Jul
1
CANADA DAY: REJOICING AND SORROWING
July 1, 2008 | Posted in 21st Century | Leave a Comment
I am a Canadian. My parents brought me here from the United Kingdom when I was twelve in 1965. I found it difficult at first, but I have come to love this nation—her topography and human archaeology, her customs and culture—and I am proud to describe myself as a Canadian. I love my roots in England and Ireland, and my wife’s Scottish heritage—I have grown to love the United States—but I am first of all a Canadian when it comes to national identity. And Canada Day is therefore a special day (though I do wish it were still called Dominion Day—I love to think of this nation as a Dominion). A day to celebrate what is best about this nation and how good God has been to us.
What a shock then to read of Henry Morgentaler being named to the Order of Canada on Canada Day. To do such on the day when we celebrate what is best about our nation is little better than an insult to those of us Canadians who believe that most of this nation’s abortions over the past thirty or more years have amounted to wholesale murder. Morgentaler’s advocacy of the right to abortion has not helped our fair land but stained it with the blood of countless innocents. He claims to speak for women—but who speaks for the voiceless within the womb? To honour such a man is transpose the categories of good and evil and say what is evil is good.
I weep for this nation. O Lord Almighty be merciful to us for not only this sin, but all of the others with which we as Canadians have angered you. In wrath remember mercy!
Jun
26
WELSH RAIN
June 26, 2008 | Posted in Poetry | 3 Comments
How fragile urban steel and stone
The fabrics that shore up city and clan
If water, essence of all wealth, dry up:
If these reservoirs of liquid
Turn to moisture and air
Or be spilled to soak into earthen soil—
Where then our civic strength and pride?
But O! what greater loss if soul
Be of supernal Sea deprived,
If heaven’s clouds pass by
Without drop or shower—
O! for thunder and the light,
The storm and those drenching rains
Pantycelyn and Griffiths knew,
And that kept them thirsting for more.
Michael A.G. Haykin©2008.
Jun
25
THANKS TO GOD
June 25, 2008 | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
I got home to Dundas on this Monday past after two weeks in England and Wales (mostly the latter). I wish to thank all who prayed for me. Any blessing I knew is intimately related to those prayers.
May
7
MODESTY: WISDOM FROM CJ MAHANEY
May 7, 2008 | Posted in 21st Century | Leave a Comment
Here is an excellent post on modesty by CJ Mahaney: Modesty: A Word to Fathers (pt. 5).
May
7
A CAT’S THEOLOGY
May 7, 2008 | Posted in Cats | 5 Comments
Cats like my Chai
Like tickles and petting
Not theology-vetting
Nor pundits retting
The Bible loose
From its mooring.
But then—
His theology is better
Than Bultmann’s
Or Hermann’s,
Those radical Germans,
For his Maker he “knows.”
Michael A.G. Haykin©2008.
May
6
RESTORING INTEGRITY IN BAPTIST CHURCHES: A BOOK REVIEW
May 6, 2008 | Posted in Baptist life & thought | 1 Comment
A recent collection of essays on the various details of Baptist polity deserves a wide reading. It is Thomas White, Jason B. Duesing, and Malcolm Yarnell, III, eds., Restoring Integrity in Baptist Churches (Kregel, 2008). I have found it a gold-mine of informed reflection on such things as the meaning and mode of baptism, the nature of the Lord’s Table, the necessity of a regenerate church membership, and the vital importance of church discipline. And believe it or not, what I found as important as the content of the articles were the riches in the footnotes.
My hearty commendation of this work does not mean that I concur with all of the sentiments and convictions expressed. I was surprised that Thomas White, for instance, affirmed that the Calvin’s view of the spiritual presence of Christ at the table “has not found favour among Baptists” (p.148). Actually, during the 18th century—those halcyon days of Baptist advance—the spiritual presence of Christ dominated Baptist convictions about the Table. See, for instance, this blogger’s “ ‘His soul-refreshing presence’: The Lord’s Supper in Calvinistic Baptist Thought and Experience in the ‘Long’ Eighteenth Century” in Anthony R. Cross and Philip E. Thompson, eds., Baptist Sacramentalism (Studies in Baptist History and Thought, vol.5; Carlisle, Cumbria, U.K./Waynesboro, Georgia: Paternoster Press, 2003), p.177-93. But this is a minor blemish in an otherwise excellent essay.
On the other hand, I was thrilled to see the point—for some, minor—made by Malcolm Yarnell that Nicene Christology went hand in hand with the affirmation of the church’s independence of the state and his drawing upon some articles of George Hunston Williams to make his point (p.235-36 and n.44). I have never forgotten reading those articles in the late 1970s and being convinced of the same.
