quote of the week, january 23-29, 2011

It is sometimes easy to get the impression that Christians take a dim view of things - that they are much more in favor of indifference than caring. [...] Far from caring too much for [matter], we are forever busy beating it out of its natural shape into fetishes and status symbols which are more to our liking. Matter itself gets very few chances to speak. And therefore the usual sermons against it are off base. It isn't matter that's opposed to spirit - the two were designed to go together; what is opposed to spirit is perverted matter, uncared-for-matter, unloved and unlovely matter. And matter doesn't get that way on its own steam. It is perverted precisely by being cared for irrelevantly by spirit, by being loved, not for what it is, but for what it does for me and means to me.

True enough, Christians are told to deny themselves material things, but it's very easy to miss the point. The goal of all Christian self-denial is the restoration, not the destruction, of nature; the removal, not of matter, but of perversion. (Capon 1965:110-111)

_______
References:
Capon, Robert Farrar. (1965). Bed and Board: Plain Talk about Marriage. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

quote of the week, january 16-22, 2011

The first time I heard portions of the hymn below, penned by Anne R. Cousin (1824-1906), was in the popularized version of the song known as "The Sands of Time Are Sinking." A. W. Tozer includes this hymn in his compilation, The Christian Book of Mystical Verse, and in a footnote writes the following:

This much-loved poem was composed by Mrs. Anne Ross Cousin, wife of a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. The poem is as remarkable as it is beautiful in that Mrs. Cousin extracted from the letters of Samuel Rutherford many of his most memorable sayings and wove them into a hymn of nineteen stanzas, maintaining throughout high poetic excellence and great faithfulness to the language and spirit of the letters. (Tozer 1991 [1963]:141, see fn. 2)

Below are all nineteen stanzas as taken from Tozer's devotional volume (sidenote: Indelible Grace Music puts out an excellent version of this [and many other hymns] on their album Pilgrim Days: Indelible Grace II. Also, they provide references to Rutherford's original letters here):

The sands of time are sinking,
The dawn of Heaven breaks,
The summer morn I've sighed for,
The fair sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark hath been the midnight,
But dayspring is at hand,
And glory - glory dwelleth
In Immanuel's land.

Oh! well it is for ever,
Oh! well for evermore,
My nest hung in no forest
Of all this death-doom'd shore:
Yea, let the vain world vanish,
As from the ship the strand,
While glory - glory dwelleth
In Immanuel's land.

There the Red Rose of Sharon
Unfolds its heartsome bloom,
And fills the air of Heaven
With ravishing perfume:-
Oh! to behold it blossom,
While by its fragrance fann'd
Where glory - glory dwelleth
In Immannuel's land.

The King there in His beauty,
Without a veil, is seen:
It were a well-spent journey,
Though seven deaths lay between.
The Lamb, with His fair army,
Doth on Mount Zion stand,
And glory - glory dwelleth
In Immanuel's land.

Oh! Christ He is the Fountain,
The deep sweet well of love!
The streams on earth I've tasted,
More deep I'll drink above:
There, to an ocean fulness,
His mercy doth expand,
And glory - glory dwelleth
In Immanuel's land.

E'en Anwoth was not heaven-
E'en preaching was not Christ;
And in my sea-beat prison
My Lord and I held tryst:
And aye my murkiest storm-cloud
Was by a rainbow spann'd,
Caught from the glory dwelling
In Immanuel's land.

But that He built a heaven
Of His surpassing love,
A little New Jerusalem,
Like to the one above,-
"Lord, take me o'er the water,"
Had been my loud demand,
"Take me to love's own country,
Unto Immanuel's land."

But flowers need need night's cool darkness
The moonlight and the dew;
So Christ, from one who loved it,
His shining oft withdrew;
And then for cause of absence,
My troubled soul I scann'd-
But glory, shadeless, shineth
In Immanuel's land.

The little birds of Anwoth
I used to count them blest,-
Now, beside happier altars
I go to build my nest:
O'er these there broods no silence,
No graves around them stand,
For glory, deathless, dwelleth
In Immanuel's land.

Fair Anwoth by the Solway,
To me thou still art dear!
E'en from the verge of Heaven
I drop for thee a tear.
Oh! if one soul from Anwoth
Meet me at God's right hand,
My Heaven will be two Heavens,
In Immanuel's land.

I have wrestled on toward Heaven,
'Gainst storm, and wind, and tide:-
Now, like a weary traveller,
that leaneth on his guide,
Amid the shades of evening,
While sinks life's ling'ring sand,
I hail the glory dawning
From Immanuel's land.

