Some Cautions for Original Language Bible Students

Summer is now in full swing and is the time of year when professors work on research and writing projects.  I'm currently working on 14 articles to be published in the new Lexham Bible Dictionary and as a result, won't be writing much in the way of new blog material for a while.  However, I was going over my Hebrew Exegesis syllabus in preparation for the Fall semester and was reminded of the seriousness of acquiring original language Bible tools.  I've pasted the first two pages of my syllabus below, which I use as a preface to sober the minds of my students in preparation for the task before them.  In case you are interested, here are those pages: 

“A little learning is a dang'rous thing;

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:

There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,

And drinking largely sobers us again.

Fir'd at first sight with what the Muse imparts,

In fearless youth we tempt the heights of Arts,

While from the bounded level of our mind

Short views we take, nor see the lengths behind;

But more advanc'd, behold with strange surprise

New distant scenes of endless science rise!

So pleas'd at first the towering Alps we try,

Mount o'er the vales, and seem to tread the sky,

Th' eternal snows appear already past,

And the first clouds and mountains seem the last;

But, those attain'd, we tremble to survey

The growing labours of the lengthen'd way,

Th' increasing prospects tire our wand'ring eyes,

Hills peep o'er hills, and Alps on Alps arise!”

–Alexander Pope

• Do you wish to study or utilize the original languages?  Hear a “caution” from Victor Hugo.

"[Ursus] was incapable of certain abominations, such as, for instance, speaking German, Hebrew or Greek, without having learned them, which is a sign of unpardonable wickedness, or of a natural infirmity proceeding from a morbid humour.  If Ursus spoke Latin, it was because he knew it.  He would never have allowed himself to speak Syriac, which he did not know. Besides, it is asserted that Syriac is the language spoken in the midnight meetings at which uncanny people worship the devil."  –Victor Hugo, in The Laughing Man, or L’homme qui rit.

Note: In the broader context, Hugo is spoofing the bourgeois.  It seems to me that here, he is spoofing the centuries old phenomenon of ministers who cloak themselves in superficial erudition.  To quote a former mentor of mine, we could employ the phrase, “wannabe evangelical scholars” to describe such offenders in our midst.—RBR 

• In evaluating the role training plays in the life and vocation of the minister, consider the following by F.W. Harvey: “Education is good so long as you know to whom and for what purpose you give it.”  

Note: For some students, training makes them sharp weapons in the hand of God. For others, it makes them unwitting allies of the enemy.  As the student, evaluate your own motives in pursuing education.  Out of one and the same exegesis course there may come both the defender of God’s Word as well as the liberal deconstructionist.  You are responsible to be faithful with your stewardship. —RBR

•  On the old library of a deceased scholar, one writer mused, “It was arranged on the plan of many college libraries, with tall projecting bookcases forming deep recesses of dusty silence, fit graves for the old hates of forgotten controversy, the dead passions of forgotten lives.”

Note: In learning to do exegesis, you are being given a sacred trust, a relevant and timeless trust.  Take care to employ your skills in that which will bear eternal fruit.  Do not become embroiled in unfruitful controversies that distract you from the work God has given you to do.  Put another way, “Only one life ‘twill soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last."  Cf. 1 Tim. 1:6, 7; Ecc. 9:5, 6.—RBR

•  John Frame explains,

“[O]ur exegesis should strive to achieve, as much as is humanly possible, a logically consistent interpretation of biblical teaching.  Yet this goal is not the primary goal.  The primary goal of exegesis is not logical consistency but faithfulness to the text.  And sometimes in trying to formulate one doctrine with logical consistency, we may find ourselves compromising another doctrine of Scripture.  When that happens, something is wrong.  We must not simply push our logic relentlessly to the point where we ignore or deny a genuine biblical teaching.  Rather, we must rethink our whole procedure—our exegesis, our reasoning, the extra-biblical knowledge we bring to bear on the matter, etc. [emphasis original].”[1] 

 * Taken from pp. i-ii of my "HEB621X: INTRODUCTION TO HEBREW EXEGESIS" syllabus

---

[1] John Frame, “The Problem of Theological Paradox” Foundations of Christian Scholarship ed. by Gary North (Vallecito, Cali.: Ross House Books, 1979), 325.

Talmudic Nuggets: A Christian's Thoughts About/From an Ancient Jewish Text

I'm involved in an ongoing effort to read the literature of the World's major religions, especially Judaism, so that: 1.) I can understand it accurately, 2) evaluate it correctly, 3.) expound it appropriately, 4.) respond to it competently and convincingly, and 5.) keep others from having to do so, that they may be able to focus on the truth, i.e. the Bible.

The writings of Jewish religious leaders are of particular interest, because they help some with biblical background studies.  The Old Testament (Tanakh/תנ"ך‎), especially the Torah, was/is the text of primary importance for Jewish religion, and until the destruction of the second Temple in AD 70, its exposition and the tradition surrounding it were oral in nature (passed on without being committed to writing).  Jesus was a Jew, born into this tradition, and much of the Gospels show His interaction within this religious context as developed in His day.  His lively interactions with Jewish leaders are often connected to the discontinuity between the Torah (and OT generally) and Jewish oral tradition, and are regularly nuanced such that understanding Jewish/Rabbinic law is not only informative, but sometimes resolves conundra that otherwise remain elusive. 

