tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60103281575013850452024-03-19T03:56:58.779-05:00TawapologeticsTawa's blog - dedicated to Christian apologetics, the explanation and defence of the Christian faith.Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.comBlogger219125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-50782823852209707842021-09-20T08:00:00.002-05:002021-09-20T08:00:00.211-05:00Struggling in Prayer: Seeking to 'Pray Big' with Alistair Begg<p> About a month ago, our pastor bought copies of Alistair Begg's <i>Pray Big: Learning to Pray Like an Apostle</i> (TheGoodBook Company, 2019) for our congregation, inviting us to pursue a life of persistent and purposeful prayer together. Personal prayer has always been a struggle for me. It's not that I find it difficult to find some time to pray for the needs of family and friends; it's not that I find it hard to praise God for His majesty, glory, and goodness; it's not that I doubt God's attentiveness or responsiveness. Rather, I struggle to find intimacy and connection in my prayer life, and as a result have found it difficult to devote significant time and energy to spending time alone with God in my 'prayer closet'. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6X0j_hbCwSrRIhUyOmGrAMfyuVfec8KeWa3S5PcMNPTKOoXRD4e8FHJVDS-AGwfgZVcCs7lS-SKfK-KXy_-JDR4_kbnGWKN3Fdfw1OlX2YhxjP5f-nrrsk-BtrkBg_0C2NjOF4ml7Bk/s580/Alistair+Begg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="580" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6X0j_hbCwSrRIhUyOmGrAMfyuVfec8KeWa3S5PcMNPTKOoXRD4e8FHJVDS-AGwfgZVcCs7lS-SKfK-KXy_-JDR4_kbnGWKN3Fdfw1OlX2YhxjP5f-nrrsk-BtrkBg_0C2NjOF4ml7Bk/s320/Alistair+Begg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>In several other fashions, I experience what I <i>think</i> is a close and vibrant relationship with God: I experience His reality and presence in worship; I love His Word and experience His truth communication through reading Scripture; I enjoy learning, reading, and teaching theology, Bible, and apologetics; I find spiritual reward in serving others through church and community. But I have always felt that my prayer life is lacking.</p><p>I'm not convinced that reading Alistair Begg's <i>Pray Big</i> has cured my shortcomings in prayer. But nonetheless, I was reminded of many important truths regarding prayer, and learned a number of new things. Given my passion for reading and teaching, I wanted to share six insights from <i>Pray Big</i> that I pray will be an encouragement and exhortation for you.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><b>I. For Whom the Bell Tolls</b></p><p>Who do we pray for? Begg's final chapter answers this question in helpful triune fashion:</p><p><i>1. For Your Sake</i></p><p>"We need to pray for ourselves, for humans are dependent beings." (95) More on that shortly.</p><p><i>2. For Their Sake</i></p><p>"Second, we can learn from the focus of Paul's prayers in <i>Ephesians - </i>those around us. ... Our prayers reveal our priorities and our pre-occupations; and as we listen in on Paul, we realize that his focus is on those who have become the objects of his concern and of his affection. ... It is always good to be praying more for others than for ourselves. In our selfie-obsessed culture, praying this way reminds us that we are not the center of the world, and that our needs are not necessarily the most pressing in our churches." (96-97)</p><p><i>3. For His Sake</i></p><p>"We are praying, first and foremost, for the glory of God. ... He is the God who is perfect, powerful, and infinitely, eternally praiseworthy." (99)</p><p><br /></p><p><b>II. Pray Out of Your Dependence</b></p><p>Henry Martyn: "It was more easy for a minister to preach and study five hours, than to pray for his people for one half hour." (22) Ouch - that hurts. I certainly have no struggles reading, studying, and writing for hours on end. But setting aside an hour to be in silent communal prayer ... that's tough.</p><p>"Haven't you found that it is far easier to talk to others than to talk to God? Haven't you found it far easier to be engaged in busy activity, to be about good work, to be busy checking off the to-do list, than to stop and kneel before your Father? ...</p><p>"Are you recognizing your dependence? That's the challenge. ... So here is one way both to diagnose whether you are dependent and then to start to address any lack in your praying. Simply ask yourself: <i>Will I pray before and after I hear God's word preached to me next Sunday?</i>" (22-23)</p><p><br /></p><p><b>III. UnChristian Prayer</b></p><p>"There is, of course, such a thing as unchristian prayer. Looking within to find spiritual reality is not the same as praying to God. Self-help mantras are not the same as praying to the One who is our Helper. ...</p><p>"This is modern religion, and it comes in many guises (including a quasi-Christian one), but the view can always be summed up in those four words: <i>We can fix this</i>. So if you've got a problem, you need to know that it's not your fault. And if you're looking for an answer, look inside of you because you'll be able to fix it, or look to follow our rules or techniques because they'll be able to fix it. ...</p><p>"It's the complete opposite.</p><p>"This is why Christian prayer is uniquely dependent and humble." (26-27)</p><p>Begg notes that Christian prayer recognizes that we can<i>not</i> fix our most significant problems, and that even our ability to 'fix' some problems is dependent upon God's goodness and grace.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LJ98Y1HDzOPZGtFOx7XaBHT9nm8V6K1iZxLi51bRh-njSR99EM-sf_jlqtLSfDUut1aVLrAR5GFxD-w7Wco1-bUlHk1jFbqMLV1fT3U1ItsJev-uYzZTGf2OnMnEQ6oER9yzlwe7UK8/s474/Alistair+Begg+quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="474" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LJ98Y1HDzOPZGtFOx7XaBHT9nm8V6K1iZxLi51bRh-njSR99EM-sf_jlqtLSfDUut1aVLrAR5GFxD-w7Wco1-bUlHk1jFbqMLV1fT3U1ItsJev-uYzZTGf2OnMnEQ6oER9yzlwe7UK8/s320/Alistair+Begg+quote.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b>IV. Praying for Health?</b></p><p>"Praying about health (which, if we had the chance to listen in on the prayers of Western Christians, would likely come in at number one) is rare - almost non-existent - in the Bible. So why are we praying about it so much?</p><p>"It's because we don't want to die.</p><p>"We want to live. We've got a sneaking suspicion that what we've got now, this side of death, is actually better than what God has for us then, on the other side of death. So we want to hang on to what we've got." (30)</p><p>But what does Scripture say? "You have now been raised with Christ into the heavenly places. You have been made part of a family that will never come to an end. One day, you will live in a new heaven and a new earth. You will your God face to face and, with a heart no longer burdened and distracted by sin and a body no longer broken and decaying in frailty, you will praise him.</p><p>"And you and I just want to pray that we'd stay healthy and live long?! All that matters may be brought before God, but what we bring before God is not always what matters most." (31)</p><p><br /></p><p><b>V. The Greatest Thing: Knowing God</b></p><p>"This is a lonely world. We so often feel ourselves alone. Social media isn't satisfying (however many likes you get). Friends let us down or are busy. Everybody wants somebody to come and help, to come and hold their hand. Let me tell you what you really need. You need to look at God. You need to know God. You need to know there is a Creator and a Sustainer of everyone and everything, and that he is your kind Father." (47)</p><p>Authentic prayer starts with an understanding of who God is, how much He loves us, and how desperately we need Him.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>VI. No God? No Hope. Know God? Know Hope</b></p><p>The Baby Boomer generation "have attempted to cover up and to deny the pervasive sense of hopelessness which is part and parcel of the average funeral. ... unable to face the reality of our own mortality, we turn it into a party. We turn it into a video show. We turn it into whatever we can turn it into to try and deny the reality of death itself. Why is that? Because death is hopeless. It saps the hope from life because it promises the end of everything. No achievement or accumulation can survive the finality of death. ... No God, no hope.</p><p>"'But God ...' - what glorious words! - 'being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ' (Eph 2:4-5).</p><p>"Know God, know hope.</p><p>"The hope of the gospel is real. It is certain. And it needs to be embraced emotionally as well as understood intellectually." (51)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVpet-J_dU_JLThCnl4-Btb89Bt_a-i98_H9rzWm-L5gNjARarSh78l1gfNfwRyskqZ0n7BYvKv5S5G5X3yB8K9D-DF73mT4J7on3dJuhhTKqO7u1ZASU5D_BG1iJBUDnK6a4PbsctQM/s400/Begg%252C+Pray+Big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="400" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVpet-J_dU_JLThCnl4-Btb89Bt_a-i98_H9rzWm-L5gNjARarSh78l1gfNfwRyskqZ0n7BYvKv5S5G5X3yB8K9D-DF73mT4J7on3dJuhhTKqO7u1ZASU5D_BG1iJBUDnK6a4PbsctQM/s320/Begg%252C+Pray+Big.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Has my prayer life been transformed? I wish I could say it has; but not yet. I still have a long way to go, a lot to learn, and a lot to apply. But I hope these thoughts from Alistair Begg's <i>Pray Big</i> both challenge and uplift you as they have me.</p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-65448210994495922662021-09-17T14:28:00.004-05:002021-09-17T14:28:53.555-05:00The Gospel in Dorothy Sayers - Part 4: Pride<p> It has been a couple of weeks since I've found time to post ... suffice it to say that life has been on the busy side. I return today to my dearly-loved and deeply-appreciated Dorothy Sayers, as presented in Carole Vanderhoof's winsome <i>The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers</i>. Today, I want to share (without comment) Sayers' words on pride, the root of all sin.</p><p><b>V. Pride: The Root of 'The Other Six Deadly Sins'</b></p><p>"But the head and origin of all sin is the basic sin of <i>Superbia</i> or Pride. In one way there is so much to say about Pride that one might speak of it for a week and not have done. Yet in another way, all there is to be said about it can be said in a single sentence. <b>It is the sin of trying to be as God</b>. It is the sin which proclaims that Man can produce out of his own wits, and his own impulses and his own imagination the standards by which he lives: that Man is fitted to be his own judge. It is Pride which turns man's virtues into deadly sins, by causing each self-sufficient virtue to issue in its own opposite, and as a grotesque and horrible travesty of itself. The name under which Pride walks the world at this moment is the <i>Perfectibility of Man</i>, or the <i>Doctrine of Progress</i>; and its specialty is the making of blueprints for Utopia and establishing the Kingdom of Man on earth.</p><p>"For the devilish strategy of Pride is that it attacks us, not on our weak points, but on our strong. It is preeminently the sin of the noble mind - that <i>corruptio optimi</i> which works more evil in the world than all the deliberate vices. Because we do not recognize pride when we see it, we stand aghast to see the havoc wrought by the triumphs of human idealism. We meant so well, we thought we were succeeding - and look what has come of our efforts! There is a proverb that says that the way to Hell is paved with good intentions. [Incidentally, that was one of my father's favorite sayings!] We usually take it as referring to intentions that have been weakly abandoned; but it has a deeper and much subtler meaning. For that road is paved with good intentions strongly and obstinately pursued, until they become self-sufficing ends in themselves and deified." ("The Other Six Deadly Sins," in <i>The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers</i>, pp. 67-68).</p><p>I strongly encourage you to get and read the book:</p><p>Carole Vanderhoof, ed., <i>The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers: Selections from Her Novels, Plays, Letters, and Essays.</i> Walden, NY: Plough, 2018.</p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-19626817515627051692021-09-03T08:44:00.002-05:002021-09-03T08:44:23.159-05:00Texas Abortion Law Upheld ... and Protested<p> As many folks know, the State of Texas has passed a law banning abortion after about 6 weeks' gestation in virtually all cases. The 6-week provision is based upon clear scientific evidence that this is the point in pregnancy at which the unborn baby's heart begins to beat. Yesterday, the Supreme Court (in a split decision) rejected a request from Texas abortion providers for an injunction against the law. Hence, at midnight, abortion in Texas became illegal <i>after</i> 6 weeks gestation.</p><p>I do not intend here to comment on the law, the debate surrounding the law, or the Supreme Court decision - though I have very strong rational and emotional positions on all of those.</p><p>Instead, I would like to comment briefly on a single picture (which I have cropped) contained in a news report on the Supreme Court's decision.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-dzCuTTR18HmwjYUMR-QW9iVsvFqvvM6DN0BqHpdPFcj1zaoiP-YMLVqT5qG1Mt1er1fdXxEFV44kghK2lgP6T8IJSYyy8bl1HR6EuS0FyMxcCV0PsrfGC3cwsLzpP4kaz09t15MUPI/s2048/Texas+Abortion+Law+pic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-dzCuTTR18HmwjYUMR-QW9iVsvFqvvM6DN0BqHpdPFcj1zaoiP-YMLVqT5qG1Mt1er1fdXxEFV44kghK2lgP6T8IJSYyy8bl1HR6EuS0FyMxcCV0PsrfGC3cwsLzpP4kaz09t15MUPI/s320/Texas+Abortion+Law+pic.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>CBC.ca (Canada's federally-funded media outlet) published this picture in their article, "Chaos at Texas Abortion clinic as new restrictions come into effect." The article, unsurprisingly, painted workers at Whole Woman's Health as heroic victims fighting the oppressive machinery of narrow-minded bigots who oppose women's reproductive health - you can read the whole article <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-thursday-edition-1.6162616/chaos-at-texas-abortion-clinic-as-new-restrictions-come-into-effect-1.6162617">HERE</a>. </p><p>What I would like to point out is the glaring logical incoherence of this unfortunate soul's protest sign. Overlooking the grammatical imprecision (it should be either 'Abortion Saves Lives' or 'Abortions Save Lives'), the reality is that abortion does the precise opposite of <i>saving</i> lives - it is the practice of intentionally <i>ending</i> lives. Granted, a small fraction of abortions are performed in cases where the mother's physical life is clearly endangered by the pregnancy - such abortions save one life by ending another; but it is also worth noting that, so far as I can tell, the new Texas restrictions do <i>not</i> outlaw post-6-weeks abortions where the mother's life is in jeopardy.</p><p>There can be some reasoned debate over whether an unborn baby (or a <i>fetus</i> if you prefer that terminology) possesses <i>personhood</i> and thereby is deserving of protection under the law. But there is really no scientific or moral debate that an unborn baby (or fetus) is <i>a living member of the human species</i>.</p><p>I think precision in terms is important. And frankly, trying to pretend that "abortion saves lives" is about as logically untenable as pretending that banning abortion "protects women's choices."</p><p>Perhaps the sign could instead have read: "Abortion Ends Lives - but Justifiably So." At least then there's something worth debating.