“Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.”
—Jean-François Lyotard, as quoted in Vern S. Poythress, In the Beginning Was the Word: Language: A God-Centered Approach (Crossway, 2009), 381.
‘Everyone who acknowledges me before men…’
Notwithstanding your opinion of these men, their political leanings, the flavor of this show, the topic at hand, or how the topic was handled, it is marvelous to hear the name of Christ “acknowledged before men” on television. Jesus promised that “everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). That is no easy achievement (vv. 16–25). But it’s a stunning promise.
Why humans require a worldview (and why dogs don’t)
Erich Fromm in The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness [(New York City: Henry Holt, 1973) p. 26], writes:
“…[man] needs a goal that tells him where to go. The animal has no such problems. Its instincts provide it with a map as well as with goals. But man, lacking instinctive determination and having a brain that permits him to think of many directions in which he could go, needs an object of total devotion; he needs an object of total devotion to be the focus point of all his strivings and the basis for all his effective—and not only proclaimed—values. He needs such an object of devotion for a number of reasons. The object integrates his energies in one direction. It elevates him beyond his isolated existence, with all its doubts and insecurities, and gives meaning to life. In being devoted to a goal beyond his isolated ego, he transcends himself and leaves the prison of absolute egocentricity.”
In sin’s dark dungeon lying
In sin’s dark dungeon lying
A helpless captive I,
My conscience crucifying,
Heave sigh on weary sigh.
My mortal wound no balm can find,
No help I see around me,
Or solace for my mind.
The Law with heavy lashes
Chastised me for my sin,
Brought me to dust and ashes
With cruel discipline.
No hope I saw; my case was lost,
My heart was bowed with sorrow;
My spirit tempest-tossed.
But Thou dist hear my groaning
And hasting to my aid,
For Thy poor child atoning
Thy sacrifice was made.
The spotless soul was chastened sore
That I should be delivered –
Reclaimed forevermore.
My pains by Thee were taken,
That healing might be mine.
In darkness Thou, forsaken,
Gav’st light on me to shine.
The chastisement on Thee was laid,
Wounded for my transgressions,
And thus my debt was paid.
My heart with grief is stricken
When I survey Thy woes.
Oh! That my love may quicken
To guage how much it owes!
The grief I caused Thee I lament,
My sin has brought Thee sorrow.
Oh! How I now repent.
—Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614–1674), Hymns of the Passion: Meditations on the Passion of Christ (translated by Arthur C. Gook, 1978).
Looking for a read-through-the-Bible Bible?
Each January Christians renew their commitment to read the Bible from cover-to-cover. It’s an admirable goal for such a large and ancient book.
For my money, the best suited Bible for this goal is the ESV Literary Study Bible (Crossway, 2007). I appreciate this Bible because the editors–Leland and Philip Graham Ryken–have written brief notes to help the reader along at a pace of about one note per chapter of Scripture. Those little notes set the stage for what the reader is about to encounter in their reading. And a daily reading plan in the back of the book provides readers with a thoughtful annual reading plan. Readers are encouraged to read daily from four different portions of the Bible: (1) the Psalms and Wisdom Literature, (2) the Pentateuch and History of Israel, (3) Chronicles and Prophets, and (4) the Gospels and Epistles. And in the plan, four major books are read twice in the year (Psalms, Isaiah, Luke, and Romans). Added to this, the wealth of information you will learn about the literary features of the Bible is also quite stunning.
So if you are looking for the kind of a Bible you can read from cover to cover, I recommend the ESV Literary Study Bible. It is available in two editions: hardcover ($30) and TruTone ($39).
Back in 2007 I sat down with Leland Ryken in his office at Wheaton to discuss the ESVLSB. You can learn more about the Bible in my interview with Dr. Ryken here.
Crouching Poet, Hidden Haiku
Speaking of poetry… Stephen Fry in The Ode Less Traveled: Unlocking the Poet Within [(Gotham, 2005) p. xxiv], writes:
“It is easy to be shy when confronting a poem. Poems can be the frightening older children at a party who make us want to cling to our mothers. But remember that poets are people and they have taken the courageous step of sharing their fears, loves, hopes and narratives with us in a rare and crafted form. They have chosen a mode of expression that is concentrated and often intense, they are offering us a music that has taken them a long time to create—many hours in the making, a lifetime in the preparation. They don’t mean to frighten or put us off, they long for us to read their works and to enjoy them.”
HT: Slew
Tony Reinke 