BOOK REVIEW: "JESUS' ALTERNATIVE PLAN: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT" BY RICHARD ROHR

I checked this book out when a Bible study I'm involved with was about to start on the Sermon on the Mount. He gives background information. For seven chapters - Rohr doesn't start dealing with the Sermon on the Mount until chapter 8. There are 9 chapters. No, it wasn't much help.

There were other things that bothered me about this book. It came across as a cross of mystical and liberal. For example, he does not believe that the Gospels were written by the person they're attributed to. He regularly states Jesus was killed. Traditional churches usually say "Jesus died," which is consistent with the Biblical view Jesus gave up His life for our sins; Rohr's method sounds like it was the Religious Leaders in control, not Christ. Shortly after reading this, I heard him referred to on podcasts I listen to as being progressive and new thought.

I recommend this for those who know the Bible well enough to realize what's off base and then read it so you can respond to what doesn't fit. As a book on the Sermon on the Mount, I do not recommend it.

SPECIAL CHRISTMAS POST FROM GUEST BLOGGER CHARLES WESLEY!

 

Charles Wesley

Merry Christmas! I just thought it would be nice to have a reminder of the importance of Christ's birth, so I thought I'd let Charles Wesley give us a good theology lesson that you can sing to. 

Note - my favorite hymn lyrist is Charles Wesley. The music was written by Felix Mendelssohn (my favorite classical composer), who was born over twenty years after Wesley's death. Of course, most of you know this already. By the way, most hymnals only have the first three of five verses; we did have one hymnal where it combined the first half of the fourth verse and the first half of the fifth, which is the version I'm sharing.

So here's today's blog:

Hark! The herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King;

Peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled!

Joyful, all ye nations rise,

Join the triumph of the skies;

With th’angelic host proclaim,

Christ is born in Bethlehem!

Hark! the herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King!

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;

Christ the everlasting Lord;

Late in time, behold Him come,

Offspring of a virgin’s womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;

Hail th’incarnate Deity,

Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,

Jesus our Emmanuel.

Hark! the herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King!

Hail the heav’n born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings,

Ris’n with healing in His wings.

Mild He lays His glory by,

Born that man no more may die.

Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King!

Come, desire of nations, come,

Fix in us Thy humble home;

Rise, the woman’s conquering Seed,

Bruise in us the ser­pent’s head.

Adam’s likeness now efface,

Stamp Thine image in its place:

Second Adam from above,

Reinstate us in Thy love.

Hark! the herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King!

BOOK REVIEW - "SHEPHERDS FOR SALE: HOW EVANGELICAL LEADERS TRADED THE TRUTH FOR A LEFTIST AGENDA" BY MEGAN BASHAM

 

What is an Evangelical? Is there a political view that qualifies the title Evangelical? Are pastors and Christian leaders that lean left turning from the Gospel, or do they disagree on which party's policies best represent the teachings of Christ?

"Shepherds For Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded The Truth For A Leftist Agenda" by Megan Basham has the premise that Christian leaders are trying to appeal to the world by moving to the left, embracing concepts like climate change, Critical Race Theory, #MeToo, etc.

I learned about this book via one of my favorite podcasts:  "Unshaken Faith" with Alisa Childers and Natasha Crain. I'll admit - I was disappointed by this book.

One thing is "the truth" in the title refers to political conservatism. No, for the Christian, the truth refers to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the inspiration, infallibility, inerrancy, and sufficiency of Scripture, and salvation by grace rather than works. There is no evidence that the leaders criticized in this book have turned from the faith.

Likewise, there's an assumption that the reason some may not support Trump or are not dogmatic on certain political views is a lack of faith rather than a disagreement on the best way to live out said faith. I'll confess, in 2016 I did not trust Trump and voted Libertarian.

Finally, what is an Evangelical? For the past 40 years, I considered it the more liberal side of Biblical Christianity, trying to reach the world for Christ, while Fundamentalism is more focused on being strict Biblicists. Now, it's used to hint the politics, though on that subject - like with many others - there is variation among Evangelical concerns. So Basham's concerns are items that neither surprise nor concern me. As stated, there is no indication of turning from the Gospel.

There is error in the church that needs correcting. However, some do that correcting in a way that sows discord, that leaves one with a bad taste in their mouth. I felt that way after reading this book. It's rare I do not recommend a book I've read, but this is one of the exceptions. The topic is important, but I think this book did more hurting and dividing than solving the problem.

