Something to live for

 

A recent survey conducted by the Prince of Wales Trust disclosed that three quarters of of a million young people felt that they have nothing to live for. Many of the respondents were long-term unemployed. That’s a very sad statistic and something of an indictment on our society. The young of all people should be full of hope and optimism about life, but evidently many are not.

Clearly politicians have their a job to do in ensuring that young people are offered meaningful work opportunities. But even then, work and the money employment provides cannot by itself fill the spiritual void that many people feel, whether old or young. Human beings were made by God and for God and it is only as we enjoy fellowship with him that we will find true fulfilment in life.

Jesus came to reconnect us with God. He died on the Cross to remove our sin that acts as a barrier between us and our Maker. Through the power of his resurrection Jesus is able to give life and hope to all who believe in him. Not that following Jesus will automatically get someone a job, or deal with all their problems. But knowing the reality of his love gives people something to live for even in the bleakest of circumstances. 

* For the February edition of News & Views, West Lavington Parish Magazine. 

Charles Hodge: Pride of Princeton by W. Andrew Hoffecker

Charles Hodge: Pride of Princeton,

by W. Andrew Hoffecker, P&R, 460pp, 2011

I'm sure that as a church history boffin, Andrew Hoffecker knows his stuff. But I think he's written the wrong biography. Or at lest P&R has made a colossal publishing error and put the incorrect cover on the Professor's book. Why do I say that? Because the 'Charles Hodge' who emerges from these pages sounds suspiciously like a certain church historian who labours at the step-child of Old Princeton, Westminster Theological Seminary.

Hoffecker's 'Hodge' was a stickler for Presbyterian confessionalism and was suspicious of pan-Evangelical alliances. He was a keen controversialist, whose contributions to the widely read theological journal, Princeton Review served more or less the same purpose as Reformation 21's Online Magazine today.  Alright, 'Hodge' was a systematic theologian and his contemporary alter ego is a historian, but still, there are enough parallels to give rise to an intriguing question. Has Hoffecker in fact given us the biography of Carl Trueman in the guise of an historical novel?  

Admittedly, no other reviewer has noticed this. Not even Carl Trueman, who lines up with various other rent-a-blurb worthies at the front of the book. But it's a theory, and who's to say I'm wrong?  If, on the other hand I'm quite mistaken, it means that the Old Princeton systematician has a lot to say to the contemporary Evangelical scene and we would do well to listen to give him a hearing. 

But enough of this nonsense and on to a proper review. Hoffecker's key to understanding Hodge (I dispense with the quote marks and concede that this is a genuine biography after all) is that he was shaped by the New Side piety that flowed from the Great Awakening and Old School Presbyterian orthodoxy, with its dogged allegiance to the Westminster Standards. Hodge's approach to theology, involving the systematisation of the fruits of inductive Bible study along scientific lines has come in for a fair bit of criticism of late, perhaps justly so in some respects. But the Hodge who comes through in this biography was no clinical systematiser. He was a man of deep piety with a passionate concern to communicate and conserve Scriptural truth as understood by the historic Reformed faith. 

Hodge famously boasted that Princeton Seminary had invented no new doctrines, but that did not mean he was unaware of what was going on the the rapidly changing world of 19th century theology. His studies in Germany, heartland of theological liberalism, gave him first-hand experience of the latest trends in scholarship and their disastrous consequences as far as genuine Christianity was concerned. Hodge not only engaged in controversy with out-and-out Liberals. He also entered the fray against New School Presbyterians, who, with their openness to pan-Evangelical alliances were seen by Hodge as a threat to the theological integrity of his denomination. He also took an interest in the argument over Darwinism, rejecting the theory of evolution due to its unscientific character and worrying theological implications. While he acknowledged that all facts are God's facts, he also understood that human explanations of factual evidence may be deeply flawed. 

