An announcement

I have something new at The Bible Exchange, "This is my Father's fallen world".

www.bibleexchange.com

Psalm 20

If God is for you, it doesn't matter who's against you. If he's not, it doesn't matter who's against you.

The best that we can hope for is that God will hear our prayers and give us what we ask for. He can do that because he's all-powerful, and nothing is too difficult for him. We can hope for it because he's also also all-good.

Review: SALT AND LIGHT by Eberhard Arnold

In this book Arnold looks at how a Christian can positively influence the world around him. First and foremost,Arnold says, he must live as a Christian, which will make him seem very strange to the world around him. It's only by practicing what he preaches that a Christian can hope to get a hearing.

This is a challenging book, even more so when one realizes that Arnold lived this way in the first years of the Third Reich. I recommend it.

Psalm 19

David makes an audacious claim in this psalm. Keep in mind that he's talking about the Five Books of Moses, the Torah, one of the parts of Scripture we least like reading.

He doesn't say the law is good. He says it's perfect.

Review: JACK OF FABLES VOL.1 by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, and Tony Akins

This was the first spin-off from the main Fables series, and is much funnier than the original.

A lot of the humor comes from the disconnect between how Jack views himself, as the greatest Fable of all time, and his true self, which is arrogant and a little stupid. Despite his stupidity, his cunning and charisma make him a natural leader and a good comic-book protagonist.

The art is fine. While I might seem to be damning it with faint praise, I'm actually not. It's not as good as that of the main Fables book, but it's at least as good as most others. The art isn't perfect, but it is perfectly suited to the story. It's also worth noting the sheer number and variety of things artist Tony Akin is called on to draw.

The biggest problem with the book lies in its own nature and that of its main character. The book is funny, but in a broad, farcical way, deriving humor from sex and violence (and there are plenty of both. Jack seems to have no inclination to improve his world, instead living only to satisfy his own appetites. The book reflects this empty, adolescent philosophy, and I don't recommend it.

Psalm 18

Remember the song "Count Your Blessings"? That's not a bad idea.

Trusting God isn't just about asking him for stuff for the future. It's also about remembering what he did for us in the past and thanking him for it. After all, why would you depend on someone tomorrow if you couldn't depend on him yesterday?

The eighth commandment

15 "You shall not steal.

-- Exodus 20.15, ESV

This is another commandment that's very simple and very straightforward. But what if I really need something? Don't steal. But what if somebody steals from me? Don't steal. But what if -- ? Don't steal.

You're not allowed an excuse. That's why they're called the Ten Commandments, not the Ten Suggestions.

Psalm 17

David isn't worried about his standing with God, because as far as he knows there's nothing to worry about. Though Israelite kings could and did fall from God's favor, David isn't concerned, any more than a dutiful son would be concerned that his father might disown him.

Not being eternally secure doesn't mean that you're eternally insecure.

Psalm 16

Those who say God is cold and joyless have obviously never read the Bible.

In The Screwtape Letters the senior devil Screwtape quotes this psalm specifically when he accuses God of hedonism. It's worth noting that those who know God best are always talking about his joys and gifts; it's only those who don't know him who think he's harsh or cruel.

Review: THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES by Charles Darwin

For many years I didn't read this, because I didn't think I needed to. After all, I had already heard all about it. The professing Christians I knew (mostly Fundamentalist Baptists) thought it was the worst book ever written because it has been used to prove evolution and disprove the existence of God. The evolutionists I knew (mostly intellectual atheists) thought it was the best book ever written for exactly the same reason So I never got around to reading it.

Until I did.

I'm convinced that both its friends and its enemies make such grandiose claims because few of them have actually read it. The fact is that it is a product neither of Heaven nor of Hell. It's a book, and an old and dull one at that. Charles Darwin was neither a great genius nor the Antichrist. He was a man who wrote some observations and opinions in a book.

Since by his own standards these opinions have been proven wrong, I don't recommend this book.

Bread

Of all the good things God's given us to eat, I think I miss bread the most.

I miss all kinds of food: cereal, cheeseburgers, apples, devil's food cake, raw spinach, catfish, oatmeal, steak, pizza, pancakes, black-eyed peas, granola, cherry pie, pork chops, bananas, donuts, bacon ... but for some reason, I really want bread. I can spend hours thinking about it, from loaf bread to biscuits to pizza crust,

A better person (and a better writer) would tie this into how Jesus said, "I am the bread of life," and make some life-changing point. I'll just say this:

I miss bread.

Psalm 15

Who can dwell with God? The one who does what God says. That means a lot of people are in for a rude awakening.

You're not saved by works. But you're not saved just because you say you are, either. Your outward works reflect your inward beliefs. Besides, who'd want to spend eternity with a God with whom you disagree? It would be like an ant dancing with an elephant; no matter how careful the elephant is, it's not going to end well for the ant.

Review: THE DIVINE COMEDY by Dante Aghlieri

This is another of those great classics that I haven't gotten around to reading until the last couple of years. And I'm mostly doing it now so I can say I did.

Frankly, I didn't think it was worth the effort. The poetry did nothing for me, and since I don't care for Roman theology or 13th century Italian politics, there's not much else to pay attention to, and I don't recommend it.

Psalm 14

If not for God, the righteous would have no chance. In this psalm, David describes God's people as surrounded by evil men, but also by the protection of God.

And if you have the second, the first doesn't matter.

Review: THE PRAYER GOD ANSWERS by Eberhard Arnold

Plough.com has a great many books for free so as you'll see I've read a lot of Eberhard Arnold books.

