Genesis 1:1-2:3 is not poetry and it is historical

Thought

I suspect the title has already polarized you—or if not that, it has at least evoked something of a gut response for you. The issues of creation and science tend to do that for people! But please let me set the context of this discussion: this is not a discussion about science and creation.

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Personal security (part 1): Introduction

Thought

There were 828 homicides in our city in 2010, an increase of 210% from 2009. There were 15,493 cars stolen, many of which were taken at gunpoint, and 323 kidnapping events (often involving more than one captive)—all increases on the 2009 levels. In a city of 4.5 million, that’s a lot of violent crime—and so far, 2011 is breaking all the records.

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Have we got the right Bible?

Thought

Who selected the books in the Bible? Was it all just a power play between leaders? Mark Thompson surveys the history of our biblical canon, and the central role of Jesus in its formation. (more…)

Psalm 11—A Psalm about Jesus

Pastoral Ministry

Psalm 11 talks about the wrath, fire and judgement of God.

I have some 3/4 formed thoughts about how the Psalm points to Jesus. But I would be delighted for blog readers to add their thoughts to the mix, as I prepare to preach it this Sunday. You can go in the footnotes that all good preachers put into their sermons and read out as people are exiting the building.

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The editor’s fault

Thought, Sola Panel

One of the many crosses my children have to bear in having me for a father is that I find it hard to stop being an editor.

“Me and Elle are going to the beach today, Dad. Can you give us a lift?”

“Not until you can say: Elle and I are going to the beach today.”

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Necessary heresies?

Life

 

It’s not really necessary to know your heretics, unless they’re doorknocking you.

Even then you can find ways to avoid them or annoy them. I keep a Greek New Testament on hand. When they deny that Jesus is God, I mention John 1:1. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. I point out that in verse 14 of the same chapter, the Word becomes flesh—God becomes man, the man Jesus Christ.

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Definitely enough

Resource Talk, Sola Panel

What do you think of the following piece of writing?

The first option is rather than mirroring, imaging, reflecting, showing God we turn the mirror round and we become absolutely enamoured with, infatuated with, ourselves. That is, you get concepts of self-esteem, self-love, and Maslow with his hierarchy of needs said that ultimately our greatest need is what? Self-actualization—to glorify ourselves, to get all we can get, to be all we can be, to do all we can do, to have all we can have. This comes from the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus. If you know the concept of narcissism, it is one who absolutely is enamoured with, addicted to, themselves.

As writing, it is not really very good, is it? The words and ideas are just piled up without any real structure or flow. There’s very little memorable imagery or language. It lacks power.

Truth is, it comes from one of the most popular and gifted Christian communicators on the planet, Mark Driscoll. But it was not written by Mr Driscoll. It’s a snippet transcribed at random from one of his online sermons. The reason it is such bad writing is that it is not writing at all, and was never intended to be.

Now it’s possible to do some editorial magic on this sort of writing. We could tidy it up like this:

The first option is that rather than mirroring or imaging God, we turn the mirror around and become infatuated with ourselves. We love ourselves rather than God. Maslow, with his hierarchy of needs, said that ultimately our greatest need is self-actualisation—to glorify ourselves, to be all we can be, to have all we can have. This is narcissism (which comes from the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus). A narcissist is someone who is enamoured with, and addicted to, themselves.

Does that improve things? Well, a bit. But it is still not very good, and a book full of this sort of prose would be tiresome and hard to read. There’s very little rhythm or life to it.

Such, in my experience, are most books that start out as sermons. They very rarely work, not only because spoken English is not the same as written English, but also because the rhythm, style, diction and method of a sermon is difficult to translate to the page. Even the most electrifying and edifying sermons seem to have the blood drained out of them when they become an article, or chapters in a book.

This is why I was a bit skeptical when Ray Galea sent me a proposal for a book last year, based on a series of sermons he had done in the psalms. “This isn’t going to work”, I mumbled to myself. But it was Ray, and he was both a friend and the author of the very successful Nothing in my hand I bring. So I said I’d read it, and get back to him.

