Wise words from Jay Adams

Thanks to Ligonier, the following article is posted with permission to reprint. Having met Dr. Adams many years ago, I can "hear" him speaking these words, and find them challenging...
________________________________________________________

Generation to Generation Stand Firm by Jay Adams

I suppose it’s a fault. I’m sure that my wife who remembers every name, place, and date for the last fifty years thinks so. But, for some reason, I find it difficult to recall details of the past. If I say to myself at the time, “remember this,” I probably will. Otherwise, only the big lumps remain in my mental sieve. I’m saying this because I want you to understand the phenomenon isn’t the result of old age — I’ve always been that way. But so, too, I have always looked toward the future. And that’s exactly what I want to do here. As a seventy-nine-year-old geezer, I want to do a bit of forecasting about what you’re likely to face in the future, and how to handle it. I’m thinking primarily about you, the new generation, who are now taking the helm of the church into stormy seas. I don’t fancy myself as a prophet, but there are some things that seem inevitable — apart from a gigantic divine upset of the course that the world is now following. To begin with, if you haven’t already, you’d be wise to learn some Spanish. Of even more importance, you should become thoroughly acquainted with the tenets of Islam. The first, because you’ll probably need it; the second, because if God doesn’t intervene, you’ll be up against warfare with Muslims. No Christian should live under a rock to avoid either of these issues. But I don’t want to discuss them directly. My concern is with the softening of the church. For you to make a future impact for Christ, and to be able to withstand hard times ahead, this trend must be reversed. There is a deplorable softening of doctrine, of attitudes, of courage, and of language. And it is all justified under the rubric of “love.” But there is a vast difference between a loving and a concessive spirit. Let’s examine each of these. There is a softening of doctrine. Not only is this obvious from the failure to accept and teach robust Reformation truths, but also in a hesitancy of those who believe it to espouse it openly. Christians soft-pedal the glorious doctrines of grace. Instead of rejoicing in the truth of limited atonement — which means that Jesus Christ is a personal Savior — they talk only about the other four aspects of TULIP. It’s as though they will readily eat the two halves of the bun, cautiously consume the tomato on one side and the lettuce on the other, but trash the hamburger in between. Yet this doctrine is the meat of the Tulipburger. To face the future, there must be a forthright return to explicit, well-reasoned, exposition of the seemingly “hard” doctrines of the faith. There is a softening of attitudes. This accounts in large measure for soft teaching. Rather than glorying in the grandeur of God’s eternal plan of gracious redemption before Arminian friends, they hem and haw about it, trying above all else to “get along.” Assuming that their consciences are not yet seared, they harbor a sense of guilt, knowing that they should defend truth against weak, unscriptural teaching that exalts man by lowering God. Yet, for the sake of “peace” they never speak out. There is a softening of courage. Obviously, this lies behind the fearful attitude that leads Reformed believers to suppress their faith. Throughout the book of Acts, one word occurs again and again — the apostles spoke “boldly.” There are two New Testament words for boldness. The one permeating Acts is parresia, which means “to speak forthrightly without fear of consequences.” That the courage to do so is lacking may also account for much of the ineffectiveness of the witness of the church in our time. There is a softening of language. Current cowardly attitudes spawn weak, insipid language like, “I feel,” when one ought to boldly say, “I believe” or “declare.” They account for soft talk about “sharing” the Gospel — as if one is reluctant to give it in its entirety (if I “share” my pie, you get only a slice). If this softening of the church continues, there will be more merging of groups that care less about truth and more about kumbaya. But a church that puts fellowship above truth is a weak church that will be unable to meet the challenges that lie ahead. It is too late for our generation to correct these matters. Some of us have attempted to, but failed. We must confess that we are leaving you a church that, unless God graciously intervenes, cannot meet the enormous challenges that your generation must face. Perhaps God will use you to help make the necessary changes, before it’s too late. Look around you. Ask yourself, “Could the church in its present condition endure terrorist persecution? Could it withstand a tide of Roman Catholicism that might in time — your time — take over the country? In its confused, weakened state, it is ready prey for these, or other adverse happenings. Don’t take my word for it — go ahead, open your spiritual eyes. What do you see? Will you contribute to a further softening, or will you stand firm and courageous for the truth? I’m not suggesting crudeness or rudeness, but I am advocating drastic changes to firm up the four areas mentioned above. Participate in the solution rather than perpetuate the problem!

Dr. Jay Adams is a retired professor, author, and speaker who resides in Enoree, South Carolina.

