crossed the threshold of our home because we’re real Christians” crowd.
Prayer for the country
October 5, 2010
“Almighty Creator God, you made the world and everything in it. You are the Lord of heaven and earth. You have given all people life and breath and everything else. You made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth. You determined the exact place where each nation should live, and this you did that we might seek you, and perhaps reach out to you and find you, though you are not far from each one of us, for in you we live and move and have our being. We are all your offspring. So you have appointed us to live in this nation that we love and whose sins make us weep.
“You have established every governing authority and commanded us to submit to them all. We know that if we rebel against the authority then we are rebelling against what you have instituted, and all those who do so will bring judgment on themselves, for rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. You have bid us to pray for all in authority, for presidents, and governors, and congressmen, and judges whether in the Supreme Court or those who make judgments in our smallest communities. You have bid us pray for the police, and for lawyers, for school teachers, for businessmen, for doctors, indeed for all those to whom we are in debt for any and every part of our daily living. You have bid us to pray for them and we regret our failure to have interceded for those who refuse to pray for themselves as we should. Have mercy on us.
“Forgive us if we have thought only ill of our government and consigned Washington to the darkest light. Forgive us that we have grumbled more than prayed about the powers you ordained and have placed in positions of rule. Deliver us from thinking and speaking as though they were only our enemies, but deliver us too from dreaming that such powers as regenerating grace, and the cleansing of redemption, and the gift of divine wisdom could come to our land from any human power. These are your divine prerogatives to bestow, by the church, through your holy word, and in the daily living of those in whom Jesus Christ dwells. The honour of bestowing these graces is yours alone, and in that honour no man shall share. So while we pray for our rulers we do not do so as those who see in them the messengers of salvation. Rather we pray for them as those who are to rule justly, as people who must render an account to you for what they must do, always considering that to whom much has been given much will be required. So have mercy on our rulers; how great their tasks; what enormous problems they face; there are those who would destroy them and us. God protect and keep them. Bring evil men to justice. Arise O Lord and scatter your enemies. Remind our rulers day by day from whom their help alone can come. Teach them always to walk in a modest and humble manner.
“We pray earnestly for our rulers because righteousness alone can exalt any person, any family, any congregation and any nation. How we long that those in power should be characterized by righteous thinking and living. So, merciful God, guide the people of our land in the days to come when they will in their millions choose those who shall enter into a high office and shape the future of the nation we love. God hear our prayer for each one. May they think prayerfully and vote wisely.
“God save the President. God save his wife and children. God save the Cabinet and all who work in the White House. God save all who are appointed to office. Do not give us the leaders we deserve; pity us in your mercy and give us those rulers who will lead our nation into the ways of truth, purity, self control, love and righteousness. Save our nation from those who would destroy it. Prosper the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ in every part of the country and make your people the salt of the earth and the light of this land. Please hear our prayers. Please in your wrath toward us for our wickedness remember mercy. Please revive your work in these days and make the saving beauty of Jesus Christ be seen and desired by all men, because it is in his name we pray. Amen.”
What you wear matters
September 29, 2010
From The Resurgence, part of a short post entitled, “What You Wear Matters.”
5 Scriptural Principles For What You Wear
- Understand that clothes communicate something about those who select and wear them. Christians should dress sensibly, being conscious of their selection in clothing.
- Avoid ostentatious clothes that draw attention to one’s status of wealth and privilege.
- Dress modestly, not sensually, avoiding seductive clothes that draw attention to one’s sexuality.
- Dress properly, using good judgment and avoiding clothes that associate the wearer with rebellion and evil.
- Spend wisely and fittingly on clothes, guarding against purchasing so as to overtax one’s budget and considering what is appropriate in light of personal, family, church, and world needs.
Clearly, these principles apply as much to men as to women. Even the clothes Christians wear should confirm their profession of the gospel.
Read the entire post here by clicking the link above.
Ave atque vale, Michael Been
August 24, 2010
Michael Been, circa 1990
Last night I learned the sad news of the death of Michael Been, bassist and lead singer of The Call. He died of a heart attack at the age of 60 in Hasselt, Belgium while assisting his son’s band on their tour. Jim Kerr, lead singer of Simple Minds, wrote a touching tribute to Been, remembering their brief time touring and recording together in the 1980′s:
A preacher and a teacher no doubt, he was always much more than your usual “ten a penny” careerist ‘80’s rock star. That said as driven as he was with his beliefs, the very ones that infused his music; Michael far from sanctimonious, was always a hoot to be around. To my mind, he had a similar soul that one perceives in true American greats such as Robbie Robertson and even Dylan himself. But even more wonderfully he also had the wickedly spirited comedy of John Belushi draped all around him. For that reason I easily recall the difficulty in picking myself up off the floor numerously after he had acted out one of his genuinely hilarious anecdotes. As I say, it was a pleasure and an honour to have hung around with Michael Been, and for that reason it is with sadness and with feelings of extreme fondness that I recall this warm and friendly man only hours after his sudden death.
