Anacoluthia, A Short Story

"Anacoluthia," he mused.

His attempts to explain his project of acquiring the superpower of bilocation were always marred by anacoluthia, in that--well, he was just--he could never quite figure out how to describe his method.

He knew it couldn't be madness. He just knew it.

Contrary to prevailing opinion, it was a crisis of articulation. Not epistemology.

Of that he was quite certain.

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"In Whatever Format Works," an axiom for the new publishing paradigm

In a post explaining why he's never going to publish a book ever again (using traditional publishers/format), Seth Godin articulates his thinking about choosing an appropriate medium for his work:

My mission is to figure out who the audience is, and take them where they want and need to go, in whatever format works, even if it's not a traditionally published book.

I think this intentional adaptability is an important principle for authors and publishers in a technological climate in a state of constant flux.

Granted, Godin already has an extremely wide base, so his step outside the current paradigm isn't as risky as it would be for a less well-known, less dynamic figure.

However, I'm convinced this mentality is crucial even for those only beginning to enter into that world. And for journals, publishers, or authors who are either experiencing editorial setbacks, low readership, or a paucity of innovation.

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An Apt Visual Metaphor for my First Week in the PhD Program (Year Three)

See also,

• First Week (Year One)
• First Week (Year Two)

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This is my ode to orthoepy

When I spied the word,

I thought to myself,

"How do you pronounce that?"

Exactly.

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How important is the OT for NT Believers?

Joshua Williams, one of my OT profs, has posted a good excerpt from an interview he did about the relevance of the Old Testament. He begins by stating that,

It is virtually impossible to overstate the importance of the Old Testament for New Testament believers. First, it constitutes about seventy-five percent of the Bible. Much of what we know about God, man, and the world is found in the Old Testament. It is important to remember that the Old Testament was the Bible of Jesus and the early church.

It is fair to say that the theology of Jesus and the apostles is an Old Testament theology. We would do well to follow their lead in taking seriously the Old Testament when constructing theology ourselves. 

He sums up the issue by insisting that,

The Old Testament has a rightful place alongside the New Testament as the revelation of God to man. Without its abiding witness, too much would be lost, confused, or placed out of balance.

The New Testament should not overshadow its significance, but enhance it as a testimony to God and His work among His people.

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The Printing about the Death of Print Paradox

Print is dead! the newspapers read — and as long as the death of print remains news, print is not dead.

—Daniel Pritchard, "This is not a Book Review," at The Critical Flame. 

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Be Still, My Soul: Embracing God's Purpose & Provision in Suffering, Book Review

Title: Be Still, My Soul: Embracing God’s Purpose & Provision in Suffering
Author: Nancy Guthrie
Publisher: Crossway, 2010
Price: $12.99 (amzn)
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 176

Suffering is often as difficult to understand as it is to endure. The burden of sorrow and the weight of suffering are interwoven elements of our reality. Thus, grappling with the gravity of pain in a sin-riddled world is not an optional task.

Recognizing the urgency of this reality, in this volume Nancy Guthrie has collected twenty-five readings on the problem of pain. Writing out of her own experiences, Guthrie confesses that suffering “pushes us deeper into the mystery of God. It makes us more desperate for him, to hear from him and sense his presence” (10). Her preface is indicative of the type of thoughtful reflection found in the selections throughout the volume.

She highlights what I think is one of the strengths of the collection by holding out a supernatural hope without diminishing the horror of human pain. She writes, “I am not holding on to hope in terms of a positive perspective about the future or an innate sense of optimism, but rather holding on to the living person of Jesus Christ.” This type of resolve involves “grabbing hold of the promises of God, his purposes, and his provision, and refusing to let go.”

Accordingly, her goal for this compilation of readings is that they would “shape your thinking, steel your resolve, and still your soul” (11). There are three distinct features of the volume that serve this end.

First, the structure of the book provides a helpful framework by which a believer might understand his or her adversity. The chapters are divided into three main parts: God’s perspective on suffering, God’s purpose in suffering, and God’s provision in suffering. The chapters under each of these headings function as variations on these themes. This rubric can enable a suffering believer to trust in God while not fully understanding every aspect of seemingly meaningless hardship. Meditating on these three themes could serve as a lifeline for someone before, during, and after those types of situations that seem to shake even the strongest theological foundations.

Second, each chapter begins with a biblical text that relates to suffering. Some contributors reflect directly on that passage, and others use the verse as a complement to a broader theme. These passages provide readers with some of the most appropriate places in the Bible for understanding suffering. This feature will be particularly helpful for a reader using the book in a daily-devotional format.

Third, the content of the chapters themselves is consistent and encouraging. To highlight a sampling of the essays, Tim Keller shows how suffering can be “the servant of our joy.” Joni Eareckson Tada views her hardship as “God’s plan A.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer reflects on what it means to “bear” suffering. Missionary Helen Roseveare talks about “when cost becomes privilege.” D. A. Carson encourages believers to think about how to “die well.” John Piper speaks of the power that comes in weakness, and Jonathan Edwards ends the volume with a word on the “refuge and rest” found only in Christ. While there is diversity among these contributors (e.g., classic/contemporary, pastors/scholars, men/women), Guthrie does a fine job of keying the selections and excerpts to the themes of the three sections. Most of the chapters also function well as stand-alone units.

