A minor

Wright's Creative Study Habits

Many of you have probably seen this 1999 Christianity Today article on NT Wright. Someone recently reminded me about it, and here are a couple parts I thought were cool:

Having made up his mind to be a biblical scholar but lacking any precise role models, he studied according to his own ideas. "I'd always read the Bible, but I set myself during those two years [studying theology at Oxford's Wycliffe Hall] to read through the Old Testament in English twice a year, and the New Testament in Greek four times a year. I also tape-recorded Romans in Greek, Galatians in Greek, 1 Corinthians in Greek, John in Greek, Hebrews in Greek, and Isaiah in English. I used to listen to them while doing housework or driving the car or whatever. These texts were just constantly flowing through my head." He says that to this day he can recite nearly the whole of Galatians in Greek.

[...]

Wright did his doctoral studies under George Caird, studying Romans. To do so, he placed photocopies of Romans in Greek on a board and used the copies as the backdrop for his study of the book. "I would often spend hours and days with colored felt tip pens, just getting the whole picture of Romans and how it worked—covering the board with scribbles and dots and dashes and bits and pieces of this and that, and noticing particularly the way in which—almost like themes in a symphony—there were clusters of words at a certain point which then occurred somewhere else. These didn't by any means always tally with the structure that I had been taught to look for."

The Full Meal Deal

John Barach has a good, long quote on "the eucharistic feast" from Philip Lee's Against the Protestant Gnostics (Oxford UP, 1987). Deacon Blues tells about a good, long feast he enjoyed this weekend - but then concludes that "When it comes to celebrations and such, we are wimps." Of course, he's right.

I have been taught as an axiom that the church leads the world. If so, then it follows that our wimpiness in feasting is due to some faultiness in our churches. For a provocative essay on this whole matter, see Steve Atkerson and Eric Svendsen, "The Lord's Supper - or the Lord's Snack?"

"And now a word from our sponsors...."

If you haven't tried Honey Nut Chex Mix, you really owe it to yourself. Just don't get carried away and try Peanut Lovers'. I know, it sounds good, but - trust me - it's not.

In other news, I worked a long, hard day, and it's nearing midnight. I open a Diet Coke, but I have no rum. Calmly, I think to myself, "How the hell did I end up living in a communist state where you can only buy liquor at the Idaho State Liquor Store - and, even then, there's only one in town, and they close at seven o'clock?!" I realize that this is not unique to Idaho. But one of the more trivial things I miss about Louisiana is that every self-respecting gas station, Wal-Mart, or pharmacy sells liquor, and 'til midnight at the earliest. Of course, they won't sell on Sunday in Baptist Louisiana where I grew up, but even there you can always find places like Richwood, a black community just outside Monroe, where you can buy liquor anytime you want.

From Grant & Wilbur, The Christian Almanac (Cumberland, 2000):

"Johann Reuchlin was one of the greatest scholastic precursors to the Reformation. He was a linguist who wrote the first Latin dictionary to be published in Germany and a standard Greek grammar. But Hebrew was his dearest love. He ferreted out the rules of Israel's ancient language by study of Hebrew texts and conversed with every rabbi who appeared within his range. His authority became widely recognized.

"Alas, his reputation was nearly the cause of his ruin. A converted Jew and a Dominican Inquisitor obtained from Emperor Maximilian an order to burn all Hebrew works except the Old Testament, charging they were full of error and blasphemies. Before the edict could be carried out, the emperor had second thoughts and consulted the greatest Hebraist of the age: Reuchlin.

"Reuchlin urged preservation of the Jewish books as aids to study, and as examples of errors against which champions of faith joust. To destroy the books would give ammunition to church enemies. The emperor revoked the order.

"The Dominicans were furious. Selecting passages from Reuchlin's writings, they tried to prove him a heretic. The Inquisition summoned him and ordered his writings burnt. Sympathetic scholars appealed to Leo X. The pope referred the matter to the Bishop of Spires, whose tribunal heard the issue. One this day in 1514, the tribunal declared Reuchlin not guilty."

Buy the book and read more.

Monroe Celebrity Match

For those of you who know the Monroe crowd, Micah has posted another funny celebrity match.

Co-producers: Aaron & Aleta
Inspiration: Duane's April 3 post

Joel Garver's Army

In the comments to his April 15 post, Scott Cunningham suggested that he, Josiah Quintus, Paul Baxter, me, and half a dozen others start a fraternity inspired by Josiah's phrase, "a beautiful community of recovering theological pricks." Scott decided he would call it "Joel Garver's Army" - JGA for short. Now I'm definitely in. Joel Wilhelm said he's in. Who else wants to join us? (See what happens when you take a hiatus from blogging, Garver?!)

