Scripture as we live it

A fascinating site and idea is at The Assembling of the Church.  There Alan Knox puts Bible verses as we actually live them. For example:

Above all, keep loving judging one another earnestly, since love covers judgment points out a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8 re-mix)

This may be the version of the Bible I really always wanted – and don’t need.

Check it out. Should be enlightening.

I am an idiot not to pray more

Jared Wilson at The Gospel-Driven Church posted this at his blog. I believe it is so. To pray well is the thing itself. I must enter into this. I must.

U.S Army Burns Bibles in Afghanistan

Ben Witherington is blogging about the US Army policy of burning Bibles in Afghanistan. Say it ain’t so.

I haven’t yet figured out how to dispose of a Bible that is too worn for use anymore, much less burn it. It occurs to me that many Christians have lost a sense of the holiness of this Book and treat it in a manner unworthy of its high value. It is hard to imagine Muslims being asked to burn the Quran. The secularism of western Christians makes such a thing as burning a Bible all too plausible.

Teddy Roosevelt and The River of Doubt

I have just finished reading The River of Doubt by Candice Millard. It’s been a long time since I have been so entertained by a book. It is the story of Teddy Roosevelt’s last adventure, an expedition to the Amazon River basin that almost killed him and which sapped enough of his life force that led to what only can be considered an early death for such a robust and vigorous man.

After his failed third run for the Presidency after two terms in the White House,Roosevelt did what he often did after a personal crisis, go on safari. He found solace in extreme physical exertion. There are many less healthy ways to respond to disappointment, for sure, but in his final venture he finally went too far. In this last expedition he explored that tributary of the Amazon River that had been named The River of Doubt (but which is now named for Roosevelt himself). The name was appropriate because, though it had been identified by a previous explorer, it had not been mapped and its characteristics remained unknown.

Roosevelt and party entered a modern version of Dante’s Inferno. It reminds me of the saying, “Remember that it get’s darkest right before things really turn pitch black.” Nothing went well, and the suffering was immense. The story includes murder, drowning, starvation, tropical diseases of extreme kinds, exhaustion and constant despair, suicidal wishes and suffocating jungle.

It was Teddy Roosevelt who so suffered that his life force was virtually expended, dying five years later, far ahead of what would be expected of a man of his vigor and strength. His very physical way of dealing with disappointment meant an early death. He appears to be a rock, but like the rest of us his life was the avoidance of pain though through some very unusal means. And those means meant the death of him.

This book is also a great character study of those who accompanied him on the expedition, in particular his Brazilian counterpart, Marechal Rondon, one of Brazil’s national heroes. This man’s bravery and calmness in face of fate is stunning. After reading this book a bed, toast and butter and coffee, and dry clothes will feel like heaven.

Pessimisms

“Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.”
–Joan Crawford

A cultural death wish

Here is a headline in today’s Boston Globe:

Property tax hikes
winning support

The fact is that we are not saving policing, firefighting and schools by raising more taxes. We are only saving out of control salaries. Some day we will get that.

Baptist Minister Prays For Death of President Obama

Jonathan Turley reports on a clergy who is praying for the death of the President. When I read of such people my first reaction is another nut. Then my second reaction is that I am a wimp, not because I do not pray for the death of a President but because I am often afraid to say what I think is true. I fear men. I need them to think well of me to such a degree that I will not tell them what is good for them and will save their soul. I would prefer that they spend an eternity away from God rather than think ill of me. I then become an enemy of Christ. John the Baptist I am not. See this clergy’s speech about Planned Parenthood.

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Baptist Minister Prays For Death of President Obama

By jonathanturley on Society

Baptist Minister (and former second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention) Wiley Drake reportedly said that he is offering an “imprecatory prayer” for the death of President Obama.

Drake reportedly said on June 2 on “The Alan Colmes Show” that, unless Obama repents, he is praying for God to kill him — referencing the killing of Dr. George Tiller as an example of such divine retribution. Drake has his own program, “The Wiley Drake Show” on Crusade Radio, where he has been holding forth on Tiller’s murder. With Colmes, Drake said “I’ve been a Baptist pastor for a long time, been in the pro-life fight, been face-to-face with Tiller, told him about Jesus, and I’ve seen many, many others tell him about Jesus over and over and over again. And I’ve seen horrific things that go on in those death abortuaries — and that’s what they are — and so my initial response to those people, they said, ‘Well what was your response,’ and I said, ‘Well, in all honesty I have to just respond directly and say I am glad that he’s dead.’”

Drake repeated the view that Obama (who he refers to as “B. Hussein Obama”) is not an American-born citizen and called him a “usurper.” Drake was praised in extremist websites after he filed to block Obama from taking the oath of office. He also said that Rev. Rick Warren would be punished by God for offering a prayer at the inauguration.

An “imprecatory prayer” is usually a reference to Psalm 35 where David calls upon the Lord to kill his enemies. There are a variety of imprecatory psalms containing curses or prayers for the punishment and death for one’s enemies. Psalms 7, 35, 55, 58, 59, 69, 79, 109, 137 and 139.