</p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-74331288526170857622021-08-25T07:00:00.001-05:002021-08-25T07:00:00.237-05:00The Gospel in Dorothy Sayers - Part 3<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Dorothy Sayers has long been one of my favorite intellectual heroes. I have loved her mysteries (particularly the Lord Peter Wimsey series) since my youth, and upon my introduction to Dante's </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Divine Comedy</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> in freshman year of college, have admired her as a brilliant translator/poet. Further in my academic career I encountered her essays and monographs on theology and ethics (my favorites being </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">The Mind of the Maker</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">The Man Born to Be King</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">). All told, Sayers is a tremendous wit, an acute scholar, and a sharp student of humanity and culture.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatIgSTwptKMX7poz8FjqDH30scZK_oXQC3ypOEmnaCn3uy4-vVXikpkW_41XXru9OgMkbIatruymTiFXwrticW671czCgXb5R66XQIw-zY23n-ZP7Dge8cg7ph7ib-QTHQsRUGy23KHg/s400/gospelinsayersen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatIgSTwptKMX7poz8FjqDH30scZK_oXQC3ypOEmnaCn3uy4-vVXikpkW_41XXru9OgMkbIatruymTiFXwrticW671czCgXb5R66XQIw-zY23n-ZP7Dge8cg7ph7ib-QTHQsRUGy23KHg/s320/gospelinsayersen.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span><p></p><p>Carole Vanderhoof has brought together poignant thoughts and penetrating insights from Sayers' diverse literary corpus in Plough Press's <i>The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers</i>.</p><p>In today's blog post, as I continue working through this brilliant compilation, listen to Sayers's indictment of the religious ignorance of her (and our) post-Christian society.</p><p><b>IV. Christian Doctrine, Misunderstanding, and Religious Ignorance</b></p><p>"'Any stigma,' said a witty tongue, 'will do to beat a dogma'; and the flails of ridicule have been brandished with such energy of late on the threshing-floor of controversy that the true seed of the Word has become well-nigh lost amid the whirling of chaff. ...</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>"It would not perhaps be altogether surprising if, in this nominally Christian country, where the Creeds are daily recited, there were a number of people who knew all about Christian doctrine and disliked it. It is more startling to discover how many people there are who heartily dislike and despise Christianity without having the faintest notion what it is. If you tell them, they cannot believe you. I do not mean that they cannot believe the doctrine: that would be understandable enough, since it takes some believing. I mean that they simply cannot believe that anything so interesting, so exciting and so dramatic can be the orthodox Creed of the Church."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeaBR0PdTR4W4rk4tV3AZamNA0nhM5Y3bdB0_-2P3h8vaUUfJueYd6E25PEOQmYBLfcXsaYgyktlr5A8cSXyV2MA9D4a_1jCZVUu7nyjKW2L4xuMficQ2MTXRyc3wXHxnaM5a6qJkyqI/s1600/Richard-Dawkins-2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1145" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeaBR0PdTR4W4rk4tV3AZamNA0nhM5Y3bdB0_-2P3h8vaUUfJueYd6E25PEOQmYBLfcXsaYgyktlr5A8cSXyV2MA9D4a_1jCZVUu7nyjKW2L4xuMficQ2MTXRyc3wXHxnaM5a6qJkyqI/s320/Richard-Dawkins-2007.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Sayers goes on to share questions that she is asked in various forums, and clear misrepresentations and misunderstandings of Christianity that emerge in those conversations. She then presents a kind of 'contemporary catechetic conversation,' in which the average ignorant post-Christian shares their understanding of the contents of the Christian faith. If she were not so darned accurate, it would be hilarious ... what follows is her imaginative Q&A with the interviewee ...</p><p>Q: What does the Church think of God the Father?</p><p>A: He is omnipotent and holy. He created the world and imposed on man conditions impossible of fulfilment; He is very angry if these are not carried out. He sometimes interferes by means of arbitrary judgments and miracles, distributed with a good deal of favouritism. He likes to be truckled to and is always ready to pounce on anybody who trips up over a difficulty in the Law, or is having a bit of fun. He is rather like a Dictator, only larger and more arbitrary.</p><p>Q: What does the Church think of God the Son?</p><p>A: He is in some way to be identified with Jesus of Nazareth. It was not His fault that the world was made like this, and, unlike God the Father, He is friendly to man and did His best to reconcile man to God (see <i>Atonement</i>). He has a good deal of influence with God, and if you want anything done, it is best to apply to Him.</p><p>Q: What does the Church think of God the Holy Ghost?</p><p>A: I don't know exactly. He was never seen or heard of till Whit-Sunday. There is a sin against Him which damns you for ever, but nobody knows what it is.</p><p>Q: What is the doctrine of the Trinity?</p><p>A: 'The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the whole thing incomprehensible.' Something put in by theologians to make it more difficult - nothing to do with daily life or ethics.</p><p>Q: What was Jesus Christ like in real life?</p><p>A: He was a good man - so good as to be called the Son of God. ... He was meek and mild and preached a simple religion of love and pacifism. He had no sense of humour. Anything in the Bible that suggests another side to His character must be an interpolation, or a paradox invented by G. K. Chesterton. If we try to live like Him, God the Father will let us off being damned hereafter and only have us tortured in this life instead.</p><p>Q: What is meant by the Atonement?</p><p>A: God wanted to damn everybody, but His vindictive sadism was sated by the crucifixion of His own Son, who was quite innocent, and therefore a particularly attractive victim. He now only damns people who don't follow Christ or who never heard of Him.</p><p>Q: What does the Church think of sex?</p><p>A: God made it necessary to the machinery of the world, and tolerates it, provided the parties (a) are married, and (b) get no pleasure out of it.</p><p>Q: What does the Church call Sin?</p><p>A: Sex (otherwise than as excepted above); getting drunk; saying 'damn'; murder, and cruelty to dumb animals; not going to church; most kinds of amusement. 'Original sin' means that anything we enjoy doing is wrong.</p><p>Q: What is faith?</p><p>A: Resolutely shutting your eyes to scientific fact.</p><p>Q: What is the human intellect?</p><p>A: A barrier to faith.</p><p>Q: What are the seven Christian virtues?</p><p>A: Respectability; childishness; mental timidity; dulness; sentimentality; censoriousness; and depression of spirits.</p><p>"I cannot help feeling that as a statement of Christian orthodoxy, these replies are inadequate, if not misleading. But I also cannot help feeling that they do fairly accurately represent what many people take Christian orthodoxy to be, and for this state of affairs I am inclined to blame the orthodox. ... I am afraid that this is the impression made by the average Christian upon the world at large." (Sayers, "The Dogma is in the Drama", in <i>The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers</i>, pp. 54-59)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0nOGIkjY49-cdwm5_HrsJzzNhgZSWHZtTozZL-avCxdmvSZj2_JvrRJF3KdcCRL_TYQ83qTM7HStKlOuiwrJl-HwS3_Lnatzobd6KS1iJpIsTLR87YGtWVLFbBhcRwBqwdnNAavwKRs/s556/Ten+Commandments.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="556" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0nOGIkjY49-cdwm5_HrsJzzNhgZSWHZtTozZL-avCxdmvSZj2_JvrRJF3KdcCRL_TYQ83qTM7HStKlOuiwrJl-HwS3_Lnatzobd6KS1iJpIsTLR87YGtWVLFbBhcRwBqwdnNAavwKRs/s320/Ten+Commandments.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>As Sayers notes, there is a woeful inadequacy to the doctrinal understanding and Christlike living on the part of the average confessing Christian in contemporary society, and that inadequacy leads to gross misunderstanding of the faith on the part of non-Christians.</p><p>The solution?</p><p>Talk the Talk: Know Christ and the tenets of the faith.</p><p>And Walk the Walk: Seek to be ever-more sanctified in your daily living.</p><p>It's not rocket science. Nor is it easy to accomplish. God help us.</p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-27383778356327873252021-08-19T07:00:00.001-05:002021-08-19T07:00:00.191-05:00The Gospel in Dorothy Sayers - Part 2<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">My admiration for Sayers prompted me to purchase a clever volume from Plough Publishing House:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers: Selections from Her Novels, Plays, Letters, and Essays</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> (Edited by Carole Vanderhoof. Walden, NY: Plough, 2018). Vanderhoof collates passages (ranging from individual sentences to multiple pages in length) from diverse Sayers works under 20 editorial categories (e.g., Conscience, Belief, Despair and Hope, and Incarnation).</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Today I continue my reflections on <i>The Gospel in Dorothy Sayers, </i>and I hope to inspire you to purchase the book yourself!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6sfAkYHmGGyTMYru9RocPnYVYcdci6TPhlaRNd_A_mVUeaZ3qV32rCk0lRmfMcN1vmYTpjIO0rYGevxcEedlrZMgG_AGYHebjFTa7AR8rTYOscBzYUaqQ0Vm2FcJ7ZkOCiOVORA8rQo/s1000/Sayers+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6sfAkYHmGGyTMYru9RocPnYVYcdci6TPhlaRNd_A_mVUeaZ3qV32rCk0lRmfMcN1vmYTpjIO0rYGevxcEedlrZMgG_AGYHebjFTa7AR8rTYOscBzYUaqQ0Vm2FcJ7ZkOCiOVORA8rQo/s320/Sayers+2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b>II. Nature, Sin, Judgment, and God</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">"The word 'punishment' for sin has become so corrupted that it ought never to be used. But once we have established the true doctrine of man's [fallen sinful] nature, the true nature of judgment becomes startlingly clear and rational. <i>It is the inevitable consequence of man's attempt to regulate life and society on a system that runs counter to the facts of his own nature</i>. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">"In the physical sphere, typhus and cholera are a judgment on dirty living; not because God shows an arbitrary favouritism to nice, clean people, but because of an essential element in the physical structure of the universe. In the state, the brutal denial of freedom to the individual will issue in a judgment of blood, because man is so made that oppression is more intolerable to him than death. The avaricious greed that prompts men to cut down forests for the speedy making of money brings down a judgment of flood and famine, because that sin of avarice in the spiritual sphere runs counter to the physical law of nature.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://news.ufl.edu/media/newsufledu/images/Cholera_04-11-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="800" src="https://news.ufl.edu/media/newsufledu/images/Cholera_04-11-16.jpg" width="800" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">"We must not say that such behaviour is wrong because it does not pay; but rather that it does not pay because it is wrong. As T. S. Eliot says: 'a wrong attitude towards nature implies, somewhere, a wrong attitude towards God, and the consequence is an inevitable doom.'" (Sayers, "Creed or Chaos," cited in <i>The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers</i>, ed. by Carole Vanderhoof, pp. 46-47)</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b>III. Moral Law, Nature, and the Nature of God</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">From <i>The Mind of the Maker</i>:</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">"At the back of the Christian moral <i>code</i> we find a number of pronouncements about the moral <i>law</i>, which are not regulations at all, but which purport to be statements of fact about man and the universe, and upon which the whole moral code depends for its authority and its validity in practice. These statements do not rest on human consent; they are either true or false. If they are true, man runs counter to them at his own peril. He may, of course, defy them, as he may defy the law of gravitation by jumping off the Eiffel Tower, but he cannot abolish them by edict. Nor yet can God abolish them, except by breaking up the structure of the universe, so that in this sense they are not arbitrary laws. We may of course argue that the making of this kind of universe, or indeed of any kind of universe, is an arbitrary act; but given the universe as it stands, the rules that govern it are not freaks of momentary caprice. There is a difference between saying: 'If you hold your finger in the fire you will get burned' and saying, 'If you whistle at your work I shall beat you, because the noise gets on my nerves.'</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE01IAVz452kNrZPS2b2bxgwxnbGynWPDTBkFySzmm9VtZpZifQLW2s-V3ZM4KdBW7QxlmFpTQW-Hg44Nb3-OmD0LoGoUToN170FuhSVjm6_VcAmGNFA0hXMlwAD7qzOTV5fE1T7aqKs8k/s500/annoying_songs_top10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE01IAVz452kNrZPS2b2bxgwxnbGynWPDTBkFySzmm9VtZpZifQLW2s-V3ZM4KdBW7QxlmFpTQW-Hg44Nb3-OmD0LoGoUToN170FuhSVjm6_VcAmGNFA0hXMlwAD7qzOTV5fE1T7aqKs8k/s320/annoying_songs_top10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">"The God of the Christians is too often looked upon as an old gentleman of irritable nerves who beats people for whistling. This is the result of a confusion between arbitrary 'law' and the 'laws' which are statements of fact. Breach of the first is 'punished' by edict; but breach of the second, by judgment."</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Brilliant words about the nature of moral law in a Christian worldview. Now, of course, the Christian worldview <i>could</i> be entirely false, such that morality is not built upon the nature and character of God and His universe at all. In that case, morality might be in a world of trouble to begin with, though. At any rate, Christianity understands morality to be a feature of the universe, and the natural moral law to be similar to natural physical laws, which govern reality as facts, not merely subjectively-embraced values.</p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-69158337568707175432021-08-11T07:00:00.001-05:002021-08-11T07:00:00.236-05:00The Gospel in Dorothy Sayers - Pt 1<p> Dorothy Sayers has long been one of my favorite intellectual heroes. I have loved her mysteries (particularly the Lord Peter Wimsey series) since my youth, and upon my introduction to Dante's <i>Divine Comedy</i> in freshman year of college, have admired her as a brilliant translator/poet. Further in my academic career I encountered her essays and monographs on theology and ethics (my favorites being <i>The Mind of the Maker</i> and <i>The Man Born to Be King</i>). All told, Sayers is a tremendous wit, an acute scholar, and a sharp student of humanity and culture.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_Wv6jEWZceoEc9HIBU70Ulzsh9HRhyD3tppIf6SrBKXA1_aoTJu_Gf-4QQpSf4IaEKklnapblfShwnmCU4iKUfHDeM0RKL5USi2bkYVeJB0sEQKctwgjN4JNx11Ye_O9carq5Q0Ymvk/s291/Divine+Comedy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="180" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_Wv6jEWZceoEc9HIBU70Ulzsh9HRhyD3tppIf6SrBKXA1_aoTJu_Gf-4QQpSf4IaEKklnapblfShwnmCU4iKUfHDeM0RKL5USi2bkYVeJB0sEQKctwgjN4JNx11Ye_O9carq5Q0Ymvk/s0/Divine+Comedy.jpeg" width="180" /></a></div><p></p><p>My admiration for Sayers prompted me to purchase a clever volume from Plough Publishing House: <i>The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers: Selections from Her Novels, Plays, Letters, and Essays</i> (Edited by Carole Vanderhoof. Walden, NY: Plough, 2018). Vanderhoof collates passages (ranging from individual sentences to multiple pages in length) from diverse Sayers works under 20 editorial categories (e.g., Conscience, Belief, Despair and Hope, and Incarnation).