All in all, it would be very difficult to single out an essay or essays in the book that was or were better than the others. This is rare. Usually, a collection of essays like this suffers from an uneven quality of content and argument. Not so here, I felt. White, Duesing, and Yarnell have produced an excellent compendium of contemporary—yet fully biblical—reflection on Baptist polity that every Baptist pastor would do well to read, study, and ponder, and that every Baptist seminary should use as required reading in their courses in Baptist history and polity.
May
5
DR NETTLES IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO
May 5, 2008 | Posted in 21st Century | Leave a Comment
Kirk Wellum (Post Graduation Reflections ) has a good reflection on this past weekend of ministry in southern Ontario by Tom Nettles, Professor of Historical Theology at Southern, where I am teaching. His message on Sunday evening, which was on 1 John 5:18-21, I found particularly memorable: it was so rich and powerful.
May
5
THESIS TOPICS ON “LONG” 18TH CENTURY BAPTISTS FROM ENGLAND: A DOZEN
May 5, 2008 | Posted in 18th Century | 5 Comments
What of some topics in 18th century Baptist life and thought then? Here are 12—I have another dozen at least!
1) The piety of Anne Steele as reflected in her hymnody or that of Anne Dutton in her writings (many of the latter are now published)
2) The life and ministry of Caleb Evans—vital figure but little done on him besides a great work by Roger Hayden that deals with him along with his father and Foskett of Bristol
3) Daniel Turner as a theological author—nothing that I know of has been done on Turner
4) The doctrine of baptism in 18th century Calvinistic Baptist circles
5) John Foster: the ministry of his pen—a completely neglected figure
6) John Foster’s Calvinism
7) The Christology of Robert Hall, Jr.—a very important figure, transitional in some ways
Joseph Kinghorn’s Christology—a neglected favourite of mine
9) The exegesis of the gospels in 18th century Baptist authors
10) Benjamin Beddome as a preacher—another of my favourites
11) The life and ministry of Samuel Medley
12) The Stennetts: biblical fidelity across five generations from Edward to Samuel’s children—a good place to do some social history
May
4
POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR THESES IN 17TH-CENTURY PURITANISM
May 4, 2008 | Posted in 17th Century, Puritans, Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Mark Jones, a dear brother, who is doing a fine dissertation on Thomas Goodwin’s Christology, has a list of potential PhD and MA theses. Excellent ideas: Possible Thesis Studies (17thC). I should add at some point a similar list for Baptists!
May
4
WILLIAM CAREY’S “SWEET PLEASURE”
May 4, 2008 | Posted in William Carey | Leave a Comment
Again, John Appleby and his biography of Carey: ‘I Can Plod…’ William Carey and the early years of the first Baptist missionary Society (London: Grace Publications Trust, 2007). This time I was impressed by a partial sentence from one of Appleby’s quotes from Carey. The Baptist missionary is writing back to England in January, 1795, and comments about his friendship with Andrew Fuller, John Ryland, Jr., John Sutcliff, and Samuel Pearce:
“I am fully satisfied of the firmness of their friendship that I feel a sweet pleasure in writing to them…” (cited p.109).
Does this not lie at the heart of most successful Gospel ministries? The bonds of friendship that unite co-workers in great ventures for God are markedly present in so many great turning points in Church History. So it was with Paul and his apostolic band, the Cappadocian Fathers, Augustine and his band of brothers at Hippo Regius, Columbanus and his fellow Celts tramping through Merovingian Gaul, and Calvin and his friends during the Reformation.
From one perspective, these bonds uniting co-workers in the Gospel are a pale imitation of the ontological and social bonds uniting the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. And so we should not be surprised that friendships in God and for God are common to great advances of Gospel truth.
May
4
RADICAL CHRISTIANITY: WILLIAM CAREY AND A NEW BIOGRAPHY BY JOHN APPLEBY
May 4, 2008 | Posted in William Carey | 4 Comments
I never tire of reading about William Carey (1761-1834) and his circle of friends. So it was with a sense of excitement that I bought the latest biography of Carey by John Appleby, who, like Carey, has served in India: ‘I Can Plod…’ William Carey and the early years of the first Baptist missionary Society (London: Grace Publications Trust, 2007).