Also, the Apostle Paul was trained in the school of Gamaliel, one of the most venerated Rabbi's in history (comparing the discontinuity between Paul’s teaching and Talmud is striking).  Of Gamaliel, the Mishna states, "Since Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, there has been no more reverence for the law, and purity and piety died out at the same time" (Sotah, 15:9)

Interestingly, the destruction of the second Temple changed Jewish religion, law, and scholarship, requiring Jews to develop written texts to preserve the oral tradition.  This is where the Talmud comes into play.  After the destruction of the temple, Jewish religious leaders quickly realized that their oral tradition must be preserved, and so they began doing so in the writings of the Talmud (dwmlt).  The Hebrew verb variously translated “to learn/teach” is based on the root lamad (dml, cf. Ec. 12:9).  The Hebrew noun for “what is taught/teaching” is a modified form of this word, i.e. Talmud.  The Talmud, then, contains the written record of the oral law as it developed, and shows where Jewish leaders developed/taught their views on theology, philosophy, ethics, history, law, customs, mysticism, etc. [Note: the background of this blog site is a photo of my own copy of volume 1 of the Talmud with the green letters (ylbb dwmlt), Talmud Bevaly, i.e. Babylonian Talmud]

A New Testament Example

There are many examples where Jesus acted in a manner fully consistent with the OT law, but in a way contrary to the oral law of the Jewish religious leaders, something that incited their murderous ire.  Reading the Talmud brings clarity on some of these interactions.  One example I have brought out in my preaching is from John 5, which documents Christ’s healing of the man at Bethesda (cf. John 5:10-12).  Note that in vs. 10, the Pharisees had a problem with the man carrying his palate on the Sabbath. They state, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.”  

What is striking about this is that not only have the Pharisees missed the point of the Sabbath (cf. Mark 2:27, 28), but when confronted with this situation, they chose an unnecessarily hard line, even by their own standards.  As later written in the Talmud, we see their law making an exception for precisely this kind of scenario.  In the section on Shabbath, fol 151, col. 2, we read “When a man is dangerously ill, the law grants dispensation, for it says, ‘You may break one Sabbath on his behalf, that he may be preserved to keep many Sabbaths.’”  Note that here priority is given to the preservation of life.  The situational hostility of the Pharisees in John 5 illustrates their fundamental problem (cf. John 5:42-47).

Warning and Exhortation

Having said all of this, I am reminded of a warning and exhortation made by one expert in Judaic literature, who said of the Talmud, “In it is trash and treasure.”  He goes on to state that in the 16^th century, Benedictine Monks “made a particular determined effort to destroy it.”  However, the biblical language specialist John Reuchlin told his peers, “Do not condemn the Talmud before you understand it.  Burning is no argument.  Instead of burning all Jewish literature, it were better to found chairs in the universities for its exposition.”  This is an attitude that would serve us all well.

It seems to me that in the modern climate, the table has taken a dramatic turn.  Secular academic elites would prefer to banish and/or prejudicially vilify the Bible rather than understand it as expounded by its most capable expositors and defenders.  In the spirit of Reuchlin, do not condemn the Bible before you understand it.  Burning is no argument.  Instead of burning (even taken as a metaphor) Christian literature, study at the feet of Christ and invite Him to be your teacher.  This is also an appropriate reminder for us Christians.  

Sample Excerpts    

In my recent reading of the Talmud, I found several nuggets of treasure for stimulating reflection.  The following are some of those excerpts which show some of the wisdom to be gleaned from this ancient text.  You’ll note a couple of key features: 1.) for pedagogical and taxonomical purposes, they express categories of virtue in groups of four; 2.) they combine rhetorical expression with wisdom and desire for piety.  Let me encourage you to reflect on these, particularly noting where these reflect biblical wisdom, and/or spiritual experience.  

Communion with God as Paradise

"The Talmud states that, 'Four men entered paradise—these are there names:--Ben Azai, Ben Zoma, Acher, and Rabbi Akiva” (hagigah, fol. 14, col. 2).  'Maimonides … teaches that the Paradise or garden here is … the retreat of profound philosophic meditation.  These five … [reflections] were: 1.) To know that there is a God; 2.) to ignore every other beside Him; 3.) to feel His unity; 4.) to love His person; and 5.) to stand in awe of His Majesty (Vad Hachaz, chap. 4, sec. 19).  Deep thought in these matters was spoken of by the Rabbis as promenading in the garden” ( _ Hebraic Literature_).

Note: In this respect, I think we (Christians) can all identify with Maimonides on the splendor of meditation on God.  It must be remembered, though, that one can have an existential religious experience, be able to produce architectonic theological formulations, bask in the joys of profound philosophical meditation, yet still fail to know Christ savingly.  In this regard, this should be a warning to us all.

Characters of Men Reflected in Attitudes about Possessions (From Nedarin, fol. 64, col. 2.)

      

      “Four things mark the characters of men:--He who says what is mine is mine, and what is thine   is thine, is, according to some, a moderate man, but, according to others, a child of Sodom; he who says what is mine is thine, and what is thine is mine, is an ignorant man; he who says what is mine is thine and what is thy own is also thine, is a pious man; he who says mine and thine are both my own, is a wicked man.”

Note: I recently used this in a Facebook post to make a point rhetorically.  I posted the above but added the line, “For this, I'll probably get audited to prove what is mine is actually thine.”

Characters of Men Reflected by their Passions (Avoth, chap. 5, sec. 16.)