Deep water cross'd life's pathway,
The hedge of thorns was sharp;
Now these all lie behind me-
Oh! for a well-tuned harp!
Oh! to join Hallelujah
With yon triumphant band,
Who sing, where glory dwelleth,
In Immanuel's land.

With mercy and with judgment
My web of time He wove,
And aye the dews of sorrow
Were lustered with His love.
I'll bless the hand that guided,
I'll bless the heart that plann'd,
When throned where glory dwelleth
In Immanuel's land.

Soon shall the cup of glory
Wash down earth's bitterest woes,
Soon shall the desert-briar
Break into Eden's rose:
The curse shall change to blessing-
The name on earth that's bann'd,
Be graven on the white stone
In Immanuel's land.

Oh! I am my Beloved's,
And my Beloved is mine!
He brings a poor vile sinner
Into His "House of wine."
I stand upon His merit,
I know no other stand,
Not e'en where glory dwelleth
In Immanuel's land.

I shall sleep sound in Jesus,
Fill'd with His likeness rise,
To live and to adore Him,
To see Him with these eyes
'Tween me and resurrection
But Paradise doth stand;
Then-then for glory dwelling
In Immanuel's land!

The Bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear Bridegroom's face;
I will not gaze at glory,
But on my King of Grace-
Hot at the crown He giveth,
But on His pierced hand:
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Immanuel's land.

I have borne scorn and hatred,
I have borne wrong and shame,
Earth's proud ones have reproach'd me,
For Christ's thrice blessed name:-
Where God His seal set fairest
They've stamp'd their foulest brand;
But judgment shines like noonday
In Immanuel's land.

They've summoned me before them,
But there I may not come,-
My Lord says, "Come up hither,"
My Lord says, "Welcome Home!"
My kingly King, at His white throne,
My presence doth command,
Where glory-glory dwelleth
In Immanuel's land. (Tozer 1991 [1963]:123-127)

_______
References:
Tozer, A. W. (ed.). (1991). The Christian Book of Mystical Verse. Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, Inc. (Original work published 1963)

quote of the week, january 2-8, 2011

The picture that Scripture paints is that of the human person created in and for communion—created to live in community. In the Old Testament, above all, one sees the importance of living in relationship with God and with each other. Individuals were in relationship with God through the covenant that existed between God and his people. “As a member of this covenant community, each person was in relationship with every other person, including the poor and needy, one’s family and even with strangers and aliens. Out of these relationships arose responsibilities and demands. The just person was faithful to these responsibilities and demands.” As Gerhard Von Rad wrote, “There is absolutely no concept in the Old Testament with so central a significance for all relationships of human life as that of tsedek [justice].” (Eldin 2010:18)

_______
References:
Villafañe, Eldin. (2010). To live in justice: The message of Amos for today: A sermonic essay on social justice and ethics. Contact, 38(2), 17-21.

quote of the week, december 26, 2010-january 1, 2011

Now welcome for me his conception and leap for joy, if not indeed like John in the womb, then like David when the ark came to rest. Be awed at the census record through which you have been recorded in heaven, and revere the birth through which you have been released from the bonds of birth, and honor little Bethlehem, which has brought you back to paradise, and bow before the manger through which you who were without reason have been fed by the Word. Know, like the ox, your owner - Isaiah exhorts you [cf. Isaiah 1:3] - and like the donkey know your master's crib, whether you are among those who are pure and under the law and chew the cud of the Word and are prepared for sacrifice, or whether up to now you are among the impure and unfit for food or sacrifice and belong to the Gentiles. Run after the star, and bring gifts with the magi, gold and frankincense and myrrh, as to a king and a God and one dead for your sake. With the shepherds give glory, with the angels sing hymns, with the archangels dance. Let there be a common celebration of the heavenly and earthly powers. For I am persuaded that they rejoice and celebrate with us today, if indeed they love humankind and love God, just as David represents them ascending with Christ after his Passion as they come to meet him and exhort each other to lift up the gates. (Nazianzus 2008:75-76, Oration 38.17)

_______
References:
St. Gregory of Nazianzus. (2008). Festal Orations: Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (N. V. Harrison, Trans.). Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

quote of the week, december 19-25, 2010

All time is God's time. When the eternal Word assume human existence in the Incarnation, he also assumed temporality. He drew time into the sphere of eternity. At first it seems as if there can be no connection between the "always" of eternity and the "flowing away" of time. But now the Eternal One himself has taken time to himself. In the Son, time co-exists with eternity. God's eternity is not mere time-lessness, the negation of time, but a power over time that is really present with time and in time. In the Word incarnate, who remains man forever, the presence of eternity with time becomes bodily and concrete.