Yet Hodge was no pugilist who delighted in polemics for their own sake. He usually opted to follow a middle course between extremes on both sides in the many ecclesiastical spats that raged in 19th century American Presbyterianism. On the vexed matter of slavery that was to tear apart both church and state, Hodge was in favour of the gradual elimination of slavery but against salve-holding church members being subject to excommunication. It's a pity that he didn't take a clearer line on this issue, but his moderate stance was typical of the man. 

Hodge's position as Professor of Didactic Theology and editor of the Princeton Review, made him a figure of huge influence in his time. The celebration of his fifty years service at Princeton in 1872 was a massive event, attended by academic and ecclesiastical luminaries and a large cohort of former students. His Systematic Theology is regarded as an important, if flawed contribution to Reformed systematics. The flame of orthodoxy passed from the hands of Charles to his son, A. A. Hodge and then in turn to to B. B. Warfield and J. Gresham Machen. By Machen's time Princeton had been infiltrated by Liberalism, which led to him leaving Hodge's old seminary to found the Westminster Theological Seminary in 1929. 

Hodge stands as a timely witness to the unique value of the of the historic Reformed faith. In our day as his, lowest common denominator Evangelicalism seeks to swallow up all in its wake. Hodge was catholic spirited enough to engage with the wider Evangelical scene, but in the main his activities were devoted to a Church that held to an elaborate confession of Reformed doctrine. I'm a Reformed Baptist, not a Presbyterian. Hodge's almost obsessive fretting over the decreasing incidence of infant baptism in his denomination garnered little sympathy from me. Would that the practice had died out altogether. However, I admire Hodge's firm insistence that the Church, not any parachurch organisation is the focal point of God's activity in the world. The importance of safeguarding the doctrine and life of the Church cannot therefore be overestimated. Banging this drum Charles Hodge does sound suspiciously like Carl Trueman, or is it the other way round? I shall leave you to work that one out for yourselves .   

On Christian Doctrine by Augustine of Hippo

On Christian Doctrine by Augustine of Hippo, 

Kindle edition, print length 202 pages, £0.77

One of the wonderful things about the advent of e-books is that it allows cheapskates like me to get hold of some of the classic works of Christian theology at bargain basement prices. The same title would have cost me £15.67 for a hardback edition or £8.05 for the paperback. Besides taking up more space on my already packed to capacity bookshelves. I first became aware of this title at last year's Banner Ministers' Conference, where Mike Reeves mentioned that in this work Augustine devotes a chapter to 'The Trinity the True Object of Enjoyment.' That sounded good to me and I swiftly downloaded a copy. I may have baulked at price of a hard copy , but at 0.77p, what's to lose? Not that investing in Augustine is ever a risky venture.

Augustine divides his treatment of Christian Doctrine into four 'Books'. Book I offers a general summary of Christian teaching. Book II is devoted to hermeneutics. Book III considers how the Bible teacher may attempt to resolve interpretive difficulties. Book IV reflects on how biblical truth thus discovered might best be taught to others. The main thrust of the work is hermeneutical. As Augustine writes in the Preface, 

There are certain rules for the interpretation of Scripture which I think might with great advantage be taught to earnest students of the word, that they may profit not only from reading the works of others who have laid open the secrets of the sacred writings, but also from themselves opening such secrets to others.   These rules I propose to teach to those who are able and willing to learn, if God our Lord do not withhold from me, while I write, the thoughts He is wont to vouchsafe to me in my meditations on this subject. (St Augustine of Hippo (2012-07-08). On Christian Doctrine (Kindle Locations 281-288). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition.) 

In Books II & III Augustine gives careful attention to 'rules for the interpretation of Scripture'. He deals with matters such as the importance of knowledge of the original biblical languages, understanding figurative speech, the usefulness of 'profane leaning' to the Bible expositor and the resolution of knotty exegetical problems. But his hermenutical reflections are not confined to literary matters. The doctrinal summary of Book I is Augustine's way of ensuring that the interpretive task is placed within a clear theological framework. While diversity of opinion on the meaning of some Scripture passages is to be expected, the exegete is not entitled to discern a meaning in the text of Scripture that would contradict the basic elements of Christian truth as clearly disclosed in the Bible and confessed by the Church. This approach is in line with what the Reformers would later describe as the 'analogy of faith'. 