     

      "There are four kinds of men, according to their degrees of passionateness:--He who is easily provoked and as readily pacified, and who loses more than he gains; he whom it is difficult to rouse and as difficult to appease, and who gains more than he loses; he who is not readily provoked, but easily pacified, who is a pious man; he who is easily provoked and with difficulty appeased, who is a wicked man."

    

     Characters of Men Reflected in their Generosity (Ibid., chap. 5, sec. 19 )

     "There are four classes of men who give alms, and they are thus distinguished:--He who is willing to give, but unwilling that others should do so, he has an evil eye toward others; he who wishes others to give, but does not do so himself, he has an evil eye toward himself; he who gives, and induces others to give, he is pious; he who gives not, nor wishes others to give he is wicked."

     Characters Of Men Reflected in their Learning (Avoth, chap 5, sec. 19)

     

     "There are four marks by which one disciple differs from another:--One learns and does not teach, one teaches and does not learn, one learns and teaches, and one neither learns nor teaches."

      Characters of Men Reflected in their Teleology (Avoth d'Rab Nathan, chap. 29)

"Four things, if kept in view and gravely pondered over, deter from sin:--That a man consider whence he cometh, whither he goeth, who the judge will be, and what the future will bring to pass."

BibleWorks in the Real, Modern World: 4 Examples of how BW9 is Essential to the Modern Minister

Recently in a FaceBook group dedicated to the study of the original language Bible, a professor friend in Southern Ca. posted an image of Codex Alexandrinus from the British Library so that we could examine the nomina sacra (“sacred names” abbreviations in ancient texts).  I was sitting in my backyard in Ark., while another participant engaged in doctoral work at the University of Birmingham, was at home in England. While commenting on the lunar sigma (ancient form of the Greek letter sigma), I was suddenly struck with the novelty of the situation.  I remarked, “What a special time in the history of the church when men can sit in different states and continents and discuss orthographic issues related to the ancient witnesses, while simultaneously viewing those witnesses in their leisure and via their mobile phones.”  Indeed we live in a special time in the history of the church when technology has made it possible to engage in biblical studies in a way that previously would have been the stuff of science fiction.

Along these lines, I am reminded of a quote from Luther in the introduction of the Hebrew grammar I use.  It reads,

Though the faith and the Gospel may be proclaimed by simple preachers without the languages, such preaching is flat and tame, men grow at last wearied and disgusted and it falls to the ground. But when the preacher is versed in the languages, his discourse has freshness and force, the whole of Scripture is treated, and faith finds itself constantly renewed by a continual variety of words and works.

It is a sin and shame not to know our own book or to understand the speech and words of our God; it is a still greater sin and loss that we do not study languages, especially in these days when God is offering and giving us men and books and every facility and inducement to this study, and desires his Bible to be an open book (A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew, p. 12).

           

Keep in mind these words from Luther are ca. 500 years old.  Surely the culpability of ministers in the present day is even greater when so many sophisticated tools are available to us.  How great must be the urgency for us—His Gospel witnesses—not to be content with the novelty of what God has given us.  Rather, we must employ these new tools, in these last days, to press home the truth of God’s Word in the expansion of His Kingdom.  BibleWorks 9 is the most sophisticated, powerful, versatile tool available to the modern minister in his Kingdom expanding work.   I’ve been using BibleWorks for over 15 years.  Below I will highlight some of the key ways it helps me and why it should be the primary tool for the modern day Gospel minister.

1.)   BibleWorks for the Church Planter.  When in church planter mode, I do not have time to read materials not directly related to my preaching/teaching.  This means no luxuriating in commentaries or the kinds of books included in a lot of other software programs.  While planting the current church where I am the Pastor-Teacher, I worked a secular job 32 hours a week while preaching/teaching 2-4 times per week.  This is why BibleWorks is indispensable.  First, its sophisticated original language tools allow(ed) me to develop expository sermons in a fraction of the time required if using any other source(s).  Additionally, the church planter must be mobile.  His office may be the local library, coffee shop, his living room or wherever a quiet place may be found.  Because church planting is like building a plane mid-flight, I have sometimes taught/preached impromptu messages from my BibleWorks equipped laptop, examining various translations, grammatical forms, original language texts, alt+tabbing back and forth from my sermon notes on the fly.  Full time pastors able to spend 40 hours a week of study in their offices may have the luxury to use traditional tools or other software, but bi-vocational church planter-expositors in the modern world likely do not. 

2.)   BibleWorks for the Counselor.  A component of our church’s discipleship philosophy includes intensive discipleship, i.e. nouthetic counseling.  In fact, the most personally traumatic counseling case I have had showed up half way through week 1 as a full time pastor at our present church.  BibleWorks was an indispensable tool during the difficult weeks/months following, and continues to be indispensable in my counseling and training work now. 

In just a few seconds, during a counseling appointment or in the middle of a midweek lesson, when a parishioner asks me an impromptu question (on Wednesday evenings I have my computer on a specially designed stand built into my pulpit; sometimes even on Sunday evenings), I can do a quick structural or textual analysis of any passage drawing on both my favorite translations, as well as original language manuscripts, including the Masoretic Text (hereafter MT), LXX, Vulgate, Peshitta, UBS, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, etc. 