Drake is a big believer in death-dealing prayers . . . and he is not afraid to use them. Previously, he called for the use of imprecatory prayers against a religious watchdog group. He was upset over an IRS investigation. On August 14th he wrote:

In light of the recent attack from the enemies of God I ask the children of God to go into action with Imprecatory Prayer. Especially against Americans United for Separation of Church and State. I made an attempt to go to them via Matt 18:15 but they refused to talk to me. Specifically target Joe Conn or Jeremy Learing. They are those who lead the attack. (You can see their press release attack at www.au.org )

Imprecatory prayer, is now our duty

Now that all efforts have been exhausted, we must begin our Imprecatory Prayer, at the key points of the parliamentary role in the earth where we live.

John Calvin gave the church its marching orders from Scripture. The righteous have dominion, but only through imprecatory prayer against the ungodly.

David as our Old Testament shepherd gives us many Imprecatory prayers, and can be found to be in best focus in Psalm 109. Also chapters 55, 58, 68, 69, and 83

Pray these back to God and He will answer.

Jesus in Matthew 23: 13, 15, 16, 23, 24, 27, and 29 gave us our New Testament marching orders as well.

Let us join Paul and declare anathema upon anyone” who loves not the Lord Jesus.” I Cor 16:22

Church father Martin Luther, led us by saying…”If any of the enemies of God’s people belong to God’s election, the church’s prayer against them giveth way to their conversion, and seeketh no more than that the judgment should follow them, only until they acknowledge their sin, turn, and seek God.”

During his interview with Colmes, he was asked directly about his death-dealing prayer for the president:

“Are you praying for his death?” Colmes asked.

“Yes,” Drake replied.

“So you’re praying for the death of the president of the United States?”

“Yes.”

Colmes then asks him if he is worried that the Secret Service might come knocking and Drake insists that this is his right. That is the only thing upon which I agree with Drake. As I discussed on this segment of Rachel Maddow Show, such violent speech (and prayers) are protected under the Constitution. You are allowed to make hateful prayers for the death of a president.

For a video of Drake at his raving best, click here.

For the full story, click here.

Baruch Spinoza and the language of Jonathan Edwards

I am a Spinoza fan. No, I do not agree with him. I am a fan of his project and his prescient awareness of what his monism means for anthropology. Dr. Antonio Damasio’s book “Looking for Spinoza” uses Spinoza’s project as the platform for expressing his own conclusions about the origin of self-consciousness and the phenomena of emotions and feelings. (Yes, two different things in Damasio’s thought). Damasio is just one figure in a growing number of scientists and intellectuals who are exploring ways to account for the human experience of self-consciousness by way of biology rather than by way of a soul which is that part of us that keeps us in touch with the transcendent and eternal. David Pinker is another such figure. It is an area where I do some focused reading and would love to teach a course on Spinoza’s project and the status of that project today. I have always been convinced that much of what we call spirituality is in fact biologically generated reflection on the self. Of course, the trick is knowing which is which. What is simply me being aware of me and what is me connecting with the “not me.”

Anyway, in reading Spinoza I find that I am comfortable with his language partly because I am comfortable with the language of Edwards and in our own time the language of Piper and company. It is the language of seeing God in all, being thankful for us, delighted in all and finding in all a sweetness that makes one God-intoxicated. Spinoza expresses these personal responses as a monist, or what most would call a pantheist. For most Christians pantheism is akin to atheism, since there is not a personal God to whom we pray, who we can love and by whom we can be loved. This is why Spinzoa was excommunicated by the Jewish synagogue.

My Calvinism has taught me an acceptance of all as a Christian response to the sovereignty of God. But not only an acceptance. It is also food for worship and delight.

But Christianity makes the Creator-creature distinction, unlike Spinoza, that allows for the existence in this world of that which is not God. The Christian cannot simply embrace all that is. There is real evil which the Christian is called to oppose – to cry about, be angry about, sacrifice to eradicate. In other words, to get involved and passionate about change. This is not a Spinozan response. Spinoza has earned much respect in philosophical circles because he sought to live consistently with philosophy of the love embrace of what is. He lived a simple, humble life, as free as possible from the turmoil generated by avarice and regret. He remained single and had no obssession with fame and recognition. His philosophical works were publised after his death, which came at the early age of 44.

As a Christian, I find that it has become too easy for me to respond to life in a way that is too close to Spinoza and not enough like Christ. I sometimes embrace too much, too satisfied with what is. I am very leary of crossing over into the life of passion Kierkegaard described. Calvinism as I have framed it (and probably twisted it out of shape) can cater too much to my natural instinct and preference and creates too much distance between me and the mass of struggling humanity immersed in a world where much must change.

Today’s Quote 6/12/09

“Whatever makes us more and more able to enjoy making much of God is a mercy. For there is no greater joy than joy in the greatness of God. And if we must suffer to see this and savor it most deeply, then suffering is a mercy. And Christ’s call to take up our cross and join Him on the Calvary road is love.”

-John Piper, “Don’t Waste Your Life”