[...] The feast of Christ's birth on December 25 - nine months after March 25 [the day that the early "Church honored both the Annunciation by the angel and the Lord's conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin"] - developed in the West in the course of the third century, while the East - probably because of a different calendar - at first celebrated January 6 as the birthday of Christ. It may also have been the response to a feast of the birth of the mythical gods observed on this day in Alexandria. The claim used to be made that December 25 developed in opposition to the Mithras myth, or as a Christian response to the cult of the unconquered sun promoted by Roman emperors in the third century in their efforts to establish a new imperial religion. However, these old theories can no longer be sustained. The decisive factor was the connection of creation and the Cross, of creation and Christ's conception. In the light of the "hour of Jesus", these dates brought the cosmos into the picture. The cosmos was now thought of as the pre-annunciation of Christ, the Firstborn of creation (cf. Col. 1:15). It is he of whom creation speaks, and it is by him that its mute message is deciphered. The cosmos finds its true meaning in the firstborn of creation, who has now entered history. From him comes the assurance that the adventure of creation, of a world with its own free existence distinct from God, does not end up in absurdity and tragedy but, throughout all its calamities and upheavals, remains something positive. God's blessing of the seventh day is truly and definitively confirmed. The fact that the dates of the Lord's conception and birth had a cosmic significance means that Christians can take on the challenge of the sun cult and incorporate it positively into the theology of the Christmas feast. There are magnificent texts that express this synthesis. For example, St. Jerome in a Christmas sermon says this: "Even creation approves our preaching. The universe itself bears witness to the truth of our words. Up to this day the dark days increase, but from this day the darkness decreases...The light advances, while the night retreats." Likewise, St. Augustine, preaching at Christmas to his flock in Hippo: "Brethren, let us rejoice. The heathen, too, may still make merry, for this day consecrates for us, not the visible sun, but the sun's invisible Creator." (Ratzinger 2000:92, 107-108)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1-5)

For [the Father] rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:13-15)

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Day to day pours forth His speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
Its rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19:1-6)
_______
References:
Ratzinger, Joseph. (2000). The Spirit of the Liturgy (J. Saward, Trans.). San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press.

quote of the week, november 28-december 4, 2010

The world cannot redeem itself from all that is evil, enslaving, dehumanizing, and tragic. Only sacrificial love can do that - first Christ's, then ours as members of His mystical Body. That is the essence of the Mass and so of the whole Christian life. If our worship is to mean anything, as the biblical prophets never tired of saying, it must be translated into daily mercy and justice. When our self-offering joined to Christ's is sincere, the altar becomes the very platform of our charity. As we leave church, we carry Christ and His transforming love into our homes, schools, workplaces, and public squares. By loving and living the Mass, we draw our earthly city closer to the heavenly City, wherein all truth, goodness, and beauty coalesce in the God whose very essence is love. (Kocik 2007:82)

_______
References:
Kocik, Thomas. (2007). Loving and Living the Mass. Bethesda, MD: Zaccheus Press.

quote of the week, november 21-27, 2010

The following comes from William Barclay's commentary on the Gospel of John. In this particular section, he is treating John 6:59-65:

The real difficulty of Christianity is two-fold. It demands an act of surrender to Christ, an acceptance of Him as the final authority; and it demands a moral standard wherein only the pure in heart may see God. The disciples were well aware that Jesus had claimed to be the very life and mind of God come down to earth; their difficulty was to accept that it was true, with all the implications which are in it. And to this day many a man's refusal of Christ comes, not because Christ puzzles and baffles his intellect, but because Christ challenges and condemns his life. (Barclay 1965 [1955]:234)

_______
References:
Barclay, William. (1965). The Gospel of John: Volume 1: Chapters I to VII. Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press. (Original work published 1955)

quote of the week, november 14-20, 2010

[T]he apparently inevitable next step in answering the question, Does it make sense? is the sub-question, What is the best analogy for the Trinity? This sub-question is usually the death-knell for Trinitarianism's relevance. Analogies can play a useful role in thinking about God, but when the hankering for an analogy arises right here, on the border between "Does it make sense" and "Does it matter," it is usually a sign that Trinitarian thinking has developed into a verbal project for its own sake. It has become a matter of getting the right words, so they can lead us to more of the right words. Serial proof-texting gives way to broken analogies, confronting us with an unanswerable "so what" question. How do we fall so quickly from three perfectly good questions (Is it biblical? Does it make sense? And does it matter?) to a form of discourse as hollow as an echo chamber? What is the difference between a belief in the Trinity that simply doesn't matter and one that changes everything?