In order to promote the unity and growth of the body of Christ, Generation to Generation endeavors to provide the wisdom of elders to younger readers and convey what young Christians need to hear as they mature in the Christian faith.

© Tabletalk magazine

Sabbath Sentiments

With thanks to JT for the link...

The Price of Liberty

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Wendell Phillips

One very real example of the need for vigilance is last week's California appellate court ruling regarding homeschooling in California. In a case of possible abuse of children, a three-panel judge has taken it upon themselves to make sweeping statements regarding homeschooling as unconstitutional, and negating the rights of parents to direct the education of their children. It really is breathtaking and dismaying! In one sweep of judicial arrogance, these judges have attempted to dismantle the constitutional rights of homeschoolers in California, with broad implications for all parental rights. While I agree with the state prosecuting any family guilty of real neglect and abuse (and perhaps the family at the heart of the lawsuit is, indeed, guilty of such...) I rebel in every fiber at the idea that the court would attempt to make broad constitutional interpretations in such a manner! If this holds, no parents are safe from any kind of government interference.

If you wish to educate yourself on this issue, here are some resources I have been reading this morning:

• Denny Burk has listed many excellent resources at his blog here (with thanks to JT for pointing it out...) including a radio clip and several newspaper articles covering the ruling.
  

• The petition from HSLDA to depublish the decision can be signed here. I hope many of you will do so.

• Governor Schwartzenegger has issued a strongly-worded statement you can read here.

• A short video from The Daily Case Report explaining the issues in the case can be found here. (Thanks to LD for her links!)
  

• Kathleen has some excellent thoughts at her blog here.
  

Many of us were involved in the struggle to assure the right to homeschool our children back in the 1980's and 90's, and now we can't just relax on our laurels. Time to respond! Pray, educate yourself, and tell others, and look for ways to let your voice be heard.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke

Miscellany

Ah, the joys of scrapbooking... I'm a novice, and not very good at it, but it is fun! Even if it is messy (see my table at left). I have some of those trays to organize things into; now I just need to do it. Last night I finished a some pages for a scrap book celebrating my Dad's 70th birthday. Belated birthday greetings, Pops!

Douglas Groothuis has an impassioned post about the evangelical loss of passion regarding abortion. He makes some excellent arguments, and urges Evangelicals to recover from the fetus-fatigue they've been suffering from.

We had a lovely spring snowstorm last night that left the world amazingly beautiful this morning. See a few photos below.

The Day after a Marathon

I found this on Dr. G's blog, and had to post it here for my running men...

Wednesday Without Words

Miscellany

At right is my nightstand, piles of books predominating. It seems to be one of the places such piles accumulate...

• If you have followed any of the recent declarations by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, you may enjoy this satirical piece in the Telegraph. it made me smile, and also told me I was not alone in scratching my head at this man...

• In the category of favorite Spurgeon quotes, I ran across this one, with thanks to MA:

"I have heard of some good old woman in a cottage, who had nothing but a piece of bread and a little water. Lifting up her hands, she said as a blessing, "What! All this, and Christ too?"

May I live ever thankful...

• I was encouraged by one of my accountability partners from Women's Fellowship (thanks, Jacque!) to remember that joy is a command, and a fruit of the Spirit. In the category of preaching the gospel to ones self every day, here are some excellent reminders about joy, courtesy of John Piper's ministry.

• Our hymn of the month in evening fellowship time on Sunday evenings has beautiful words from the pen of Francis Scott Key, author of the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner.
  

Lord with Glowing Heart I'd Praise Thee
Lord, with glowing heart I’d praise Thee,
For the bliss Thy love bestows,
For the pardoning grace that saves me,
And the peace that from it flows:
Help, O God, my weak endeavor;
This dull soul to rapture raise:
Thou must light the flame, or never
Can my love be warmed to praise.

Praise, my soul, the God that sought thee,
Wretched wanderer, far astray;
Found thee lost, and kindly brought thee
From the paths of death away;
Praise, with love’s devoutest feeling,
Him Who saw thy guilt-born fear,
And the light of hope revealing,
Bade the blood-stained cross appear.

Praise thy Savior God that drew thee
To that cross, new life to give,
Held a blood sealed pardon to thee,
Bade thee look to Him and live.
Praise the grace whose threats alarmed thee,
Roused thee from thy fatal ease;
Praise the grace whose promise warmed thee,
Praise the grace that whispered peace.

