Bank Holiday Residue: On Bournemouth beach with R. S. Thomas

Whatever 'Christian Hedonists' might say, it is misguided to seek too much happiness in this life. For that reason I opted to take R. S. Thomas with me on yesterday's trip to Bournemouth beach. Yep, it was the wife and I, and the 'ogre of Wales'. Well, not him personally, of course. I doubt he would have joined us for Bank Holiday jolly when alive. But he was present in the form of his posthumously published collection of poems, Residues. 

I've dipped into Residues many times over the years, but had never read the collection in order from cover to cover before. There are only seventy poems in the set and many of them are quite short, amounting to no more than eight or ten lines of text, sitting in isolated splendour at the top of an otherwise blank page. Several are more expansive page-fillers, but on the whole R.S. was austerely economical in his use of words, especially in his later works. 

Reading poetry is different from  prose. Unlike the generous limpidity of prose, poems require careful thought and meditation before they will yield their meaning to the reader, and then perhaps not. It's slow work, which, for a generally fast reader involves something of a struggle to adjust to a more ponderous pace. 

We thought that Bournemouth would be quite congested on a Bank Holiday Monday and that it would be difficult to find somewhere to park. But but nothing of the sort. The roads weren't that busy at all and we managed to park in a side street around ten  minutes walk from the beach. A quick trot down a zig-zag path and there we were, sand and sea invitingly before us. The beach wasn't too crowded either, considering the sunny weather.

Watching is the first poem, 'Are they happy?' asks Thomas. They appear to smile from a distance, but on closer inspection no one escapes misery and suffering in this fallen world. Just the job for reading on the beach. Not that Thomas is without humour, if of a grim kind. In Postcard he speaks of the runner from Marathon, 'his time unsurpassed until the arrival of steroids.'

He writes of marriage and 'love's shining greenhouses'. In Repeat, the widowed poet ponders the experience of falling in love again and of the 'gold throne' of renewed matrimony, in which he took his place 'as in an electric chair'.  The most touching and heartfelt poem in the collection is Comparisons, was written in memory of his first wife, 

To all light things

I compared her; to

a snowflake, a feather.

There is no point in visiting the seaside without having a dip in the sea. The water was pretty cold to begin with, but I soon got used to it and swam virtually the width between two of the many groynes that dissect Bournemouth beach . Dried off. Had a Mr Whippy 99 ice cream. 

R. S. Thomas was a Church in Wales clergyman and a number of the poems in Residues touch on God and faith-related matters. In Watching he reflects that no amount of distance will turn the Maker of this sad world's 'wince into a smile'. He watches us from behind the 'cross that is the astigmatism in his vision'. On occasion Thomas feels that his faith 'was a plank to narrow for me to tread.' (Space Walking),  while in other poems he conceives of prayer as so close to God 'as to open a crater in his composure'. (Launching a Prayer). It is certainly the case that the Lamb that was slain is in the midst of the throne. God's sovereignty is mediated through the Man of Sorrows. Yet, the cross shows that our Maker does more than wince at the pain of this sad world. He has acted in Christ to rescue the world from sin, sorrow, and death, and give us hope. 

It was hot enough in Bournemouth on Monday, but nowhere near as hot as the Algarve where we holidayed earlier in the month. But after spending several hours on the beach I fancied a wander. We took our stuff back to the car and headed for the pier. Didn't realise that you had to pay to enter, so we didn't. Had a fish and chip supper at the 'World Famous' Harry Ramsden's chippy. Good, but we thought that Champions at Westbury is better. 

In Class R.S. touches upon the perils of academic study. The professor may lecture on Blake and dilate on love and the other virtues, but has he forgotten what they mean? 'He who would pass the examination has dust at his heart.' warns Thomas. For similar reasons another, if quite different Welsh Minister, D. M. Lloyd-Jones insisted that there should be no examinations at the London Theological Seminary, the college he helped to found. The seminary, where I studied for the Ministry, is concerned solely with training men for pastoral-preaching work. Lloyd-Jones thundered, 'There is a sense in which it is almost blasphemous that there should be examinations in connection with this knowledge which which we are concerned.' And by that he meant experiential knowledge of God in accordance with his self-revelation in Holy Scripture. The study of biblical revelation is meant to set the heart ablaze, not simply enable a man to pass a test. What preachers need is fire, not dust in their hearts.

Maybe that's why so much of the Bible is written in poetry. As Thomas said,

...Poetry is that which
arrives at the intellect
by way of the heart.
('Don't ask me...')