What is needed is an approach to the doctrine of the Trinity that takes its stand on the exceptional reality of the Trinity, and only then moves forward to the task of verbal and conceptual clarification. The principle is, first the reality, then the explanation. (Sanders 2010:35)

_______
References:
Sanders, Fred. (2010). The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

(note: Dr. Sanders frequently posts essays on The Scriptorium Daily. Click here to learn more)

quote of the week, november 7-13, 2010

Jesus' challenge, which he set out from Scripture and through his sayings and acts, was that God's long-promised and longed-for kingdom rule had broken into creation through his ministry. God's promise of hope and life, the provision of the Spirit, forgiveness, and a vindicated rule had come in him. Jesus according to Scripture is a powerful figure who makes what people think of him and his mission the primary question that one must face in life. The question of Jesus is primary because it asks of us not only who Jesus is, but also who we are as God's creatures. If one seeks to know oneself or find life, one must measure oneself against the Creator and his plan. Jesus never is assessed alone, as if his identity were a historical or academic curiosity or merely a matter of private opinion. For what we think of Jesus reveals what we think of ourselves, our capabilities, and our needs, given the way that Jesus presented our need for God and Jesus' own role in that plan. Even as Jesus is the revelator of God, he is also the revelator of our hearts before God. (Bock 2002:647)

_______
References:
Bock, D. (2002). Jesus According to Scripture: Restoring the Portrait from the Gospels. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic and Apollos.

quote of the week, october 31-november 6, 2010

The book that this passage comes from is, in my opinion, a must-read for anyone who loves the combination of theological and philosophical musings interwoven through recipes and cooking instructions marked by a peculiar reverence for God and profound appreciation of His creation - and all with unparalleled wit and sarcasm:

One might have hoped that, with so gracious a creature as wine, even the most ardent religionists and secularists would have made an exception to their universal custom of missing the point of things. But alas, between teetotalism on the one hand and the habit of classifying it as an alcoholic beverage on the other, they have both lost the thread of delight.
Consider first the teetotalers. They began, no doubt, by observing that some men use wine to excess - to the point at which, though the wine remains true to itself, the drinker does not. That much, I give them: drunks are a nuisance. But they went too far. Only the ungrateful or the purblind can fail to see that sugar in the grape and yeast on the skins is a divine idea, not a human one. Man's part in the process consists of honest and prudent management of the work that God has begun. Something underhanded has to be done to grape juice to keep it from running its appointed course.
Witness the teetotaling communion service. Most Protestants, I suppose, imagine that it is part of the true Reformed religion. But have they considered that, for nineteen centuries after the institution of the Eucharist, wine was the only element available for the sacrament? Do they seriously envision St. Paul or Calvin or Luther opening bottles of Welch's Grape Juice in the sacristy before the service? Luther, at least, would turn over in his grave. The WCTU version of the Lord's Supper is a bare 100 years old. Grape juice was not commercially viable until the discovery of pasteurization; and, unless I am mistaken, it was Mr. Welch himself (an ardent total abstainer) who persuaded American Protestantism to abandon what the Lord obviously though rather kindly of.
That much damage done, however, the itch for consistency took over with a vengeance. Even the Lord's own delight was explained away. One of the most fanciful pieces of exegesis I ever read began by maintaining that the Greek word for wine, as used in the Gospels, meant many other things than wine. The commentator cited, as I recall, grape juice for one meaning, and raisin paste for another. He inclined, ultimately, toward the latter.
I suppose such people are blessed with reverent minds which prevent them from drawing irreverent conclusions. I myself, however, could never resist the temptation to read raisin paste for wine in the story of the Miracle of Cana. "When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made raisin paste...he said unto the bridegroom, 'Every man at the beginning doth set forth good raisin paste, and when men have well drunk [eaten? - the text is no doubt corrupt], then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good raisin paste until now.'" Does it not whet your appetite for the critical opera omnia of such an author, where he will freely have at the length and breadth of Scripture? Can you not see his promised land flowing with peanut butter and jelly; his apocalypse, in which the great whore Babylon is given the cup of the ginger ale of the fierceness of the wrath of God?..." (Capon 2002 [1967]:89-90, emphasis original)