An additional benefit of this volume is that readers will be exposed to a strong view of God’s providence. This recognition of God’s absolute authority over all things functions as an inner nerve that binds the various themes and perspectives of the contributors. Indeed, the reflections here are generated by the conviction that God is both good and sovereign. This conviction is necessary for one to speak of God’s purpose as well as God’s provision in suffering.

One feature I would like to have seen is more exact citations. The acknowledgements for the readings are located at the end of each chapter followed by a brief biographical note. These are helpful, especially for some of the less well-known figures. However, no page numbers are provided, so readers will have to do some digging if they want to pursue the thinking of the chapter in the original work. Also, it is unclear how much abridgement and modernization has occurred for some of the selections during the editorial process.

In these short readings, Guthrie has given believers an occasion for self-reflection. Here you will find no easy answers or superficial articulations of the questions. The contributors acknowledge the evil of suffering and maintain a proper tone of solemnity when addressing these issues. These chapters are best read slowly and alongside introspective reflection, not because of the difficulty of their content but the gravity of their subject.

I am grateful for this little book, because it kept reminding of a big God; A God who beckons in the midst of pain, “Be still, my child, and cling to your redeemer.”

Ched Spellman

See also, 

• Table of Contents (with a full preview of the book)
• Guthrie's preface + chapter two (Crossway, PDF)
• Carson's chapter on Dying Well (GospelCoalition, PDF)
• Guthrie's personal website

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Chesterton's Commentary on Commentaries

I usually enjoy reading snarky comments about biblical commentaries. I ran across a good one by Chesterton, commenting on commentors of the Book of Revelation:

Though St John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.

—G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, 13. (GBks, 1901 ed, 19)

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The Jonathan Edwards Study Bible

Robert Caldwell makes some interesting comments about Vol. 24 of The Works of Jonathan Edwards (Yale Series) in a recent review essay. Explaining that this volume "showcases Edwards' unique notebook, what he called the 'Blank Bible,' which contains thousands of exegetical observations on a multitude of texts throughout the Bible," he writes,

One might say that this notebook represents the closest thing we have to a "Jonathan Edwards Study Bible."

Caldwell notes that many will be surprised by what they discover in these annotations, as "we find in Edwards very little awareness of a division between exegesis and theology." But, this is not because "Edwards was a sloppy exegete; rather, it is merely an example of how an eighteenth century theologian interpreted the bible." Thus,

Edwards' example challenges Bible students today not only to master the nuts and bolts of exegesis, but also to become proficient in the art of theological interpretation.

Caldwell observes later that "as Edwards' popularity continues to grow, so too do the distortions of who he really was and what he really taught." He concludes his review of vols. 24 and 25 of The Works by arguing that

These volumes, if read and studied, will go a long way in aiding to correct these misconceptions and will allow us better to understand, appreciate, and be challenged by the real Edwards of history.

 —Robert W. Caldwell, "Review Essay of The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 24 & 25," in SWJT 52.2 (Spring 2010): 166-71.

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The Dramatic Irony of Hope's latest Announcement

Dramatic Irony occurs in theater when the audience knows something about which the character on stage doesn't have a clue.

The the wiki defines it as "the device of giving the spectator an item of information that at least one of the characters in the narrative is unaware of (at least consciously), thus placing the spectator a step ahead of at least one of the characters."

In other words, Hope has no idea what's coming.

Or, in the words of my wife, "This is going to rock her little world."

Or, in the words of my friend, "Hope's gonna be ticked."

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40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible, Book Review

Title: 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible
Author: Robert Plummer
Publisher: Kregel, 2010
Price: $17.99 (Amzn)
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 347

Answering questions might be one of the primary tasks of a teacher. Robert L. Plummer sets out to ask and answer forty of them in 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible. Plummer is a New Testament professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and in this volume he has rendered his course on Biblical Hermeneutics into a series of “frequently asked questions.” Plummer aims for his work to “serve as a textbook for an introductory Bible course,” but wants it also to be “beneficial for any curious Christian.” Consequently, he attempts to be “accessible without being simplistic” and “scholarly without being pedantic” (11).

Choosing the Q&A format makes the structure of the text readily accessible but also weakens the narrative flow of the book. The questions and answers are self-contained and not necessarily meant to be read in order or even in light of each other. To compensate for this disjunction, Plummer fashions the macrostructure of the “parts” and “sections” of the book in a way that eases the reader into the discussion.

Part one addresses preliminary questions on “text, canon, and translation” (chapters 1-7). Part two examines “approaching the Bible generally,” with sections of questions related to interpretation (chapters 8-13) and questions related to meaning (chapters 14-20). Part three talks about “approaching specific texts” and deals with genres that are equally distributed in both Testaments (chapters 21-27), genres that primarily occur in the Old Testament (chapters 28-31), and those that occur primarily in the New Testament (chapters 32-35). Part four ends the volume with a survey of hermeneutical issues in recent scholarly discussions.