</p><p>In this short series of blog posts, I will share excerpts from <i>The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers</i>, sometimes accompanied by my own reflections. I hope to inspire you to purchase the book yourself - and I myself am eagerly anticipating purchasing and reading the other volumes in Plough's <i>The Gospel in Great Writers</i> series: Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, George MacDonald, and Gerard Manley Hopkins. Great stuff!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ireT087O0qx621Q7_08MeraID9T6Ccn2dNaGJ_YWihQEBcemvWxDHFeyFbQEfJzIxkPw7tjUDNtcNYQoqA_N2JjonlXyIme9I-ZSbR6JyP0Zv37Wd__z6Im41BQzUaFQDrIgw2YvzfY/s2045/Sayers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2045" data-original-width="1668" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ireT087O0qx621Q7_08MeraID9T6Ccn2dNaGJ_YWihQEBcemvWxDHFeyFbQEfJzIxkPw7tjUDNtcNYQoqA_N2JjonlXyIme9I-ZSbR6JyP0Zv37Wd__z6Im41BQzUaFQDrIgw2YvzfY/s320/Sayers.jpeg" width="261" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b>I. Ethical Foundations</b></p><p>"We have seen, too, what happens to reason divorced from theology. Encouraged by its success in subduing the material universe, it refuses to admit the validity of anything that is not capable of scientific <i>proof</i>. Its next step is to try to justify the natural virtues by their material results - whence we get the ugly and egotistical doctrine of enlightened self-interest and the hideous tyranny of economics. The <i>last</i> achievement of reason is always to cast doubt on its own validity, so that the final result of rationalism is the appearance of a wholly irrational universe.</p><p>"Thus, human ethics, left to themselves, became helpless and self-contradictory - exactly as they did in pagan times.</p><p>"The men who now rule Germany [the Nazis], having thrown over the Christian theology, see clearly enough that the Christian ethic will not work without it. Therefore, they have jettisoned the ethics as well. We are greatly shocked by this. But have we the right to be surprised? If Christ is the only guarantee that reason is rational and goodness is good, then, the logical result of repudiating Christianity is the repudiation of reason and virtue." (Sayers, "The Religions Behind the Nation," March 5, 1941. Cited in <i>The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers</i>, p. 19)</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><br /></p><p>In the late 1800s, Friedrich Nietzsche saw clearly that renouncing belief in God had as a logical correlative rejecting belief in an objective Judeo-Christian morality - all that could remain is a subjective will to power, or the transvaluation of values. But Nietzsche also saw that contemporary European society was not ready to acknowledge the death of ethics that would accompany the death of God.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5HgGcE6JPszsWD5qQJMN7OTCg64vrly2CR5CONru7ma-BCozafAbMn5cyT2I3RprhZ2YIdUwrhP6pQ4J8QaR-8-ANwUdMn3atX-xL9xPT0pQ-sXZrPXqF5oxOU6T-15_t-45WHwvWDkM/s1600/Nietzsche.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5HgGcE6JPszsWD5qQJMN7OTCg64vrly2CR5CONru7ma-BCozafAbMn5cyT2I3RprhZ2YIdUwrhP6pQ4J8QaR-8-ANwUdMn3atX-xL9xPT0pQ-sXZrPXqF5oxOU6T-15_t-45WHwvWDkM/s320/Nietzsche.jpeg" width="253" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Sadly, we have not progressed beyond Nietzsche in this respect. Western society continues to obliterate vestiges of Christian belief and practice, and has begun chipping away at contours of a traditional Christian ethic ... but the average contemporary Westerner remains blithely unaware that their ethical edifice is but a magisterial castle in the sky: a beautiful building with no rational foundation.</p><p>Several Christmases ago, I had a great conversation with my mom, talking about the changing ethical beliefs of the 'next generation'. My mom was bemoaning that many of the things that she and her generation valued (ethically) seemed to be rejected by younger generations - and she asked why I thought that was the case.</p><p>I shared, in brief, that her (my mom's) generation (in Canada, in the 1960s primarily) had moved beyond the Christian beliefs and practices of their parents; and the next generation was gradually working out the implications of post-Christianity. If Christian theology served as the rational foundation for the Judeo-Christian ethic of my mom's generation, then we should not be surprised that, having rejected the foundation, the ethical edifice would risk collapse.</p><p>Perhaps this would not be too much of a concern; but belief in human equality and universal human rights - arguably the cornerstone ethical values and virtues in contemporary society - are explicitly grounded in the Christian theology that so many are in a rush to reject. The question is: can those same ethical values be sustained absent God? I doubt it - and suspect that as (if?) society continues to move beyond Christendom, that widespread commitment to universal human rights will wane as well. (Perhaps an initial evidence of this ... witness the Western world's lack of concern for the active genocide being perpetrated against the Rohingya in Myanmar or the Uyghur in China, or Russia's annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine, or China's recent de-democratization and de-liberalization of Hong Kong.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFyOPTHIgbECxXUGgkdjPyzoPWrRCImCijZZP33QCg80XfIg40b_rTUbTuZJHMTDZnnHNwLvmFURvp_e_UyzCmownbQmg9aHiv2ys55R9S_wnIH_BAiKwVFJUv-NdXqJqVHfb7xrQgxk/s1000/Swastika.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="1000" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFyOPTHIgbECxXUGgkdjPyzoPWrRCImCijZZP33QCg80XfIg40b_rTUbTuZJHMTDZnnHNwLvmFURvp_e_UyzCmownbQmg9aHiv2ys55R9S_wnIH_BAiKwVFJUv-NdXqJqVHfb7xrQgxk/s320/Swastika.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Time will tell ... but it seems to me that Sayers was 100% correct - about the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s, about the atheistic Communists in Russian, China, and North Korea, and about what's just around the corner for us. Where there is no God, it will soon follow that there is no objective morality - only 'might makes right'.</p><br />Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-29546766689974658772021-08-09T07:00:00.003-05:002021-08-09T07:00:00.234-05:00Jacob Shatzer - The Pandemic and Virtual Church<p> I've got lots of thoughts on how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected Christian worship and witness ... mostly how the impact has been harmful. But instead of writing a lengthy diatribe, I thought I would just quote some words from Jacob Shatzer's <i>Transhumanism and the Image of God</i>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2YpVPaKi7IrJpkBqAEBAs3HBKcOBCIi2HmYelCLsAt5JkrdE57_CgkldYw2udeeWWw8PlKxV4xPpioSvEg69mS2s3Ix64G0GaNzwN6FoM7bEpfXwu37dDQMe8J7zw2p5KC4pW9h9Z58/s273/Shatzer.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="273" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2YpVPaKi7IrJpkBqAEBAs3HBKcOBCIi2HmYelCLsAt5JkrdE57_CgkldYw2udeeWWw8PlKxV4xPpioSvEg69mS2s3Ix64G0GaNzwN6FoM7bEpfXwu37dDQMe8J7zw2p5KC4pW9h9Z58/s0/Shatzer.jpeg" width="273" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>In the midst of talking about the importance of <i>place</i> in a Christian understanding of the church (and how virtual reality will never be <i>real</i> reality), Shatzer writes:</p><p>"Bearing witness requires presence; it requires being <i>somewhere</i>. Christians can certainly bear a form of witness in virtual places, and as those virtual experiences provide more and more of a sense of presence, that will become more common. <b>Yet the virtual will never be the same as physical presence</b>. We cannot shed the metaphor of the church as the body of Christ - the analogy being to the physical body of Christ, not Jesus's Second Life avatar.</p><p>"I think that deep down, part of us still knows that presence matters, and this vestige points to something true. For instance, being <i>present</i> at a wedding or a funeral is obviously different from joining via teleconferencing. ...</p><p>"There will certainly be ways of doing church using virtual technology, but to the degree that we neglect physical presence with other believers, we neglect the form of being the body of Christ that has shaped Christianity for the past two thousand years. We haven't always been able to gather together, but that has always been a centering ideal. Humans were created as physical beings in physical proximity, in face-to-face relationships." (Shatzer, <i>Transhumanism and the Image of God</i>, p. 139)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5St5Ot57kVUXauGl57IfRaroLDg7dGgGksdlrq-fosqDSGr3lQYalSZDBP_IBjcQCuPZTQL3fOyG4lhhBrYStMnxWneYQuFCwi8yFYRmA29fV-sCsBb9ez1avaOczKyZDjJtmlGwG_bU/s1000/Worship+pic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5St5Ot57kVUXauGl57IfRaroLDg7dGgGksdlrq-fosqDSGr3lQYalSZDBP_IBjcQCuPZTQL3fOyG4lhhBrYStMnxWneYQuFCwi8yFYRmA29fV-sCsBb9ez1avaOczKyZDjJtmlGwG_bU/s320/Worship+pic.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>So, to those who wonder whether online church is just as valuable as in-person church ... it's not. Even drive-in church is preferable to online. To those who wonder why persecuted Christians in closed countries would risk imprisonment etc. by meeting in person ... wonder no longer. To those who wonder why churches in the Western world were chafing at lock-down rules during Covid ... wonder no longer. The physical gathering of the body of Christ <i>in person</i> is a central defining feature of what it means to be the Church. Human beings are embodied creatures, and physical presence and contact is a non-negotiable need of human life.</p><p>Thank you, Dr. Shatzer, for putting into words the centrality of the local gathering of believers for worship!</p><p><br /></p><p>For more, and an excellent discussion of transhumanism and post-humanism as philosophical and cultural trends in society, see:</p><p>Jacob Shatzer, <i>Transhumanism and the Image of God: Today's Technology and the Future of Christian Discipleship.</i> Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOLo9GnAX-s1P-JqPSrtH0w36_B2ZpgBVcz28O709os6CY6V4o3kOSxVaRUfh5gJ9NqcxYGIzc4btG2aempnXvmi4SOOqT_xRny911j88XT3CYLADPl1uvOgN44o0XdJxiBQRlhhdPs0/s2048/Transhumanism+pic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOLo9GnAX-s1P-JqPSrtH0w36_B2ZpgBVcz28O709os6CY6V4o3kOSxVaRUfh5gJ9NqcxYGIzc4btG2aempnXvmi4SOOqT_xRny911j88XT3CYLADPl1uvOgN44o0XdJxiBQRlhhdPs0/s320/Transhumanism+pic.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-91312194541628133852021-08-06T07:00:00.001-05:002021-08-06T07:00:00.216-05:00Reflections on Jared Wilson's "Gospel-Driven Ministry"<p> I've been enjoying a good bit of diverse reading this summer. One of the books I recently finished is Jared Wilson's <i>Gospel-Driven Ministry: An Introduction to the Calling and Work of a Pastor</i>. I have no intention (nor desire) to write a full-fledged review of the book ... but I would like to share a handful of wise nuggets that Wilson shares. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVenAo1rwGX5Q5vLEHv85CMk79IcxWwQKMv1nqppO_hrJ24suMUO1EBmEhftAdc2b7G-Xfo3e6HEmYecb7KT81ZK3-fzZz7CdL9ZJDjAcLmjN1lMmeTEjV4ZtCUXHu5M2cydEa2qMKl0/s260/Gospel+Driven+Ministry+pic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="260" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVenAo1rwGX5Q5vLEHv85CMk79IcxWwQKMv1nqppO_hrJ24suMUO1EBmEhftAdc2b7G-Xfo3e6HEmYecb7KT81ZK3-fzZz7CdL9ZJDjAcLmjN1lMmeTEjV4ZtCUXHu5M2cydEa2qMKl0/s0/Gospel+Driven+Ministry+pic.jpeg" width="260" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4Hlu36BlF013GBwJtAtrzegNLZTxbLKqE_irdgxty4aQnPnOGPRBUFgwnRUdKUHin8idU-O9FtfRLMK2dvXNBOuLULNhfLHX81Vo8E3DCPA1_nJFTbwrazgMu8SzDiOo4rG2CwOd6Qk/s1202/Ordination+pic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4Hlu36BlF013GBwJtAtrzegNLZTxbLKqE_irdgxty4aQnPnOGPRBUFgwnRUdKUHin8idU-O9FtfRLMK2dvXNBOuLULNhfLHX81Vo8E3DCPA1_nJFTbwrazgMu8SzDiOo4rG2CwOd6Qk/s320/Ordination+pic.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>1. Calling to & Preparation for Ministry</p><p>First, Wilson observes that an internal sense of calling to ministry is never sufficient, nor is an external call to ministry (i.e., someone suggesting to you that you ought to consider being a pastor) an effectual call. A lengthy quote from Wilson illustrates the wisdom he presents:</p><p>"What the call is primarily aimed at is <i>not</i> a title, nor even an office in the church, but a qualification of the heart! In other words, you don't have to be qualified (yet) for ministry to be called to it; but, in such cases, the call to ministry should be taken as a call to pursue qualification for that ministry.</p><p>"This is really important, because sometimes Christians are prone to saying things like, 'God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called.' This is a half-truth, insofar as God very often calls the qualified; however, when he calls the unqualified, he really does mean for them to become qualified <i>before</i> they assume responsibility for a congregation. ... <i>A call alone is not permission for the pastorate</i>. ...</p><p>"Calling does not replace qualification. The call to ministry, then, is a call to become qualified or a call to maintain one's qualifications. This is why fallen pastors must start at the place of the new convert. There can be no immediate restoration to the office of ministry." (<i>Gospel-Driven Ministry</i>, pp. 19-20)</p><p>The reminder here is that God clearly articulates qualifications for ministry in such places as 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, and 1 Peter 3; a person who feels called to ministry but does not meet those qualifications is, therefore, <i>not qualified</i> for ministry! Before serving as a pastor, they need preparation.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSm8nnxCb_SA7lIVG7pTQCHDQovWq4vK2Oz3h-1Fy_rxmqpshZ5VSZKoyKlbA5IpciNwyhHQ0abhdSi9RjwcDQJ1vMvrzGreR4BSviptNZ_IvCZX9Xy0WVcG07lRwq5KlPhazDhk7Zn8/s285/Pulpit.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="170" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSm8nnxCb_SA7lIVG7pTQCHDQovWq4vK2Oz3h-1Fy_rxmqpshZ5VSZKoyKlbA5IpciNwyhHQ0abhdSi9RjwcDQJ1vMvrzGreR4BSviptNZ_IvCZX9Xy0WVcG07lRwq5KlPhazDhk7Zn8/s0/Pulpit.jpeg" width="170" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>2. What Is Preaching?</p><p>Wilson provides a helpful definition of preaching: "Proclamation that exults in the exposing of God's glory in Christ." (<i>GDM</i>, p. 59) I have nothing to add - just thought this is a good starting place to understand the pastor's role in the pulpit.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Wcca1tJaCmXByTBbdgL8YRvpSvJb1JdTjK93DfoqfDUNDhLHXdnJ4uTCoy-q_1p1fc6wC6LBIculafw_oaY4MiZ-rQnSrCgbcj4fHjVF2LTuCG-FUZr3f4Hh0EtvQwi84OaGRhkBLS0/s2048/Baptism+pic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Wcca1tJaCmXByTBbdgL8YRvpSvJb1JdTjK93DfoqfDUNDhLHXdnJ4uTCoy-q_1p1fc6wC6LBIculafw_oaY4MiZ-rQnSrCgbcj4fHjVF2LTuCG-FUZr3f4Hh0EtvQwi84OaGRhkBLS0/s320/Baptism+pic.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>3. When Baptism?</p><p>I have become increasingly concerned with Evangelical Christianity's tendency to immediately baptize (or accept into membership) people of just about any age upon a profession of faith in Christ. Two cautions and a reminder from Wilson put my concerns into effective words.