Lord, this bosom’s ardent feeling
Vainly would my lips express.
Low before Thy footstool kneeling,
Deign Thy suppliant’s prayer to bless:
Let Thy grace, my soul’s chief treasure,
Love’s pure flame within me raise;
And, since words can never measure,
Let my life show forth Thy praise.

---

Milton on Monday...

I am making it well into Book 6, and still pondering the character of Satan, and the discussion previously about whether he is the hero of Milton's work. Carolyn suggested I look up Lewis' Preface to Paradise Lost which turns out not to be a preface, but a series of lectures in their own book, which I must now see if I can track down through he library system. However, thanks to my friend Kevin, I now at least have a few quotes from Lewis' book, and share them below ( thanks, Kevin and Colleen!)

For it is a very old critical discovery that the imitation in art of unpleasing objects may be a pleasing imitation. In the same way, the proposition that Milton's Satan is a magnificent character may bear two senses. It may mean that Milton's presentation of him is a magnificent poetical achievement which engages the attention and excites the admiration of the reader. On the other hand, it may mean that the real being (if any) whom Milton is depicting [...] is or ought to be an object of admiration and sympathy, conscious or unconscious, on the part of the poet or his readers or both. The first, so far as I know has never till modern times been denied; the second, never affirmed before the times of Blake and Shelley--for when Dryden said that Satan was Milton's "hero" he meant something quite different. It is, in my opinion, wholly erroneous.

It remains, of course, true that Satan is the best drawn of Milton's characters. The reason is not hard to find. Of the major characters whom Milton attempted he is incomparably the easiest to draw. Set a hundred poets to tell the same story and in ninety of the resulting poems Satan will be the best character. [...] To make a character worse than oneself it is only necessary to release imaginatively from control some of the bad passions which, in real life, are always straining at the leash; the Satan, the Iago, the Becky Sharp [...] But if you try to draw a character better than yourself, all you can do is to take the best moments you have had and to imagine them prolonged and more consistently embodied in action. [...] We do not really know what it feels like to be a man much better than ourselves. [...] Heaven understands Hell and Hell does not understand Heaven, and all of us, in our measure, share the Satanic, or at least the Napoleonic, blindness. [...] Hence all that is said about Milton's "sympathy" with Satan, his expression in Satan of his own pride, malice, folly, misery, and lust, is true in a sense, but not in a sense peculiar to Milton. The Satan in Milton enables him to draw the character well just as the Satan in us enables us to receive it.

To admire Satan, then, is to give one's vote not only for a world of misery, but also for a world of lies and propaganda, of wishful thinking, of incessant autobiography. Yet the choice is possible. [...] Satan wants to go on being Satan. That is the real meaning of his choice "Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n." Some, to the very end, will think this a fine thing to say; others will think that it fails to be roaring farce only because it spells agony.

~C. S. Lewis, introduction to Paradise Lost

My thoughts, being only in the angelic battle and not yet finished with the poem, are that Satan is well drawn. We definitely feel sorry for him in his arrogance and his determination to fight and ruin even when he can't win. As an angel created by God he is admirable in many ways, but he is a grasper, always envious, always hating. We feel sympathy for him, perhaps because we are similar. We can definitely relate to him, as could Milton, and hence, he is a fully- and well-drawn character. He is "tragic" in the sense that he cannot escape his doom, and that elicits our sympathy. However, that does not make him the hero. Contrast him with the pre-fall humans and the distant Godhead, and Satan stands out in brilliant relief. But how can a man paint perfection? Much easier to paint sin, which we can comprehend. So, perhaps part of this problems lies in the task Milton set for himself to imagine the details we can't know nor really imagine.

I wonder if this view of Satan as the hero who "sticks it to the man" (or God, in this case) isn't really a reading from our context, rather than Milton's. As Lewis said, this idea doesn't show up until "after Shelley and Blake". Is it our modern notion of the autonomous individual as noble in the casting off of all restraint at all cost what makes people look at Satan as the hero here? I think that is reading too much modern context into the text, and ignoring the authorial intent as well as context. But I am likely in over my head here, and will be content to keep listening to see how Milton's story plays out, and try to locate more of Lewis for guidance...

A Sunday Song

Arise, My Soul, Arise by Charles Wesley

Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears:
Before the throne my surety stands,
Before the throne my surety stands,
My name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:
His blood atoned for all our race,
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds He bears; received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;
He cannot turn away, the presence of His Son;
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.