BOOK REVIEW: "KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY" BY A.W. TOZER

 

I have finished my third reading of this classic. The first time, it was a text-book on the Doctrine of God at Bible college. This time, I'm leading a study on this book with four other friends at church, with three different covers on the books we're reading. Three of them are using the above edition; my nearly 40 year old printing is falling apart as we go through it.

For those unfamiliar with "Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer, this book focuses on the attributes of God. Tozer points out that our finite, created, minds are not capable to understand a Sovereign, Omnipotent (all powerful), Omnipresent (present everywhere), Omniscient (all knowing), eternal (operating outside of time), self-sufficient (in other words, He doesn't need us) Creator. Yet that same Creator is calling us to turn to Him.

Almost every chapter starts off with a prayer, and each chapter closes with a poem. Some of the language is more traditional, King James style. But this book is a welcome challenge, and I believe every Christian should read it, and it might open the eyes of some who aren't Christians. 

I highly recommend this book.

PSALMS, HYMNS, SPIRITUAL CHORUSES, AND WORSHIP WARS - CHURCH MUSIC PART 1 OF 4

Song of the Angels, William-Adolphe Bouguereau

 "...speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord...." Ephesians 5:18

One of the saddest books I've read is Why I Left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement: Confessions of a Former Worship Leader by Dan Lucarini. Part of it is the book aims to be ammo for the traditional side but isn't that good. He basically is calling for an unconditional surrender from Contemporary music lovers, for them to put the interests of the traditionals above their own (though he never suggests the reverse), and for them not to refer to traditionals as legalists though he uses some insulting terms for the contemporaries. Even more so - Lucarini's views have led him to not use his talent for writing music for fear he'll follow his previous tendencies in style.

As I write this four part series, I'll from the front say that God is more concerned with what comes out of the heart than what goes into the ears. Christ is glorified by His children worshiping together and loving each other, and the style of the songs they're joyfully singing is, on the top ten list of things He's concerned about, is somewhere around 8 millionth (or is it billionth?). 

You might have noticed that the first three items I have on my list are similar to the wording in Ephesians 5:18 (quoted above) and Colossians 3:16, inserting "choruses" in place of "songs." It should not be surprising that there are some who suggest we should sing only one of the three, with advocates for each of the trio.

Let me start with hymns. I grew up with hymns. And I'm glad I did. First, there is some wonderful music. But more importantly, the lyrics of many hymns are awesome. You could preach sermons from a lot of the old hymns. For example, have you noticed the richness of the Christology (doctrine of Christ) in the Christmas song "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (words by Charles Wesley, music by classical composer Felix Mendelssohn)? The hymns have inspired, comforted, encouraged, challenged, taught, and exhorted for centuries.

On the other side of the normal battle lines are the contemporary choruses. Some are jokingly referred to as 7/11 songs - seven words repeated eleven times. Instead of the hymns rich four part harmonies, the choruses usually are sung in unison, sometimes allowing the men and women to sing separately (but most often, as an echo). I've commented on hearing a medley of one of my favorite hymns (Great Is Thy Faithfulness) and one of my favorite choruses (I Love You, Lord), and mentioning one could be a sermon and the other would need some padding.

That being said, worship choruses have also been a part of my heritage. While simpler, a lot of the choruses from Maranatha music are Scripture set to music, such as "Seek Ye First", "Psalm 5", "Unto Thee, O Lord," and "Humble Yourselves In The Sight of the Lord." While I don't believe we should make personal preference in style a condition for worship, I also don't think we should mandate that younger generations adapt to the music we or our parents or our grandparents love. By the way, let me continue about setting Scripture to music...

I mentioned a book that saddened me; now let me mention one that was a blessing: Sola Scriptura: The Protestant Position on the Bible, part of the Reformation Theology series by Soli Deo Gloria Publications. This collaboration (edited by Don Kistler, as you'll guess from the title, has a completely different focus than Lucarini's, and this one's focus is not on music. But in the final chapter, Joel Beeke does a superb job of point out the transforming power of Scripture which is why we hold to and defend the teaching of Sola Scriptura. In this chapter, I was introduced to the practice of psalmody.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, it is the belief that our Hymn book should be His book. In other words, we should be singing the words that the Holy Spirit inspired rather than the words men have penned. There are areas I disagree with them: 1) they normally sing aca pella, including psalms that say, "Praise the Lord with the harp! Praise Him with the loud sounding cymbals!" 2) they ignore other Scriptures for singing - I believe there are psalms in the prophets and the New Testament, the latter of which reflect Christian theology better than the Old Testament songs, and of course 3) I don't believe that Psalmody is any more spiritual than the other options. 