</p><p>"Individual believers disconnected from a church should not conduct baptisms, and those baptized should be seen as being baptized into the membership of a church. Therefore, I offer two cautions for modern ministers.</p><p>"First, you should hesitate to baptize any person you would not immediately incorporate into full membership in your church. If you do not allow children of certain ages full membership privileges, you should not baptize them. (Conversely, if you do baptize them, confident in the credibility of their profession of faith, you should grant them membership privileges, ... and treat them as full members of the church.)</p><p>"Secondly, the practice of so-called 'spontaneous baptisms' should be heavily scrutinized. From the case of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8), we may say that exceptions might be made, and yet normally we should only baptize those who have given a credible profession of their faith - they can articulate the biblical gospel without coaching, they demonstrate a simple understanding of basic Christian orthodoxy, they are able to testify to the work of the Spirit in their lives, they are conscious of their repentance and able to testify to it as well, and they can explain what baptism is and why they want to experience it - and who will become discipled members of the church." (<i>GDM</i>, p. 107)</p><p>In many American church contexts, we are plagued by the dual diseases of "re-baptisms" and "backsliders", both of which, in my estimation, could be effectively eradicated by more thorough pre-baptism preparation and vetting.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDI3bHvH22xgIOVs_Dyloek4HmSM3N-3_mw-CsDgQrUokKmxCqwCa2ITOnm6V9hwlSvdJwOysUm3ArVsWnuxFJThqAmn1GASMeqgHhqR_N2yK3Pg0udBIMfcY33Y4T0QsMfzg8_FtQ79o/s474/Conflict+pic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="474" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDI3bHvH22xgIOVs_Dyloek4HmSM3N-3_mw-CsDgQrUokKmxCqwCa2ITOnm6V9hwlSvdJwOysUm3ArVsWnuxFJThqAmn1GASMeqgHhqR_N2yK3Pg0udBIMfcY33Y4T0QsMfzg8_FtQ79o/s320/Conflict+pic.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>4. Encountering Conflict and Hostility in Ministry</p><p>Conflict is bound to come in any human institution, including one headed by Jesus Christ. Conflict and hostility in the church therefore should not surprise the local pastor. Sometimes that conflict is centered around personalities; other times it focuses on the Gospel and/or the mission of the church. The response of the pastor needs to depend upon the source and nature of the conflict. Wilson's wisdom:</p><p>"The wisdom that comes from the experience of hostility also helps you discern the difference between the patient spirit (Eccl. 7:8) and the rush to anger (Eccl. 7:9). How do you know when to stick up for yourself, and how do you know when to suffer conflict without defense?</p><p>"In 1 Corinthians 6:7, Paul says to the church embroiled in retribution against one another, 'Why not rather be wronged?' But elsewhere he confronts Peter to his face. He names the names of divisive people. He calls the Galatians foolish. When hostility pushes us to God, it ushers us into the wisdom of knowing when we're only seeking personal retribution or if the gospel and the safety of the flock are at stake. Wisdom is knowing the difference. Is the conflict simply something at which you've taken offense? An interpersonal difference? Or does it compromise the gospel, the mission, and the integrity of the church?" (<i>GDM</i>, p. 177)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXHidubncpmXQ2VPGKMXEvQpNkkhu03sFVGZksELV5Q_DsYiGoimWHp4FNxZbCkgcyAU-yIYOkCtkJlpLCdMXpxzDYQjIgnyyT8F6HIjSauY0dvx9zE8_SiB6FOkzqHtuRvfr8CTPMzek/s1862/Prayer.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1862" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXHidubncpmXQ2VPGKMXEvQpNkkhu03sFVGZksELV5Q_DsYiGoimWHp4FNxZbCkgcyAU-yIYOkCtkJlpLCdMXpxzDYQjIgnyyT8F6HIjSauY0dvx9zE8_SiB6FOkzqHtuRvfr8CTPMzek/s320/Prayer.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>5. The Relational Base of Ministry</p><p>The relational base of ministry is <i>not</i> the pastor's relationship with members of his congregation; rather, it is his vital and living relationship with Jesus Christ.</p><p>"Above all the practical counsel, above all the congregational insight, above all the theological explanation, the most important thing I want pastors of churches to know is that they get to be friends with God. ...</p><p>"Yes, you serve him, but not to earn his pleasure. He already delights in you. He already rejoices over you. His smile is already upon you. Christ has measured up on your behalf. Christ mas made the sacrifice required for you to be square with God, so there's no need to keep paying down a debt with your ministry. The debt has been paid. You are not earning your keep!</p><p>"Beat this into your own head continually. The burden of pastoral ministry ought to drive us constantly into the position of recentering on the gospel every day. Rehearsing our conversion. Reconverting, as it were, every day. There is so much joy to be had in the simple privilege of knowing Jesus and being his friend." (<i>GDM</i>, pp. 212-213)</p><p><br /></p><p>6. Learning Vs. Experience</p><p>They say that seminary cannot adequately prepare you for pastoral ministry. Why?</p><p>"They can tell you about all kinds of things in seminary that only the experience of going through them can <i>actually teach you</i>. When I began my ministry to the local church, I was fully aware of the reality that people get sick and die. But no amount of foreknowledge could really prepare me for the sight, the sound, and even the smell of one of Christ's beloved lambs on the verge of death." (<i>GDM</i>, p. 223)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrpuM7085Fe-cm5PeVCNwrrOH2YZTO7bLbm7tmWCr2eb1aWpW7dXurBwMThGqVxoDEiivTa_0_Nknc6LoH9z-InWoOhW6BcUL6p1g9-C90ZSnxWdmN5sIaGChF39Lq5Kgik55IKpzhJA/s474/Jared+Wilson.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="474" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrpuM7085Fe-cm5PeVCNwrrOH2YZTO7bLbm7tmWCr2eb1aWpW7dXurBwMThGqVxoDEiivTa_0_Nknc6LoH9z-InWoOhW6BcUL6p1g9-C90ZSnxWdmN5sIaGChF39Lq5Kgik55IKpzhJA/s320/Jared+Wilson.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>I learned a great deal from Jared Wilson's <i>Gospel-Driven Ministry</i>. Even though I am no longer serving in full-time church-related ministry, I consider my teaching position at Oklahoma Baptist University to be a vocational ministry. I appreciated Wilson's gospel focus, his years of experience, and the kernels of truth that will hopefully help make me a better layperson supporting my own local church pastor!</p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-52726826506928028042021-08-04T07:00:00.001-05:002021-08-04T07:00:00.203-05:00Northern Reflections Part 3 - Body & Spirit<p> Earlier this summer I read a delightful book of reflections by Desmond Carroll, an Anglican priest (Irish by birth) in Canada's Arctic. The book also contains original painting-illustrations by Ted Harrison, a renowned Canadian artist. I'd like to share just a few of Carroll's words of wisdom:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyNx1eeDO0sltuB_HvDLDbIU6u-Ewg8JEJJjf6nVEVnY7SfQfWAy1Uxy3bLiy8pbH9S3vRnPtdKz0fLN5dc7__NEyF16BTSXp4BKKyYwRDs_xUbc8_ZSxujE_34elBFrUylmh1adJaTA/s600/Harrison+pic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyNx1eeDO0sltuB_HvDLDbIU6u-Ewg8JEJJjf6nVEVnY7SfQfWAy1Uxy3bLiy8pbH9S3vRnPtdKz0fLN5dc7__NEyF16BTSXp4BKKyYwRDs_xUbc8_ZSxujE_34elBFrUylmh1adJaTA/s320/Harrison+pic.jpeg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b>"Let Us Run with Patience"</b></p><p><i>The race that is set before us ...</i> (Hebrews 12:1)</p><p>One can only marvel at the physical capabilities of the athletes performing in the Olympics ... The discipline and sheer hard work that has gone into producing these efforts must be admired and is a reminder to all of us of the potential of the human body. St. Paul many years ago drew on the comparison of faith and athletic discipline, reflecting upon his own time and the affairs of that day that could encourage and give insight.</p><p>But there are dangers as we pay exclusive attention to the body and forget the spirit. The Christian faith is incarnational - that is, it seeks to integrate the physical and the spiritual. Too great an emphasis on either of these things can distort the true character of the message of the Good News. There is the cult of physical perfection that would seek to claim some sort of eternal quality, some kind of ideal, that can only be reached through athletic prowess. On the other side are those who would tend to despise the body (the physical) and forget that God made each one of us in his own image and of flesh and blood.</p><p>The incarnate nature of our faith begins to come into its own as we try to balance the physical and the spiritual. Each carries its own discipline, each can be supportive of the growth of the other, and each can lose its strength as it seeks to journey on its own.</p><p>Carroll, <i>Northern Reflections</i> (p. 91)</p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-25037583876152605182021-08-02T07:00:00.001-05:002021-08-02T07:00:00.191-05:00Northern Reflections Part 2 - Enthusiasm and Delight<p> Earlier this summer I read a delightful book of reflections by Desmond Carroll, an Anglican priest (Irish by birth) in Canada's Arctic. The book also contains original painting-illustrations by Ted Harrison, a renowned Canadian artist. I'd like to share just a few of Carroll's words of wisdom:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPcNud-YjKWtYtkmnihNJ2cZXYvWFFBpinwhJIfmvcKTmYPexfq_WpSdv2j_Km6b5yexowB9D1gJ1rDG_BEOyl0yVOPSH0waRF71YDxm052pFLPfjyBppg1fCAo01wIwIoOqtPLsAEZ8/s640/Harrison%252C+Home.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPcNud-YjKWtYtkmnihNJ2cZXYvWFFBpinwhJIfmvcKTmYPexfq_WpSdv2j_Km6b5yexowB9D1gJ1rDG_BEOyl0yVOPSH0waRF71YDxm052pFLPfjyBppg1fCAo01wIwIoOqtPLsAEZ8/s320/Harrison%252C+Home.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><b>"Ah-ha!"</b></p><p><i>"All the world's a stage"</i> - according to one of Shakespeare's characters, and the players thereon represent all sorts and conditions of men and women. Let's imagine that there are three types of players who walk upon the stage and interpret life in a general sense.</p><p>The first type could be called the 'yeah-buts', those who generally respond to ideas and proposals with a cautious 'putting-on-the-brakes' routine. "That's not a bad idea, but ..." is a frequent response.</p><p>The second type could be called the 'ho-hums', those who ponder at great length the issues of the day, weigh all things in the balance, and find it difficult to come to a decision. They can be persuaded to adopt a position, but often need applied pressure to reach a conclusion.</p><p>The last type could be called the 'ah-has', those who embrace life with enthusiasm and express delighted surprise as life unfolds before them. They always seem poised to jump and engage the issues of life with a hopeful expression on their faces, reaching out towards the vision.</p><p>Can we try to be 'ah-ha's'?</p><p>Carroll, <i>Northern Reflections</i> (p. 77)</p><p><br /></p><p>For what it's worth, I love the sentiment that Carroll expresses, but also think he fundamentally mischaracterizes both the yeah-buts and the ah-has. The 'ah-ha' approach, if undirected by wisdom and prudence, can lead to jumping off bridges into shallow waters and being shattered upon submerged rocks. The 'yeah-but' approach, if combined with a true excitement about the possibilities of life, can lead to rigorously analyzing ideas and proposals in order to arrive at a workable and exhilarating outcome. Where I can fully agree with Carroll is being suspicious of the 'ho-hums'.</p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-51176120561122392532021-07-30T07:00:00.004-05:002021-07-30T07:00:00.193-05:00Northern Reflections Pt 1 - Facing the Loss of Loved Ones<p> Earlier this summer I read a delightful book of reflections by Desmond Carroll, an Anglican priest (Irish by birth) in Canada's Arctic. The book also contains original painting-illustrations by Ted Harrison, a renowned Canadian artist. I'd like to share just a few of Carroll's words of wisdom:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QTBLnFImW7RWmL8Bj3X8KI1UiNlUqg58UV5xSdVYpbVfOrfUtUbsbeB3MNuPIwYUAX_CNUvLW2eFCT0NL2TzlnaG3k8ksGklTFeEsvi1XB0wgbNwKDy2npqY7K7-EZTwYCUrrh7JHVM/s770/Harrison%252C+ocean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="770" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QTBLnFImW7RWmL8Bj3X8KI1UiNlUqg58UV5xSdVYpbVfOrfUtUbsbeB3MNuPIwYUAX_CNUvLW2eFCT0NL2TzlnaG3k8ksGklTFeEsvi1XB0wgbNwKDy2npqY7K7-EZTwYCUrrh7JHVM/s320/Harrison%252C+ocean.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><b>The Loss of a Companion</b></p><p>Someone has died. The one who died was a young man, still growing into maturity, knowing the responsibilities of husband and father - life stretching before him, with that sense of immortality which can be so deceptive.</p><p>All this has gone and the family that once felt its oneness and completeness, is fragmented and shattered.</p><p>A friend has left us, a companion has died; we sense the disappointment and the sadness and yet we confront a mystery that is ever present. In the silent moments we begin to glance at those who share our pilgrimage, and reach out to touch and be touched by our other companions who will share our burdens and sorrows. We experience the fellowship of the Spirit that heals and binds together as the journey of life is continued.</p><p>The human race is not immortal, so why should death come as such a surprise and catch us so unawares? ...</p><p>For the ones that remain, especially one who has been chosen as a life companion, the time is confusing and there is a grasping for that which gives meaning. Ancient words, borne towards us by our spiritual roots and traditions, sound true as they confront the reality of life.</p><p><i>The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want ... yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ... For thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.</i> (Psalm 23)</p><p>Somehow, what has been up to this time a private world, begins to be transformed into a world which is universal and timeless. ... We do not hide our sadness in the sands of religious ritual, but rather our faith gives us strength to face the emptiness that death brings, and to grasp, at least initially in some small way, that life shared with God transcends time and space.</p><p>Carroll, <i>Northern Reflections</i> (pp. 36-37)</p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-15233189422177199662021-07-29T07:00:00.001-05:002021-07-29T07:00:00.218-05:00The Power of Story<p> I'm just about finished reading Kyle Beshears' new book: <i>Apatheism: How We Share When They Don't Care</i>. It's a tremendous volume which accurately diagnoses the prevalent spiritual malaise of the Western world (apatheism: lack of interest in God questions) and proposes numerous suggestions for engaging our apatheistic neighbors with the Gospel. I highly recommend the book!</p><p>But this short post is to share one particular nugget from <i>Apatheism</i>, in which Beshears talks about the power of sharing the Gospel as the story which has transformed our life to bring us enduring joy.</p><p><i>Stories compel us because they draw on the power of imagination to penetrate our hearts and minds. They have an uncanny ability to sneak past our barricades of belief, invade our buffered selves, and change us without our permission and sometimes even our awareness.</i> (p. 105)</p><p>Earlier, Beshears talks about the centrality of <i>joy</i> in the Christian life and witness, and the necessity of incarnating and communicating joy in our interactions with apatheists (who themselves are pursuing <i>joy</i> but cannot find it amid the transient happiness that worldly goods obtain).</p><p><i>We as Christians have joy <b>because of</b> what God has done through the Lord Jesus Christ, and we rejoice <b>in spite of</b> our circumstances, whether we are healthy or hurting, satisfied or suffering, glad or grieved. With Christ, it's possible to smile amid poverty, to rejoice in the face of cancer, and laugh through tears.</i> (p. 78)</p><p>Kyle Beshears' <i>Apatheism</i> is the fruit of over a decade pondering contemporary spiritual disinterest. It is a worthy, convicting, and encouraging read. Highly recommended!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-V8MDGJ6ldeQPsII2p9IXviLyoYYgRKqlAwZMg-dX5YDEHfoemT0xqwcA-w90XCFui__Ys8URVQ1joIOTu5eQ-5OPItCjtueTJHtOFBRvv7Xjy-UH38slY9fDXnbApqGFDAhBkrvgATs/s1500/Apatheism+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-V8MDGJ6ldeQPsII2p9IXviLyoYYgRKqlAwZMg-dX5YDEHfoemT0xqwcA-w90XCFui__Ys8URVQ1joIOTu5eQ-5OPItCjtueTJHtOFBRvv7Xjy-UH38slY9fDXnbApqGFDAhBkrvgATs/s320/Apatheism+cover.png" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-89408367569156042642021-02-05T06:00:00.016-06:002021-02-05T06:00:03.545-06:00Descartes on Philosophy<p> This semester I have the privilege of doing an Arranged Course on 'The History of Modern Philosophy' - not a subject I normally teach, and one that I am excited to work through. I am looking forward to interacting with some of my philosophical heroes, and sharing golden nuggets from their thoughts. Usually I will share some quotations or insights with relatively little of my own commentary or analysis. This week: Rene Descartes (1596-1650), the French rationalist often considered the 'father of modern philosophy.'</p><p><br /></p><p>Descartes' definition of Philosophy: "Philosophy means the study of wisdom, and by wisdom we understand not only prudence in affairs but also a perfect knowledge of all things which man can know both for the conduct of his life and for the conservation of his health and the invention of all the arts." (<i>Principles of Philosophy</i>, Preface)</p><p>Project & Goal: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Descartes