A lazy, lovely Saturday morning

Today has been one of those rare, lovely, delicious Saturdays without a million things to do and places to go. After sleeping in (until after 7:00 A. M., which meant more snuggle time with dh!) we cooked a lovely breakfast of Finnish pancakes topped with cherries. I baked some muffins for church tomorrow, and proceeded to sit at my dining room table and quilt. The brightness and warmth of the sun coming through the sun room, the wonderful colors of the geraniums, and the beautiful sounds of music on the CD player (Nathan Clark George and Bebo Norman) all conspired to cheer me from my mid-winter doldrums, and caused me to praise God from whom, truly, all blessings flow!

And now I am heading out into the 60+-degree sunshine for a walk with dh. Can anyone argue that the weather in NM is the best? And that our God is good. I hope you are all having a sweet Saturday...

William F. Buckley

A brilliant man was lost to this world, and one hopes, finds rest in the next. Of all the recent tributes I have read about the amazing accomplishments and brilliant mind of Buckley, I like this quote, which I have stolen from Ben at HouseBlog, courtesy of GG:

I am asked most frequently by members of the lecture audience, 'What is conservatism?' Sometimes the questioner, guarding against a windy evasiveness one comes to expect from lecturers, will add, 'preferably in one sentence.' On which I have replied, 'I could not give you a definition of Christianity in one sentence, but that does not mean Christianity is undefinable...

Yet I feel I know, if not what conservatism is, at least who a conservative is. I confess that I know who is a conservative less surely than I know who is a liberal. Blindfold me, spin me about like a top, and I will walk up to the single liberal in the room without zig or zag and find him even if he is hiding behind the flower pot. I am tempted to try to develop an equally sure nose for the conservative, but I am deterred by the knowledge that conservatives, under the stress of our times, have had to invite all kinds of people into their ranks to help with the job at hand, and the natural courtesy of the conservative causes him to treat such people not as janissaries, but as equals; and so empirically, it becomes difficult to see behind the khaki, to know surely whether that is a conservative over there doing what needs to be done, or a radical, or merely a noisemaker, or pyrotechnician, since our ragtag army sometimes moves together in surprising uniformity, and there are exhilarating moments when everyone's eye is Right...

~W. F. Buckley, Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?

If you missed the Charlie Rose show from Wednesday night (February 27), you can watch much of it here. It was both elucidating and moving. The ending section is below:

Miscellany

At left is a stack of books recently donated to my worldviews library. (Thanks, MAL!) These will be well used when I return to teaching worldviews next fall, D.V. {And D. V. stands for Deo volente in Latin, or Lord willing; it is an acknowledgment that the best laid plans are subject to the will of God...}

I ran across a rather horrifying story and some interesting commentary on the subject here today. This confirms the uneasiness I have felt for some time regarding transplant issues (which came to a head a few months ago when a friend lost her daughter in an automobile accident. This also confirms the need for Christians to think carefully about a biblical response to issues, not just theological, but medical, ethical, economic, etc. And it thus confirms my plan to teach another young group of students how to think from a Biblical perspective, stand up for their faith, and be wise citizens and clear witnesses in this broken world. May the Lord be pleased to bring fruit from such labor, and may He raise up an army of young adults ready to confront the culture for Christ!

And lastly, now for something completely different... Thanks to DesertMom for alerting me to the following hysterical video from YouTube. Any of you who have been subjected to children practicing violin will appreciate this....

Wednesday Without Words

Final Winter Reading Challenge Update

Well, it's almost the end of February, and time for my final Winter Reading Challenge update.

I finished Ender's Shadow, by Orson Scott Card last night. What a fun story. Card writes sparsely, but weaves an interesting tale. This book follows the first book, Ender's Game, and tells the same story from the viewpoint of a different character (Bean), thus accomplishing a fleshing out of the story that couldn't be done in one novel from one viewpoint, but still is full of twists and turns and plain old fun. I believe Card is a Mormon, but his spiritual sensibilities are a welcome addition to the story, where a person of faith is not treated as either ignorant or a manipulator, and where the big questions in life are not the butt of jokes. This was just fun!

Still in the "slogging through" pile are Helprin's Soldier of the Great War (about half-way through this almost 800-pager) and just into the first section of Roper's The Writer's Workshop. More on this one as I get a little bit more into it...

Left untouched is Bonfire of the Humanities alone. I'll set that aside for another day.

You can see my full list (and all the rest are completed!) in the side bar, with links to my reviews of them. As I glance through the list, Life at the Bottom was probably the best of the list. Dalrymple is an amazing writer. The one I enjoyed the least was Blue Like Jazz. Many thanks to Kathleen for getting me reading this winter!