_______
References:
Capon, Rober F. (2002). The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection, 2nd Ed. New York, NY: The Modern Library. (Original work published 1967)

quote of the week, october 24-30, 2010

This gem from Puritan writer John Owen is perhaps especially relevant, given the present focus on the Epistle to Hebrews and, moreover, given Hebrews' Christological emphases:

Lovely in his person, - in the glorious all-sufficiency of his Deity, gracious purity and holiness of his humanity, authority and majesty, love and power.
Lovely in his birth and incarnation; when he was rich, for our sakes becoming poor...
Lovely in the course of his life, and the more than angelical holiness and obedience which, in the depth of poverty and persecution, he exercised therein; - doing good, receiving evil; blessing, and being cursed, reviled, reproached, all his days.
Lovely in his death; yea, therein most lovely to sinners; - never more glorious and desirable than when he came broken, dead, from the cross. Then had he carried all our sins into a land of forgetfulness; then had he made peace and reconciliation for us...
Lovely in his whole employment, in his great undertaking, - in his life, death, resurrection, ascension; being a mediator between God and us, to recover the glory of God's justice, and to save our souls, - to bring us to an enjoyment of God...
Lovely in the glory and majesty wherewith he is crowned. Now he is set down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; where, though he be terrible to his enemies, yet he is full of mercy, love, and compassion, toward his beloved ones.
Lovely in all the tender care, power, and wisdom, which he exercises in protection, safe-guarding, and delivery of his church and people, in the midst of all the oppositions and persecutions whereunto they are exposed.
Lovely in all his ordinances, and the whole of that spiritually glorious worship which he has appointed to his people, whereby they draw nigh and have communion with him and his Father.
Lovely and glorious in the vengeance he taketh, and will finally execute, upon the stubborn enemies of himself and his people.
Lovely in the pardon he hath purchased and doth dispense, - in the reconciliation he hath established, - in the grace he communicates, - in the consolation he doth administer, - in the peace and joy he gives his saints, - in his assured preservation of them unto glory.
What shall I say? there is no end of his excellencies and desirableness; - "He is altogether lovely. This is our beloved, and this is our friend, O daughters of Jerusalem." (Owen 1966 [1657]:77-78; as quoted in Packer 2006:104-105)

_______
References:
Owen, J. (1966). Communion with God: The Works of John Owen, Vol. 2. Banner of Truth. (Original work published 1657)

Packer, J. I. (2006). A Puritan perspective: Trinitarian godliness according to John Owen. In T. George (Ed.), God the Holy Trinity: Reflections on Christian Faith and Practice. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 91-108.

quote of the week, october 17-23, 2010

Consider now with yourself, how unreasonably it is pretended that a life of strict piety must be a dull and anxious state. For can it, with any reason, be said that the duties and restraints of religion must render our lives heavy and melancholy, when they only deprive us of such happiness, as has been here laid before you [that of false and superficial happiness apart from God and His ways]?
Must it be tedious and tiresome to live in the continual exercise of charity, devotion, and temperance, to act wisely and virtuously, to do good to the utmost of your power, to imitate the Divine perfections, and prepare yourself for the enjoyment of God? Must it be dull and tiresome to be delivered from blindness and vanity, from false hopes and vain fears, to improve in holiness, to feel the comforts of conscience in all your actions, to know that God is your Friend, that all must work for your good, that neither life nor death, neither men nor devils, can do you any harm; but that all your sufferings and doings that are offered unto God, all your watchings and prayers, and labors of love and charity, all your improvements, are in a short time to be rewarded with everlasting glory in the presence of God [...]? (Law 2009 [1728]:135)

_______
References:
Law, William. (2009). A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers. (Original work published 1728)

quote of the week, october 3-9, 2010

It is not necessary to have either a keen intellect or great knowledge to go to God, but simply a heart resolved to apply itself to Him and for Him, and to love only Him. (Lawrence 1994 [1692]:73, emphasis original)

_______
References:
Lawrence, Brother. (1994). The Practice of the Presence of God. (R. J. Edmonson, Trans.). Orleans, MA: Paraclete Press. (Original translation published 1985; original work published 1692)

quote of the week, september 26-october 2, 2010

It is all too easy to read the traditional interpretations we have received from others into the text of Scripture. Then we may unwittingly transfer the authority of Scripture to our traditional interpretations and invest them with a false, even idolatrous, degree of certainty. (Carson 2002 [1996]:17)