ideal aim, therefore, was to construct [a] comprehensive scientific
philosophy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In metaphysics, the roots of
the tree according to his analogy, he starts with the intuitively apprehended
existence of the finite self and proceeds to establish the criterion of truth,
the existence of God and the existence of the material world.” (Copleston, <i>A History of Philosophy</i>, IV.2, 71)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Self & God: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Descartes
is concerned with the </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">ordo cognoscendi</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">,
the order of discovery, not with the </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">ordo
essendi</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, the order of being.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the
latter order God is prior … But in the order of discovery one’s own existence
is prior.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I know intuitively that I
exist.” (Copleston, 79)</span></p>Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-23323806012867893152019-06-11T16:29:00.000-05:002019-06-11T16:29:02.624-05:00Is Worldview Thought Still Relevant?<i>Author's Note: The follow article was published yesterday in The Worldview Bulletin - a tremendous resource with links to contemporary news, articles, and worldview thoughts by leading authors and thinkers. I invite and encourage you to check them out and subscribe to their bulletins and newsletters - <a href="https://worldviewbulletin.substack.com/" target="_blank">Worldview Bulletin link</a> </i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Contemporary
Importance of Worldview Thought</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Since the
first-edition publication of James Sire’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Universe Next Door</i> in 1976, worldview thought has been a prominent fixture
in western evangelicalism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christian
leaders and teachers have acknowledged the tremendous benefits that worldview
awareness and analysis provides in discipleship and spiritual growth, resulting
in a veritable boom in Christian worldview exploration and publication—Walsh
& Middleton’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Transforming Vision</i>;
Goheen & Bartholomew’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Living at the
Crossroads</i>; Wilkens & Sanford’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hidden
Worldviews</i>; Myers & Noebel’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Understanding
the Times</i>; Sire’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Naming the Elephant</i>;
the list goes on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Worldview-oriented
ministries have also blossomed—Summit Ministries; Probe; Worldview Academy;
Leadership University, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But the rising
prominence of worldview thought has also prompted skepticism and opposition
from a range of Christian thinkers—including the influential public
intellectual James K. A. Smith at Calvin College.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Critics charge that “traditional worldview
studies” are reductionistic, and “lack explanatory power and often misinterpret
people.” (Noble, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Disruptive Witness</i>,
52-53) For his part, Smith’s primary charge is that worldview is overly
rationalistic, and miss the reality that human habits (virtues) are shaped not
by right thinking but by right loves/liturgy (see Smith, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Desiring the Kingdom</i>, 17ff; idem., <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Imagining the Kingdom</i>, 9ff). </span></div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As we write in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An Introduction to Christian Worldview</i>
(IVP Academic, 2017, see pp. 56-64) criticisms from Smith (and others) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">may</i> apply to some specific worldview
thinkers and ministries, but they miss the mark with the broad swath of
contemporary worldview thought—which universally recognizes the primacy of
heart orientation, cultural context, and pretheoretical influences in the
development and articulation of worldview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We also identify seven areas of benefit to understanding and studying
worldview (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An Introduction to Christian
Worldview</i>, 51-56).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being familiar
with worldview studies can also help one to grasp the powerful influence that
our often-unconscious presuppositions and commitments exert over us through
confirmation bias, experiential accommodation, the pool of live options, and
life motivation (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ICW</i>, 29-42).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In addition to all
that, though, it seems to me that there is an even more pressing reason that
worldview thought and analysis is more necessary today than perhaps ever
before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jamie Smith accuses worldview
study of being overly rationalistic, and reducing human persons to ‘brains on a
stick.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That may be, at least in some
cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is evident to me that the
primary danger facing Western civilization (not just Christianity, but all of
society) today is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i>
hyper-rationalism, but rather <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ir</i>-rationalism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Exhibit A: The
rise of postmodern relativism, not just in morality, but in truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“That might be true for you, but it’s not
true to me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’m glad Christianity
works for you, but it doesn’t work for me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“That’s just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">your</i> truth.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Don’t force your truth down my throat.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More famously, Richard Rorty claimed that
truth is merely what your peers will let you get away with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Exhibit B: The
replacement of reasoned public discourse and disagreement with tribalistic
shouting and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">merely</i> emotional
appeals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emotion and feeling certainly
have a place, but when feeling entirely replaces fact, civilized society
suffers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“How dare you question my
preferred self-identification?!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
other aspect of feeling-over-fact is the readiness to immediately reject
opposing data, truth-claims, and opinions as “fake news” or something worse
(bigoted propaganda, hate speech, etc.).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Exhibit C: The
lack of concern with logically inconsistent worldview beliefs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Logic is just an imperialistic western
invention, anyway.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Jesus doesn’t care
about incompatible beliefs; He just calls me to follow Him.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I once pointed out an apparent logical inconsistency
in faith-claims made by a friend (a Ph.D. in History, no less).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their response: “I can’t be bothered with
logical consistency in my faith; I have a hard enough time just trying to love
Jesus.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The poster-child
for irrationalism in contemporary Christianity is the self-professing believer,
who believes that we should not judge (critique) anybody else’s lifestyle or
choices, but simultaneously condemns me for having the audacity to be pro-life;
who accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord, but also thinks their faithful Hindu
neighbor will be in heaven with them (even though that Hindu would rather
achieve <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">moksha</i> and cease to exist);
who proudly (and properly) crusades for social justice because God has a
preferential concern for the orphan, the widow, and the foreigner, but thinks
that the Bible’s prohibition of same-sex relationships is old-fashioned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Do we need to do a
better job of liturgical (habitual) discipleship, and inculcate Christian
virtue within young believers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Absolutely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But to at least the
same degree, the contemporary Church needs to reclaim the Christian mind from
the blathering incoherence of postmodern relativism, emotionalism, tribalism,
and blithely unconcerned logical inconsistency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And on this latter front, worldview thinking is not just relevant, but
absolutely indispensable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An Introduction to Christian Worldview</i>,
we propose three tests for worldview truth (pp. 76-90): internal consistency
(logical coherence), external consistency (evidential correspondence), and
existential consistency (pragmatic satisfaction).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Christians recognize the unconscious way
in which their worldview has taken shape, acknowledge the pervasive influence
that worldview exerts upon their beliefs and actions, and subjects their
worldview beliefs and actions to the scrutiny of worldview tests for truth, we
just may be able to counter the contemporary specter of Christian
irrationalism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lord willing, we might
also make inroads with our beloved non-Christian friends and neighbors, and
impact them with the Truth (not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">my</i>
truth, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the</i> Truth) of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-17090080106427084112019-06-08T16:45:00.000-05:002019-06-08T16:45:01.678-05:00My thoughts on Chartraw & Allen's "Apologetics at the Cross"<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Joshua D. Chartraw and Mark D. Allen, <i>Apologetics at the Cross: An Introduction for Christian Witness.</i>
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018. 329 pp.</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Last fall I had the privilege of serving on Christianity Today's adjudication panel for the book of the year in the category of Apologetics & Evangelism. All four finalists were excellent (not perfect, but excellent) works, with different strengths. I'd like to take a couple of posts to share some of my thoughts on the four finalists:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Sam Chan, <i>Evangelism in a Skeptical World</i> (Zondervan)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">David & Marybeth Baggett, <i>The Morals of the Story</i> (IVP Academic)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Alan Noble, <i>Disruptive Witness</i> (IVP)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>Joshua Chartraw & Mark Allen, <i>Apologetics at the Cross</i> (Zondervan)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Chartraw and Allen have
written a highly engaging and comprehensive introductory apologetics textbook,
which would be a boon for college or seminary apologetic courses. Christian book clubs and reading groups could
also benefit from working through <i>Apologetics
at the Cross</i> (<i>AatC</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The orienting motif of <i>AatC</i> is the humility and grace required
for reasonable Christian answers.
Chartraw and Allen spend considerable time establishing the context of
biblical apologetics – including the famous apologetic mandate of 1 Peter
3:15. The three-part structure of the
work is successful, establishing foundations (Chapters 1-4), structures
(Chapters 5-9), and practices (Chapters 10-13) for contemporary apologetics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some parts of <i>AatC</i> are stronger than others. The biblical and historical foundations are
quite comprehensive, but the biblical foundations for apologetics seemed a bit
of a mish-mash—an attempt to cover examples of Christian defense in Scripture
by topic. A chronological or canonical
approach may have been easier to follow; alternatively, identifying specific
apologists in Scripture and working out some of their methods and practices
could have been helpful. The history of
apologetics in Chapters 3-4, however, was quite masterful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One of the most impressive
elements of <i>AatC</i> is the formatting
and style of the book. The text is
replete with helpful illustrations and figures (e.g., p. 24, 34, 35-36, 45, 50,
51, 57, …) and informative sidebars with definitions or quotations (e.g., p.
