Not only do you need to work on your general reading skills, you need to read the Bible itself. You need to read the whole Bible, multiple times. If you are trying to understand Romans, try reading the whole book once a day for a month. Since this would be hard to do with longer books like Isaiah (or possibly even Romans), break longer books into good size sections and spend a couple months. There is no replacement for actually reading your Bible.
Very funny article by Carl Trueman. My favorite quote:
And no, I’m not writing this because I am envious of Ed’s teeth. I am — but that is not why I am writing.
Then read a variety of good novels, poetry, history, philosophy, and assorted nonfiction. Learn how to be a good reader. There are even books devoted to teaching you how to read. If you can’t put another persons thoughts together, all the background and/or specialized information in the world won’t help you.
The following are good books to start with in the different categories:
Or just go to the book store, buy some books, and read them. Take notes while doing so.
Horrible. Wretched. I hate it. Microsoft, I bought an Xbox 360 to play games, not to wade through numerous advertisements on my way to finding my games. I’m not interested in streaming video or playing music. We should have the ability to turn off the advertisements or at the very least to rearrange the dash so we don’t have to go to the fourth tab over to get to any games beyond the ten most recent.
This is a great article.
Pam has elaborated on why she asks the question of God’s safety here, in response to my last post. If I understand her correctly, the question she is asking is not if God is safe in himself, but whether he will keep us safe from what we count as horrible possible future events. As I don’t believe God is under obligation to save us from all HPFEs, and that he even uses them in our spiritual development, and that sometimes HPFEs actually turn out for good even in this life, I would have to say that God is definitely not safe in this sense.
Pam at her blog has asked the question of “Is God safe?” This is an interesting question, but possibly an unhelpful one. Why?
First, the Bible clearly speaks of God as no one to mess with:
For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:18-29)
Yet Jesus says:
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:25-30)
So which is it? A consuming fire that invokes dread fear or a God gentle and lowly in heart who has an easy yoke? Is God safe? The answer is that it depends on what you mean by safe and whether you are repentant. If by safe you mean within our control and able to be comprehended, then no, God is definitely not safe. If by safe you mean loving us and desiring to be our Refuge and Rock, yes he is safe. But whether he is our Refuge and Rock depends on whether we are repentant or not. For the unrepentant sinner, God is terrifying. For those who come weeping, confessing their sins and trusting in his love (revealed most clearly at the cross), he is the most secure and safe God imaginable.
The reason the question “Is God safe?” is unhelpful is that it invites us to set up a false dichotomy that is not present in scripture. The only two options are not teddy bear and dictator. God is holy. How you approach the Holy One determines your safety.
I have discovered a passion this last year for comparative religion. To that end I will be posting some recommendations and reviews of books I have read.
Alan Watts, The Way of Zen. This was one of the first books I purchased on Buddhism. I wanted to get an overview of the religion and stumbled across this book. I enjoyed his clear organization, historical overview, and discussion of Hindu thought in relationship to early Buddhism. I found his last chapter on “Zen in the Arts” out of place in this book.
Verdict: good reading and very interesting, buy.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ. This book proved a disappointment for me as Thich Nhat Hanh comes highly recommended, but I simply cannot make out what he is trying to communicate. Maybe I am just to ‘western’ in my mindset to understand this book or I have not read enough to figure out what he is trying to say. I have not been able to finish this book as it is not clearly organized and I really can’t make out what he is saying.
Verdict: not recommended.
Version: Xbox 360
In short, Skyrim rocks. The game is huge, lovely, and fun. My biggest complaint is that the faction missions are sometimes a bit tedious. When that happens I just set off in a direction and see what I find.
Verdict: if you like single player games at all, buy.
Preaching must be dogmatic. I was taught this in seminary, and I most definitely believe it. If a sermon does anything, it must say clearly “This is the word of the Lord.” I am currently preaching through the book of Job. Job is not a book that admits of easy explanations. Indeed, at times the book appears to have been written in a purposefully ambiguous way. Being dogmatic about everything in Job appears impossible to me.
Well, it’s not as if you can’t be dogmatic about many things in Job. But it’s the difficult bits that I have been thinking over in relationship to preaching. I think Job is purposefully difficult and ambiguous. I believe the reason is to get the reader to think, to bother the reader, to make the reader struggle with the issues. In this sense Job would be similar to some of Jesus’ parables, at least some of the Proverbs, Jonah, etc. If this thought provoking nature of these passages of scripture relies on either the withholding of information or an ambiguous presentation of information, then should preachers simply connect the dots for their congregation? Should we remove the struggle, give the answer before the reader has had to think through the issues and search the scriptures? If not, how could we be dogmatic about what truth we believe we have learned by our reflection on the passage? If so, are we impoverishing our people by removing the struggle?
There are strategies to deal with this either within an individual sermon or over a number of sermons, but even then the congregation knows the answer is not to far away. For my part I am leaving some things unanswered until much later in the book. I am working along different themes without giving away what I think is the central message too early.