_______
References:
Carson, D. A. (2002). Exegetical Fallacies, 2nd Ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. (Original work published 1996)

quote of the week, september 19-25, 2010

[T]he God we must see is not the utilitarian God who is having such a run of popularity today, whose chief claim to men's attention is His ability to bring them success in their various undertakings and who for that reason is being cajoled and flattered by everyone who wants a favor. The God we must learn to know is the Majesty in the heavens, God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, the only wise God our Saviour. He it is that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, who stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in, who bringeth our His starry host by number and calleth them all by name through the greatness of His power, who seeth the works of man as vanity, who putteth no confidence in princes and asks no counsel of kings.
Knowledge of such a Being cannot be gained by study alone. It comes by a wisdom the natural man knows nothing of, neither can know, because it is spiritually discerned. To know God is at once the easiest and the most difficult thing in the world. It is easy because the knowledge is not won by hard mental toil, but is something freely given. As sunlight falls free on the open field, so the knowledge of the holy God is a free gift to men who are open to receive it. But this knowledge is difficult because there are conditions to be met and the obstinate nature of fallen man does not take kindly to them. (Tozer 1978:114-115)

_______
References:
Tozer, A. W. (1978). The Knowledge of the Holy: The Attributes of God: Their Meaning in the Christian Life. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins. (Original work published 1961)

quote of the week, september 12-18, 2010

"We know not what we shall be"; but we may be sure we shall be more, not less, than we were on earth. Our natural experiences (sensory, emotional, imaginative) are only like the drawing, like pencilled lines on flat paper. If they vanish in the risen life, they will vanish only as pencil lines vanish from the real landscape, not as a candle flame that is put out but as a candle flame which becomes invisible because someone has pulled up the blind, thrown open the shutters, and let in the blaze of the risen sun. (Lewis 2001:111)

_______
References:
Lewis, C. S. (2001). Transposition. In The Weight of Glory: And Other Addresses, New York, NY: Harper One, 91-115. (Original work published 1949)

quote of the week, september 5-11, 2010

If there were no eternal consciousness in a man, if at the bottom of everything there were only a wild ferment, a power that twisting in dark passions produced everything great or inconsequential; if an unfathomable, insatiable emptiness lay hid beneath everything, what would life be but despair? If it were thus, if there were no sacred bond uniting mankind, if one generation rose up after another like the leaves of the forest, if one generation succeeded the other as the songs of the birds in the woods, if the human race passed through the world as a ship through the sea or the wind through the desert, a thoughtless and fruitless whim, if an eternal oblivion always lurked hungrily for its prey and there were no power strong enough to wrest it from its clutches - how empty and devoid of comfort would life be! (Kierkegaard 2006:14)

_______
References:
Kierkegaard, S. (2006). Fear & Trembling. New York, NY: Penguin USA.

quote of the week, august 29-september 4, 2010

If we grasp a little better where we fit into the Bible's story line, how God looks at our sin, what our own rebellion rightly deserves, then although not all our questions about evil and suffering are answered, we are likely to face the wounding times with less resentment and indignation, and with more gratitude and trust, than would otherwise be the case. (Carson 2006:46)

_______
References:
Carson, D. A. (2006). How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil, 2nd Ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. (Original work published 1990)

quote of the week, august 22-28, 2010

Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever. (Piper 2003:17)

_______
References:
Piper, John. (2003). Let the Nations Be Glad!: The Supremacy of God in Missions, 2nd Ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. (Original work published 1993)

quote of the week, august 15-21, 2010

It sounds like a paradox, but the basic religion that is being preached and accepted as the only means of overcoming secularism is in reality a surrender to secularism. This surrender can take place - and actually does - in all Christian confessions, although it is differently "colored" in a nondenominational suburban "community church" and in a traditional, hierarchical, confessional and liturgical parish. For the surrender consists not in giving up creeds, traditions, symbols, and customs (of all this the secular man, tired of his functional office, is sometimes extremely fond), but in accepting the very function of religion in terms of promoting the secular value of help, be it help in character building, peace of mind, assurance of eternal salvation. It is in this "key" that religion is preached to, and accepted by, millions of average believers today. And it is really amazing how little difference exists in the religious self-consciousness of members and confessions whose dogmas seem to stand in radical opposition to one another. For even if a man changes religion, it is usually because he finds the one he accepts as offering him "more help" - not more truth. (Schmemman 1973:109)

_______
References:
Schmemman, Alexander. (1973). For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. (Original work published 1963)