Residues R. S. Thomas, Bloodaxe Books, 70pp, 2002

Edward Taylor on the Rose of Sharon

I've been dipping into The Poems of Edward Taylor, edited by Donald E. Stanford, University of North Carolina Press. Taylor (c. 1642-1729) was a Puritan Pastor who served in the small frontier town of Westfield, Massachusetts. He was a prolific poet in the metaphysical style of John Donne. The true value of his poems was not properly appreciated until the 1940's.

One poem is a meditation on Song of Solomon 2:1, "I am the rose of Sharon". Taylor, in common with his contemporaries saw this as a depiction of Christ. I'm aware that The Hebrew indicates that this is probably the Shulamite's self-description, rather than a reference to her Beloved. Also, while I think that the relationship between the Shulamite and her Beloved is a wonderful example of married love and is therefore typical of the relationship between Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33), I'm a little wary of allegorising the details in the manner of some Puritan exegetes of the Song of Solomon. Be that as it may, Taylor's poetic meditation on Christ as the Rose of Sharon is a wonderful piece of devotional literature. Have a read of this verse and note the remarkable play on words in the penultimate line (p. 13).

But oh! alas! that such should be my need

       That this Brave Flower must Pluckt, stampt, squeezed bee,

And boyld up in its Blood, its Spirits sheed,

       To make a Physick sweet, sure, safe for mee.

       But yet this mangled Rose rose up again

       And in its pristine glory, doth remain.

See here for an earlier posting of one of Taylor's poems, which includes a link to more of his work.

Donne, The Reformed Soul by John Stubbs

Donne, The Reformed Soul by John Stubbs, Viking, 2006

I've long been interested in the poetry and prose writings of Donne. His "metaphysical" poetry gives expression to a profoundly trinitarian spirituality. His insights penetrate the depths of the believer's experience of the "three person'd God". But, who was the man behind the literature?

The poet was a born outsider, the child of a Catholic family at the time of the Elizabethan Protestant ascendancy. His illustrious ancestor was none other than Thomas Moore, who was executed for his faith under Henry VIII. As a young trainee lawyer at Lincoln's Inn, Donne was something of a womanising libertine. His early poems mocked the hypocrisy of genteel society and celebrated his amorous conquests. Something of an adventurer, he enlisted in the Earl of Essex's Spanish invasion force. Donne was involved in the dashing and audacious raid on Cadiz. But gradually, Donne became more serious about life. The imprisonment and death of his brother Henry for his role in a Catholic conspiracy made Donne distrustful of religious fanaticism. This was one factor that led him to convert to mainstream Protestantism. He no longer wanted to be an outsider. What Donne wanted was acceptance and career advancement.

Donne was appointed as clerk to the powerful Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord Keeper of the Seal. But he lost his job and with it his carefully cultivated place in society, when he secretly married his beloved Anne More. Her hot tempered father, Sir George was outraged when he found out about the match. Strings were pulled and Donne was sacked. He was an outsider once again, a social and moral outsider who had to find work wherever he could, living in squalid accommodation with his wife and growing family.

During this time, Donne developed something of an interest in theology and his poetry took on a more spiritual flavour. His religious prose writings impressed King James, who had Donne appointed Doctor of Divinity and made him a royal chaplain. When the idea of him becoming a clergyman had first been mooted, Donne baulked at the suggestion. He thought that the "irregularities" of his private life and his old erotically charged poetry made made a career in the Ministry unthinkable. But he reconciled himself to ordination and threw himself into the task of being a Protestant Minister. He was a dedicated student of Scripture and theology. His sermons were crafted with great care and attention to detail. It was through his work in the Church that Donne was brought in from the cold. He was appointed Reader of Divinity at Lincoln's Inn, his old law chambers and was made Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral. Donne was often had the high honour of preaching before the King. Career-wise things had worked out well for him. But tragedy struck when his wife, whom he had so impulsively married for love, died at the age of thirty-three.

Theologically, it seems that Donne was something of a middle of the road Protestant. He disliked the Roman Catholic extremism that led to his brother's untimely death. The preacher did not seem to have much time for the growing Puritan movement either. At one point, he worked closely with William Laud, Bishop of London and arch persecutor of the Puritans. Donne, the "reformed soul" is not one of the heroic figures of church history, who stood valiantly for his principles come what may. He was willing to make adjustments to fit in with the Establishment. The preacher was most alarmed when one of his sermons did not meet with the approval of King Charles I. He made a grovelling apology to the King for any offence caused. I can't imagine his Puritan contemporary John Preston doing anything like that. This is not to say that Donne was altogether lacking in courage. He was braved the disapproval of his Catholic family when he embraced Protestantism. It took some spirit and determination to follow the dictates of his heart and marry Ann. Becoming a clergyman was no easy decision for him. He knowingly alienated one of his key patrons when he was ordained a Minister. Donne's poetry also evinces an intellectual courage, as he examines the intricacies of his own "labyrinthine soul". But the poet could sometimes be a little too eager to please his betters. The younger Donne used to ridicule such obsequiousness in his satirical poems.