It is a study I would definitely recommend as a reliable introduction to Carey’s life by one who shares not only his ecclesial convictions but also his soteriological beliefs—both biographer and subject are Calvinists. I was struck afresh by some of the things that Appleby pointed out, including this note in the minute book of the Particular Baptist Church at Leicester that Carey served before going out to India—this is dated March 24, 1793:
“Mr. Carey, our minister, left Leicester to on a mission to the East Indies, to take and propagate the gospel among those idolatrous and superstitious heathens. This is inserted to show his love to his poor miserable fellow creatures. In this we concurred with him, though it is at the expense of losing one whom we love as our own souls.” (cited page 99).
Wow, what a text! Here is radical Christianity at work, both in Carey who went and in his church that stayed at home. His love for fellow sinners took him half-way around the world. Their love for sinners sent him out with their blessing. Some might say, their love was hardly as radical as Carey’s. Really? No, think again: here is one they loved as their own souls—the sort of love that marked Jonathan and David—whose love for one another knit them together like thread in a garment. And then to let go of the beloved. No, this is an expression of radical Christianity.
And why did he go and why did they send him? It was love: love for sinners who, like him and they, were “poor” and “miserable” without Christ. Creatures who were worshipping the creature rather than the Creator: the people of India, like the godless in Great Britain at the time, were “idolatrous.” The difference was that in the UK the Scriptures were available in English, there were gospel-preaching churches and there were faithful ministers of the Word. But India had little or none of this.
We live in a day when some are calling for new radical expressions of Christianity, in which Christ is wholeheartedly served as Lord. This is needed, but what should form should it take? Well, one good model is Carey and his Leicester Church.
Apr
26
ON WOLVES AND DOGS
April 26, 2008 | Posted in 21st Century, Theology | 1 Comment
The New Testament authors are frank about false teachers. Just to give a sampling from the Apostle Paul: false teachers are “wolves” (Acts 20:29); men who “by smooth talk and flattery” deceive hearts (Romans 16:18; cp. 2 Cor 11:1-4; Titus 1:10); “false apostles, deceitful workmen” (2 Cor 11:13); “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil 3:18); “dogs” and “evildoers” (Phil3:2); men with seared consciences (1 Tim 4:1-2), who speak “irreverent babble” (1 Tim 6:20); “evil beasts,” “detestable” and unfit for any good work (Titus 1:16).
This is but a sample. It is very strong language. Rightly are we careful in applying such texts to the present day. Moreover, I know that this list of errorists does not refer to the same type of problems.
But…we would be utterly naïve if we thought our generation above all others had managed to avoid this problem entirely, a problem that was clearly not rare even in the Apostolic era.
In this light, read this excellent post by Dr. Russell Moore: Serpent-Sensitive Worship.
Apr
26
Poetic Being never appeared
To philosophic muses of century past—
Bertie Russell and Ayer and Moore—
And they were the poorer by far.
Politics, pundits and peers
With oratory dry have poured
Self and soul into image and byte
And yet powerless be.
Even some of those who claim
Prophecy and pastoral tool
Are purblind to Poetry’s power
To scintillate soul with glory divine.
Oh, to be a lover of Poesy’s appearing!
Michael A.G. Haykin©2008.
Apr
24
THE SWEETNESS OF THE CROSS
April 24, 2008 | Posted in Poetry | Leave a Comment
Has not this always been
The way?
From Sumerian threshold
Which Abram forsook
To Elizabethan chamber
Which Puritan hurt—
From Pharaonic glitterati
Seeking Moses’ demise
To denizens of Herod
Plotting Messiah’s death.
The way is so familiar,
Like skin on hand,
Its press as potent
As heady intoxicant.
But there is another Path
To longer, sweeter taste
Than worldly tongue
Hath savour known.
“Rise up, let us go.”
Apr
23
READING CHURCH HISTORY: 2. 2ND-CENTURY GREEK CHRISTIANITY
April 23, 2008 | Posted in Ancient Church: 2nd & 3rd Centuries, READING CHURCH HISTORY LISTS | 2 Comments
Everett Ferguson, Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (2nd ed.; New York/London: Garland Publishing, 1998), 2 vols.
Harry Y. Gamble, Books and Readers in the Early Church: A History of Early Christian Texts (New Haven/London: Yale University Press, 1995).
Robert M. Grant, Greek Apologists of the Second Century (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1988).
Geoffrey M. Hahneman, The Muratorian Fragment and the Development of the Canon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992).
Peter Lampe, From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries, trans. Michael Steinhauser and ed. Marshall D. Johnson (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003).
Eric Osborn, The Emergence of Christian Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993).
Colin. H. Roberts and T.C. Skeat. The Birth of the Codex (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983).
Thomas A. Robinson, The Early Church: An Annotated Bibliography of Literature in English (Metuchen: The American Theological Library Association/The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1993).
Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity. A Sociologist Reconsiders History (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1996).
David Trobisch, Paul’s Letter Collection: Tracing the Origins (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1994).
D.S. Wallace-Hadrill, Christian Antioch: A Study of Early Christian Thought in the East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982).
W. C. Weinrich, Spirit and Martyrdom. A Study of the Work of the Holy Spirit in Contexts of Persecution and Martyrdom in the New Testament and Early Christian Literature (Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1981).
Apr
23
T4G & SIMILAR CONFERENCES: THEIR IMPORTANCE
April 23, 2008 | Posted in Pastoral Ministry | 1 Comment
I was not able to take in all of T4G last week—only a couple of sessions-unlike two years ago when I was there for all of it (an unforgettable experience). But I was reminded of its importance today in a letter from Martin Holdt [“Out of Africa: Newsletter” (April 2008)], where he states vis-à-vis the UK Banner Conference (but it would apply to T4G or John Piper’s Desiring God conferences, or Dr. MacArthur’s Shepherd Conference or those put on by Ligonier, or the Banner confernece over here, or on a much smaller scale the SGF conference in Southern Ontario):
“A friend and colleague in England once told me that it was once found that in England the men who are most likely to persevere against the usual odds in the ministry are those who regularly attend minister’s conferences. Those most likely to drop out are those who isolate themselves and never get the benefit of such a fraternity.”
Apr
19
READING CHURCH HISTORY: 1. LATIN CHRISTIANITY
April 19, 2008 | Posted in Church Fathers, Church History | Leave a Comment
Tertullian
Timothy Barnes, Tertullian. A Historical and Literary Study (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971).
Gerald L. Bray, Holiness and the Will of God: Perspectives on the Theology of Tertullian (Atlanta: John knox/London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1979).
Gerald L. Bray, “Tertullian and Western Theology” in John D. Woodbridge, ed., Great Leaders of the Christian Church (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988), 49-54.
Perpetua
The Martyrdom of Perpetua, introd. Sara Maitland (Evesham, Worcestershire: Arthur James Ltd., 1996).
Joyce E. Salisbury, Perpetua’s Passion: The Death and Memory of a Young Roman Woman (London/New York: Routledge, 1997).
Joseph J. Walsh, ed., What Would You Die For? Perpetua’s Passion (Baltimore, Maryland: Apprentice House, 2006).
W.C. Weinrich, Spirit and Martyrdom. A Study of the Work of the Holy Spirit in Contexts of Persecution and Martyrdom in the New Testament and Early Christian Literature (Washington, D.C., 1981).
Cyprian
William S. Babcock, “Christian Culture and Christian Tradition in Roman North Africa” in Patrick Henry, ed., Schools of Thought in the Christian Tradition (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), 31-48.
J. Patout Burns, “The Holiness of the Churches” in William Caferro and Duncan G. Fisher, eds., The Unbounded Community: Papers in Christian Ecumenism in Honor of Jaroslav Pelikan (New York/London: Garland Publ., Inc., 1996), 3-15.
J. Patout Burns, Cyprian the Bishop (London/New York: Routledge, 2002).
Michael A. Smith, “Cyprian of Carthage and the North African Church” in John D. Woodbridge, ed., Great Leaders of the Christian Church (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988), 59-62.
Jerome
Everett Ferguson, “Jerome: Biblical Scholar” in John D. Woodbridge, ed., Great Leaders of the Christian Church (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988), 77-80.
J.N.D. Kelly, Jerome: His Life, Writings, and Controversies (New York: Harper & Row, Publ., 1975).
Augustine
Gerald S. Bonner, St. Augustine of Hippo, Life and Controversies (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1963).
Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo (Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967).
Donald X. Burt, Friendship and Society: An Introduction to Augustine’s Practical Philosophy (Grand Rapids/Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., 1999).
Elizabeth A. Clark, St. Augustine on Marriage and Sexuality (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1996).
Robert Dodaro and George Lawless, eds., Augustine and his Critics: Essays in Honour of Gerald Bonner (London/New York: Routledge, 2000).
Thomas A. Hand, Augustine on Prayer (New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co.,1986).
Carol Harrison, Augustine: Christian Truth and Fractured Humanity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).
N. R. Needham, The Triumph of Grace: Augustine’s writings on Salvation (London: Grace Publications Trust, 2000).
John M. Rist, Augustine: Ancient thought baptized (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
Gary Wills, Saint Augustine (New York: Viking Penguin, 1999).
Patrick
Máire B. de Paor, Patrick: The Pilgrim Apostle of Ireland (New York: HarperCollins, 1998).