Allelon

A few weeks ago I linked Allelon, based out of Eagle, Idaho (near Boise). Well, this is just an update to say that they've recently redone their website (via what is church?). I am intrigued and encouraged by many of the things I see in these (former) Vineyard guys.

Trillian (AIM Revised)

Since I only had MSN, I downloaded Trillian the other day. If you want to chat, here are my IDs:

AIM - jonaminor
MSN - amosjon@hotmail.com
Yahoo - amosjon

Two Links:

The Online Daily Office, a ministry of the Mission of St Clare.
Why St Clare? 1) Because St Clare is the patron of electronic media (and, by extension, patron of the Internet), and 2) because this website originates from Silicon Valley (that is, Santa Clara County, California).
The Social Capital of Blogspace (via Karen Ward). This one's for Scott.

Paschal Permanence

I was looking forward to St Mark's Great Vigil of Easter, Toby's bonfire, and Christ Church's Sunday service. But, all of a sudden, I came down with the cold from hell. Good thing the world doesn't start and stop at my convenience. Christ is risen anyway!

From a Barlow Farms Comment by Rev Michael Pahls:

"A single, universal communion would need to be a big tent, with room for the individual genius of discrete charisms and practices.

"Western Protestants are probably the biggest obstacle to this development because we are the most unwilling to become self-critical. In our own Presbyterian/Reformed communion, for example, our ways of articulating (dogmatics) and celebrating (liturgics) the Christian faith are (almost) incorrigibly Western, Caucasian, and Modern. Our unwillingness to be reformed by the witness of Scripture as articulated by a global, multi-ethnic, and largely pre-modern Church makes us a chief offender when it comes to the pervasive fractures in the single Body of Christ. Far from being Rome's failure or Constantinople's failure, or even Azuza Street's failure, it is because we are unable to sufficiently speak with a global voice that we stand a poor chance of gaining the consent of the worldwide faithful."

Update (Friday, April 18): The Barlow Farms post was deleted; here's its replacement.

May 2: Douglas Wilson, "Biblical Wisdom and Sanctified Cynicism"

From: Douglas (dougwils@[...].com)
To: jonamos@juno.com
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 17:21:50 -0700
Subject: Disputatio

Jon,

Here is an announcement thingy for you to post on your blog if you want. It is a major policy address on some of the things we talked about at our last meeting. I will be giving a talk at Disputatio on May 2 with the current working title of "Biblical Wisdom and Sanctified Cynicism." Some of your readers who are in the Moscow area but who are not currently in NSA will probably be interested. Thanks!

The Latest (In More Ways Than One)

Chronic lateness is one of my biggest problems. I finally finished e-filing my taxes at 11:30 last night, but at least they're done now, which is a relief. Now I just need to get my studded snow tires off - the Idaho deadline was yesterday. I haven't had a chance yet, as I just got my car back from about a month-long stay in the shop. (Thankfully, in the meantime, we were able to borrow an extra car of my parents'.) It's nice to have my car back, though. One of my few prized worldly possesions, I hope to have that old beige Volvo until I'm too old to drive it. Plus, amazingly enough, repairs totalled only $150.

I've been rereading Vern Poythress' Symphonic Theology: The Validity of Multiple Perspectives in Theology (P&R, 1987). Here's a quote from page 96:

For the time being, I note simply that we must not dilute truth by combining it with error. But we may sometimes add more truth to what truth we already have by listening carefully to doctrinal disagreements. Even when one party is basically wrong and the other basically right, the party in the wrong may have noticed at least one or two things in the Bible that have usually not been noticed by the opposite side.

In other reading, this week I brought home a few books from the part of my library that my parents store for me. I've been needing more fiction and fun reading, so I turned to CS Lewis' That Hideous Strength, Larry Woiwode's The Neumiller Stories, Samuel Johnson's Rasselas, and - a verbivore's feast - Charles Harrington Elster's There's a Word For It! (Scribner, 1996).

For the last week I've had Debussy's Clair de Lune running through my head, over and over, like a rippling stream. But I didn't have a recording of it...until today. Finally I could stand it no longer. I went to Hastings and came home with A Debussy Recital: Piano Works performed by Philippe Entremont (Essential Classics/Sony) and Debussy: La Mer, Dances Sacred and Secular, and Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun performed by the Georgian Festival Orchestra (Infinity Digital/Sony). And while I was at it, I picked up a used copy of Billy Joel's Greatest Hits Vol III.