John Stubbs has given us a vivid and compelling portrait of the life and times of John Donne. He ably charts his transformation from young, lascivious, Catholic outsider to respectable Protestant clergyman. Stubbs has a feel for Donne's poetry and gives helpful analysis of his key philosophical ideas. All who appreciate Donne's writings will enjoy this well-written biography. But I could have done with a little more information on Donne's theological position. A couple of things come to mind: Why did he so reluctantly accept the traditional Calvinistic teaching on predestination? Did he have a clear understanding of justification by faith alone? We are not told. But we do know that Donne faced death, the "last enemy" with quiet confidence. Days before his departure from this life, the sickly Donne preached a dramatic sermon entitled Death's Duel. His final message concludes,

"There we leave you in that blessed dependency, to hang upon him that hangs upon the cross, there bathe in his tears, there suck at his wounds, and lie down in peace in his grave, till he vouchsafe you a resurrection, and an ascension into that kingdom which He hath prepared for you with the inestimable price of his incorruptible blood. Amen."

Donne had a fine sense of the interconnectedness of human life and held that the death of one man diminishes the whole of humanity,

"No man is an Iland, intire of itselfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee." (MEDITATION XVII, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions).

His Holy Sonnets reveal the source of Donne's hope in the face of death,

Holy Sonnet I

Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay?
Repair me now, for now mine end doth haste,
I run to death, and death meets me as fast,
And all my pleasures are like yesterday;
I dare not move my dim eyes any way,
Despair behind, and death before doth cast
Such terror, and my feeble flesh doth waste
By sin in it, which it t'wards hell doth weigh;
Only thou art above, and when towards thee
By thy leave I can look, I rise again;
But our old subtle foe so tempteth me,
That not one hour my self I can sustain;
Thy Grace may wing me to prevent his art,
And thou like Adamant draw mine iron heart.

In Holy Sonnet X, Donne even taunts death,

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Ten books I'd like to read soon

These (mostly theological) books are listed in no particular order, with a little explanatory comment.

1. Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology John Frame (here).
Frame is an important Evangelical theologian with whom I'm not really that familiar . This book seems like a good place to start.

2. Collected Later Poems 1988-2000 R. S. Thomas (here).
This will fill a gap in my RST (review of biog) poetry books.

3. God Crucified: Monotheism & New Testament Christology Richard Bauckham (here).
This book takes a fresh at Jesus and the identity of God.

4. T. F. Torrance: An Intellectual Biography Alister McGrath (here).
Torrance is a leading Scottish theologian with Barthian influences. This biog by McGrath, an Evangelical Anglican scholar sounds fascinating.

5. Evangelical Theology Karl Barth (here).
I'm never going to get round to reading his massive Church Dogmatics, but as Barth's theology is commanding fresh attention at the moment, I suppose I'd better get acquainted. I will no doubt find a lot to disagree with, but that experience can be stimulating in itself.

6. Always Reforming: Explorations in Systematic Theology ed A.T.B McGowan (here).
I have blogged about my misgivings with the Berkhof/Reymond school of dogmatics. This collection of articles discusses some of the problems and possibilities of Evangelical Systematic Theology. Seems like a timely book.

7. A Faith to Live by Donald Macleod (here).
Macleod is one of my favourite theological writers. He is always fresh, deep and thought-provoking. This book deserves a place on my crowded shelves.

8. First Theology: God, Scripture and Hermeneutics Kevin Vanhoozer (here).
Vanhoozer is one of the most exciting of contemporary evangelical theologians. He has done especially fruitful work in the field of Biblical hermeneutics in the postmodern context.

9. The Glory of the Atonement eds Charles E. Hill & Frank A. James III (here).
The cross is currently at the centre of theological controversy. Penal substitution is especially under attack. Here, top evangelical scholars such as D. A. Carson, J. I. Packer and Kevin Vanhoozer survey the cross from Biblical, Theological and Practical perspectives. Another timely and important book.

10. Joshua: No Falling Words Dale Ralph Davies (here)
I started DRD's series of commentaries at the end with the excellent 2 Kings: The Power and the Fury (review). Now I really want to get back to the beginning and catch up with the set.

What titles are on your shopping list?