Augustine would have students of the word give themselves to the theological interpretation of Scripture so that their teaching will build up the people of God. While the Church Father does not avoid dealing with technicalities, his great desire is that a proper understanding the Bible and the powerful proclamation of its message should lead to the enjoyment of the God,

The only object which ought to be enjoyed is the triune God, who is our highest good and our true happiness. We are prevented by our sins from enjoying God; and that our sins might be taken away, "the word was made flesh," our Lord suffered, and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, taking to himself as his bride the church, in which we receive remission of our sins. And if our sins are remitted and our souls renewed by grace, we may await with hope the resurrection of the body to eternal glory; if not, we shall be raised to everlasting punishment. (St Augustine of Hippo (2012-07-08). On Christian Doctrine (Kindle Locations 448-456). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition.)

This thought is further developed in the chapter that first drew my attention to this work, Book I: Chapter 5 - The Trinity the True Object of Enjoyment.

The true objects of enjoyment, then, are the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, who are at the same time the Trinity, one Being, supreme above all, and common to all who enjoy Him, if He is an object, and not rather the cause of all objects, or indeed even if He is the cause of all.   For it is not easy to find a name that will suitably express so great excellence, unless it is better to speak in this way: The Trinity, one God, of whom are all things, through whom are all things, in whom are all things. (St Augustine of Hippo (2012-07-08). On Christian Doctrine (Kindle Locations 552-559). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition.) 

Some of Augustine's exegesis is a little fanciful when compared the sober canons of interpretation laid down by the Reformers. Here and there his applications might give rise to a wry smile. He commends Ambrose inveighing against women using make-up as an example of the 'majestic style' of speech,  

If thou art comely why dost thou hide thy comeliness? If thou art plain, why dost thou lyingly pretend to be beautiful...? (Augustine of Hippo (2012-07-08). On Christian Doctrine (Kindle Locations 5437-5439). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition.)

He justifies preachers using other people's sermons on the grounds that all truth is God's truth anyway and 'even those who could not compose what they say make it their own by composing their lives in harmony with it.' (St Augustine of Hippo (2012-07-08). On Christian Doctrine (Kindle Locations 5767-5769). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition.) Well, that's alight, then. 

More seriously, Augustine insists that Christian teachers must practice what they preach, 'But whatever may be the majesty of the style, the life of the speaker will count for more in securing the hearer's compliance.' (St Augustine of Hippo (2012-07-08). On Christian Doctrine (Kindle Locations 5649-5650). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition.) And that before speaking the preacher must first lift up his soul to God in prayer, 

And when the hour is come that he must speak, he ought, before he opens his mouth, to lift up his thirsty soul to God, to drink in what he is about to pour forth, and to be himself filled with what he is about to distribute. (St Augustine of Hippo (2012-07-08). On Christian Doctrine (Kindle Locations 4870-4873). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition) 

Augustine hardly needs any commendation from me, but may I suggest in the words that marked the turning point in the great man's life, that you toll lege, or whatever the Latin is for 'download and read' his On Christian Doctrine. All this for only 0.77p. Go on. You know it makes sense. 

So that was Christmas (2013)

Once more Christmas came and went in a blur. The build-up was hectic, with extra church meetings of one kind and another, as well as the usual preparations for the Big Day. The follow-up involved family visits to Wales and London. My mum was meant to be joining us for Christmas, but my attempt to pick her up from Bassaleg had to be abandoned due to a Great Flood at Bradford on Avon. Good to have Jonny back with us on Christmas leave from Nottingham University.