In more recent music, after my Radiohead kick, I started listening to Ben Folds Five's self-titled album. Not a great album, but I've enjoyed it. Any suggestions for my next kick? Also, do any of you have the new Audioslave? I've only heard their current radio hit, "Like a Stone," a handful of times, but, except for one part of the guitar bridge, I think it has a great sound. When I first heard it, I wasn't sure who it was - I thought Chris Cornell's voice sounded like a mix of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Creedence's John Fogerty. But I'm ramblin' again....

Comments from Rick's 14 April "Poll Results"

For those who don't know, Joost Nixon is pastor of Christ Church Spokane. Can any of you help answer his questions?

I'm rather new to this "blogging" stuff, and I find the "whine" ratio fascinating--in a morbid kind of way. Tell me, are blogs somehow not "speech" and use of "the tongue" that they are exempt from the Lord's statutes and ordinances?

I'm not referring specifically to *this* post. But if blogging isn't speech, but is rather letting someone else into your brain--then here again: are our thoughts (published for all to see) somehow exempt from the rule of Christ?

Is Christ Lord of blogging? Or is this the one place where we can sin with impunity?

Sorry to break up the fun, gang, but *in general* (this is a statement about many of the blogs I've read--and admittedly, only recently), there seems a freedom to write things in a blog that if they were spoken would be considered slander, gossip, backbiting, complaining and ingratitude. But aren't these things grieving to God? Do we think that somehow God doesn't lurk our blogs?

Help me here. What's going down? In our blogging, should we not blog to the glory of God?
If so, what does that look like?

This isn't a loaded question.

Posted by joost at April 15, 2003 07:49 AM
Joost,
I know God is here. I don't think I'd refrain from saying any of this in person. If I have a problem, that's it.

Posted by Rick at April 15, 2003 11:01 AM
Rick:

Eschatology and hugging isn't my issue. I didn't vote because both options were like deep fried pork chops that had been first breaded in Kitty litter.

I think that largely you've behaved yourself. I had a question, and since this was the latest post, I dived in *here*. But my question, to all bloggers everywhere, is why there is so much cotton-picking whining. And so much of the whining is of the "lonely, misunderstood poet" variety."

My speculation is that many bloggers have the illusion that what they are doing is private and not public, and my point is that blogging is like reading your diary over a bullhorn.

That's all. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Posted by Joost at April 15, 2003 11:56 AM
Joost, I cannot enlighten you. I can, however, offer some suggested blog reading; see the list below.

My experience with blogs and blogging is very different from yours, and, as such, (no offense) your reaction sounds pietistic to me. My suggestion is that - if you really want to know what's going on in the blogging world - you should read more blogs, and read them for a longer period of time. Then I think your perspective will be worth more.

Here are some blogs, at random, from my roll:

REFORMED
Duane Garner
Jon Barlow
Jeff Meyers
Matt Colvin
Kristen Knox
Scott Cunningham
Emeth Smith
John Barach
Tim Gallant
George Grant

OTHER
Telford Work
Todd Hunter
Daniel Silliman (I hope Daniel doesn't mind being under OTHER; he's a self-professed Anglo-Catholic, so I doubt it.)

Posted by jon amos at April 15, 2003 01:11 PM

Update (Wednesday, April 16): Here's "the concusion to the matter," which I found very encouraging.

Jon and Rick:

Good points. I'll chill out now.

Thanks,

Joost

Posted by Blog police at April 16, 2003 11:55 AM

Update (Thursday, April 17): So maybe it wasn't "the concusion to the matter." But that's okay because I found the following exchange to be even more encouraging.

So here I am nearing the bottom of one of a glass of Guinness and thinking that in many ways I am like Thomas Cranmer, and the first thing that needs to burn are the hands that wrote mt retraction.

Jon, thank you for pointing out my pietistic strains. They are most certainly there, and generally need a good whacking now and then. But I must disagree with you on the *locus* of my pietism. You seem to think it I am pietistic because I think that many young bloggers are whiney and self-absorbed ninnies. But I think I am pietistic for feeling guilty for saying so. See the distinction?

But heck, this sin can also be repented of, as I hope to do. And in the future, I invite you all hold me accountable as I seek to mortify this sin.