Arnold was the founder of the Bruderhof movement, which has become a worldwide network of Christians living communally. This book looks at the relationship of prayer to such a life, and determines that the prayer God answers is the one that already matches up with his will.

Since Arnold made his living as a teacher, lecturer, and editor, it's not surprising that the book is well-written. It's also worth every penny I spent on it. I recommend this book.

Psalm 13

If God has always come through in the past, it makes sense that he would do so in the future. 

David starts by questioning God and ends by praising his faithfulness. This is only natural. The normal reaction to someone who's already proven himself trustworthy is to keep trusting him.

The seventh commandment

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

-- Exodus 20.14, ESV 

This is very simple. Adultery is just sex with someone you aren't married to. Therefore, don't have sex with with someone you're not married to.

That's black and white. Only people make it complicated.

Psalm 12

The phrase "purified seven times" is sometimes used by those who believe the King James Version is the only real Bible. Since the KJV was the seventh major English translation, they say, this is proof of their case.

This overlooks the simple fact that their "proof" is silly.

Review: CHAOS by James Gleick

I think books on math and physics are very interesting, especially the theoretical aspects. Unfortunately, I've never had any aptitude for those subjects, and I never learned to do the math necessary to really understand them. What this usually means is that I generally understand them until the equations come out, and then I get lost.

Gleick's books are different, in that he's not a mathematician or physicist either. What they may lack in precision -- which would be lost on me anyway -- they more than gain in readability. This book is particularly good in this regard, both because it's nearly 30 years old and because there are a great many illustrations of Mandelbrot sets, as well as many photographs and charts that make the text clearer.

Chaos may not have lived up to the rapturous expectations of the 1980s, but it has still proven to be an important concept, and this book does a good job of introducing it. I recommend it.

Psalm 11

Evil people can do what they like. God is still God.

They can scatter the righteous, slander them, and even try to kill them. In the end it just doesn't matter. God will always be God, and he'll always take care of his people.

What "Built for Glory" means

First, it comes from one of my favorite songs, "Built for Glory, Made to Last", by one of my favorite bands, the Lost Dogs. Go on and look it up. I'll wait.

Now that you've heard a good song, I'll continue. It also means that though we've adapted ourselves wonderfully to the world in which we live, it's not the world in which we were meant to live.. It's been marred by sin; it's hard and hostile, and while we survive here, we were designed for something else.

We were designed for a perfect world, and for communion with God. Instead, we're just strangers in a strange land, stumbling blindly behind him.

An announcement

The Bible Exchange has let me put something else up there. Here's the link.

Psalm 10

You're not getting away with anything, you know.

This psalm is both a prayer that God would see the deeds of the wicked and a promise that he will. God sees everything; that's what omniscience means. It's not like anyone can slip something by him.

Review: HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad

This is the book that took me the longest to read. I started it my senior year of high school, and finished it 17 years later. And it's not that it's long, either. A dead-tree copy is about 75 pages long, so it's barely a novella.

The fact is that I found it boring. I still do, and I don't recommend it.

Psalm 9

If God does something for you, tell people. The last eight psalms have asked God for justice, and here David is thankful for what he's received and what he will receive.

Like I said, if God does something for you, tell people.

Review: THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS by John Bunyan

This is without a doubt the most famous allegory in the world, and other than the Bible it's the most-translated book in history. But is it any good?

The first thing to notice is that this is an old book. Between the outdated spelling and vocabulary and the archaic punctuation, it can be a challenge to read. Because it's been in the public domain for so long, though, there are plenty of audio and modernized versions that pretty much eliminate that problem.

A second consideration is the story, which is divided into two parts. The first, the tale of Christian's journey to Heaven, is the best-known and better of the two, while the other, which tells about his wife Christiana and their children as they follow him, is both somewhat repetitive and less interesting.

Overall, this is a book that rewards the effort put into it, and which deserves its status as a classic. I highly recommend it.

Psalm 8

God is the one who made the universe, and that's who wants to speak with you.

We've sent spacecraft billions of miles. We've seen trillions of miles. Some of what we think are stars in the night sky are actually galaxies of tens of millions of stars. Everywhere we look we see the handiwork of God, even though he's that great he still cares about each one of us.

The sixth commandment

13 "You shall not murder.

-- Exodus 20.13, ESV 

While governments were given the right of capital punishment immediately after the Flood, and unintentional killing could be forgiven under the law, premeditated homicide has always been strictly forbidden. The murder of an image-bearer of God is extremely serious, and should be treated extremely seriously 

Psalm 7

Why do we think only evil can hurt us? Good can too, and when it has to be it's far more terrible than evil. If your enemy is Satan or one of his minions, you can pray to God for deliverance, but when God is your enemy,where do you turn?

After all, it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Review: BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL by Friedrich Nietzsche

There are atheists, and then there's Nietzsche.

While our modern atheists tend to want the benefits of religion without a God telling them what to do, Nietzsche looked at a world without God and was horrified. When he had a character in another work say that God is dead, it was a cry not of triumph but of despair.

This book explores more of what it would mean to live in a universe where man is the only authority. Specifically, since morality tends to come from religion, without religion mankind would be beyond morality, too. While part of me thinks everyone should read this just to see what lies behind celebrity atheists like Richard Dawkins and Penn Gillette. Another part, though, knows it's pretty dull. Evil, it seems, really is banal. 

Psalm 6

What I find most interesting about this psalm is the reason given for God's help. It wasn't ultimately for David's sake, or even the nation's. It was for God's,since dead men can't praise him.

People were made for God, not God for people.