For example, last night while teaching on bibliology, I suddenly remembered a point I like to make from Psalm 1.  I typed in the reference and invited the congregation to turn there.  In the MT, my eye goes straight to the Masoretic accents (included in the more recent editions of BibleWorks).  I instantly see the placement of the rebia over the term translated “the man” (הָאִ֗ישׁ), which identifies the first division of the verse, as well as the placement of the oleh weyored, which shows me that the principle division is over the word translated “wicked” (NASB).  Understanding this division and the purpose of the accent impacts my understanding of the nature of what is generally understood to be a progression of sin.  I also quickly notice that the second two lines are in parallel but are inverse to the first line.  This shows me that the Masoretes ascribed as much weight to the second two “movements” of verse 1 as to the first suggesting this is not as much about progression as most tend to think.  Rather, it appears the Masoretes viewed the second two movements epexegetically, i.e. as explanations. 

Also, observation of the conditional clause opening verse two quickly reminds me of the apparent antidote serving as a preventive to worldliness.  As a pastoral counselor, this is, after all, what I want to get at.  BibleWorks allows me to make these sorts of observations at a glance.  I can choose to explain or keep private the technical data as appropriate.

3.)   BibleWorks for the Pastor-Teacher.  I am a pastor-teacher, and that means that one of my key responsibilities is preaching.  On Sunday mornings, I preach from the NT, Sunday evenings I preach from the OT.  On Wednesday evenings, as noted, I do counseling training or teach on various theological or apologetic issues.  In short, every ecclesiastical, theological, apologetic, etc. issue is before me.  In most of these cases, the issue ultimately gets back to the text.  I prepare every sermon/lecture/lesson using BibleWorks, Microsoft Word, and various other tools as helpful.

I have stated for years that at any time, any place I can prepare an original expository sermon from any text, or address any theological issue provided I have my BibleWorks equipped laptop.  You may have been expecting me to say Logos, because of its vast library.  Unfortunately, however, I don’t have the luxury of time to read non-essential material [see note below].  What I can do, though, is make a couple of quick copy-paste motions and produce a quick masoretic accent diagram, as in the case of Psalm 1 I referenced above.  Or, if dealing with a NT passage, I can usually produce a quick sentence-flow diagram such as the following from Eph 1:3:

Greek NT

(1:3) Euvloghto.j o` qeo.j kai. path.r

tou/ kuri,ou h`mw/n = VIhsou/ Cristou/(

                  o` euvlogh,saj h`ma/j                            

evn pa,sh| euvlogi,a|                  

                                             pneumatikh/|

evn toi/j evpourani,oij

evn Cristw/|(

Modern Hebrew NT

aWh %WrB' 

ybia ~yhil{a/h' 

                                                 x:yviM'h; [:WvyE WnynEdoa]

Wnt'ao %r:Be rv,a]            

   AnA[m. ymeV.mi

       vp,N<h; tK;r>Bi-lk'B.

                                                                            x;yviM'B;

Latin Vulgate

1:3 benedictus Deus et Pater

                           Domini nostri = Iesu Christi

         qui benedixit nos

         in omni benedictione

spiritali

         in caelestibus

         in Christo

In addition to Greek, I often diagram the text in Hebrew, Aramaic/Syriac, because doing so allows me to get a feel for the Semitic character of the writer’s thinking and/or text [note: pasting in the various foreign language fonts into this post caused some alignment issues above].  I want to see literary structures, words, forms, grammatical/syntactical constructions, etc. that may parallel OT passages.  I often diagram the passage in Latin, because doing so aids me in getting a feel for how the Latin fathers and important theologians of the past understood and formulated their theology.  I don’t spend a lot of time on this since I’m not typically doing serious research in the course of preaching, but  because of the capabilities of BibleWorks, these activities happen in a matter of a couple of minutes. 

4.)   BibleWorks for the Teacher/Professor. Over the past 15+ years I have been privileged to teach the Bible in 5 languages in multicultural environments.  These have ranged from theological Latin emphasizing the Vulgate with urban Korean Jr. High students, English Bible with African-American intercity high schoolers, Biblical Hebrew with lay people in an institute environment, and advanced Hebrew reading & biblical Aramaic with post-graduate seminary students, etc.  It’s not hard to imagine why BibleWorks is the go to software for these kinds of activities. 

BibleWorks has grammars, lexicons, and other resources for research languages, but also includes searchable Korean, Chinese, and other Bibles.  I can quickly put together quizzes/exams for any of the languages that I know or with which I have a basic familiarity.  This is very important for a Bible/language professor because development of quiz and lecture material is a never ending process, and one that must be done quickly and efficiently.

Currently I teach seminary level Hebrew, Greek, and exegesis (both OT/NT divisions).  BibleWorks is unquestionably the greatest tool I have for doing this work, and here’s why.  BW9 has tools for every phase of instruction for my Greek and Hebrew exegesis courses.  Those familiar with seminary training know how helpful this is.  During exegesis courses, the typical curriculum requires students to produce an exegetical paper in steps.  BibleWorks really seems as though it was designed with this activity in mind.

For example, when I teach Greek diagramming, I can directly project (or print and hand out) the relevant sections of Leedy’s diagrams on a screen and walk the students through examples, sometimes straight from their chosen passages.  When in the OT, teaching diagrammatical analysis based on the Masoretic accents is simple, with the use of BibleWorks and a projector.  As I noted above, there are also the necessary lexicons, theological dictionaries, concordances, grammar books, etc. for all three biblical languages, so I can easily employ or refer the students to the relevant materials.  Unfortunately there are not yet many Latin tools available, but perhaps this will come.