We had some encouraging times at church, with a number of visitors at the Providence Carol Service. In the three Sunday morning services leading up to Christmas I preached on John 1:14, The Divine Identity, Real Humanity and Stunning Glory of Jesus (here).

Among my Christmas pressies (mostly clothes - as modelled above) was the recently published, From Heaven He Came and Sought Her, on definite atonement, edited by David Gibson and Jonathan Gibson. That should give me something to get my teeth into as 2014 unfolds. I also took advantage of Amazon's sale to download God's Philosophers, by James Hannam, for only 0.99p.


My main reading task for 2014 will be finishing Volume Four of Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics. After that I'll be free to make a start on The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for pilgrims on the way, by Michael Horton. I've been enjoying Charles Hodge: The Pride of Princeton, by W. Andrew Hoffecker and am about 2/3 of the way through.

We had a lovely time at Longleat Safari Park on Boxing Day thanks to a friend who gave us complimentary tickets. We did the safari drive and got pretty close to the wildlife. The big cats seemed more lively in winter than we have found them in the heat of summer. The pantomime theme in Longleat House was fun, bumping into Prince Charming and Cindarella, Scrooge and various other characters. Oh yes, we did.

For the the last Sunday in 2013 I preached on 'Now is the accepted time', 2 Corinthians 6:2 and 'Redeeming the time' from Ephesians 5:16.

Yesterday afternoon Sarah and I went to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. I enjoyed it better than The Unexpected Journey. We saw the first film in HFR 3D. The visual effects freaked my brain. Mainly because at least to me, the medium makes the characters look hyperrealistic against a rather static-looking background. Much better in good ol' 2D. Still, not sure that the director to wise to try and squeeze three films out of the original source material. But the cliffhanger ending made me want to see the concluding episode in December, even though I know what's going to happen next. The Hobbit was the last bedtime story I read to Jonny and Becca, so it is still relatively fresh in my mind. As much as anything is fresh in my mind these days.

We saw the New Year in with friends in Bulford, Wiltshire, which was nice. I was joint-winner of Dixit, a board game I'd not played before. Far be it from me to boast.

Today had been quite quiet thus far, which is nice so I was able to catch up with some non-theological listening/reading. A while back I downloaded Catastrophe: Volume One: Europe Goes to War 1914, by Max Hastings. It was a freebie sweetener from Audible.co.uk. I'd not listened to an audio book before, but gave it a go earlier today. I prefer reading to listening when it comes to books, but the scene-setting introduction and prologue were well interesting enough. A bit difficult to absorb all the information without being able to pause and review the text, though. Still, shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, I suppose.

I downloaded Seamus Heney's Beowulf when the poet's death was announced back in the summer. At the time I managed to read little more than part of the introduction, but today began to make progress on the epic poem itself. Beautifully translated; the verse crisp and clear, the narrative gripping and exciting.

Then a powerful demon, a prowler through the dark,

nursed a hard grievance. It harrowed him

to hear the din of the loud banquet

every day in the hall, the harp being struck

and the clear song of a skilled poet

telling with mastery of man’s beginnings,

how the Almighty had made the earth

a gleaming plain girdled with waters;

in His splendour He set the sun and the moon

to be earth’s lamplight, lanterns for men,

and filled the broad lap of the world

with branches and leaves; and quickened life

in every other thing that moved. [65-98]

Heaney, Seamus (2009-02-19). Beowulf: A New Translation (Kindle Locations 521-534). Faber and Faber. Kindle Edition.

I know not what else 2014 has in store, but at least I won't be sort of stuff to read, which is something.

Happy New Year, dear readers. 

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Let’s face it, some Christmas gifts may have novelty value, but they aren't really of much use out of season. Gentlemen, would you wear that musical reindeer tie to work in the middle of July? Thought not. Ladies, what about those Christmas tree earrings? I don’t suppose they see the light of day anytime outside of December. Don’t even get me started on the pointless stuff that emerges from Christmas crackers. If I get another bag of marbles this year I’m going to lose my, er, well, you know.