Something else you should never do with Scripture

You are not in the Bible. At least it's very unlikely you are.

Then why do you pretend that everyone in it shares your opinions? Especially God?

When the higher criticism really took off, it was led by 19th century German seminary professors. Not surprisingly, when this group of people began to look for "the historical Jesus", they found one that thought and acted just like a 19th century German seminary professor. Everyone from the Church of Rome to American fundamentalists have found that the "real" Jesus perfectly agrees with them. The only way that's possible is that people are reading their own beliefs into Scripture, rather than getting them from it.

And it's not like I'm innocent. I'm a 21st century white male American, and that's how I read the Bible. Being born in a particular time and place means that I think a particular way. The best I or anyone else can hope for is to read in as little as possible.

Good thing we have God to help us.

Psalm 5

We're told that God hates bloodthirsty men, and it's hard to think of anyone who lived more by the sword than David.

How do we reconcile these two? First we need to realize that it wasn't his nature to kill people. He did what he did because he had to. Second, we have to understand that David was only carrying out the decrees of God, who had called for the destruction of the Canaanites hundreds of years before.

Review: FABLES VOL. 1 by Bill Willingham and Lan Medina

This is a "graphic novel" as the term is commonly used, a collection of several issues of a comic book that comprise a single story. In this case the first five issues are collected, and the story is a murder mystery.

Bill Willingham, the series' creator and writer, has built a sprawling world that amazingly feels complete in the first few pages. The chief advantage of a mystery is that it allows for the introduction of many characters and personalities, and Willingham uses it to great advantage. Throughout the investigation and various related scenes he introduces numerous characters and subplots that often don't come to fruition for several years. It's a very well-written book.

Lan Medina's art leaves me a little more conflicted. Taken alone, it's very good, but it suffers in comparison to the art of Mark Buckinghham,who became the series' regular artist with issue six. Medina's realistic, almost journalistic style is very different from Buckinghham's and from the future look of the book, but if the worst thing that can be said about the art is that it gets even better, then that's some pretty good art.

So if the story's good and the art's good, then I must recommend it, right? There are a few reasons why I don't. The first is the foul language. To go with that "adult language" are some "adult situations" involving both sex and violence. It never feels pornographic, but it does feel gratuitous. That's too bad, because other than that it's possibly the best-written comic book being published. As it stands, though, I can't recommend it, nor do I plan to read more.

Psalm 4

Anger is not a sin. Even God gets angry sometimes. It's the normal reaction to having one's will thwarted or opposed. Of course everyone should be angry sometimes. It's how we're designed.

That's why David could say, "Be angry, and do not sin."

Review: RELATIVITY: THE SPECIAL AND GENERAL THEORIES by Albert Einstein

Just a mention of the Theory of Relativity or of Albert Einstein is enough to scare most people. It scared me for a long time. When I finally read it, though, I found out it wasn't that scary at all. 

This is a short book, and entirely lacking in math until the end. That was my biggest fear; math has never come easily to me, and I just never learned to do anything beyond basic algebra. It turns out, though, that most of the book is a word picture, and is not that hard to follow.

I'm not saying that I'm as smart as Einstein. I'm saying that he communicated his ideas very clearly, which is also a sign of genius, since it doesn't matter what you think if you can't tell people. This is an idea that, like evolution, has been taken out of its context and applied where it was never meant to be. It's a foundational idea of Western culture, though, and as such needs to be understood. I recommend it.

Psalm 3

God doesn't just fight for his people. Sometimes he hides them.

In Exodus 15 Moses declared, "The LORD is a warrior." While he's not less than that, he's definitely more. He's also a refuge, a tower, and a loving father. He defends his people, but he also cares for them.

The fifth commandment

12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

-- Exodus 20.12, ESV

As with most things, it's easier to say what this commandment doesn't mean than what it does. The most important thing it doesn't mean, and the biggest misconception, involves obedience. Neither here nor anywhere else in Scripture are we told to obey our parents blindly. When you're young you should of course obey them, but when you're grown you're supposed to stand on your own two feet.

Psalm 2

Rant and rave all you want, but God'll do what he wants anyway.

God's not in the business of keeping people happy. As I've said many times, he's not running for God. He's already omni-everything, so unless you are too there's no point in arguing with him.

Review: DESIRING GOD by John Piper

This is the linchpin of Piper's ministry, and apparently the key to his whole way of thinking.  It lays out what he means by Christian hedonism, which is simply enjoying God. Unfortunately, his belief in finding one's joy in God (very good) is tied up with his Calvinism (not as good).

This is a difficult book to recommend. On one hand, it's very well-written and interesting, and I always learn something from Piper's books and sermons. On the other, I can only do that by ignoring a lot of what he says. Calvinism is simply repugnant to me. In the end, I can only recommend it very cautiously, asking the reader to take the time to separate Piper's message from his presuppositions.

Psalm 1

God will reward the good, and punish the evil.

Really, there isn't much to this psalm beyond that. In some ways it acts as an introduction to the book,showing us God and what he does. It also lets us know that though the wicked seem to do alright in this world, they still have to face the judgment of God.

Something you should never do with Scripture

Never just assume things have always meant what they do now.

The Bible's apparent endorsement of slavery is a good example. When most of us think of slavery, we naturally think of the system that prevailed in America until the Civil War, in which Africans were kidnapped and forced to work for white people. If the Bible defends that, then it deserves to be rejected.

But it doesn't. It's true that Scripture doesn't speak out against slavery, but slavery among the ancient Hebrews and Romans was very different from that practiced in 19th century America. Besides that, kidnapping and forced labor are condemned.