More recently, though, there is a significant development that takes instruction related to text-critical analysis to a whole new level.  Various universities, libraries, and museums have been digitizing their ancient artifacts and documents, including biblical manuscripts, and making them available to the public. As a result, this semester I was able to give interactive lectures on early New Testament texts using P46 (ancient papyrus document containing the oldest extant copy of Ephesians) as a test case via the University of Michigan's P46 page, and another website dedicated to ancient biblical manuscripts.

Using BW9, I was then able to project Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, and others on a screen and walk students through the process of textual criticism.  This new development, especially the inclusion of some of the most important ancient manuscripts in BW9, is a revolution in biblical studies. This will aid in what some have called the "democratization" of textual criticism, which is absolutely phenomenal.  For years, my students were unable to do a real text-critical paper because they simply did not have access to ancient manuscripts. Now they can, however, and my entire course is being revamped in light of this revolution.

By including ancient manuscripts in their software, BibleWorks has made possible the Biblical Studies equivalent of the medical student moving from an anatomy textbook, to dissecting the cadaver.  Ask the student with the knife if she thinks this is a big deal.  Ironically, the student now has something even superior to access to the actual manuscripts.  Previously, a scholar had to travel across the world to gain access to a given text where he would potentially strain his eyes to examine it.  Now, however, we have high definition images of manuscripts on our computers, and BW9 allows us to magnify, sharpen, color, etc. these texts without physically touching them.   This is a tremendous aid to those of us who have ruined our eyes through too much gazing at manuscripts.  In fact, I’m wearing an eye patch as I type this review, but able to utilize the manuscripts thanks to the text magnification and sharpening features in BW9. 

A simple illustration comes to mind taken from the first time I projected Sinaiticus on a screen in class.  Working through the translation of Eph. 6 with the students, we immediately noticed in verse 1 that Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, BYZ all read “in the Lord,” as does NASB and ESV, but Vaticanus does not—it has a deletion of the nu as well.  Interestingly, our UBS texts put “in the Lord” in brackets.  A student immediately alerted me to the interesting fact that the textual apparatus in our UBS texts gave the rating of “C” for the reading “in the Lord” despite the strong witnesses for it, which means that “the Committee had difficulty in deciding which variant to place in the text.”  This was surprising to us and the class then enjoyed a profitable time talking through text-critical principles.  

Conclusion

I am a church planter, a pastor-teacher (expositor), a nouthetic counselor, sometimes apologist, and a multidisciplinary seminary professor.  At maximal pace, I preach/teach 5-9 times per week in addition to my pastoral responsibilities.  Like other ministers, I entered the ministry to change the World for the glory of God.   Without question, in the real, modern World, BibleWorks 9 is the single greatest tool I have for doing this.  

Note: I have not tried Logos.... [original noted has been edited]

An Afternoon With Dr. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

Dr. Rosaria Butterfield was in Little Rock yesterday to do an interview on the subject of her blockbuster book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, at Family Life Today, the radio ministry of Dennis Rainey and Bob Lepine.  Due to the graciousness of a special friend (Stephen Bean), and the FL staff, Janet and I were invited to sit in.  We have greatly anticipated this interview for a couple of months and were not disappointed.  In fact, all present were riveted by what is surely one of the most important/pivotal interviews yet to come from FLT.  I made a comment to this effect to one of the studio engineers—he agreed that it was “certainly in the top group.”

In the introduction, Bob Lepine stated that Butterfield’s book was the most important book he’s read this year; I have stated several times that it was likely the most important autobiography I have read (perhaps due to its relevance), and certainly the best of the last 50 books I have read.  Point being: everyone needs to read her book, listen to her Patrick Henry interview, read the various articles available by/on her, peruse her website, and then listen to the FLT broadcast scheduled to be aired over 3 days in September (2013). 

For almost 2 ½ hours, the half dozen of us present were virtually mesmerized as Dr. Butterfield shared a testimony that desperately needs to be heard by us all.  It was so rich that it’s going to take me a few days to process it.  Fortunately, the FLT staff generously sent me home with the entire uncut interview on flash drive.  As an unexpected bonus, they have graciously volunteered to allow me to use the content in my apologetics courses (provided I do not make the audio files available).    

Over a couple of hours, Dr. Butterfield poured out her thoughts on some of the most relevant social/cultural issues facing the contemporary church in America.  I think all of us, including the host and co-host had the sense that we just needed to sit quiet and listen.  Point being, it would be impossible for me to try and summarize the interview except to say that it follows the themes of her book, though explores select, crucial questions in more detail.   I think we all felt that the interview really should be given more than a three day slot, though that’s likely unpractical.

As I mentioned, I don’t think I can adequately summarize the interview, but I took notes and will provide a couple of thoughts that I highlighted.    

1.)  Rosaria Butterfield is brilliant, though humble and self-deprecating, a comprehensive worldview thinker, fiery, and will never fit into a nice, comfortable evangelical box.  E.g. in her presence, I suspect the typical evangelical will always feel challenged, though in a healthy, refreshing way.  At least this is my experience. 

2.)  I was impressed with the reality that Rosaria Butterfield is a special trophy of God’s grace, raised up for a special time and place in the history of the church (perhaps a kind of 21^st century American Esther).  I am excited to see how she will be used of God in the years to come.  She currently has a very busy schedule.  E.g. she’ll be giving an open lecture to the Family Research Council June 12^th, something in regards to which she has asked us to pray, and by extension, I am asking you to pray.  She needs to be heard, and she deserves our support.