Posted by Joost Nixon at April 16, 2003 09:31 PM
Thanks, Joost. I do see the distinction you're making. My point is that there are older, wiser bloggers out there, and these are the bloggers from whom I try to take my cue. But you didn't make the older/younger distinction in your first two comment posts. I think much of what you said is indeed true of the younger sort, of which I myself am included (by age, at the very least). We need your warnings - and you shouldn't feel guilty for giving them - they just need to be better qualified (e.g. the older, wiser vs younger, whinier distinction). Blessings.

Posted by jon amos at April 17, 2003 01:28 AM

Sweater-Vests: Time to Represent

There have been a few blog discussions on sweater-vests lately. It all started with a comment I left at Barlow Farms; then Opinonated Feet got into it (scroll down to April 2, "School Uniforms"); and next we enjoyed the occasional "Dear Kristen: Advice For Males" (scroll down to April 8). I refrained from posting here until now. But I just read the Princess of Fluff's passing comment (scroll down to April 4, "Why?"), and I can't keep my mouth shut.

In an otherwise clever post, Rachel makes at least two false associations. The first is "people who talk about aesthetics and then wear sweater-vests [...]," which implies that sweater-vest wearers talk about aestheics. The second is "sweater-vests and loafers," as if the two go together. While I am an unashamed sweater-vest wearer, I'm not known for talking about aesthetics all that much, and I certainly don't wear loafers. In fact, I have never seen the combination, and I'm glad. My conclusion: Rachel's makin' stuff up.

Posties Jig

If, like me, you have grown up around the movements of Theonomy and Christian Reconstruction, the following might be of interest:

Daniel Silliman's "Post-Rushdooney Theonomy"
Gideon Strauss' detailed summary (follow the link and scroll down to his April 6 entry that begins, "Some time ago...")
Joshua Wiley's "Post-Recon," "Post-Theonomy" (follow the link and scroll down to his March 31 entry)

On a distantly related note, if, like me, you have grown up around a place like New St Andrews College, the following might be of interest (via Dave Hegeman):

Andrew Sandlin, "Paying the Educational Piper"
Gerry Wisz, "The Limits of Liberal Education"

And speaking of New St Andrews, how about that ad in the back of Credenda?

Saint Augustine did not major in computer science.

Poor Augustine...didn't get a technical education in a cutting-edge field with great career potential.

All he got was a classical education.

So he just hung around North Africa and turned the Western world upside down and the church right side up.

At New Saint Andrews all you get is a classical education
from a biblical worldview. Go figure.

One Lord. One Faith. One Baptism. One Major.

From Scott's Short Confession:

"I do think that much of the things I'm describing - my belief that theological systems are impossible to maintain, or at best, not mutually exclusive such that it's possible for several of them to be right, but no one of them to be perfectly, exhaustively right; my desire to move away from an over-intelectualizing of the faith; my desire to return to historic, ancient, classical Christiantiy; my desire to be a truly eccesial, ecumenical, orthodox (little 'o') believer. All of these things are best dealt with within the confines of the community of God, in meaningful relationships with people."

Scroll down to Scott's Tuesday, April 8 post.

More Great Blogs to Read

Or should that be, with a sarcastic sigh, "Great. More blogs to read."? Probably the former, hence this tip of the hat to local Canon Press bloggers Jared and Lucy. And take note: I predict that it's only a matter of time before Doug Jones starts a blog.

"More Good Things About Women"

Lucy wants us to say "more good things about women" (see Deacon's comments). Well, here's one...sort of. But first I need to do some explaining. Occasionally - not often, but occasionally - I'm a sucker for promotional ads. So the other day I got a promotional ad to the effect of, "Sign up for Redbook and get a free gift." I wanted Hollie to have the gift, so I signed her up. (That's right: Hollie currently receives Redbook, at least until she calls to cancel - which I'm sure will be soon, especially since they've yet to come through with the gift.)

Anyway, "good things about women." Did you know that Redbook is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and that - more surprisingly (to me, at least) - it used to be more of a literary magazine? Editor-in-Chief Ellen Kumes writes, "Back then it was practically an all-fiction magazine, publishing such impressive writers as Edith Wharton, Thomas Wolfe, Daphe du Maurier, Somerset Maugham, and Agatha Christie. Later the magazine became known for great journalism as well, featuring important pieces by Winston Churchill and Carl Sandburg." (May 2003)

The more I think about it, though, I'm not sure this really says good things about women. I mean, look at Redbook today? Kumes continues: "What I think is the most exciting thing about this magazine is that is has kept pace with you, its readers: As the lives of young married women have evolved in the past century, so has Redbook."

Hmmm.... Perhaps it does say good things about women - just not about the evolution of the past century.