There is a movement here from very basic questions (e.g., “What is the Bible?”) to more advanced matters (e.g., “What is Speech-Act theory?”). Thus, in addition to using the book as a reference tool, beginning students would benefit from moving through these larger sections sequentially.

The content of most chapters is in the form of wide-angle lens overviews. Some of the chapters are brief arguments for Plummer’s position, like in chapter four where he quickly answers the question of whether the Bible contains error in the negative and lays out a positive case for biblical inerrancy. Other chapters outline the major options on an issue, and Plummer argues for the option he thinks is best. For instance, chapter fourteen answers the question, “Who determines the meaning of a text?” Plummer walks through the choices of the reader, the text, and the author (he argues for the author). Many of the chapters basically consist of bullet-points that provide a framework for thinking about an issue or a question. For instance, in chapter ten, Plummer lists five “general principles for interpreting the Bible” (95): Approach the Bible in Prayer, Read the Bible as a book that points to Jesus, Let Scripture interpret Scripture, Meditate on the Bible, and approach the Bible in faith and obedience.

As I made my way through these chapters, I occasionally thought to myself, “Who is this book for?” One of the challenges of writing for a broad audience involves maintaining a level of consistency in the terms used and the style of writing employed. Plummer attempts to write for both lay readers and beginning students of theology, and he does both in various places. However, at times this characteristic gives the flow of the book a feeling of unevenness. Plummer’s writing style is deliberately informal and brings clarity to a number of complicated issues. To make the discussions accessible to a broad audience, Plummer sprinkles his chapter with illustrations, made-up conversations, personal anecdotes, and simplified definitions. He also makes use of humor. For instance, when explaining the importance of examining the literary context of a passage, Plummer recounts, “I tell my students to hold onto the biblical text like a rider in a rodeo holds onto a bull. And, I also warn them that the only persons in the rodeo ring not on bulls are clowns” (105).

Alongside this informal tone, though, there are a number of places where terms or concepts are introduced without definition or explanation (e.g., lingua franca, Codex Vaticanus, and diglot, etc). Further, because of the subject matter, the content of some of the chapters is unavoidably technical (e.g., the discussion of figures of speech in chapter 27). There is also a striking range of sources cited. Whereas on one page Plummer points readers to Wikipedia, on other pages he quotes from unpublished doctoral dissertations. Though this unevenness might simply be the byproduct of writing for students in a clear and easily understood manner, there still lingers the sensation that there are essentially two different types of books lurking within these chapters.

Any introductory textbook will need to make a myriad of exegetical and interpretive decisions in its presentation. Thus, professors looking to adopt this text for their hermeneutics courses will inevitably have a few questions of their own about Plummer’s questions. To give only one example, Plummer at times seems to equate the OT with the old covenant (17, 23, 161). Many will take issue with this presentation, arguing that it is imperative to distinguish clearly that the OT is not coterminous with the Mosaic covenant. In fact, some would argue that the Pentateuch itself is not the old covenant, but rather intends to demonstrate the failure of the old covenant.

Despite the presence of these types of debatable issues (something unavoidable), Plummer’s format can be easily adjusted or modified in person by professors who see various issues in a different light. Many of the chapters would function well as the starting point for interactive classroom discussion.

One feature of Plummer’s book that will edify believing Bible readers is his consistent integration of comments regarding the spiritual components involved in the task of interpretation. Plummer writes from a confessional standpoint that seeks to take into account key theological realities. For instance, Plummer frequently emphasizes that the Holy Spirit inspired the biblical authors in the writing of their texts. The overarching message of these inspired texts is, in turn, all about Jesus. In other words, the Bible is “Christocentric” (15, chap 18, etc). Interpreters should also acknowledge their own sinfulness and their inability to grasp the fullness of this message without the illumination of the Spirit (145). Accordingly, Plummer holds up the practices of reading the text and praying for God's guidance as necessary elements of a sound interpretive approach. To give one example, Plummer’s outline for reading the Psalms includes the exhortations to read, pray, memorize, and sing the Psalms. These elements will especially benefit readers attempting to foster a thoroughgoing hermeneutic of trust.

For what it is, this volume of hermeneutical catechesis achieves its purpose of providing helpful answers to a number of questions about interpreting the Bible. At its best, the book serves as a primer for those unfamiliar with the formal study of hermeneutics and as a refresher for advanced students on basic (and therefore sometimes neglected) theological concepts.

See also,

• Table of Contents (Kregel, PDF)
• Plummer's SBTS Faculty Profile (@SBTS)
• Plummer's Amazon author page

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A Perfect Day for Cormac McCarthy

From a interview in WSJ:

I hear people talking about going on a vacation or something and I think, what is that about? I have no desire to go on a trip. My perfect day is sitting in a room with some blank paper. That's heaven. That's gold and anything else is just a waste of time.

—John Jurgensen, "Hollywood's Favorite Cowboy," in The Wall Street Journal (Nov 20, 2009).

(ht)

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