There are plenty of other examples; I chose that one because it's a popular reason for rejecting Christ, and frankly because it's easy to refute. It still takes a little work, but God has never rewarded laziness.

Review: OISHINBO A LA CARTE VOL. 1: JAPANESE CUISINE

Oishinbo is a long-running manga (Japanese comic) about Japanese food. Though I have no desire to eat it -- most of it sounds pretty disgusting to me -- I like the manga. In recent years it's been repackaged for Americans by not only translating it, but by collecting stories with similar themes into volumes.

The story centers around Yamaoka, a newspaper reporter and gourmet who's been assigned the task of putting together an "Ultimate Menu". As far as I know it was never completed, so it's hard to believe he'd be employed there very long, but the menu project is just an excuse to tell stories about cuisine.

The art is reminiscent of many manga from the 70s and 80s, in that the characters are simple and cartoonish, and the backgrounds more detailed. The food in particular is carefully rendered,which makes sense given that it's the real star of the book.

Overall, I found the book very interesting and entertaining, and I recommend it.

I AM AMERICA (AND SO CAN YOU!) by Stephen Colbert

When I was younger I thought humor excused everything. I believed anything could be forgiven as long as it was funny, an attitude I kept well into my 30s. I was wrong, of course. I have no doubt that many very funny people will be in Hell after Judgment Day. And that's a fact that makes me profoundly sad.

Stephen Colbert is a genuinely funny man, and his alter ego, a parody of right-wing talk show hosts who is also named Stephen Colbert, is even funnier. Unfortunately, both sometimes resort to foul language and gutter humor to make their points.

This is Colbert's first book, and in many ways it's his best. I would have loved it when I was 30, but now I don't recommend it.

The fourth commandment

8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,  10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.  11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

-- Exodus 20.8-11

One day a week. That's what God wants. And it's not as if it's some grievous tax on our time. God didn't tell his people to spend the day crawling through frozen mud under barbed wire. He said to take a day off. It wasn't a day people couldn't work; it was a day they got to relax.

Job 42

Job is justified, but not mollified. God apparently takes his side against his friends, but upon seeing God Job can only repent. Job is declared righteous, and has the opportunity to question God, but never gets his answer.

Remember the theme of the book: God is God, and Job is not.

Psalms starts on Monday.

Review: THE FIVE LAWS OF THE KINGDOM by David Bercot

By now I've read a lot of books by Bercot, and I've liked them all. This one is no exception, and I recommend it.

Job 41

Leviathan is described to illustrate the power of God.

It's described as terrible beyond imagining, but completely under the control of God. Whoever could tame such a beast must have been extremely powerful, and that's who Job wanted to challenge.

Hallelujah is not a magic word

We tend to throw biblical words into everything in an almost superstitious way. If we hear or see an ancient Hebrew or Koine Greek, we hold it in reverential awe.

Guess what? There's nothing magic about ancient Hebrew. "Hallelujah" or however you spell it just means "Praise God". The best explanation of "Amen" I've ever heard is that it means "I wish I'd said that." There's certainly nothing wrong with using words like that, but let's stop pretending that Hebrew is some kind of special, secret language.

I've heard ad nauseam that biblical Greek is a richer language than English, as evidenced by the fact that it has four words for "love" while English has only one. This is simply not true. Even if there were only one, our language has hundreds of thousands of adjectives to modify it.

Though there is no doubt something special about these languages, if only because God chose to reveal himself in them. That's no reason to fetishize them, though.

Job 40

The second verse of this chapter answers the problem of evil.

If you don't know what I mean by the problem of evil, it's best summed up by the question,"Why do bad things happen?" If God is all-powerful and all-good, how is there evil? This isn't the best answer, but it's an answer.

Review: CONFESSION OF FAITH IN A MENNONITE PERSPECTIVE by Herald Press

This is a small book, but that just highlights a problem with it: it's a book.

It's so long because it's so vague, and it's vague because it tries to offend no one. This is the statement of faith of the Mennonite Church USA,  which is one of the more liberal of the 20 billion or so Mennonite denominations.

In trying to say something to everyone, it ends up saying nothing at all. I don't recommend it.

Job 39

This chapter consists of more unanswerable questions, this time focusing on the animal kingdom. These questions are meant to lead to one inescapable conclusion:

God is God, and Job is not.

Review: A FULL LIFE by Jimmy Carter

This is a memoir of sorts, focusing on the years since his presidency and what he's helped accomplished in that time. The standard line is that he's been a far better ex-president than a president, but in this case it seems true.

I've never understood why people who say they're Christians have always despised Jimmy Carter. After a lot of thought and after reading this, I think I might have it. First off, he's a Democrat, and some professing Christians would reject Jesus Christ if he was a Democrat. In addition, he seems to be a lot more liberal than his public image would suggest.

Where his attitudes match Scripture, they have to be accepted; where they don't, they have to be rejected. I recommend it cautiously.

Job 38

It isn't one of his friends Job faces in this chapter, but God.

He basically tells Job, "Okay, bigshot. You think you're tall enough for this ride? Then I'll be happy to answer your questions, as soon as you answer some of mine." (That's my own translation, which I don't expect to catch on.)

The third commandment

7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

-- Exodus 20.7, ESV 

This commandment, like the others, has less to do with following rules and more about how a person lives. I used to know someone who thought he was obeying this commandment because he always said "got-damn" and so was not breaking it. He was wrong, because God has never been about technical obedience. Instead, he loves people and wants them to love him back.