29, 32, 38, 41, …). Those reader aids
serve to give visual representations of the material Chartraw and Allen are
relating (thereby engaging multiple senses and relating to multiple learning
styles) <i>and</i> enhance the content of
the text.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Chartraw and Allen
provide a positive balance in their work, emphasizing not just reasons and
evidence for faith, but the need for faithful living witness that matches the
message being defended. There has been a
positive movement in academic apologetics toward focusing on the character of
the apologist and his/her speech—Chartraw and Allen are not breaking new ground
here, but they are furthering a very helpful impetus in the contemporary
landscape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><br /></span></div>
Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-11450727155234648032019-06-05T16:42:00.000-05:002019-06-05T16:42:00.334-05:00My thoughts on Alan Noble, "Disruptive Witness"<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Alan Noble, <i>Disruptive Witness:
Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age.</i> Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2018. 189 pp. </span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Last fall I had the privilege of serving on Christianity Today's adjudication panel for the book of the year in the category of Apologetics & Evangelism. All four finalists were excellent (not perfect, but excellent) works, with different strengths. I'd like to take a couple of posts to share some of my thoughts on the four finalists:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Sam Chan, <i>Evangelism in a Skeptical World</i> (Zondervan)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">David & Marybeth Baggett, <i>The Morals of the Story</i> (IVP Academic)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>Alan Noble, <i>Disruptive Witness</i> (IVP)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Joshua Chartraw & Mark Allen, <i>Apologetics at the Cross</i> (Zondervan)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Disruptive Witness</i>, Alan Noble diagnoses the distracted
materialistic condition of modern Western society, and exhorts Christians to
live as disruptive witnesses individually, corporately, and culturally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Noble’s understanding of the contemporary
context is strong, and heavily influenced by Charles Taylor’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Secular Age</i> (among others).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His diagnosis does not come across as
judgmental or demeaning toward the reader, as Noble is careful to indict his
own technological distractedness along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Noble is under no
illusions that he (or any of us) can exert the seismic changes that will alter
the overall trajectory of our distracted age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead, he opts for the more modest goal of offering “concrete, achievable,
meaningful actions to help the church preserve its witness.” (88) His goal is
informed by an understanding of where society is and how it has gotten there,
along with his fear that many strains of contemporary Christianity have
unwittingly bought into secularism and technicism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The structure of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Disruptive Witness</i> is solid, with a pair
of triune sections first articulating the problem, then suggesting
solutions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each chapter is substantial
but manageable, and is unlikely to repel the average reader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Noble’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Disruptive Witness</i> contains some
excellent suggestions for a transformed life which are simple, practical, and
balanced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, he notes that the
simple act of saying grace for a meal (at home or in public) can be a testament
that we reject secularism’s notion of a closed universe (“a materialist account
of provision”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hence, saying grace can
remind us of God’s constant provision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If, however, saying grace becomes a means of “advertising … our faith,”
then the practice ceases to be a disruptive witness, and instead “capitulates
to the game of secularism.” (113) When suggesting means for “Disruptive
Cultural Participation,” (Chapter 6) Noble avoids the temptation of calling his
readers to be culture-makers, and instead proposes a universally-applicable
“cultural participation” in shared stories (movies, TV shows, novels, music,
etc.) in ways that “challenge the distracted, secular age.” (157) Noble’s
ensuing suggestions are concrete (e.g., hosting movie nights, discussing shows
with a co-worker) and attainable for the intentional disciple of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One major
research/content shortcoming of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Disruptive
Witness</i> is Noble’s inaccurate, inconsistent, and unnecessarily dismissive
treatment of worldview study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First,
Noble uncritically follows James K. A. Smith’s work in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Desiring the Kingdom</i>, and asserts that “traditional worldview
studies overemphasize rational, intentional, and cognitive beliefs over the way
habits shape our desires,” and ignore the impact of “liturgy, experience,
memories, and even personality.” (52) Noble does eventually allow that “some of
the best worldview thinkers are aware of these dangers,” (52) but in neither
place does Noble cite or even mention an example of worldview thinkers—he
simply quotes Smith and asserts his own judgment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, Noble’s treatment (following
Smith) of contemporary academic worldview studies (as exampled by Goheen and
Bartholomew’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Living at the Crossroads</i>;
Walsh and Middleton’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Transforming
Vision</i>; Naugle’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reordered Love,
Reordered Lives</i>; and Sire’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Naming
the Elephant</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Universe Next
Door</i>) misses the boat—these contemporary worldview thinkers acknowledge the
historical tendency to overemphasize the rational and underemphasize the
affective in worldview formation and application, and have amply adjusted course
to compensate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Noble seems sadly unaware
of the bulk of contemporary academic worldview study, as evidenced by the lack
of reference to a single ‘worldview-ish’ thinker (unless one counts Smith in
that category), and that renders his adjudication of worldview thought simply
mistaken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Second, Noble argues that worldview thought tends to be reductionistic in nature, lumping
broad swaths of distinct individuals with different perspectives under broad
worldview categories (e.g., atheism, theism, Marxism, humanism, Islam,
postmodernism, etc.). (50) He correctly notes that such reductionism (or
categorization) tends to “misinterpret people,” (53) and misses the highly
incarnational and individualistic nature of worldviews in the modern West.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, ironically, the primary task of the
first half of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Disruptive Witness</i> is
to engage in similar generalization, categorization, and reductionism with
regards to the contemporary context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three
examples, one from each of the first three chapters, will have to suffice: (1)
“Western society has turned [the] experience of tentative belief into a
virtue,” (42) a clear (and, I think, accurate) case of lumping the modern West
into one category. (2) “For the twenty-first-century person … the momentum of
life that so often discourages us from stopping to take our bearings is
magnified dramatically by the constant hum of portable electronic
entertainment.” (15) Many readers (myself included) will not see themselves
reflected in Noble’s characterization of “the twenty-first-century person,” but
will nonetheless be able to acknowledge that he has accurately diagnosed
(categorized) the ‘average’ under the broad umbrella.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(3) The dominant mode for meaning is now a
“generic existentialist philosophy … [which] involves the belief that
‘existence precedes essence’ and that meaning is something we make and impose
on … a neutral, indifferent world.” (68) There are two reductionisms
here—first, of the 21<sup>st</sup>-century individual as an existentialist
(there are, of course, several other modes of meaning-making in the
contemporary West); second, of existentialism itself, which is, as Noble notes,
“a complex and diverse movement.” (68) So, if worldview studies are guilty of
generalization, categorization, and reductionism that can misinterpret
individuals and fail to account for the diversity (and even rational
incoherence) of their beliefs, then it appears that Noble himself is guilty of
such.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please note – my critique is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> of what Noble endeavors to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe his distillation of the
contemporary age to be (for the most part) accurate, and exceedingly
helpful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> a highly-distracted age, and modern hyper-technology has gravely
exacerbated our pre-existing tendency to go through the motions of life without
deep thought or internal reflection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
critique is, rather, that Noble inconsistently berates unnamed worldview
thinkers (and then, guilt by association, worldview study in general) for what
he himself pursues!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Thus, third, Noble’s
treatment of worldview study is unnecessarily dismissive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The attacking critique of worldview thought
on pages 50-54 turns potential allies into enemies—that is, Noble dissuades his
readers from taking worldview thinkers (and worldview study) seriously, even
though readers could greatly benefit from engaging with worldview
material.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The critique of worldview
thought does not contribute to Noble’s thesis or purpose—the flow and purpose
of Part One would succeed just as well without it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for the informed reader who has more of a
background in contemporary worldview thought, Noble’s inaccurate, inconsistent,
and unnecessarily dismissive treatment of worldview study undermines confidence
in the rest of his project.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Those critiques do not undermine the helpfulness of Noble's project overall. He has his fingers on the pulse of our society, and good suggestions for Christians seeking to reconnect to God and others rather than Siri!</span></div>
Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-57047165810673214352019-06-02T16:37:00.000-05:002019-06-02T16:37:01.372-05:00My thoughts on Baggett, "The Morals of the Story"<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">David Baggett and Marybeth Baggett, <i>The
Morals of the Story: Good News About a Good God.</i> Downers Grove, IL: IVP
Academic, 2018. 253 pp. </span></b><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Last fall I had the privilege of serving on Christianity Today's adjudication panel for the book of the year in the category of Apologetics & Evangelism. All four finalists were excellent (not perfect, but excellent) works, with different strengths. I'd like to take a couple of posts to share some of my thoughts on the four finalists:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Sam Chan, <i>Evangelism in a Skeptical World</i> (Zondervan)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>David & Marybeth Baggett, <i>The Morals of the Story</i> (IVP Academic)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Alan Noble, <i>Disruptive Witness</i> (IVP)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Joshua Chartraw & Mark Allen, <i>Apologetics at the Cross</i> (Zondervan)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">David and Marybeth
Baggett have written a winsome and persuasive version of an extended moral
argument for the existence and nature of God.
<i>The Morals of the Story</i> (<i>MotS</i>) covers a tremendous amount of
ground, surveying the history of moral arguments (Chapters 1, 3, and 4),
identifying “recalcitrant” aspects of morality in need of explanation (Chapters
2, 5-9), and arguing that the Christian worldview provides the best explanation
for those aspects (Chapters 5-10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Baggetts have a witty
writing style, which ends up being both a strength and a weakness. There is considerable humor in <i>MotS</i>, which keeps the reader engaged and
entertained along the way. At the same
time, however, a fair amount of the book’s humor seems unrelated (or at best
tangentially related) to the content/context, and is thereby distracting. For example, they jest in regards to Paul
Copan’s “pun problem” (89), begin their Intermission (“Answering Euthyphro”)
with parodied advertising jingles (93), and share a humorous story of David’s
encounter with an “Angel” at his mother’s death (197) – none of which
contribute to the story or the argument.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That said, the
philosophical argument advanced in <i>MotS</i>
is both significant and successful. The
Baggetts are convinced that the moral argument for God’s existence and nature
is among the most resonant and persuasive argument available in contemporary
society, and they do a masterful job of pooling the relevant resources. They highlight the inability of secular
ethical theories to account for objective good and evil, moral obligations and
motivation, moral knowledge, moral hope (transformation), and moral
providence. They also demonstrate the
rich explanatory scope and power of the Christian worldview in accounting for
those same moral realities. If
humanity’s deep and unshakeable moral intuitions are anything like correct,
then, <i>MotS </i>demonstrates that the
rational observer should embrace something like Christian theism in response.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In my estimation, the
strongest and most ground-breaking work (in contemporary circles, anyway) comes
in Chapters 8-9, wherein the Baggetts discuss moral transformation and
providence respectively. Along with our
moral knowledge, they argue, humans ubiquitously desire to receive forgiveness
and to be renewed—Christianity alone provides the resources for transcendent
forgiveness and divinely-enabled change (including the death of the “Dear
Self”).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There are two additional
minor shortcomings of <i>MotS</i>. First, the structure of the book may have the
unfortunate effect of turning away numerous potential readers. Chapters 3-4 cover the history of moral
arguments for God, and while a professional philosopher like myself might find
them absolutely fascinating and informative, I suspect the chapters will be
cumbersome for many lay readers. I think
a better approach would have been to move immediately from chapter 2 into
chapter 5. Second, the Baggetts present
the book as a Greek drama, taking place in/around Mars Hill. To that end, they draw upon Socrates’ apology
and Paul’s Areopagus address, and present the work in three “Acts” instead of
Parts or Sections. There is a nod at the
end that morality may anticipate a “tragic” interpretation, but putting it in
the context of a Christian interpretation allows for transformation into a
‘happy-ending’ “comedy” instead. With
those exceptions, however, there is nothing in the content of the book which
builds upon or exploits the drama motif.
I think the motif has a lot to commend it, and could have been more
fruitfully utilized.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-34956507559622403962019-05-30T16:32:00.000-05:002019-05-30T16:32:02.573-05:00My thoughts on Sam Chan, "Evangelism in a Skeptical World"<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sam Chan, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Evangelism
in a Skeptical World: How to Make the Unbelievable News about Jesus More
Believable.</i> Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018. 288 pp. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Last fall I had the privilege of serving on Christianity Today's adjudication panel for the book of the year in the category of Apologetics & Evangelism. All four finalists were excellent (not perfect, but excellent) works, with different strengths. I'd like to take a couple of posts to share some of my thoughts on the four finalists:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>Sam Chan, <i>Evangelism in a Skeptical World</i> (Zondervan)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">David & Marybeth Baggett, <i>The Morals of the Story</i> (IVP Academic)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Alan Noble, <i>Disruptive Witness</i> (IVP)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Joshua Chartraw & Mark Allen, <i>Apologetics at the Cross</i> (Zondervan)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Chan’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Evangelism in a Skeptical World</i> (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ESW</i>) is an excellent theoretical and
practical guide to sharing the Gospel in the contemporary Western world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He accurately diagnoses the condition of our
culture, noting that traditional (4 Spiritual Laws, Two Ways) evangelistic
approaches may no longer be effective in reaching a changed demographic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the heart of Chan’s advice to the
contemporary Christian is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">story</i>:
recognizing that the majority of our audience will be “concrete-relational”
learners (Chapter 7) who resonate more naturally with narrative than
propositions, and emphasizing the storied nature of our experience with Christ
(Chapter 2) when we bring the Gospel to bear in our relationships with
non-Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A primary strength of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ESW</i> is his practical application for the
lay reader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Chapter 2 particularly,
Chan lays out an achievable means of building evangelistic relationships, with
strong focus on the need to build community relationships (“Get your friends to
become their friends”) of mutual love and trust (“Listen to their story”) that deepens
over time (“Coffee, dinner, Gospel”).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Another strong aspect of
Chan’s model for evangelism is his tri-fold apologetic response to friends’
“defeater beliefs” (Chapter 10): “Resonate – Dismantle – Gospel.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Building on biblical examples (particularly
Paul’s Mars Hill address in Acts 17), Chan advocates identifying common ground,
affirming and restating (in stronger terms, if possible) what is good and
biblically-consonant (Resonate), then demonstrating a deficiency or dissonance
within their presuppositions (Dismantle), before demonstrating how the Gospel
of Jesus Christ serves as the “best completion to their storyline”
(Gospel).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chan’s Resonate – Dismantle –
Gospel model also serves well in his suggested outlines for biblical
storytelling (Chapter 7), topical addresses (Chapter 8), and expository talks
(Chapter 9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Furthermore, Chan does
exemplary work on Gospel contextualization, first by identifying markers of
postmodernism in the West (Chapter 4), then by outlining the need for and means
of contextualizing the Gospel to our situation/audience (Chapter 5).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an added bonus, the Concluding chapter
(Moving People from Hostile to Loyal) outlines various stages of people’s faith
journeys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The primary shortcoming
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Evangelism in a Skeptical World</i> is
the lack of a clear potential audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In my estimation, the proper target audience for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ESW</i> should be the faithful layperson in the church who desires to
become more openly and effectively evangelistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The practical advice given in Chapters 2
(Everyday Evangelism), 3 (How to Craft a Gospel Presentation), 5
(Contextualization for Evangelism), and 10 (Religious Epistemology,
Apologetics, and Defeater Beliefs) is outstanding, and has the potential to
transform believers’ day-to-day walk and mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The book seems, however, to bounce between
aiming for that faithful layperson and aiming instead for an
academic/professional audience of Christian scholars, pastors, and
speakers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chapter 1 (A Theology of
Evangelism) is a tad heavy for the layperson (though arguably necessary
groundwork for the practical advice that follows).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chapters 8 (How to Give Evangelistic Topical
Talks) and 9 (How to Give Evangelistic Expository Talks), however, are more
clearly applicable only to a narrower audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Chan could have worked around this difficulty in one of two ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, he could have written <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ESW</i> for the broad lay audience, in which
case he would have shortened and simplified Chapter 1, entirely omitted
Chapters 8 and 9, and reconsidered Chapters 6 (Gospel-Cultural Hermeneutics)
and 7 (Storytelling the Gospel), either eliminating them or recasting them in
lay terms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, Chan could have
provided a brief Introduction which articulated his desire to reach a dual
audience (lay Christian and academic/professional minister), and pointed the
respective audiences to the most applicable chapters (and which each audience
might avoid).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Overall, however, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ESW</i> is a tremendous tool for the
believer who desires to deepen their walk with Christ in the realm of personal
evangelism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-82531355748380412372019-05-27T11:00:00.000-05:002019-05-27T11:00:05.877-05:00Top 5 Reads of 2018I had the opportunity to read 28 books in 2018 - a couple of repeats, but the vast majority new books to me. Here, in no particular order, were my favorite new books last year.<br />
<br />
G. K. Chesterton, <i>Four Faultless Felons</i>. A collection of four delightful short stories - "The Honest Quack," "The Moderate Murderer," "The Ecstatic Thief," and "The Loyal Traitor." Each of the 4 short stories features a criminal who is yet blameless in their transgression. The "moderate murderer" is accused of attempted murder for shooting the governor of British India. Yet the shooter, an expert marksman, deliberately shot to injure, not kill - and only shot in order to save the governor from a successful assassination around the next bend in the path. Chesterton's whimsical stories are individually engaging and collectively captivating - a thorough pleasure!<br />
<br />
Geraint Lewis and Luke Barnes, <i>A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos</i> (Cambridge University Press, 2016). Lewis and Barnes are both professional academic physicists, who explore the apparent fine-tuning of our universe. They walk through numerous elements of the natural world that have to be precisely what they are in order for life to be possible anywhere in the universe. After analyzing several elements of fine-tuning is great detail, Lewis and Barnes then consider the possible sources of cosmic fine-tuning. Lewis, an atheist, contends for multiverse (the existence of a plethora of independently existing universes, each with different constants and laws) as the best explanation for our universe's fine tuning - after all, he reasons, if there are billions of universes, one of them is liable to have the right conditions for life: we just happen to find ourselves in that universe. Barnes, a Christian, argues for divine design as the source of our universe's fine-tuning - God desires to (and successfully does) create a world in which complex creatures can arise and learn to love Him. The deep beauty of <i>A Fortunate Universe</i> is the charitable dialogue between believer and skeptic on the undeniable fine-tuning that we see in the universe. A difficult but richly rewarding read.<br />
<br />
Eric Metaxas, <i>Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery</i> (HarperCollins, 2007). I have long admired the life and career of William Wilberforce, one of the pivotal figures in the English abolitionist movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. After his conversion to evangelical Christianity, Wilberforce tirelessly pursued abolition of the slave trade and emancipation of slaves throughout the British Empire. Metaxas is certainly guilty of hero-worship in <i>Amazing Grace</i>, but he nonetheless does a credible job of presenting the contours of Wilberforce's life - familial, personal, political, and religious. Other figures crucial to abolition are given adequate light of day, but the spotlight shines brightest of Wilberforce. His biography inspires contemporary Christians to pursue God's calling and purpose in their lives as well - who knows where the next Wilberforce will come from!<br />
<br />
Nancy Pearcey, <i>Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality</i> (Baker, 2017). I have admired Pearcey's work since her inaugural <i>How Now Shall We Live?</i> and was eager to work through her magisterial volume on contemporary issues in gender and sexuality. Many commentators today contend that post-Christian sexual ethics are rooted in a deep physicality - a love for the human body and its physical pleasures. Pearcey's primary contention in <i>Love Thy Body</i> is the opposite - that the move toward the normalization of homosexuality and the affirmation of gender fluidity marks an <i>abhorrence</i> of man's physical form. The sexual revolution has seen man exert pre-eminent control over the laws of nature plain in physical order, rejecting his created physicality in favor of self-chosen identities. Pearcey is always thoughtful and articulate, and clearly has her finger on the pulse of contemporary society. Another difficult but tremendously fascinating venture.<br />
<br />
J. B. Stump, ed., <i>Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design</i> (Zondervan, 2017). Stump draws together spokespersons for young-earth creation (Ken Ham), old-earth (or progressive) creation (Hugh Ross), evolutionary creationism (Deborah Haarsma), and intelligent design (Stephen Meyer). The four authors set forth arguments and evidence in favor of their own positions, and charitably (for the most part) pose objections to the others. Christians all affirm the doctrine of Creation - it is the <i>how</i> and <i>when</i> of creation that are matters of dispute, and that dispute is nicely encapsulated in Zondervan's new counterpoint book. It is worth every Christian's time to investigate the reasoning behind the positions that they do not personally embrace.<br />
<br />
There is much of worth to read, and insufficient time to indulge it all. I am thankful for all I learned from my literary adventures last year, and hope for more of the same this!Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-23209745934143236092019-05-24T15:08:00.001-05:002019-05-24T15:08:20.041-05:002018 Reading ListLike a lot of nerds and philosophers (not necessarily the same thing!), I love to read. I do not always get the time to read as broadly and deeply as I would like to; but I love to read. I like a wide variety of literary genres - mysteries, novels, apologetics, theology, philosophy, history, science, and travel among them.<br />
<br />
The past 20 months of my life has been exceptionally busy, which has robbed me of the time to blog as frequently as I would like. But I did have the opportunity in 2018, not just to engage in some awesome travel explorations (the Grand <a href="http://tawapologetics.blogspot.com/2018/10/july-8-16-grand-canyon-tour-whole.html" target="_blank">Canyon tour</a>, western Canada [twice - June & December], and the United Kingdom <a href="http://tawapologetics.blogspot.com/2018/11/obu-in-london-18-august-4-loch-ness.html" target="_blank">of England and Scotland</a>), but also to read some fascinating books.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Here is the full list of my literary adventures last year, listed in alphabetical order (by author's last name); the number at the front is the order in which I read them (i.e., Groothuis was the first, Ganssle was the last). Coming next: my top 5 list for 2018, and some short interactions with a select few.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">23. Baggett, David and
Marybeth Baggett. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Morals of the
Story: Good News About a Good God.</i> Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018.