At Christmas time we traditionally celebrate God’s greatest gift to humankind, Jesus Christ, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Those who accept the gift of Jesus by faith receive the Gift that Keeps on Giving. All year round and for eternity.  

Happy Christmas! 

* From December/January News & Views, West Lavington Parish Magazine. 

Christmas wrapped up

O Father, what love is this?

You sent your only Son

forever wrapped in love

to take our bone and flesh

born of woman by the Spirit's power

and wrapped in swaddling bands

to suffer and die for us

the just for the unjust

that we might be wrapped

in his righteousness.

O Father, what love is this? 

Gravity

Last Friday evening Sarah and I headed for the newly opened Odeon Cinema in Trowbridge to catch the film Gravity. It's taken me until vow to write this up. The movie centres on astronauts Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and their work aboard the Space Shuttle Explorer. The cinematography is stunning. In the opening sequence the astronauts are shown spacewalking as they maintain the shuttle. In the background the earth in all its sun-illuminated beauty stands out as an enormous blue globe against the star-punctuated blackness of space.

The astronauts look tiny and vulnerable as they float around in a dark ocean of inhospitable vastness. The sense of looming danger is justified. A cloud of debris smashes into the Explorer, ripping the shuttle apart, sending Stone and Kowalski careering into space. Their only hope is jet-pack their way to the International Space Station, some 60 miles away so they can board an escape module and return to earth. 

I won't spoil the plot, but although Stone manages to deploy an escape capsule, it seems that all is lost as the vessel's thrusters have no fuel. The astronaut faces a lonely death. Trying desperately to send out an SOS message, Stone manages to pick up a radio signal from earth, locating an Inuit Fisherman. He knows no English and cannot raise an alarm. Stone nevertheless strikes up a conversation with the man and asks him to pray for her, "No one will pray for my soul...Will you pray for me? I mean I'd pray for myself, but I've never prayed—nobody ever taught me how."

At that moment Stone begins to cry. In the weightlessness of space her tears form into tiny droplets of water and float around the capsule. It is a moment of poignant beauty in the film, as the astronaut contemplates death without hope. It made me reflect on Paul's words in Romans 10:14-15, where he asks, 

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 

Whether intentionally or not the film was a reminder of the urgency of the evangelistic task of the church. It's our mission to teach people to call upon the name of the Lord that they may be able to face death with hope in their hearts, (Romans 10:13). No one had taught Dr. Stone how to pray. Unless we do that, who will? 

Joan Bakewell Interviews Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones interviewed by Joan Bakewell in December 1970, here.

Advent: history, mystery and destiny

 

History

People may think that the Christmas story has about as much historical basis as Father Christmas, Raymond Briggs’ Snowman and Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. But that isn’t the case. While we don’t know the exact date on which Jesus was born, the Gospel writers are careful to lay down clear historical markers. Caesar Augustus was Roman Emperor at the time, a chap named Qurinius was governing Syria and nasty old Herod ruled in Jerusalem as king of the Jews.  Jesus Christ was a real historical figure and there are references to his life and teaching outside the pages of the New Testament.

Besides, if the Gospel writers were trying to wrap Jesus in myth and legend, they went a funny way about it. Why say that as a baby he was laid in a manger, basically an animal’s feeding trough? Why record that despised shepherds were the first group of people to pay homage to the new born King? That’s a fine way to establish Jesus’ messianic credentials.

Mystery

Jesus was truly born of Mary in the town of Bethlehem and grew up to be a preacher and miracle worker the like of which the word had never seen before or since. Millions people are counted as his followers today.  What makes Jesus so special? Christians believe that he was the Son of God who became human to rescue human beings from sin; the wrong things that we all do. His very name ‘Jesus’ means the ‘Lord Saves’. He died on the Cross for the sins of the world. He rose again from the dead to give all who believe in him the hope of everlasting life. In the Son of God made flesh we see the mystery of God’s love for people like you and me.