Job 37

Elihu asks Job to think about the majesty of God. Have you ever done that? It's not something I've ever made a habit of. But think about it. God made every tree, every flower, every molecule of Earth. Astrophysicists like to say we're all made of star-stuff, but even if that were true, God still made the star-stuff.

And that's the one who wants to get to know you.

Review: SCOTT PILGRIM COLOR VOL. 1: PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE

Though originally published in black and white, the six volumes of Scott Pilgrim have been rereleased in color. While the colors are deep and saturated, they're also subtle, well-chosen, and true to life. Unlike many colorized comics, this is never garish; instead, it looks natural, as if it were always this way. All told, it's a very good coloring job.

Since this is a comic book -- the first one that I read that earned the name "graphic novel" -- the art is almost as important as the story. Unfortunately, I don't have have high expectations when it comes to to art in independent comics, and even my low expectations are seldom met. This is better than most, and the colors help a great deal, but the characters tend to run together.

If I'm positive on the colors and negative on the art, the story leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand it's engaging, complex, and very well-written. On the other, I approach a story from a certain perspective, and it's not one that I share with O'Malley. This, simply put, is not a Christian story.

Regardless of how well something is written, it has to be asked whether it leads a person closer to God. This doesn't, so I can't recommend it.

Job 36

God gives people what they deserve.

That's Elihu's rather simplistic argument in this chapter. The problem is that it's not quite right, and we know it. We've all known decent people who were poor or who died young, and bad ones who seem to do just fine. Not everyone gets what they deserve in this life.

Why I'm not a Calvinist, even though I probably should be

I wrote a couple of years ago about my biggest problem with Calvinism (hint: it rhymes with "evangelism"). I still don't embrace what are euphemistically called the doctrines of grace; if anything, I've moved farther away.

Note that this doesn't mean that I'm denying either God's sovereignty or his grace. It also doesn't mean that I'm Arminian or any kind of Pelagian, which are words used mostly by Calvinists for people who disagree with them. For anyone who doesn't know, Calvinism, or Reformed theology, is often summed up in English by the acronym TULIP.

T -- Total depravity. People are born bad, and everything they do is tinged with self-serving evil.

U -- Unconditional election. God chose who to save regardless of what they would do or not do.

L -- Limited atonement. Christ only died for those he'd decided to save.

I -- Irresistible grace. Since God is stronger than everyone else, he'll save people against their Willard.

P -- Perseverance on the saints. People who are saved will stay saved.

If I've misrepresented any of the Five Points, I hope someone will tell me.

Since I've stopped trying to believe in eternal security (functionally identical to perseverance of the saints), I can honestly say I don't hold to any of the petals of the TULIP. The first only partially right, and the others are just wrong.

But why should I hold to them? Why do I say I probably should be a Calvinist? To start with, most of my favorite preachers, authors, and teachers are Calvinists, though that's partly explained by the fact that Calvinists never stop talking or writing, and partly by the fact that they tend to be very careful biblical scholars ... about everything but Calvinism.

Add to that that Birmingham has a very high percentage of Presbyterians for a Southern city (Presbyterians are descended from Scottish Calvinists), that most of my education as a Southern Baptist was during the Calvinist revival of the early 21st century, and that the majority of people I've spent time talking with about this sort of thing at least lean toward Calvinism.

Really, I can't think of any natural reason why I'm not Reformed. I can only thank God.

As for objections to Calvinism, other than the issue of evangelism, the biggest problem I have is that it just isn't in Scripture. Since Calvinists have always maintained that their system is eminently biblical, give me just a second to explain myself.

My objection is twofold. First, specific examples don't necessarily indicate general rules. The Bible is clear, for example, that God planned Joseph's life, but it doesn't say he did it for everybody and everything.

Second, the Bible is not a commentary on Romans. Too many people read the Letter to the Romans through a particular lens and then try to make the rest of the Bible fit that understanding. I'm pretty sure that isn't how Scripture should be approached.

There are a lot of differences between a Calvinistic understanding of the world and my own. It's still an in-house debate, though; it's hardly a sin leading unto death.

Review: WHAT HE NEEDS TO BE ... IF HE WANTS TO MARRY MY DAUGHTER by Voddie Baucham, Jr.

I originally wanted to read this for two reasons: because i like the way Voddie Baucham expresses himself, and because i have daughters. I was interested to see what he had to say on the subject. I was surprised to learn that it was about more than the title suggested; instead, it's a manifesto for biblical manhood.

Please don't misunderstand me. This is not about arranged marriages. Nor is it about controlling or oppressing women. Rather it's about teaching our daughters to expect more, to be excellent women who seek out excellent men. It's about being a good father, not by the world's standard, but by God's.

There isn't much else to say. I thought this was a very good book, and I recommend it.

Job 32

Elihu was the youngest of the four friends who came to comfort Job, and as such waits for his friends to speak. When they weren't able to rebuke Job, Elihu lost his temper,

After all, it was God's honor at stake.

Job 35

The biggest difference between God and man is that God doesn't need man. The inverse isn't true.

That seems to be the essence of Elihu's argument so far. Everything he's said to this point has boiled down to one thing: God is God, and Job is not.

Job 34

God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good, and Job has absolutely no right complaining.

That's the essence of what Elihu says in this chapter. He confronts Job with what he sees as his own hypocrisy. If his starting point had been right, it seems he would have been a fearless advocate for God. But it wasn't. 

Review: HAVE THE EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITINGS BEEN TAMPERED WITH? by David Bercot

Throughout his decades as a writer and teacher, Bercot has relied heavily on the writings of the Ante-Nicene Church, from about 100AD to 325AD. This begs the question: are they reliable?

