The Bible is a Witness to God’s Eternal Word

Nothing more or less. (Of course, being the witness of God’s Eternal Word, Jesus, is a really, really big deal, so I’m not sure why some feel the need to make the Bible also be a science book, a history book, a constitution of church life, a guide to manage money, run a business, etc.)

Chaplain Mike at the Internet Monk has a nice explanation about why Rick Warren’s defense of the Bible as scientifically accurate in light of a phrase in Isiah 40‘the sphere of the Earth’ is a gross misreading of the text. Also, Chaplain Mike has nice picture depicting the ancient Hebrew understanding of the cosmos.

Beside the failure to truly grasp ancient Hebrew cosmology, Warren’s well-meaning but embarrassing defense of the scientific acumen of the prophet Isaiah is based on the false notion that the understanding of a round Earth is relatively recent – say when Columbus sailed west to reach the Orient. However, the ancients did understand the spherical shape of the Earth. The Greeks understood this no later than the Third Century BC!

Anyway, I have lots of experience with Warren’s style of desperately clinging to any little phrase in Scripture in an effort to make the book stand against those evil, secular, atheist so-called scientists. For example, I once had a Sunday school teacher try to explain in a Christian Evidences class (insert snarky comment here) how Leviticus 17:11 (which reads: For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement NASV) proved that ancient and medieval practices like bloodletting were the result of Biblical ignorance. If only those doctors who killed George Washington had been reading their Bibles, they would have known that life was in the blood! Of course, it wasn’t as if pre-modern medical authorities simply thought “Hey! What’s all this red stuff in here? Surely it’s not important; let’s drain it all out!” Even as a teenager, desperately wanting to be a good Church-of-Christer, I couldn’t swallow this nonsense. We were suppose to bring our friends to church with us and let them hear this stuff? Such rank Biblicism obscures the Gospel, and drives people away from the churches (certainly not just Churches of Christ) who teach it.

Anyway, file this away as reason #1563 I joined the Episcopal Church – all truth is God’s Truth, including discoveries made by science. Scientific ignorance is a liability and not to be praised.

Grasping at Belief

Over at the League of Ordinary Gentleman, Tod Kelly is chronicling his experiences at the Catechumanate classes of an Episcopal Church in an effort to “reconcile [his] lack of belief with [his] desire for belief” which struck me as an insightful phrase that likely applies to many (most?) who warm pews (or whatever megachurches are using instead of pews) on a given Sunday.

I’ll be following his weekly updates. In particular, I admired his commitment to and enjoyed his running commentary on the lectionary readings.

Spiritual Direction

In my service as a Stephen Minister at Christ Church Cathedral, and in my increasing fascination (it’s more than that really) with Christian monasticism, I’ve come across the practice of Spiritual Direction.

My good friend, Daniel Hoffman recently began work as a spiritual director, and should you live in the Indianapolis area and wish to better understand and respond to God’s action in your life, a time of spiritual direction with Br. Daniel-Chad would be a tremendous blessing.

Welcoming our NFL Overlords

Dan Carpenter:

Far be it from me to declare any civic deficiency insuperable when the National Football League deigns to choose one’s city for its annual temporary winter palace.

If we can pour more than $150 million into the struggling neighborhoods east of Downtown and $12 million (mostly federal, but still finite) into a three-block stretch of Georgia Street, what limits are there to the motivational power of fleeting prestige?

Mass transit, library and school budgets falling $10 million to $30 million (depending on who’s estimating) short of the need? Food pantries exhausting their supplies with families waiting? Probation officers, public defenders, prosecutors and child welfare workers with double the caseloads they can reasonably handle?

Have the NFL commissioner decree: This must not stand! Then stand back.

Temporary winter palace. Heh.

 

O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Image above by Linda Witte Henke: “The Great O Antiphons.”

O Rex Gentium

O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:
Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.

Image above by Linda Witte Henke: “The Great O Antiphons.”

O Oriens

O Morning Star,
splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Image above by Linda Witte Henke: “The Great O Antiphons.”

O Clavis David

O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;
you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open:
Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Image above by Linda Witte Henke: “The Great O Antiphons.”

O Radix Jesse

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

Image above by Linda Witte Henke: “The Great O Antiphons.”

O Adonai

O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

Image above by Linda Witte Henke: “The Great O Antiphons.”

O Sapientia

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other mightily,
and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Image above by Linda Witte Henke: “The Great O Antiphons.”

Great Antiphons begin tomorrow!