253 pp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">18. Bussey, Peter. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Signposts to God: How Modern Physics &
Astronomy Point the Way to Belief.</i> Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">22. Chan, Sam. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Evangelism in a Skeptical World.</i> Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018. 288 </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">24. Chartraw, Joshua D.
and Mark D. Allen. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Apologetics at the
Cross: An Introduction for Christian Witness.</i> Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
2018. 336 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">3. G. K. Chesterton, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Innocence of Father Brown.</i> (A
collection of 12 short stories featuring Father Brown, a Catholic
priest-detective. 352 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">6. G. K. Chesterton, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Four Faultless Felons</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(A collection of 4 short stories: “The Honest
Quack,” “The Moderate Murderer,” “The Ecstatic Thief,” and “The Loyal
Traitor.”)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dover, 1989. 224 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">10. Agatha Christie, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Peril at End House.</i> (A Hercule Poirot
Mystery) William Morrow, 2011. 240 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">8. Agatha Christie, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Murder is Announced.</i> (A Miss Marple
Mystery) William Morrow, 2011. 320 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2.
Copan, Paul. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Little Book for New
Philosophers: Why and How to Study Philosophy.</i> Downers Grove, IL: IVP
Academic, 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">12. Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
Dover, 2009. 240 pp.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">27. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Idiot</i>. 656 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">28.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> Ganssle, Gregory E. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Our Deepest Desires: How the Christian Story
Fulfills Human Aspirations</i>. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1. Groothuis, Douglas. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Philosophy in Seven Sentences: A Small
Introduction to a Vast Topic.</i> Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">9. Hescox, Mitch and Paul
Douglas. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Caring for Creation: The
Evangelical’s Guide to Climate Change and a Healthy Environment.</i> Bethany
House, 2016. 192 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">26. Lewis, C. S. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Grief Observed.</i> New York: HarperOne,
1996 (1961).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">20. Lewis, Geraint F.,
and Luke A. Barnes. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Fortunate Universe:
Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos.</i> Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">4. Metaxas, Eric. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the
Heroic Campaign to End Slavery.</i> HarperCollins, 2007. 320 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">17. Moreland, J. P., and
Tim Muehlhoff. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The God Conversation:
Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith. Rev. ed.</i> Downers
Grove, IL: IVP, 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">21. Noble, Alan. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a
Distracted Age.</i> Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2018. 189 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">15.
Ordway, Holly. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Apologetics and the
Christian Imagination: An Integrated Approach to Defending the Faith.</i> Steubenville,
OH: Emmaus Road, 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">11. Pearcey, Nancy. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions
about Life and Sexuality</i>. Baker, 2017. 336 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">14. Rae, Scott B. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics</i>,
3<sup>rd</sup> ed. Zondervan, 2009. 375 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">19. Rana, Fazale. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Cell’s Design: How Chemistry Reveals the
Creator’s Artistry.</i> Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">7. Rauser, Randal, and
Justin Schieber. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An Atheist and a
Christian Walk into a Bar … Talking about God, the Universe, and Everything.</i>
Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">13. Dorothy Sayers, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gaudy Night.</i> (A Lord Peter Wimsey
mystery.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harper, 2012. 544 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">5. J. B. Stump, ed. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and
Intelligent Design.</i> Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">16. Ten Elshof, Gregg A. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Confucius for Christians: What an Ancient
Chinese Worldview Can Teach Us about Life in Christ.</i> Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">25. John Updike, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In the Beauty of the Lilies</i>. Random
House, 1997. 576 pp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-11183987333602678232018-12-20T11:39:00.000-06:002018-12-20T11:39:04.298-06:00OBU in London #29 - August 15 (Homeward Bound)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">July 16 – August
14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reykjavik airport</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month
in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty
colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a
faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching
OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of
Great Britain.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">These are our stories!</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Wednesday,
August 15 – HOME!</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Up early this morning to get ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had an adventure getting to Heathrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took the Tube to Heathrow Terminal 4 (an
hour-long ride), where we had to outwait a fire alarm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we found out we were at the wrong
terminal – that Icelandair flies out of Terminal 2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took ½ and hour to catch an airport
shuttle and walk to the right terminal and go through security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We made it, with not much time to spare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then found out that our flight was
delayed by ½ an hour!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we had time to
grab lunch before heading to our gate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I finished journaling in the air, winging our way
toward Reykjavik.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our plane sat on the
tarmac in London for an additional 30 minutes before take-off, so our
connection in Iceland will be a bit tighter than I’d like. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But I’m looking forward to being home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeing the kids especially.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Between Cochrane, the Grand Canyon, and
London, I’ve been gone and away from the kids a LOT (7 weeks) this summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can never get that time with the kids back,
but I’m looking forward to being back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The fall semester starts very soon, and I’m not even remotely ready, so
the next few days are going to be hectic trying to get ready to go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reykjavik</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We made our connection in Iceland just fine, and our
flight to Dallas arrived on time at 8:45PM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From there, we had to get our two rentals to head back to Shawnee –
dropping off Sierra and Chloe along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unfortunately, Chloe tried to bring some seeds back into the States from
London – a major immigration No-No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
she was detained at customs for over an hour, while the rest of us waited (and
got more tired).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t start the
drive home until 10:30.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I followed Vanessa,
and emphasized to the 4 in my car how essential it was for all of them to stay
awake all the way home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, they
couldn’t do it – they all fell asleep within half an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, I then also dozed off, and was
startled awake by the rumble strips; I over-corrected, almost flipping our
car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nasty shock, and a very scary end
to our long travel day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needless to say,
after that point, we all stayed awake!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rolled back into Shawnee about 2:00AM, with our “day” having started 26
hours earlier leaving Pickwick Hall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What a trip!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lord, I’m grateful for all the opportunities you lay
before me this summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a joy it has
been to meet new people, see new places, and guide a unique and wonderful group
of students for a month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t deserve
the grace that God gives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I am so
thankful that Vanessa got to share the London experience – this would not have
been a healthy or happy experience without her here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-46109609251181511052018-12-18T10:00:00.000-06:002018-12-18T10:00:02.132-06:00OBU in London #28 - August 14 (The Last Supper)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlum0pe85ZtHCJPGeSWAE8HxgHaOsRKTEr5aXeiNjKmYTL60KDt31z2X5QM21IDjxLPduyFvAiFKIbcwxqBrITzY7dfrN9B6KRDuP1ysLSpBo2r2No8pKOb_HTCn5OB0JSUPiovtS7P0/s1600/DSC03381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlum0pe85ZtHCJPGeSWAE8HxgHaOsRKTEr5aXeiNjKmYTL60KDt31z2X5QM21IDjxLPduyFvAiFKIbcwxqBrITzY7dfrN9B6KRDuP1ysLSpBo2r2No8pKOb_HTCn5OB0JSUPiovtS7P0/s200/DSC03381.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">July 16 – August
14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2bu83njYJYcnf4LNMW6vbPR4iN5s4sGu3hzMjEDfmxTCmcpCdiIl7esFLvji4ES2B84RXOs9C685fB70zpnqb5iRTPFL1tlEg5WSvgXli1LFINhv-DVos5ukOD8EdBxsGzy1rUOR5RY/s1600/DSC03383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2bu83njYJYcnf4LNMW6vbPR4iN5s4sGu3hzMjEDfmxTCmcpCdiIl7esFLvji4ES2B84RXOs9C685fB70zpnqb5iRTPFL1tlEg5WSvgXli1LFINhv-DVos5ukOD8EdBxsGzy1rUOR5RY/s200/DSC03383.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKxlpsLrkyxdcL9gn1TBt71BXwFWQ8fb12haXugPI_xs40yQQK7RyC3AeMdHMGGSGW_JQOPKlhC4SVdouuMAdXTSqvaaS-4-NOBX5QXtl1bvg63Yuei58V8MMtJLoonBrIrZomu9dgAg/s1600/IMG_5400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKxlpsLrkyxdcL9gn1TBt71BXwFWQ8fb12haXugPI_xs40yQQK7RyC3AeMdHMGGSGW_JQOPKlhC4SVdouuMAdXTSqvaaS-4-NOBX5QXtl1bvg63Yuei58V8MMtJLoonBrIrZomu9dgAg/s320/IMG_5400.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month
in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty
colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a
faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching
OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of
Great Britain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are our stories!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUomad1K6VZi0qLD9z45xAFj6fICM1gXWsKvRN8PaU_gismE10yheB_nwg-iARkqivWVdKgZjP-ZVxEWJ4Rp6Dhcebcr9pOu-mjHTef-ZATE_vFlFFSkUfRuhM38eYJBO_oJEa3JFa8LM/s1600/IMG_5407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUomad1K6VZi0qLD9z45xAFj6fICM1gXWsKvRN8PaU_gismE10yheB_nwg-iARkqivWVdKgZjP-ZVxEWJ4Rp6Dhcebcr9pOu-mjHTef-ZATE_vFlFFSkUfRuhM38eYJBO_oJEa3JFa8LM/s320/IMG_5407.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tuesday, August
14 – The Wellington Pub</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeptFIFx_YiNWYWOoYKFHOP9Ee8GrkGph2GFkxITu0KPN8wbwysJ7Lk9-o-sfIovyX3FPXHNp93ZiMZebxeykUviM9hI1Tr0HlbMHb3Ryej0ZyBLkHOokxwP_00XqDsoVSgGai9eKdv8/s1600/IMG_5403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeptFIFx_YiNWYWOoYKFHOP9Ee8GrkGph2GFkxITu0KPN8wbwysJ7Lk9-o-sfIovyX3FPXHNp93ZiMZebxeykUviM9hI1Tr0HlbMHb3Ryej0ZyBLkHOokxwP_00XqDsoVSgGai9eKdv8/s200/IMG_5403.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So, last class period this morning, wrapping up
Biblical Ethics with a great discussion of creation stewardship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been a great month of class – I’m
looking forward to another go-around at this next summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After lunch Vanessa and I did some
last-minute shopping for the kids at the Harry Potter store and a local cheap
souvenir shop. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Vanessa also tried to get arrested ... London doesn't want you feeding the park pigeons. Vanessa loves pigeons, and we had a bunch of packages of crackers left over at the hostel. Easy solution - Vanessa fed her beloved pigeons, who in turn flocked lovingly around her. Fun times!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We had a “last supper” as a full group tonight – at The
Wellington Pub.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were willing to
take all 19 of us at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a
great dinner – I had the traditional Steak, Ale & Mushroom Pie, and a lemon
tart for dessert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone had a
fantastic time, visiting and chatting and reminiscing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">When we got back to Pickwick, we had a group debrief
and sharing time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone shared their
favorite experiences from our month in London, along with suggestions for next
year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We wrapped up the time with Chloe,
Rachel, Allison and Lauren reading a mock mystery they wrote: “The Innocent Adventures
of Brother Tawa: Pickwick Hostile.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
used everybody’s quirks and personalities – had us down to a ‘t’!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyNx-WJ1tjPrbZg2NatMVzeir0OaCC3D4HUbKobZ1fQiuuGtXlSrqOGqMM1wRn-orSYIye1y3K-WTwHzKTJb2-FXCzOH4sBMaUFvT6uxZQiAHHz6WmIzM0sQs9ZOju-U1hFaW_h32HQI/s1600/IMG_5413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyNx-WJ1tjPrbZg2NatMVzeir0OaCC3D4HUbKobZ1fQiuuGtXlSrqOGqMM1wRn-orSYIye1y3K-WTwHzKTJb2-FXCzOH4sBMaUFvT6uxZQiAHHz6WmIzM0sQs9ZOju-U1hFaW_h32HQI/s320/IMG_5413.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
It was absolutely hilarious!<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDw4DIOHKRHMGMYl6Z10-RuwSZW8lrdTivG_Qgm97fbQqhx94RNL8D956sG-jFIS0pUP5o4N7-Ksdp-y77V_jo_OkfdEnQnQtaVM9c646xYIxd2-GvMbQPAB-GN-9mVOd8yExGYtI39o/s1600/IMG_5417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDw4DIOHKRHMGMYl6Z10-RuwSZW8lrdTivG_Qgm97fbQqhx94RNL8D956sG-jFIS0pUP5o4N7-Ksdp-y77V_jo_OkfdEnQnQtaVM9c646xYIxd2-GvMbQPAB-GN-9mVOd8yExGYtI39o/s200/IMG_5417.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Consensus of the team seems to match the
leadership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Windsor Castle wasn’t worth
the time and expense; Bath was a bit too long for free time; everything else
was awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think we’ve got an
excellent skeleton to use for next year’s Study Abroad in London.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was tremendously rewarding to hear how
much everyone has enjoyed their time in England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent hundreds of hours putting together
an opportunity, trying to help students make the most of the weeks in
London.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We tried to give them a ton of
outings to museums, castles, cathedrals, palaces, and pubs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Walks, tubes, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />trains – we tried to give them
everything London has to offer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we
also tried to give them enough time on their own to explore London and have
time to themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many students commented