In his usual careful fashion Bercot investigates the question, presents his evidence, and comes to a conclusion. Not surprisingly, he decides they can be trusted. Given how much he's used them, that was perhaps a foregone conclusion, but this book depends less on where he ends up than on how he gets there.

Regular readers know that I like Bercot's work. I like this one too, though it's more about methodology than anything. Regardless of what it's about, though, I still recommend it.

Job 33

Elihu preaches the gospel.

Not exactly, but close. His biggest problem -- though not what was missing from what was almost a presentation of the gospel -- is his assumption of Job's guilt. When he starts from the same point as everyone else, it's not surprising when his destination is the same too.

The second commandment

4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

-- Exodus 20.4-6, ESV 

I know some people consider this to be part of the first commandment, but in all honesty I think they're wrong.

In my experience, people tend to focus on verse five's description of God as jealous and as someone who punishes children for what their fathers did. They never seem to get to the promise of unfailing love in the next verse.

Review: THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE by Peter Brown

Brown's book is a thorough, scholarly look at wealth, Christianity, and the Roman Empire, and the complex relationships between them in the early centuries AD. It's a big subject, and it makes for a big book 

It's not written in a popular style, but it's also not so scholarly it's incomprehensible. Brown has a well-honed style that is suited to this material; I won't lie and say it was always fascinating, but I was never bored.

This was a very important period in history, and if you can handle the length of the book, I recommend it.

Job 31

Job finishes his final defense by saying that he should be punished, but only if he deserves it.

He makes a number of statements, then agrees that if he's done those he should have gotten what he did. But he continues to insist that he hasn't done anything wrong, which begs the question: if God punishes the innocent, isn't he unjust?

Eventually, it all comes down to your basic presuppositions

Everybody believes something, and they have a good reason for doing it.

 At least, it seems good to them. In reality, nearly all beliefs are based on other beliefs. The only exceptions are those things that are the basis of everything else. I call them basic presuppositions, though I'm sure some neuroscientist, philosopher, or psychologist has probably come up with something better. That's  all I have, though.

 They're basic because they're what everything else is predicated on, while they aren't predicated on anything else. They're presuppositions because we believe them without evidence. Not in spite of evidence, but not because of evidence either. Evidence doesn't even come into it.

I'd like to say that my basic presupposition has to do with the reality of God or with his eternal love or something pious like that. I certainly believe in those things like that, but there's something even more basic than those.

I have two that very seldom overlap but which between them cover everything in my life: the Bible is true, and my wife is smarter than I am. I believe in the first just because I don't have any other way of learning about him, and in the second because though our IQs almost identical, she's much wiser and harder-working than I am.

A brief announcement

With the blog finally caught up -- I've had a rough week -- I'm just worn out. I'm taking a week off from it. I'll see you in January.

Job 30

From being a great man, Job fell to become worse than nothing.

To be nothing, to be forgotten, would have been bearable. As it was, he was mocked and made fun of by men he'd always considered worthless. Worst of all, when he turned to God for help, there was no help to be found.

Review: ACTION PHILOSOPHERS! by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey

It shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, but I am very interested in both philosophy and comics. This is both,

That I'm interested in philosophy wasn't a surprise to me. Neither was the fact that I'm not interested in reading huge dull books. Fortunately, writer Fred Van Lente has done the hard work of taking these books and distilling them down to short, funny cartoons. Ryan Dunlavey provides art that matches the script and defines the look of the book, but also lets him draw almost everything. Though the art seems simple, it's very adaptable, and Dunlavey can apparently draw nearly anything.

This book feels like it was put out just for me. I doubt there are that many people looking for a black-and-white philosophy comic book, but if you're one of those few, I recommend this one.

Job 29

Job begins his summary defense, and focuses in this chapter on what his life was like before he lost everything. He was not only a spiritual leader, but a financial and political one as well, loved and respected by everyone.

He knew God had allowed that to be taken from him, but he never blamed God.

Review: THIS PRESENT DARKNESS by Frank Peretti

About 15-20 years ago spiritual warfare was the Next Big Thing in the Christian subculture. Frank Peretti was in the vanguard of this trend, and as far as I know he never left.

Reading it all these years later, it's obviously not the work of a seasoned writer. Though all of the boxes are dutifully checked, it's done without grace, as if Peretti typed it with a sledgehammer. Simply put, it's not a very good book, and could have used some more rewriting 

At this point this is of more interest as a cultural artifact than as a book. I don't recommend it.

Job 28

Where does wisdom come from? Only God knows.

Long ago, someone explained the difference between intelligence and wisdom this way: intelligence is what you can know, while wisdom is what you can do with what you know. The Bible has very little to say about intelligence, but a lot to say about wisdom.

The first commandment

2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 "You shall have no other gods before me."

-- Exodus 20.2, 3, ESV 

The first commandment is simple, as is the reasoning behind it. No one else brought the Hebrews out of Egypt, so the Hebrews weren't to worship anyone else. And "no other gods before me" didn't mean they could have a lot of gods as long as Yahweh was their favorite. If you think that's the case, try telling your wife that you're going to have a lot of wives, but that she'll be your favorite. Let me know how that works.

Job 27

Job maintains his own integrity, and refuses to compromise his honesty, even this late in the game. Though his chances of getting a hearing before God appear increasingly remote, he still insists on both God's and his own integrity.

When all else fails him he can still believe in that.