That the Call were denied the kind of commercial success that their music merited, is an obvious understatement. Too American for the Europeans perhaps, and too English sounding for the American mainstream, Michael’s face was more suited to Biblical epics than the once ubiquitous MTV. (Beards and bellies were not associated with authenticity back then in MTV land. And Michael to be frank was way too authentic to take seriously the falsities needed to play the success game.)
Four years ago this month I wrote a short blog entry remembering the Santa Cruz-based band. Here’s what I wrote then:
Through the wonder of internet music technology, I have been reacquainting myself with one of the best, though least-remembered, bands of the 1980′s–The Call. They came on the scene in northern California in the early ’80s with a sound and ethos influenced by U2 and Simple Minds–emotion-laden lyrics, post-punk/anti-war angst, and an out-front spirituality shaped by Christian themes. Lead vocalist and bass player Michael Been describes himself as a Christian, although he is quick to add that he does not subscribe to the way he sees Christianity being practiced by many of its adherents–and, sadly, he has a point there. Few singers convey as much emotion and sincerity in their craft as Been does.
Their best work was their 1986 release Reconciled. However, the 1997 (and re-released in 2005) ’The Best of the Call’ compilation is a must-listen. The single ‘Let the Day Begin’ may strike a chord of remembrance in you political junkies out there. In 2000 the Al Gore presidential campaign used it as the anthem for various rallies. Interestingly, The Call was not asked for permission to use the song, but, like most musicians, they didn’t mind the free publicity.
A photo of Been taken earlier this month
Paul Tripp has written a short piece about how the gospel affects life right now. The original appears at Desiring God.
Jason sat in front of me with the head-down, humped-shouldered posture of a confused and disappointed man. It wasn’t that Jason’s life had been a sad narrative of personal suffering. Sure, he had faced some hard things, but they were the typical things that you face when you’re living in a world that has been broken by sin. It wasn’t that Jason was alienated and friendless. He was surrounded by a group of less than perfect, but pretty faithful companions. It wasn’t that Jason was impoverished or homeless. No, he had a decent job and an adequate condo.
Jason’s problem was that he was lost in the middle of his own faith. It had become harder and harder for him to connect the beauty of what he believed to the gritty and often difficulty realities of his daily life. Jason’s problem was that he carried a gospel around with him that had a great big hole in the middle of it.
Jason could explain to you what it meant to say that he had been “saved by grace,” and he knew that he was going to spend eternity with his Savior. His problem was in the here and now. Day after day, in situation after situation and relationship after relationship, Jason didn’t carry with him a vibrant and practical sense of the nowism of the grace of Jesus Christ. Yes, Jason believed in life after death, but he desperately needed to understand life before death; the kind of radical life you will live when you understand what Christ has given you for the life he has called you to right here, right now.
Let me suggest four critical aspects of the nowism of the gospel (there are more) that Jason seemed functionally blind to.
1. Grace will decimate what you think of you, while it gives you a security of identity you’ve never had.
Grace will expose your sin, but it will not leave you without identity. Grace had liberated Jason, but he didn’t know it or live like it. He had not only been forgiven and empowered, but he had been given a brand new identity. Jason had been freed from looking inward for his identity. No longer did he have to measure his potential by his track record or the size of the problems he was facing.
His potential was as great as the grace of Christ. He had been freed from looking outward for his identity. No longer did he have to search for identity in his Read the rest of this entry »
B.B. Warfield (1851-1921), the great Princeton theologian of the late 19th and early 20th Century, wrote and published a small pamphlet titled, “A Brief and Untechnical Statement of the Reformed Faith,” (Adapted from Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield, edited by John E. Meeter. Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1970, 407-410) in which he reduced the central truths of Reformed Theology to 13 points. As you read, you can see that Warfield relies heavily on the language of Scripture and the doctrinal formulations of the Westminster Standards in the articulation of these points:
1. I believe that my one aim in life and death should be to glorify God and enjoy Him forever; and that God teaches me how to glorify and enjoy Him in His holy Word, that is, the Bible, which He has given by the infallible inspiration of His Holy Spirit in order that I may certainly know what I am to believe concerning Him and what duty He requires of me.