Destiny

God made human beings that we might enjoy him and be with him for ever. Sin messed things up, but through faith in Jesus that destiny can be restored. That is why Christmas is such a joyful season, as we remember the Saviour’s birth. In the words of the angel of the Lord to the shepherds,

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; who is Christ, the Lord.

* Christmas message for Phab Magazine. 

Faith in The Times

One thing I enjoy doing of a Saturday morning is to have a good read through The Times. I was interested to see a number of faith-related stories in last Saturday's edition. Much attention has been given to the assassination of JFK fifty years ago, but it's not so well known that on the same day Lee Harvey Oswald gunned down the President, two prominent literary figures also shuffled off this mortal coil (here p. 28 - paywall protected). One, Aldoux Huxley, writer of the dystopian  novel, Brave New World, passed from this life to the next in a haze of LSD. The other was C. S. Lewis, Christian apologist and author of the Chronicles of Narnia. Huxley is almost a forgotten figure, while Lewis' stock has rarely been higher. His books continue to sell in droves and have been turned into big budget movies. A memorial to Lewis was recently unveiled in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey. It features his words, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” A fascinating BBC radio programme juxtaposes the two literary figures, Brave New World. 

Next, Matthew Parris devoted his opinion piece to discussing the thought that 'Christianity opens minds. Even to atheism' (here-p 23). His main thought was that the Christian faith is a quest for truth and meaning. It has the ability free people from their cultural baggage empower them to stand up for what they believe is right and good. Although a self-confessed atheist, Parris distances himself from Dawkins here, who tends to dismiss all religions as evil and oppressive. Christianity sharpens its followers appetite for meaning opines the columnist and in doing so gives the individual the opportunity to choose to reject God. The strange thing is that for C. S. Lewis it was the other way round. What the author witnessed of the horrors of World War I only served to confirm his unbelief. But he came to realise that his anger at injustice and cruelty in the world was a tacit acknowledgement of an objective standards of goodness, namely the Christian God. He was the light by which he saw the darkness against which he railed .   

The quest for meaning and truth only makes sense if we presuppose that God is there and he has revealed himself to us as his human image bearers. Without that assumption there is no objective standard of right and wrong and no ultimate meaning or purpose in life. If morality is the product of 'evolutionary psychology' or a mere social construct, then moral absolutes cannot be upheld with any conviction. On what objective basis does Dawkins rail against the evils perpetrated in the name of religion? Who decides whether it is more moral to crash aeroplanes into the World Trade Center, or discover the cure for cancer?  In rejecting Christianity, atheists turn their backs on meaning and purpose in life and render the quest for truth and goodness pointless. Christianity opens minds because it points people to God the Father through Jesus the Son by the presence and power of the Spirit of truth. Atheism is a dead end. 

I usually skip Janice Turner's Saturday column. There is only so much whinging feminism a man can take on his day off. But the headline accompanying this week's piece had me intrigued. 'Labour has forgotten that vice causes poverty: The Co-op should its Methodist roots that inspired the fight against drink, gambling and addiction' (here p. 25). Turner could easily have used her column to lampoon Paul Flowers, the 'Crystal Methodist' Minister and former Chairman of the Co-op Bank. Rather she makes the serious point that the Co-op and the British Labour movement as a whole has drifted too far from its original Methodist heritage. Harold Wilson once said that 'The Labour Party owes more to Methodism than to Marx'. Wesley urged his followers, 'Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.' That kind of responsible, yet generous attitude to wealth led to the founding of co-operative societies. The old Methodist approach to finance was far better than the New Labour variety, which, according to Turner was, 'Borrow all you can, gamble all you can, lose all you can'. But vice does't pay, as the unfortunate Mr. Flowers has found out to his cost.