However, I admire the concept. Yes, I'd allow instruments, and I'd expand the song selection past the Psalms, but I admire the idea of letting our praise to Him being the inspired words of Scripture.

Let me clearly state, though, that the important thing is not which style we use, but that we love those who disagree. As Paul wrote in Romans 15:1-3, we should focus on pleasing our neighbors, not ourselves. We should be willing to sing joyfully what others want to sing.

Okay, I've gotten the elephant in the room dealt with. But should we sing hymns with the cymbals and the electric guitar? Should we sing contemporary choruses with piano and organ? Should we sing the Psalms with a full orchestra? More about that next Sunday.

CHRISTIAN COMIC BOOK REVIEWS PART 2 OF 2: SUBMITTING TO BE MORE VILE (THE ILLUSTRATED ADVENTURES OF JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY) BY CHARLIE BABER

 

Yesterday I reviewed James Lawson's comics of Yakov BenTorah and his dog Mattix. Today, I'll be looking at a collection of Wesley Bros. comics by Charlie Baber. 

I fell in love with the premise immediately. Baber takes the Wesleys and puts them in a modern day setting along with other famous people in history. Well, maybe not always modern day - Baber places his characters in take-offs of Marvel Comics, Star Trek, and the like - previously I would never have thought of Tertullian as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

This graphic novel is arranged in thematic order as opposed to chronological. Some of them are a telling of the Wesleys' childhood and the origins of Methodism (though I doubt the real Nancy Wesley asked her mother for a cell phone). The other sections look at theology and church relations.

I'll admit that there are things I like about this collection and some I don't. For one is that while it is about Arminians by Arminians, it doesn't villainize Calvinists. George Whitfield is a regular character in the book as a friend, not as an antagonist. On the other hand, I can tell from the comics that I'm more conservative theologically and politically than they are. For example, there are comics that hint Baber has no problem with female clergy, and there are a few which give an impression that wokism is okay (one which is meant to be pro-immigration but comes across as anti ICE).

Wesley Bros. is a fun way to look at church history. Also, like Yakov BenTorah, there is a challenge to what Lawson describes as Couch Potato Christians, to return to our First Love. However, I have to stop short of an unqualified recommendation of the Wesley Bros.

Is there an artist (musician, novelist, cartoonist, etc.) that you have points of disagreement with but who still have a positive effect in your spiritual life or at least spur you on to thinking issues through? Is there a balance between being too inclusive and too exclusive in your theology?

 

BOOK REVIEWS: GETTING TO KNOW THE CHURCH FATHERS & SHAPERS OF CHRISTIAN ORTHODOXY

 

Today is All Saints Day (and this year, falls on the same day as International Day Of Prayer for the Persecuted Church , and I thought it would fit to use the Medieval Sharp font for this blog.

On this occasion, I will review not one but two books for what I consider Early Church History 101 and 201.

The first one I'll review is Getting To Know The Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction by Bryan Litfin. In the first edition, he looks at ten Christian leaders from the first five centuries of Christianity: Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Perpetua, Origen, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, Augustine, and Cyril. He added Ephrem the Syrian and Patrick of Ireland to the second edition.

I can argue calling his collection to be church fathers. Most of them, I would agree. However, I consider Perpetua and Patrick to be heroic examples of the faith but not having the impact on the development of Christianity the others have.

One item I like is that Litfin ends each chapter with five or six questions helping us to understand the Church leaders mentioned and how this relates to us today.

After you read this book, you're ready for Shapers of Christian Orthodoxy: Engaging with Early and Medieval Theologians, edited by Bradley Green. This book looks at eight individuals (technically, ten, but the three Cappodocians are included in a chapter together).

There is a lot of overlap between the two books. Both include Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Athanasius, and Augustine. (Litfin's chapter on Athanasius also briefly mentions the Cappodocians.) This goes further into history by including Anselm and Thomas Aquinas.

The reason I recommend the other first is this one is deeper. The fact that each chapter has its own author is one indicator. (By the way, Litfin wrote the chapter on Origen.) The authors go deeper into the theology of the church leaders covered. 

I would recommend Getting To Know The Church Fathers for anybody. This is a great book to get a group of friends together to read and then discuss the questions. Anybody active in ministry also should have Shapers of Christian Orthodoxy on their bookshelf as well.