2Chronicles 25

Why worship gods you know can't help you?

I don't know but that's what Amaziah did. After he defeated the Edomites, he took their idols -- who hadn't helped them against him -- and set them up in his palace to worship them. The God of Israel, of course, did not approve.

Review: THE WAY OF THE WILD HEART by John Eldredge

This book is very similar to Eldredge's Wild at Heart, which makes sense given that it's a companion to and an expansion of that book. Like that book, it has a thin veneer of Christianity, but it's only a veneer.

The biggest problem is that the book is simply nonbiblical. At best, it expands on Scripture; at worst it flatly contradicts it. While the discussion of the various stages of manhood is interesting, the reader can't help getting the impression that he's learning more about Eldredge than about the ostensible subject of the book.

I'm sure that wasn't his aim. I'm sure he just wanted to write a book that would help people. Unfortunately, I can't review his intentions,only the book as it is, and that's what I don't recommend.

2Chronicles 24

Joash started so well to have ended the way he did. He was the one who brought back the temple tax, which was used to restore the temple and make it better.

Of course, Solomon could've told him you have to finish just as well.

Review: THE COLLAPSE OF SEPARATION AMONG FUNDAMENTALIST BAPTISTS by David Cloud

It's taken me a while, but I've finally figured out what makes Cloud and I so different: our ideas on separation. It's certainly a biblical concept, as the New Testament specifically tells us to be different from the world. I believe that means not chasing trends so we can be like everyone else, but with a little Jesus on top. That's become a very bad habit in some churches.

Cloud, however, seems to see separation as a list of things to do; churches have to be like the one into which he was converted or they've "compromised". Any such groups have to be separated from. This is a fairly common view among Fundies, but there are two very serious problems with it. The first is that it not only is it not found in Scripture, but this kind of shunning is antithetical to it. The second is that it leads to an "us four and no more" attitude, in which we assume that only those who agree with us exactly are saved.

This book is essentially a list of "compromises" made by churches Cloud used to consider faithful. I don't recommend it; it seems like it's longer than it is.

2Chronicles 23

It's interesting that while Josiah is known as a reformer, the reforms started before he even before he took the throne. One of the most important was keeping anyone unclean out of the temple.

Even the queen couldn't violate that, which may have helped keep Josiah alive.

XII. Education

Christianity is the faith of enlightenment and intelligence. In Jesus Christ abide all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All sound learning is, therefore, a part of our Christian heritage. The new birth opens all human faculties and creates a thirst for knowledge. Moreover, the cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence, and should receive along with these the liberal support of the churches. An adequate system of Christian education is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christ's people.

In Christian education there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. Freedom in any orderly relationship of human life is always limited and never absolute. The freedom of a teacher in a Christian school, college, or seminary is limited by the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, by the authoritative nature of the Scriptures, and by the distinct purpose for which the school exists.

2Chronicles 22

Huh. Turns out it was Jehoram who was the king and was married to Ahab's daughter. Azariah was one of the brothers he had killed. Sorry about that.

This chapter deals with his son and heir, Ahaziah, and his wife, Athaliah, presumably Ahab's daughter. Azariah was bad, but his mother was worse. Upon taking her son's throne,  she tried to have her grandsons killed.

That's one bad granny.

Review: TWELFTH NIGHT by William Shakespeare

This is another of Shakespeare's comedies based on mistaken identity/gender. This must have been a plot he liked.

Unfortunately, it also feels overly familiar. There's nothing that sticks out, and very little that I remember about the play. As far as I'm concerned, that's more than enough reason to not recommend it. 

2Chronicles 21

Azariah acted like a member of Ahab's family because he was.

The Bible is clear that Azariah disobeyed God just like the kings of Israel. Ahab was arguably Israel's worst king, and he was even worse when hag-ridden by his wife Jezebel. Even if he had started out good, Azariah didn't have a chance once he was married to their daughter.

It's just voyeurism, you know

Let me ask you a question. Would you like to stand outside someone's house and just watch them? Assume for the moment that you can't be caught. You could see how they eat, how they sleep, and how they treat each other. You could even look in on their most private moments.

Of course, most of us wouldn't want to do that. We'd be Peeping Toms, living our lives through others. Voyeurism isn't just illegal. That would be bad enough. It's also deeply weird.

So why is pornography any different? It's just people doing things they shouldn't with people they shouldn't do them with, in places they shouldn't be doing them. And there we are, watching.

Please don't think I'm letting the people who make it off. I'm not. The things they do are wrong. However, I think it's safe to say that a good many of them wouldn't do those things if there weren't money to be made from it, and the only reason there's money in it is that so many people are willing to pay for the privilege of being Peeping Toms.