My beef with Christmas

First off, I've never said "Bah, humbug!" once in my life, and Ebenezer Scrooge was a character in a piece of sentimental fluff that had more to do with Guatemalan independence than it did with any kind of biblical Christianity. And it had nothing to do with Guatemalan independence. So don't waste your time or mine calling me a Scrooge. Or a Grinch, for that matter, or any of the other names it's become acceptable to call people who don't like the way things are.

My biggest problem with Christmas as it's currently practiced is that it's based on what a particular group of people did in the 1800s. It's about Currier and Ives prints and A Christmas Carol. It's tradition for its own sake, and that's something for which I have no patience at all.

Watching the same movies and singing the same songs every year doesn't mean you have the "Christmas spirit"; it means you watch the same movies and sing the same songs every year. If that's what you like, fine, but let's not pretend that there's some virtue in repetition. Besides, I've read the Bible several times, and I haven't seen anything about a Christmas spirit.

There's a really good part about a baby, though.

Review: WHAT IS A KINGDOM CHRISTIAN? by David Bercot

Having looked at what Jesus said about the Kingdom of God, Bercot examines the sort of people who will inhabit it. This is a more controversial subject, but Bercot approaches it as carefully as he does anything else. Being familiar with his work, I didn't find his conclusions surprising, but I also found they didn't match those of any church to which I'd belonged.

What really matters is whether they match the Bible, and as near as I can tell they do. Some people won't read it just because it's Bercot, and while I understand that, I think it's wrong. Personally, I recommend it; it's better to find out you made a mistake and fix it than to never find out.

Job 26

God is great.

By that I don't mean he's really good. I mean that he's great: unfathomable, unknowable, and unimaginable. Despite that, he loves people and wants to spend eternity with them. Because he's good, too.

Job 25

In this very short chapter, Bildad says that there's no way man can be righteous before God. If even the moon and stars aren't pure in his sight, what chance does Job have?

It's another variation on what we've already read, but at least it's short.

Review: BELIEFS by John Roth

I read this to learn what Mennonites believe, instead, I learned that the Mennonite Church USA is very liberal.

Aside from strewing his work with liberal buzzwords and catchphrases like "conversation" and "faith community", the author has Rob Bell Syndrome, saying very little that can be nailed down. With all due respect to Mr. Roth, the goal isn't a conversation between faith communities; the goal is to be as much as possible like Jesus.

There are a number of reasons I don't recommend this book, but probably the most important is that for all its words, it doesn't say much.

Job 24

Being upright doesn't seem to do anyone any good. Go ahead and prove me wrong. That's what Job's arguments are in this chapter.

Even though he's clearly getting angry, he never curses God. 

Review: NEXTWAVE vol. 1 by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen

This is a comic book, and a funny one, which isn't as redundant as it sounds. In this country, comics are dominated by superheroes, and superheroes stopped being funny in ever. But this book is hilarious.

Writer Warren Ellis takes several unused characters (and one new one) and throws them into a S.H.I.E.L.D. story that's been cranked up to a ridiculous extreme. Stuart Immonen is one of the top artists in the industry, and draws in an angular style that perfectly suits the frankly insane story.

The series was only 12 issues long, and volume 1 contains the first six. I liked it a lot, and I highly recommend it for anyone else who likes comics.

Job 23

God isn't afraid of our questions.

He's big and tough and can handle them. He created the universe and keeps it going, so he can handle anything you've got. I will warn you about  one thing, though: be as good as Job before you start asking.

Looking positively at Anabaptism, instead of negatively

I don't mean thinking favorably about it; ultimately, what a person believes is between him and God, and I don't expect people to do as I do anyway. What I am saying is that nobody should be defined by what they don't believe, rather than what they do believe. And that includes Anabaptists.

For example, Anabaptists are not people who refuse to bear arms. We're people who trust God to protect us. We're not people who don't take oaths, but people who try to be so honest we don't need to.

Anabaptism isn't about not doing things; it's about doing the right things. It's about obedience out of gratitude to Jesus Christ for saving my soul. There's nothing negative in that.

Job 22

Eliphaz appears to have run out of arguments, because this chapter is just a long list of accusations. Rather than trying to convince Job to repent, Eliphaz seems to pepper him with accusations, hoping he'll confess to something.

It's not fun to read, and it couldn't have been any fun to listen to.

Review: DAD IS FAT by Jim Gaffigan

As might be expected from a comedian's first book, some of this seems like recycled stage material. Most of the book is original, though, and when it comes down to it, it's just one long love letter to his wife and children.

Gaffigan has always used minimal profanity, and I don't remember anything in this book I wouldn't want my daughter to see. Given how few books celebrate families, it's hard not to recommend one that does. Especially if it's funny.

Job 21

"But," Job says, "the wicked do prosper."

It's true. Some people spend their lives at best ignoring God and seem to do just fine. That's one reason Christians believe in Hell. It's a horrible concept, and no one in his right mind would want anyone sent there. But evil will be punished.

Three reasons I still belong to a Southern Baptist church

Longtime readers have seen my theology shift over the last year, to the point where I can no longer consider myself a Baptist anymore. Baptists were originally heavily influenced by two very different groups: the Calvinists and the Anabaptists. The mixture of the two created Baptist theology.

Personally, I've always leaned very hard to the Anabaptist side. I've always had a problem with eternal security, or, to use a more common phrase that I've come to loathe, "once saved always saved". Since that's at the heart of the Baptist faith, giving that up meant giving up being a Baptist, and that was a huge part of my identity.

In the end, though, it was easy, probably because we haven't left our old Baptist congregation. That just raises more questions; my wife in particular has asked why I continue to attend a church with which I don't agree. That's a good question, and deserves a good answer. Here are three attempts.