3.)  In my view, this interview, and Dr. Butterfield’s larger testimony, is pivotal for understanding the socio-sexual dynamics of homosexuality in our culture. If you don’t care to understand this, I doubt you’re interested in meeting the culture where it is with real answers, which leads to the next point.

4.)  The following is the take home point I want to leave with anyone reading this post.  Prior to coming to faith, Dr. Rosaria Champagne’s key problem with Christianity was Christians, whose response seemed to always be that “Jesus is the answer, without bothering to hear what some of my questions might be.”  Her conclusion was that Christians were dangerous, anti-intellectual, and Christianity was a “Strange mixture of patriarchy and superstition.”  She explained that as an intellectual, scholar, and professor, “... one of my jobs was to be on a war against stupid.”  This resulted in her being at war against Christianity, and this continued until she “Met people who could talk openly and honestly about sexuality and not fall down dead in the process.”  For her, these people arrived in the persons of Pastor Ken and Mrs. Floy Smith, who “genuinely became my friends.”  She explains that Pastor Smith’s “gentle authority allowed me to open up.”  In the end, this gentle, strong (and perhaps daring) pastor and his wife led her to faith in Christ.  From this, Butterfield explains a key lesson for Christians: “Hospitality is the God ordained path to evangelism.  Your home is a way of escape for somebody.” However, she cautions, “Hospitality does not mean fellowship, but going and getting the stranger from the gate.”  Pastor Ken “didn’t attempt to bring me to the church; he brought the church to me.”  “He made the long journey to me, and then made the long journey back [with me] to Christ.”  It was somewhere in this loving hospitality that she repented and came to a realization: “I realized this in my repentance, ‘Jesus, I was persecuting you the whole time.’” 

5.)  Much to my delight, Dr. Butterfield has tentatively agreed to do a Skype/Facetime interview for my next apologetics course, likely at BMATS (Conway campus), provided we can get the dates/times worked out.  If you're interested in seminary training designed to prepare you for ministry in the 21st century, be sure to check out our catalog and/or call the Dean, or email me.  Hopefully we can schedule this for next Spring (2014) or the following Spring (2015).  

Links: 

           i. Here’s a link to some of the notes I made while reading her book.  They need to be updated and edited, so please excuse any formatting issues: http://metataphysika.xanga.com/771966404/trainwreck-conversion

ii. Here’s a link to Rosaria Butterfield’s website: http://rosariabutterfield.com

On Causality: Why is there Something Rather than Nothing?

[Updated 5/30/13]
On Academia.edu, I read a number of papers recently posted by an undergraduate student who is attempting to scientifically disprove God’s existence.  Like others who have failed in this effort, he simply cannot answer the famous question posed by Jean-Paul Sartre, “Why is there something rather than nothing?”  Science does well when answering the question, “How?”  but it does not do so well with “Why?” in connection to such questions, because "Why?" presupposes intentionality, which requires mind, which assumes Person.  As common among physicalists, his answer is presumably something like, “If all things need a Creator in order to exist, then God must need a Creator in order to exist.”

It is remarkable to me that those who respond like this fail by missing the crucial issue:

1.)   Whatever lies back of all things is God and is what/who has created the law of causality as a constituent part of the Cosmos, therefore necessarily cannot be limited by such laws.

2.)   In our physical world—in the Cosmos, all things need a cause in order to exist. This is granted.  However, it is the biblical perspective that not all things need a Creator—only that which is created needs a Creator, i.e. only derivative reality needs a Creator.  God, by definition, is not physical, neither is He in this Cosmos, though He is not absent from it.  He is upstream of the Cosmos.  God is Ultimate, all else including the Cosmos, is derivative.  He is transcendent and is unique in this regard.  It is not simply that this is the best answer, it is the only answer.

This man* makes a serious attempt to answer the question as a skeptic, esteemed professor, thinker, and writer on the subject.  There is only one problem with his logic--he is explaining why there is something rather than nothing within the Cosmos, based on the assumption that the Cosmos and its laws are eternal.  The Cosmos, though, is not a nothing, but a something!  Again, this means he has answered, "Why is there something rather than nothing in the Cosmos?"  He has still not answered, "Why is there something, rather than nothing, nothing," i.e. really nothing.  

In responding to Sartre and others, he must account for the existence of the Cosmos, or he has not answered the question at all.  Do you see the difference?  To illustrate this idea, draw a circle on a white piece of paper.  Look inside the circle.  That's what physicalists mean by nothing.  Now, erase the circle.  That's what theists mean by nothing, and while you're at it, go ahead and throw away the paper.  This also helps to illustrate why Stenger and others gives as their conclusion this answer: "Why is there something rather than nothing?  Because 'nothing' is unstable."   However, this is wrong, because "nothing" cannot be unstable, because "nothing" is no-thing!  This all comes down to one's ultimate philosophical pre-commitments.  The physicalist presupposes the ultimate priority and originality of the Cosmos and thus cannot give an account for causality.  He has no answer for this ultimate question.  The theist assumes the ultimate priority and originality of God who is the source of causality and cannot be subordinate to that which He creates.  Again, this is not the best answer, it is the only answer.