David N. Dumville, Saint Patrick, A.D. 493-1993 (Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 1993).
R.P.C. Hanson, Saint Patrick: His Origins and Career (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968).
R.P.C. Hanson, The Life and Writings of the Historical Saint Patrick (New York: The Seabury Press, 1983).
E.A. Thompson, Who Was Saint Patrick? (Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 1985).
Apr
19
POSTING READING LISTS IN CHURCH HISTORY
April 19, 2008 | Posted in Church History | Leave a Comment
A number of brothers have enquired about reading lists on various eras in Church history. I have decided to post these in a series. Not sure how many there will be. But I shall number them consecutively so interested readers can keep track. And while I hope to work through the whole of western church history, I will not be posting every day, but as I have time.
And I am sure many of you find will omissions of favourite things. Two things to note in this regard: I would love to hear of possible additions. But remember these are lists that I feel are necessary reading and because I am limited, the lists are also limited. In each of the areas I shall post on the reading could be multiplied many times over.
So here goes. The first reading list, on the Latin Fathers, follows immediately.
Apr
19
WHY ARE CATS NOT MENTIONED IN HOLY WRIT?
April 19, 2008 | Posted in Reformation, Theology | 4 Comments
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), one of the greatest of Renaissance artists, has a painting entitled Adam and Eve (1504) in which there is the most curious of things: a cat (for the painting, see http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/ho/08/euwc/ho_19.73.1.htm)! The cat, experts in artistic metaphor tell us, represents the choleric temperament in man. In Dürer’s rendition, the cat seems to be sleeping, while very close to it is a mouse, utterly unconcerned for its safety. The scene is pre-fall, and thus the fact that there is no danger for the mouse.
Now, what I find most curious is this: cats are never mentioned in Scripture. How strange in that case to find one at the feet of Dürer’s Adam and Eve. That other prolific western pet, dogs, are mentioned in the Bible, though they rarely come off well. But cats make no showing at all. It is a good reminder that Scripture is not to meant to give us an exhaustive encyclopedia of all human knowledge nor is it designed as a comprehensive guide to every conceivable human decision.
Should I buy a cat? Well, cats are not even mentioned! So, no way. If God had wanted me to have a cat, he would have told me in his Word.
No, this is a misuse of Scripture. There are principles of guidance about buying and selling—which, we must say, are utterly sufficient—but as to the specifics of the question above in relation to cats, no details. This, it seems, has convinced some in the western tradition that cats are evil. Otherwise, why no mention of them? No, cats are not inherently evil—our flame-point Siamese Chai is rambunctious, but hardly evil—they are part of the goodness of God’s creation which our Maker has given us to enjoy.
All of this is a good reminder that we must ask questions of God’s Holy Word it is designed to answer. And the most critical of those is how can a Holy God deal with the sin of us post-fall human beings and yet still love the creation he has made and do it good? This is a weighty question indeed (and we heard some good answers at this year’s T4G this past week).
Apr
13
WHERE TO START IN READING PATRISTICS
April 13, 2008 | Posted in Ancient Church: 2nd & 3rd Centuries, Ancient Church: 4th & 5th Centuries | 5 Comments
I was asked by one reader (www.letmypeopleread.blogspot.com ) about where I would recommend beginning a reading programme in the Fathers. Here is my brief reply. (And thanks, brother, for the great question).
I would start with Robert Louis Wilken, The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003). Then: Christopher A. Hall, Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1998). Finally, a third book that is a gem, but not easy is Jaroslav Pelikan, The Christian Tradition. A History of the Development of Doctrine. Vol. 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600) (Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1971).
And do not forget getting into the Fathers directly. Start with Augustine, Confessions, trans. R.S. Pine-Coffin (Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1961) [this is the translation I like, but there are others]. Or read through an excellent collection by Steven A. McKinion, ed., Life and Practice in the Early Church. A Documentary Reader (New York/London: New York University Press, 2001). Another favourite of mine is Basil of Ceasarea, On the Holy Spirit, trans. David Anderson (Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimirs Press, 1980).
For a good overview of the period, see the relevant pages in Tim Dowley ed., Introduction to the History of Christianity (1990 Rev. ed.; repr. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995) and for the key leaders, see John D. Woodbridge, ed., Great Leaders of the Christian Church (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988). The latter is regrettably out of print, but second-hand copies can be gotten easily. I have also had published Defence of the Truth: Contending for the truth yesterday and today (Darlington, Co. Durham: Evangelical Press, 2004), which deals with theological challenges faced by the Ancient Church.
I did blog on this back in 2006: see WHAT TO READ OF THE FATHERS?
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