2. I believe that God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and incomparable in all that He is; one God, but three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, my Creator, my Redeemer, and my Sanctifier; in whose power and wisdom, righteousness, goodness and truth I may safely put my trust.
3. I believe that the heavens and the earth, and all that in them is, are the work of God’s hands; and that all that He has made He directs and governs in all their actions; so that they fulfill the end for which they were created, and I who trust in Him shall not be put to shame, but may rest securely in the protection of His almighty love.
4. I believe that God created man after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, and entered into a covenant of life with him upon the sole condition of the obedience that was his due: so that it was by willfully sinning against God that man fell into the sin and misery in which I have been born.
5. I believe, that, being fallen in Adam, my first father, I am by nature a child of wrath, under the condemnation of God and corrupted in body and soul, prone to evil and liable to eternal death; from which dreadful state I cannot be delivered save through the unmerited grace of God my Savior.
6. I believe that God has not left the world to perish in its sin, but out of the great love wherewith He has loved it, has from all eternity graciously chosen unto Himself a multitude which no man can number, to deliver them out of their sin and misery, and, of them, to build up again in the world His kingdom of righteousness; in which kingdom I may be assured I have my part, if I hold fast to Christ the Lord.
7. I believe that God has redeemed His people unto Himself through Jesus Christ our Lord; who, though He was, and ever continues to be the eternal Son of God, yet was born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who are under the law: I believe that He bore the penalty due to my sins in His own body on the tree, and fulfilled in His own Person the obedience that I owe to the righteousness of God, and now presents me to His Father as His purchased possession, to the praise of the glory of His grace forever: wherefore renouncing all merit of my own, I put all my trust only in the blood and righteousness of Christ my Redeemer.
8. I believe that Jesus Christ my Redeemer, who died for my offenses was raised again for my justification, and ascended into the heavens, where He sits at the right hand of the Father Almighty, continually making intercession for His people, and governing the whole world as head over all things for His Church: so that I need fear no evil and may surely know that nothing can snatch me out of His hands and nothing can separate me from His love.
9. I believe that the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ is effectually applied to all His people by the Holy Spirit, who works faith in me and thereby unites me to Christ, renews me in the whole man after the image of God, and enables me more and more to die to sin and to live unto righteousness; until, this gracious work, having been completed in me, I shall be received into glory: in which great hope abiding, I must ever strive to perfect holiness in the fear of God.
10. I believe that God requires of me, under the Gospel, first of all, that, out of a true sense of my sin and misery and apprehension of his mercy in Christ, I should turn with grief and hatred away from sin and receive and rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation; that, so being united to Him, I may receive pardon for my sins and be accepted as righteous in God’s sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to me and received by faith alone: and thus, and thus only, do I believe I may be received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.
11. I believe that, having been pardoned and accepted for Christ’s sake, it is further required of me that I walk in the Spirit whom He has purchased for me, and by whom, love is shed abroad in my heart; fulfilling the obedience I owe to Christ my King; faithfully performing all the duties laid upon me by the holy law of God my heavenly Father; and ever reflecting in my life and conduct, the perfect example that has been set me by Christ Jesus my Leader, who has died for me and granted to me His Holy Spirit, just that I may do the good works which God has afore prepared that I should walk in them.
12. I believe that God has established His church in the world and endowed it with the ministry of the Word and the holy ordinances of Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and prayer; in order that, through these as means, the riches of His grace in the Gospel may be made known to the world, and, by the blessing of Christ and the working of His Spirit in them that by faith receive them, the benefits of redemption may be communicated to His people: wherefore also it is required of me that I attend on these means of grace with diligence, preparation and prayer, so that through them I may be instructed and strengthened in faith, and in holiness of life and in love; and that I use my best endeavors to carry this Gospel and convey these means of grace to the whole world.
13. I believe that Jesus Christ has once come in grace, so also is He to come a second time in Glory, to judge the world in righeousness and assign to each His eternal award: and I believe that if I die in Christ, my soul shall be at death made perfect in holiness and go home to the Lord; and when he shall return in his majesty I shall be raised in glory and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity: encouraged by which blessed hope it is required of me willingly to take my part in suffering hardship here as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, being assured that if I die with Him I shall also live with Him, if I endure, I shall also reign with Him.
And to Him, my Redeemer,
with the Father,
and the Holy Spirit,
Three Persons, one God,
by glory forever, world without end,
Amen, and Amen.