Many have noticed the significance of the Bible's first verse for this discussion.  Here is the Hebrew text followed by a translation beneath:
  בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃  

   (the earth) (and)   (the heavens)       (God)  (created)  (In the beginning) 

Remarkably, here we have the traditional 5 Categories of Science: In the beginning (time); God (force) created (action); heavens (space); earth (matter), based on God as the metaphysical precondition.  Here, "the heaven's and the earth" constitute a familiar word pair. Here's a couple of things to note:

1.) Together, the word pair represents the totality of all creation.  In the Ancient Near East, cosmology was typically formulated as either "heavens and earth," or "heavens, earth, sea."  This is a classic way to express the totality of the Cosmos (some describe this as a merismatic word pair, i.e. one that covers everything from A-Z). 

2.) Note that the point at which creation occurred marks the ultimate reference point for spatio-temporal reality, i.e. the spacetime Universe.  This shows the subordination of all things to Him as well as His aseity, or self-existence.

In this simple passage, we have formulated for us a view of cosmology, a view that is not only true to Scripture, but is true to what really is there.  This passage provides us with the philosophical, scientific, and biblical answer to the question, “Why is there something rather than nothing?”  As much as he may try, modern man cannot answer this question apart from God.  The theist answers with something like, "Because God who IS, delighted to make something."

* Victor J. Stenger is emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Hawaii and Visiting Fellow in Philosophy at the University of Colorado.

Why is the Sacrifice of American Blood and Treasure Worth Memorializing—Because God IS

“Man is abnormal now [due to his collective and individual choice of sin]…. On this basis, we can have a real ground for fighting evil, including social evil and social injustice. Modern man has no real basis for fighting evil, because he sees man as normal, whether he comes out of the paneverythingism of the east, or modern liberal theology, or out of the paneverythingism of everything’s being reduced, including man, to only the energy particle. But the Christian has, he can fight evil … because God did not make things as they are now, as man in his cruelty has made them [which is not cruel if man merely operates according to biochemical evolutionary programming]. God did not make man cruel, and he did not make the results of man’s cruelty. These are abnormal, contrary to what God made.” —Francis Schaeffer, He is There, and He is Not Silent

Of _Five Weeks in a Balloon_ [AND]: A Future Not Even Jules Verne Could Have Imagined

Along with Hugo Gernsback and H.G. Wells, Jules Verne is considered one of the fathers of the science fiction genre.  Best known for the novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873), Verne wrote during my favorite period of Western literature.  Characteristic of much literature from the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century was an optimistic view of mankind’s potential.  The characters in Verne’s stories are daring Indiana Jones like adventures who overcome impossible odds and thrive in the face of the most harrowing dangers. Difficulties are surmounted as the protagonists demonstrate perseverance, brilliance, learned creativity, fortitude, and principled exceptionalism. This is the stuff characteristic of the best of which Western Civilization has contributed to the world, culture, and history.  It’s also the stuff that is largely part of a bygone era.

Verne is noted for writing about technologies that no one else had thought of, some of which were generations ahead of his time, including: sky scrapers, glass structures, calculators, cell phones, etc.  These were so futuristic, but so realistic, that the pioneering submarine designer, Simon Lake, credited Verne as his life’s inspiration, calling him, “the director-general of my life.”

The ability to imagine what no one else has imagined is one of the truest indicators of genius, and by this standard, Verne was certainly that.  Not surprisingly, he is the second most translated author in the World, following only Agatha Christie.  

Verne's creations are so dramatic and relevant, that some of his books have been made into live-action and animated films and television shows.  In one of his lesser known works, Five Weeks in a Balloon, Verne constructed a novel around three adventurers—a scholar who had invented a new type of hydrogen, “hot air” balloon and his two companions, a servant and a professional hunter.  The three experience harrowing adventures as they sail across Africa in an effort to discover and document much about the then unknown continent, including the source of the Nile, general topography, and previously recorded explorations.  Their adventures include numerous treacherous encounters with savage African tribes, extreme climatic conditions, a near-death experience with dehydration, attacks by wild animals, an attack against their balloon by a flock of condors who destroy the outer layer, and ultimately the final demise of their balloon during the most serious threat and climax of the story—an encounter with Arab Muslim banditos. 

This last encounter is particularly interesting from a worldview standpoint.  In it we have an ironic picture that dramatically illustrates the contrast in worldviews between the protagonists and antagonists. Verne develops the threat in the concluding sequence of the book.  Here the balloon is facing its final demise, but the aeronauts are unable to land because of the danger from the hostile Islamists.  Here is how Verne develops the narrative:

"Let us alight," suggested Kennedy, "and see what can be done with the covering of the balloon." "I tell you, again, Dick, that we have no means of repairing it." "Then what shall we do?" "We'll have to sacrifice every thing not absolutely indispensable; I am anxious, at all hazards, to avoid a detention in these regions. The forests over the tops of which we are skimming are any thing but safe." "What! are there lions in them, or hyenas?" asked Joe, with an expression of sovereign contempt. "Worse than that, my boy! There are men, and some of the most cruel, too, in all Africa."