that they would have liked more free time – but they also acknowledged that
they participated in every optional outing (both weekends, Phantom, and
Buckingham).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, a great end to a
great month abroad. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It was very late getting to bed, but we did manage to
get everything packed into our bags and ready to go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-53049638527109249542018-12-17T10:00:00.000-06:002018-12-17T10:00:13.375-06:00OBU in London #27 - August 13 (Buckingham Palace)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTGZaDiNUPASSwMtUjt_SBehxcYsZISduFlAJzwX_L7so9DwLKIpjuXiz6fcBqLE5HzHkQHE8Fq1l6rcleCKDSFZYYZTLTNFelcqqcJr_aGw0Eed1V185bSAP49GzF5N-wAOPVqnw8as/s1600/DSC03373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTGZaDiNUPASSwMtUjt_SBehxcYsZISduFlAJzwX_L7so9DwLKIpjuXiz6fcBqLE5HzHkQHE8Fq1l6rcleCKDSFZYYZTLTNFelcqqcJr_aGw0Eed1V185bSAP49GzF5N-wAOPVqnw8as/s320/DSC03373.JPG" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">July 16 – August
14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month
in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty
colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a
faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching
OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of
Great Britain.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">These are our stories!</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Monday, August
13 – Buckingham Palace!</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNkHJ-B88R77EYTFppK9abA0ER-oijR3mIRgIQ3mTunVY0NnN9zvzliVjcDlNMtUxKfA2nnSHIlOwGqFFaE7_Ad_0XBPrWeuXl3tL36TUH3IXXs27ocpkyTzTF_GFld0Tyz4rBiSrap4/s1600/DSC03374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNkHJ-B88R77EYTFppK9abA0ER-oijR3mIRgIQ3mTunVY0NnN9zvzliVjcDlNMtUxKfA2nnSHIlOwGqFFaE7_Ad_0XBPrWeuXl3tL36TUH3IXXs27ocpkyTzTF_GFld0Tyz4rBiSrap4/s320/DSC03374.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Up this morning – 2<sup>nd</sup> last class
period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After lunch most of the group
headed off for a tour of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace – the Queen’s
official residence!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the walk, and
security routine, to get in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It started
to rain a bit during our walk, and then the skies really opened up for about 10
minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We waited out the rainstorm under
the shelter of some massive trees, and still made it in plenty of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Buckingham tour itself was very enlightening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the State Rooms were built or
decorated in the past 200 years, and have beautiful carvings and
wainscoting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very impressive, and also
neat to get a glimpse into the reception areas and banquet halls used by the
current royal family for state visits and functions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We have seen a LOT of palaces during our time
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each one has been beautiful in its
own way, reflective of the personalities and contexts of their
builder/decorator royals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a bit
disconcerting to imagine all of the wealth that’s wrapped up in those palaces,
and the way in which that wealth was accumulated and spread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The majority of the wealth of the nation was
tied up in the building of these palace and castles (and cathedrals).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cathedrals, at least in theory, were
constructed to the glory of God and for worship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The castles (like Dover and the Tower of
London) were built for some defensive purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The palaces, however, were really constructed for posh, luxurious living
– a show </span></div>
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of wealth and power, and unnecessarily extravagant comfort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s nothing wrong with having a beautiful
home and living in comfort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for
royalty, I can understand a bit more extravagance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it seems that each generation of British
royalty felt unsatisfied living in the already posh circumstances their
predecessors had established.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
either built new wings on existing palaces, or built brand new palaces for
their own generation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, even just
the palaces that we visited – Kensington, Tower of London, Windsor, Buckingham,
Hampton, Key – does one royal family really need all these?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AeYl44qgBhZqJQbDXWbl43Xk72BqVMxmIBON1da58My4GixMeT_jckbUlOPlEEIaM5WBj7iZkXhR3rN69d-NWX_UYc2iRXdkTI-jnmzDbcyUQ5v4P5C9oDwdrlBjy6B961xIMeRMuHk/s1600/DSC03375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AeYl44qgBhZqJQbDXWbl43Xk72BqVMxmIBON1da58My4GixMeT_jckbUlOPlEEIaM5WBj7iZkXhR3rN69d-NWX_UYc2iRXdkTI-jnmzDbcyUQ5v4P5C9oDwdrlBjy6B961xIMeRMuHk/s200/DSC03375.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">On the other hand, that kind of extravagant wealth
still exists today, and people use it in the same kinds of flamboyant ways –
but it’s not royalty anymore: it’s entrepreneurs, actors, or sports
figures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Multi-million-dollar mansions
in multiple countries, private jets, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s just a bit disconcerting, especially Jesus’s words of warning about
wealth and loyalty to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tough
business to consider. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I guess there
will always be poor uses of wealth, along with unethical means of acquiring
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What can we do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least with the castles, we have ancient
monuments, beautiful buildings that are now open to the public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can admire and appreciate the majesty,
marvel at the architectural ingenuity and the decorating. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After Buckingham, we walked back to Pickwick, had
supper, and ran our final Colloquium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The British mystery writers have been a blast to discuss with our
students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think Chesterton has been my
favorite – the Father Brown mysteries in particular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Late night; off to bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-4151303410306711432018-12-15T10:00:00.000-06:002018-12-15T10:00:13.503-06:00OBU in London #26 - August 12 (Hillsong London)<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">July 16 – August
14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month
in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty
colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a
faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching
OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of
Great Britain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are our stories!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Sunday, August
12 – Hillsong London</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">First thing this morning, Emma and I walked back to
Her Majesty’s Theatre in pursuit of the missing wallet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We found someone who knows a lot more, and he
promised to go check himself and get back to us by phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With that promise, we headed to Hillsong Church,
just down Tottenham Court Rd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
certainly a different worship experience for our group – very much like a YC /
Falls Creek worship service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very loud,
very upbeat, very Pentecostal!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
church meets in the Dominion Theatre, a still-working venue (currently playing,
ironically, Bat Out of Hell).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could
feel the bass drums pulsing in your chest – it was a bit much for some of our
girls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSpxt-CdUZY8dkFa2XsGwW-jYorkhC2r9pYF-fVBexK9s-CFxHb0prg16pITqeeIvgDGFrktnesiYMeycH50rO6anXCDiQBJbNJV0Pa_J-EkK4HZIu7XmwQA6FmvQSWbaQC1KOc8UW4U/s1600/IMG_5395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSpxt-CdUZY8dkFa2XsGwW-jYorkhC2r9pYF-fVBexK9s-CFxHb0prg16pITqeeIvgDGFrktnesiYMeycH50rO6anXCDiQBJbNJV0Pa_J-EkK4HZIu7XmwQA6FmvQSWbaQC1KOc8UW4U/s320/IMG_5395.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The guest preacher was Tommy Barnett, who is
apparently a very famous Pentecostal preacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His key biblical text was Mark 16:15-18 (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">NOT</i> Scripture … grrrrrrrrr), and he spent most of the 45-minute
sermon talking about himself and his ministry experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a bit hard to take – but it was a
unique worship experience for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Four very different Sunday morning worship times – Holy Trinity Brompton
(contemporary, orthodox, evangelical), GraceLife London (Tom’s Church: blended,
conservative evangelical), Church of Scotland Aberlady Parish (traditional,
state church), and today’s Hillsong (super-contemporary, charismatic), plus a
liturgical Evensong service at St. Paul’s Cathedral.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvyilpd6IIuNt6LJKZB5AEStt7PI11SCGAQKK-ZwcO6WeaLBkUXe1jitrUgAzsATVoOpTikAlt5O6qDxB8QEF2RAhsnPayzM-S0AjZjWoPIzQZdTw-IK5RRzPSzQuBP1DnbXpAA3xC98/s1600/IMG_5393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvyilpd6IIuNt6LJKZB5AEStt7PI11SCGAQKK-ZwcO6WeaLBkUXe1jitrUgAzsATVoOpTikAlt5O6qDxB8QEF2RAhsnPayzM-S0AjZjWoPIzQZdTw-IK5RRzPSzQuBP1DnbXpAA3xC98/s320/IMG_5393.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After church, back to Pickwick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Theatre called – they found Emma’s
wallet!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’ll walk back there this
afternoon to get it – and everything is in the wallet – more good news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vanessa and Arsid got lunch laid out, and
then Vanessa and I went out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to
The Ship Tavern, right by Holborn Station, for a traditional Sunday roast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vanessa had the beef, I had the lamb – both
with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and Yorkshire pudding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A very delicious feast!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Topped off, naturally, with Vanessa’s
favorite dessert, sticky toffee pudding, with caramel sauce and ice cream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was our first meal by ourselves – a kind
of date afternoon together!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we
walked to GraceLife for their 4PM service – although we had to leave before the
service was finished to be back in time to cook supper for the team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After supper, I spent some more time getting receipts
entered to know exactly where we stand going into our final week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we chatted with the kids, and off to
bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6010328157501385045.post-88139340245539030122018-12-14T11:24:00.000-06:002018-12-14T11:24:04.874-06:00OBU in London #25 - August 11 (Phantom of the Opera)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wXfwGkChBPgGIAQeaDfUsMQykJrfXpp41SvkU2n6kpvi4x91taJi7Y3btKyhmD9UXHWxiYxc5tOLVpyaYHxRHxFiTpCKqSpL5_5XHVuHrKaWbchjhIlFbt9LoNDCdTUQYV3NEdRjObI/s1600/IMG_5387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wXfwGkChBPgGIAQeaDfUsMQykJrfXpp41SvkU2n6kpvi4x91taJi7Y3btKyhmD9UXHWxiYxc5tOLVpyaYHxRHxFiTpCKqSpL5_5XHVuHrKaWbchjhIlFbt9LoNDCdTUQYV3NEdRjObI/s320/IMG_5387.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">July 16 – August
14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month
in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University. Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty
colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a
faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching
OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of
Great Britain. These are our stories!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Saturday, August
11 – Phantom of the Opera</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6luGpCL_Y4DiEuL1hvXV4_NWfX8UTvGIkI90B4W6wv5xGO5rwhwaeCUXDQz-SqVmnS9mryrWEE5E9cuL6fcoi2If_WJ14JcVxqjPnGhy8-FFbxb9nCa6G_tJmDFCaORziFu2sYSATIVQ/s1600/IMG_5388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6luGpCL_Y4DiEuL1hvXV4_NWfX8UTvGIkI90B4W6wv5xGO5rwhwaeCUXDQz-SqVmnS9mryrWEE5E9cuL6fcoi2If_WJ14JcVxqjPnGhy8-FFbxb9nCa6G_tJmDFCaORziFu2sYSATIVQ/s320/IMG_5388.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Good sleep last night – woke up pretty refreshed this
morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Class at 10am, then lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a free afternoon for our crew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spent almost all of the afternoon getting
the budget updated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had enough time to
go shopping with Vanessa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to the
corner stall guy and bought matching London zip-up jackets for me and Vanessa,
T-shirts for Elaina, Mandy, Emma and Maddie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I also bought a cool British hat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think it looks quite spiffy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After supper, twelve of us went to the optional
showing of Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never seen the musical or the movie –
and I thoroughly LOVED the show!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very
incredible voices among the lead roles – the Phantom in particular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recognized (and loved) a lot of the
songs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The theme, obviously, but also
Masquerade, and It’s All I Ask.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a
pretty cool opportunity to attend a classic like Phantom in London!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid4qIDAHqg4bC2nN2niT4sb-bKyrl-WNTlC7kurigILmusV1aohWwz3nnt27S2ZO5Hz-QcNU3FDVvOX1PC2Kh0KX_DEMBudIA-RFRj2TolRjgAL0wu1IMfFAwOWVl-5ei8g9C6Cvp9Q0U/s1600/IMG_5389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid4qIDAHqg4bC2nN2niT4sb-bKyrl-WNTlC7kurigILmusV1aohWwz3nnt27S2ZO5Hz-QcNU3FDVvOX1PC2Kh0KX_DEMBudIA-RFRj2TolRjgAL0wu1IMfFAwOWVl-5ei8g9C6Cvp9Q0U/s320/IMG_5389.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Theater had some sightline issues for us, but it
was an amazing experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unfortunately, on the way back to Pickwick, Emma realized that she had
lost her wallet at the show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I walked
back to the Theatre with Emma – but they were shut down, and wouldn’t check the
seats for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They did encourage us to
come back first thing in the morning and have someone check for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJzwpBItv0833Uwb8jQ1nlpI0crjyQUf5BtuYqDpleCL0A6JhYeyqzd0SI-SaXpCyLljDquQ6agw84c49ADWdsj7syb5yh4LVahpBWXNhg5YpJye8QiIgEMnq9jxrmchJaRWk4AUoWf-c/s1600/IMG_5390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJzwpBItv0833Uwb8jQ1nlpI0crjyQUf5BtuYqDpleCL0A6JhYeyqzd0SI-SaXpCyLljDquQ6agw84c49ADWdsj7syb5yh4LVahpBWXNhg5YpJye8QiIgEMnq9jxrmchJaRWk4AUoWf-c/s200/IMG_5390.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkJCBGhymIdZv7Iuw8fImURzzD36BTMDr3Bb7YX6RSLgqflQ3JmLsF7RTVA9Uf6IHfAyHoCaTGcBM2KtJ7D8xkh-aSrcCQJzcQo7gxyJI_o2RCu6uqloMcMG_7VG_e06DOL9hiXqJUunw/s1600/IMG_5391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkJCBGhymIdZv7Iuw8fImURzzD36BTMDr3Bb7YX6RSLgqflQ3JmLsF7RTVA9Uf6IHfAyHoCaTGcBM2KtJ7D8xkh-aSrcCQJzcQo7gxyJI_o2RCu6uqloMcMG_7VG_e06DOL9hiXqJUunw/s200/IMG_5391.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It was quite late by the time we got back to the
hostel – and Emma was obviously quite upset about losing her wallet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s a very level-headed kid, not prone to
these kinds of things happening to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll
hope the morning turns out well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Tawa Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909215567000575187noreply@blogger.com0