I have to confess that I had a problem with porn for years. Specifically, the problem was that I had no problem with it. I didn't see anything wrong with pornography, though I didn't want my wife, my children, my parents, the people I went to church with, the ones at work ... really, i didn't want anyone to know what I was doing.

Porn is a lonely addiction.

Yes, I said addiction. Just like an alcoholic will always be one even if he hasn't had a drink in 20 years, I think it's something that will be with me until I die, because even now it still comes to mind and has to be forced down. Besides, you can't unsee anything.

Every voyeur knows that.

Review: HOUSE CHURCH, edited by Steve Atkerson

From what I can tell, the house church is the dominant model in the developing world. It's our large suburban churches that are the aberration.

This book is a how-to guide to beginning a house church. It also looks at the why, and asks not, "Do we have to do things like this apostles?" but "Why would you do them any other way?" Rather than just asking questions, though, it answers them, usually straight from Scripture.

The advantages and disadvantages of independence are also presented. This is a very challenging book, and a dead-tree copy is available from New Testament Reformation Fellowship for free. That's two reasons to recommend it, and I can't think of any not to,

2Chronicles 20

Though Jehoshaphat was a good king, he still had to face death.

Even if he had been perfect, that would have been no guarantee. The only perfect person who ever lived was horribly murdered for being perfect, and Jehoshaphat wasn't perfect.

2Chronicles 19

When confronted by the prophet, Jehoshaphat knew he had done wrong. Rather than feeling sorry for himself, he set out to make reforms throughout his kingdom.

There's nothing wrong with doing good, as long as we don't expect it to make up for the bad.

Review: TOLKEIN'S ORDINARY VIRTUES by Mark David Eddy

Hopefully I haven't made a secret of how much I like The Lord of the Rings. I think that it's not only one of the best fantasy books ever written, but one of the best books period. That's what makes this one so interesting and yet so frustrating.

The book follows Tolkein's story, at various points stopping the narrative to discuss a virtue illustrated by that point in the story. These are chosen and presented well, as Eddy obviously knows his material and picks his examples well.

The bad news is that while Tolkein had a very distinct style, Eddy does not. Tolkein had a gift for high-flown, old-fashioned language, and Eddy's more pedestrian work suffers for it. There's no shame in falling short of a great writer, but it doesn't help to be juxtaposed with one either.

The issue of style aside, this is a good book, looking at literature from a different angle. I recommend it.

2Chronicles 18

Why would a good king like Jehoshaphat want to ally with Ahaz anyway?

Probably for reasons of kinship. The people of Israel and Judah were closely related, shared a language, a religion, and the Promised Land, and may have stayed a single nation if not for a single mistake.

XI. Evangelism and missions

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man's spirit by God's Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

2Chronicles 17

Jehoshaphat, who didn't have a short name, was zealous for God and wanted everyone else to be too. To that end, he wasn't content to have the high places and Asherah poles torn down. He wasn't content to provide information to those who came to Jerusalem to get it. The king paid for priests, Levites, and his own people to travel the country, teaching the law.

If the people couldn't go to it, it would come to them.

Review: THROUGH PAINTED DESERTS by Donald Miller

Miller, probably best known for his book Blue Like Jazz, has become a controversial figure in the Church and a Christian leader in his adopted home of Portland, Oregon. This book tells how he got there in the first place.

Though there are diversions, some extensive and with far-reaching consequences, and the kind of theological speculation you might expect from young men with little to do but drive and talk. In a way it's reminiscent of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, though without that book's general sense of aimlessness.

In the end your enjoyment of the book will depend on whether you like Miller's postmodern style and travelogues in general. I like the former a good bit and am at least favorably disposed toward the latter, so I recommend it.

2Chronicles 16

You know what I like about Asa? He's got a very short name.

Actually, during the first half of his reign,Asa was an exemplary king. As he got older, though, he started trusting alliances rather than God to keep Judah safe.

Another joke I've always liked, for some reason

A man was walking down a sidewalk past a high plank fence around the local insane asylum. As he hears a low, rhythmic chanting, apparently from the poor souls on the other side of the fence. About twenty feet ahead, he sees  a knothole, the only one for the hundred yards or so of fence he's passed. As he gets closer to it, the chanting gets louder and more clear. "Fifteen, fifteen, fifteen ..,"

He decides to see what those poor insane loonies are up to. When he gets to the hole, he bends over and peers into it, but sees nothing but a long finger with a sharp, jagged nail hurtling at him. A moment later he feels a terrible pain and falls back screaming as his eye is poked out. Through his own screaming, the man hears the chanting, slightly different.

"Sixteen, sixteen, sixteen ..."

###

I don't know why, but I've liked that since the first time I heard it. Admittedly, I wrote it down to be creepier than when it's told, but it's still one of the most horrible things I've ever heard. It's only funny in the darkest and most macabre way, but I always laugh.