"How is that known?" "By the statements of travellers who have been here before us….They have explored these countries formed by the elbow of the Senegal in places where war and pillage have left nothing but ruins." "What, then, took place?" "I will tell you. In 1854 a Marabout of the Senegalese Fouta, Al-Hadji by name, declaring himself to be inspired like Mohammed, stirred up all the tribes to war against the infidels—that is to say, against the Europeans. He carried destruction and desolation over the regions between the Senegal River and its tributary, the Fateme. Three hordes of fanatics led on by him scoured the country, sparing neither a village nor a hut in their pillaging, massacring career. He advanced in person on the town of Sego, which was a long time threatened. In 1857 he worked up farther to the northward, and invested the fortification of Medina, built by the French on the bank of the river. This stronghold was defended by Paul Holl, who, for several months, without provisions or ammunition, held out until Colonel Faidherbe came to his relief. Al-Hadji and his bands then repassed the Senegal, and reappeared in the Kaarta, continuing their rapine and murder.—Well, here below us is the very country in which he has found refuge with his hordes of banditti; and I assure you that it would not be a good thing to fall into his hands."

…They had just passed the borders of the forest, and the three friends could see some thirty mounted men clad in broad pantaloons and the floating bournouses. They were armed, some with lances, and others with long muskets, and they were following, on their quick, fiery little steeds, the direction of the balloon, which was moving at only moderate speed…." It is, indeed, they!" said the doctor; "the cruel Talabas! the ferocious marabouts of Al-Hadji! I would rather find myself in the middle of the forest encircled by wild beasts than fall into the hands of these banditti…."

"See," said Ferguson, "those villages in ruins, those huts burned down—that is their work! Where vast stretches of cultivated land were once seen, they have brought barrenness and devastation."

Ironically, the greatest threat to the aeronauts were not the cannibals whom they had seen devouring one another alive in the midst of battle.  Neither was the greatest threat the climate, wild animals, or even their failing balloon.  It was the villainous Arab-Muslim raiders who followed the orders of a mad-man in the role and persona of a Muhammadan style leader.  These individuals, in the words of the Dr., engaged in “rapine and murder” and a “pillaging, massacring career” leaving villages in ruin, with burned huts, and “vast stretches of cultivated land…barren…and devesta[ed].” 

Here is the irony.  The aeronauts are the quintessential representatives of Judeo-Christianity in contrast to the representatives of savage barbarism and destructive Islam.  They are daring, principled; they sacrifice for one another and strangers.  They are virtuous, they respect life—human and animal, accomplishment, productivity, etc.  As they soar in the sky and prevail over the elements, they represent the best of Western culture.  Like the protagonists in most of Verne’s works, they trust in God while fully engaging themselves in their endeavors.  They take initiative in rescuing a missionary from savages, and proclaim him to be the greatest among the men in the balloon.  While they engage in fulfilling the creation mandate—the subduing of the elements, they are as far above the savages and destructive Islamists in principle as they are in altitude. [Note: Both Verne and his heroes were likely deists, a worldview that developed out of Christian-theism and for a time perpetuated its values].    

Yet there is another, more striking irony.  As brilliant and noble minded as Verne was, there was a future that he would not, dare not imagine, a future that we are on the cusp of seeing realized.  As the West has become post-Christian, other ideologies have become dominant, ideologies that neither contribute to the thriving of the species, nor are even sustainable on their own terms.  Christian-theism was replaced as the dominant worldview in the West by deism.  Deism was short lived and gave way to naturalism.  Naturalism, which leads to nihilism as its logical consequence is too negative to be embraced by secularists, except for those who are philosophically honest.  So, as it presently stands, naturalism has morphed into something aggressive, yet unsustainable—secular progressivism.  Though on the rise statistically and in terms of influence, secularism cannot thrive, neither can it remain dominant for long—it is inherently devoid of transcendental values.  No worldview devoid of transcendental values can compete with an opposing worldview/religion/philosophy propelled by transcendental values, at least over the long run.    

To illustrate, consider Verne’s own caricature of a naturalist’s evaluation of a pearl from his famous 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  Here, Professor Aronnax is asked by his two co-prisoners aboard the Nautilus the following question. “Sir, what is a pearl?” His response is as follows: “My worthy Ned…to the poet, a pearl is a tear of the sea; to the Orientals, it is a drop of dew solidified; to the ladies, it is a jewel of an oblong shape, of a brilliancy of mother-of-pearl substance, which they wear on their fingers, their necks, or their ears; for the chemist it is a mixture of phosphate and carbonate of lime, with a little gelatin; and lastly, for naturalists, it is simply a morbid secretion of the organ that produces the mother-of-pearl amongst certain bivalves.” 

Notice the vacuous, hollow definition of the naturalist.  There is no real value, aesthetically, or teleologically speaking, to the pearl.  Naturalism has no transcendental values. Of course, naturalists assign value that is not merely survival value to things all the time, but when they do so, they abandon their espoused philosophical viewpoint in preference for a worldview with transcendental values, until it becomes inconvenient, and so back and forth they go.

The result—secularist Europe, which has followed the above path much more quickly than America, is on the path to becoming philosophically, religiously Islamic due to immigration and biological growth of Islamic practitioners.  The latest reports show this transition occurring in the next few decades in England.  Soon, secularism in several European countries, including Verne’s own France, will be overcome by this even more dangerous, destructive worldview and the day will arrive when thoughtful secularists will long for the time when their biggest philosophical worry was an evangelical sharing the Gospel with them, or protesting at their abortion clinics, or playing Christmas music at the Mall, or hanging the Ten Commandments in courthouses, or arguing that families naturally consists of opposite sex couples, or suggesting that having men sexually attracted to other men as leaders in a man boy relationship, e.g. the Boy Scouts is not an ideal situation.  The future that we are on the cusp of realizing is one that not even Jules Verne could have imagined, and one which will only be recognized by secularists after it is too late.  

How relevant is all of this? Click here (note the date):