I’m glad I made the effort. The result­ing book, God is Enough, has been one of the success stories of 2010. It’s already gone to a second printing, and has done so largely through that most precious of publishing qualities: word of mouth. People who read God is Enough tell their friends. It’s a contagious book.

God is Enough is the exception in books-from-sermons for two reasons. The first is that Ray has succeeded in making the transition from spoken English to the page without losing his rhythm or his voice. It doesn’t take very long in God is Enough for you to forget that you’re reading a book, and to hear Ray’s warm, funny, insightful voice teaching and encouraging you from the Scriptures. It’s an easy and delightful book to read. (Ray would be the first to tell you that this is also due to the excellent editorial efforts of Emma Thornett in our office.)

The second reason the book works is the subject matter, and the way in which Ray approaches it. It’s about what happens when you’ve been a Christian for a while, and the world starts to close in. You find that your enthusiasm and love for God has been displaced by busyness, responsibilities, and a never-ending round of Christian activities and involvements. You suffer some disappointments—perhaps some profound ones. And you start to wonder why you’re doing all this.

God is Enough aims to re-focus our lives on God by looking at how a series of different psalms do just that—focus on God amidst the difficulties and pressures of life in this sinful world. The theme verse for the book is from Psalm 73: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Ps 73:25).

If you haven’t yet read God is Enough, you really should. It will be good for your soul, and will give you yet another useful resource to share with your friends.

When wisdom marries folly

Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel

If there’s ever been a mismatch, it was the union of Nabal and Abigail (1 Samuel 25). You can almost see the announcement: “Stupid, stubborn, surly skinflint marries brainy, brave, benevolent beauty”. It’s as if the characters of Folly and Wisdom stepped out of the pages of Proverbs and got hitched. Those TV advertisements with the clever wife rolling her eyes over her bumbling husband have nothing on this!

What can we learn from their ill-fated union? How can I be Wisdom rather than Folly? And what do I do if I’m Wisdom married to Folly?

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Jesus at work: Trading places

Thought, Sola Panel

Here’s something really interesting in Mark’s Gospel that my lovely wife Bronwyn noticed when she was reading the Bible the other day. Close to the beginning of Mark, in chapter 1, Jesus meets a man with a skin disease:
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The God of the nobody

Life, Sola Panel

This is the sixth post in Jean’s series on women in the Bible. (Read the first, second, third, fourth and fifth.)

Hannah is a nobody, the insignificant wife of an insignificant member of an insignificant tribe. Compared to Eve, mother of all living; Sarah, mother of God’s people; or Deborah, judge of Israel—who is she? Just a barren women loved by her husband but jeered at by a younger, fruitful wife (1 Sam 1:1-8).

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Girl crushes and a petulant princess

Life, Sola Panel

 

This is the third post in a series Jean is doing on women in the Bible—the first two being about Eve.

Have you ever had a ‘girl crush’? You know, that admiring, platonic devotion women sometimes feel for other women. (The male version is, of course, the ‘boy crush’—most often expressed in adulation for preachers and thinkers like Don ‘The Don’ Carson and or John Piper.) Perhaps you adore Elisabeth Elliot, that beloved missionary. Perhaps you revere Susannah Wesley—she of the apron and the many children. Perhaps you idolize one of those regal, older women—someone you know who radiates calmness, wisdom and humility.

Sarah, wife of Abraham, seems like an ideal candidate for a girl crush. Her very name means ‘princess’. Her beauty was legendary (Gen 12:11). Many women (I’m one of them!) have been inspired by the Bible’s call to imitate her persevering faith and trusting submission (Heb 11:8-12, 1 Pet 3:1-7).

So when my Bible study group came to Sarah’s story, I think we were all expecting something pretty special. But we were unimpressed.

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