It’s that time of year again – time for the final week of Advent, when the Church’s attention – liturgically speaking – finally turns toward the birth of Christ. (The Advent readings for the prior weeks are fascinating mix of apocalyptic visions and the bold prophetic work of John the Baptist.)

Today is the final day for using the general Advent antiphon, which I rather like:

“Drop down, you heavens, from above; and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let it bring forth salvation.”

This antiphon, like the more famous set that begins on 17 December, is cast as a plea to God, seeking salvation that comes both from heaven and earth. The Great Antiphons pick up this plea, but cast it in more specific and urgent terms until Christmas Eve, when the world hears the Good News – “Christ is born! Glorify him!”

Finally, if you need a moment of relief from the sanctimonious types (like this writer) constantly harping on the True Meaning of Christmas, perhaps you’ll enjoy this parody of The Worst Christmas Song Ever.

Marching Hundred

Congratulations to the Indiana University Marching Hundred, who will be preforming at this year’s Super Bowl in Indianapolis!

Two predictions:

1) This will be the only bowl game the Hundred performs at for next five years.

2) The Hundred’s performance will be far, far better than Madonna’s.

Horrified and Amused. But Mainly Horrified.

On yesterday’s Parks and Recreation, Ron Swanson – in a fit of rage and disgust -  tossed his computer in a dumpster after discovering his house on Google Earth. If only it were so simple.

I’m sure it’s old news to you all, but the Way Back Machine from the Internet Archive is truly terrifying. It is an archive of Internet sites and a great way to waste a couple hours. Through it, I can re-read all the blog posts I lost from matthewstevenson.com when my host – jatol.com – mysteriously disappeared in 2007. Having done so, let me again (at least, I hope I’ve done this at least once before) apologize for my former self.

I’m sorry. What an arrogant prick I was. I understand why so many writers burn their correspondence before dying.

But not everything I was writing 3-7 years ago at MatthewStevenson.com makes me want to crawl under a rock in shame and embarrassment. No, I was marginally pleased with my former self a couple of times. While perusing those old thoughts, for instance,  I happen to re-read some of the posts that so thoroughly scandalized the leaders of my childhood church and for which I was eventually asked to leave. (See especially: “Sticking my head in the lion’s mouth” from March 2005, in which I was called to task for commending Mike Cope‘s defense of a visible role – not even leadership role, just a visible role – for women in the public worship of churches of Christ as “logical”. Also, I was scolded for referring to Mike Cope as my “brother.” Fun times.  Of course, now I’m an Episcopalian in the Diocese of Indianapolis, under the leadership of the Rt. Rev. Catherine Waynick.  God has a great sense of humor.

I also wanted to re-post my Advent reflection from 2006 (the year I began keeping the Church Year for reals). Here it is:

Fire, Ice, Chickens and Grand Admiral Thrawn

Just a quick update. I’ll have some more book reviews soon. I’m currently engrossed in George R.R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series. I recently finished A Feast for Crows, so as soon as my local library has it in, I’ll be reading A Dance with Dragons.  (It’s probably good that Dance was not immediately available at the library. The forced break is much needed; my wife recently started referring to the series as my mistress….)  When I’m not reading about boiled leather, studded jerkins, and the generally byzantine politics of the Seven Kingdoms, I’ve stayed busy finishing up the summer’s Big Project – repairing and painting our fence.

Once upon a time, the fence was white. But years of overgrown ivy, and a neurotically destructive dog (true story: I’m out working in the yard one day and I hear the neighbor kid ask his friend “What’s wrong with that dog? Why is he eating the fence?” I look over at Beethoven and sure enough, he’s gnawing on the fence like it’s made of rawhide.) have changed it to shades of green, gray and brown. Some pickets were rotted completely. The project has gone well, barring the whole “inadvertently stepping in wet paint and then tracking it up the brick path” episode.

In other news, Alison and I went on the Indy Tour de Coops a few weeks ago. Great event, very well planned. The tour featured 15 urban chicken coops, all located in Broad Ripple. Apparently, tour organizers had to turn down offers from people with chickens just to keep the size at a manageable 15. This got me thinking: if there is such a concentration of urban chickens in Indy, how many residents of Plainfield are keeping chickens?

Heir to the Empire is twenty years old. As I think back, Zahn’s series may have launched my last epic compulsive I-must-read-everything-there-is-like-this read-a-thon. I discovered Heir to the Empire right before my freshman year of high school, and read every book in the Expanded Canon. (I did not read them in chronological order, however, which was confusing.) Perhaps, while I wait for Tyrion and Daenerys to return, I should with reacquaint myself with Grand Admiral Thrawn.