Eternal security is the only thing I've found so far about which I disagree with the Southern Baptist Convention. The Baptist Faith & Message, though not required for individual churches, tells what the Convention itself believes. Revised in the year 2000, it has one article that's specifically about eternal security, and 17 that aren't. Also, I don't recall a single sermon or lesson on the subject.

The closest Anabaptist congregation I've heard of is still very far away. Years ago I heard of some Mennonites who lived in southwest Chilton County. That's about 70 miles as the crow flies, and probably 100 by car. So we can either drive for three hours to maybe find a congregation that used to be there, or we can drive five minutes to where we know we'll find people we know and love.

We have quite possibly the best pastor in the entire world. I make a point of not mentioning names here, so you'll just have to trust me. Besides, he'd just get the big head anyway.

Hopefully it's a little clearer now.

Job 20

All Zophar can do is just repeat that the wicked will suffer.

It's interesting to me that Job's three friends seem to get more indignant as the book goes, like they're taking his refusal to repent personally. It's something I've never noticed before, and that's the advantage of reading the Bible slowly like this.

Review: AMERICA AGAIN (RE-BECOMING THE GREATNESS WE NEVER WEREN'T) by Stephen Colbert

I don't recommend it. See yesterday's review for why not.

Job 19

Job asks why his friends are blaming his state on him. He didn't do it to himself, he reasons. God did, and if he'd sinned against God, that's between him and God. It had nothing to do with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.

Basically, he told them to mind their own business.

Review: I AM A POLE (AND SO CAN YOU!) by Stephen Colbert

This is a very short book in verse, a parody of the overtly polemic children's books sometimes published by neoconservative talk show hosts. For several years Colbert played a character, also named Stephen Colbert, who satirized such hosts, and this book appeared just after his first one, I Am America (And So Can You!).

The audio version, which I have, is read by Tom Hanks, so it's both well-written and well-read. The problem is that it depends on the reader having a heavy sense of irony for its humor. The joke is often not always made because the joke is always assumed to have been made. There's a wide streak of knowing sarcasm in this book and in all of Colbert's books, as if he were saying, "Those people really believe this, but we know better."

In short, to use CS Lewis' term, it's flippant. That's why despite it being very, very funny, I don't recommend it.

Job 18

Once again, Bildad takes on his self-appointed role as God's defender.

It's important to note that God didn't ask him to do this. None of Job's friends was assigned that job, and God himself makes it clear later in the book just what he thinks of them assuming it. The fact is that God doesn't need defending. He can defend himself.

Job 17

"I might as well die. What hope is there anyway?" That's the essence of Job's argument in this chapter. It's not a fun chapter to read, but it is short.

Maybe it was meant that way.

Review: KINGDOM OF GOD by David Bercot

The central idea of this book is that the focus of Jesus' preaching as revealed in the New Testament was not, as I had always thought, how to be saved, but the Kingdom of God.

And that's true, as a quick check of the NT will prove.

In fact, everything I've checked in this book was true. Everything I've checked or already known from any of his books or messages has been true, which is the main reason I've come to trust Bercot over the years.

Most of the book explores what is meant by "Kingdom of God". Given how much emphasis Jesus Christ placed on it, it's a very important concept, and one we should understand better. For that reason alone I'd recommend this book.

Job 16

Job still asks to speak with God. After all, he reasons, he won't live forever.

The most interesting thing to me is that other than a few comments, Job doesn't seem to be talking to his friends at all in this chapter. Instead he seems to be speaking through them to God, while begging God to speak to him.

I have a teenage daughter

It's true. She's 13 now.

Conventional wisdom says that I should be more or less crazy right now, trying to keep her my little girl and having an irrational hatred and fear of all boys. But I'm not. 

I'm not happy about it, of course. I've loved having little girls. Part of me wants that to last forever. Most of me knows, though, that it would not only be unhealthy for both of us if I tried, it's not what I really want anyway.

I'm not an idiot who just lets his kids do what they want. (And if you do that, then allow me to say with all the love and good will in the world that you are an idiot.) But I also am not an idiot who would intentionally try to keep his daughters immature and afraid so they'll always stay close.

I know my daughter is growing up. I know that one day she'll break my heart and I won't be the most important man in her life anymore. And that's as it should be.

The reason my wife and I have devoted so much time to teaching her to do what's right is that one day we won't be right there choosing for her. Hopefully she'll do it herself.

Year two

I've had the iPad for two years now, and I'm still very grateful for it. But have I used it well?

It matters what we think and do. This past year I've tried to bring them into alignment. Anything less would be hypocritical, and I do not want to be a hypocrite.

Just like the year before, I've used it mostly to write this blog, read books, and communicate via Facebook. There have been three big changes, though. The first is that I've decided to learn French through the Duolingo app. French is an official language in Newfoundland and Labrador, and while it's only spoken exclusively by about 5% of the people there, I figure knowing it will make me a better missionary. At the very least, I'll die knowing some French.

The second is that given that people are already riled up about the presidential election next year, I'm going to try and stay clear of Fb until at least then. The last thing I want is to waste this gift tthat God has given me being snide and angry.

Finally, a good friend has given me carte blanche to post on The Bible Exchange. Hopefully this will eventually lead to my being able to do this for a living, but as it stands it's a very great honor for me, and a privilege I don't intend to abuse.

I've read 134 books in the last 12 months, which is more than last year but far less than I was shooting for (200). Next year's goal is 20, which sounds ridiculously small until you realize I have some reeeeeally long books I want to read.