Sovereign Grace Music

Living as I do, in the high plains desert of the Southwest, isolated and out of touch with things, I have only recently become aware of Sovereign Grace Ministries' wonderful music for worship. They are currently having a great sale: each CD is just $6, and shipping is FREE. But it's only good for the rest of February, so waste no time in picking up some of these wonderful resources.

"You and You Alone" is a newly released CD by father/son duo Pat and Joel Sczebel. One of the great features of the CD is that it is enhanced, you can print off the lead sheets and chord charts right from the CD. And these songs have characteristically strong lyrics that make them great for worship, either with a group or in your homes. I know several of these will make their way into our Sunday evening worship times!

"Upward" is a set of lovely hymn arrangements and rewritten tunes for wonderful old words from the pen of Bob Kauflin. I have a been a fan of his fine musical gifts since his wonderful arrangements for the group, Glad. And I am thrilled to find his work carrying on here in beauty.

"Valley of Vision" is subtitled, "Songs for worship inspired by the classic book of Puritan prayers". the songs are lovely, and the performances beautiful.

Sovereign Grace Ministries has a searchable song database where you can download free lead sheets and chord charts, buy Mp3 downloads, etc., here. And they have many more titles available. So waste no time in scooping up some of these delightful CDs to enhance your worship times.

Sabbath Sentiments

Lord Jesus,
If I love thee my soul shall seek thee, but can I seek thee unless my love to thee is kept alive to this end?
Do I Love thee because thou art good, and canst alone do me good?
It is fitting thou shouldst not regard me, for I am vile and selfish; yet I seek thee, and when I find thee there is no wrath to devour me, but only sweet love.
Thou dost stand as a rock between the scorching sun and my soul, and I live under the cool lee-side as one elect.
When my mind acts without thee it spins nothing but deceit and delusion; when my affections act without thee nothing is seen but dead works.
O how I need thee to abide in me, for I have no natural eyes to see thee, but I live by faith in one whose face to me is brighter than a thousand suns!
When I see that all sin is in me, all shame belongs to me; let me know that all good is in thee, all glory is thine.
Keep me from the error of thinking thou dost appear gloriously when some strange light fills my heart, as if that were the glorious activity of grace, but let me see that the truest revelation of thyself is when thou dost eclipse all my personal glory and all the honor, pleasure and good of this world.
The Son breaks out in glory when he shows himself as one who outshines all creation, makes men poor in spirit, and helps them to find their good in him.
Grant that I may distrust myself, to see my all in thee.

~Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, A. Bennet, ed.

Miscellany

Well, it is a cloudy Saturday in lovely Northern New Mexico. A night of light snow has given way to a morning of thunder and rain threats. There are cookies cooling on my stove, filling the house with delicious smells, a cup of strong black tea beside me, Simon and Garfunkle's Greatest Hits are on the CD player, and my dh (dear husband) in the next room on his computer, sharing little laughs and interesting web sites with me over IM. And youngest ds (dear son) resides across the country, but is cyber-visiting through another IM window, preparing to send me photos of last night's race. How good God is to give me such a life! On my dresser (at right) are the current quilting projects: some of the fabric for a new quilt, two completed double-sized tops with backing waiting to be pinned (at least one should be done today), and on top of the stack in the middle is my Block of the Month for Quilter's Guild.

I am personally so tired of presidential campaign analysis that it makes me feel nauseated. However, this week I ran across an interesting piece by Victor Davis Hanson that was insightful, I thought, and dead on the money.

Through my friend Renee I am now subscribing to a delightful feed from Daily Writing Tips. I think I will be using some of these with next year's composition students!

Also from Renee came this fun link to an amazing shopping excursion from Holland. Tunr on your speakers, and scroll over the page to get things started.

Amazing Ignorance

Along with the many depressing articles and books I've read lately comes this amazing little piece from NPR. My first surprise was that I have never thought of Mike Huckabee as a Biblical scholar and eloquent Biblical alluder. But secondly, what strikes me in this rather Jay-Leno-like article is that most of these folks claimed to be church-goers who attended Sunday School as children. Their ignorance of even obvious Biblical allusions is both astounding and sad. What were those Sunday Schools doing, anyway? Oh yes-- crafts and snacks, I guess. How horrifying that the church today in the West has forgotten its call, and totally confused its priorities. And let's forget the church for the moment and ask what ever happened to being culturally and academically literate?

Literacy levels have always been spurred onward in cultures where the Word of God was being brought into the vulgar language, and the necessity of reading God's Word drove fervor for learning. Perhaps there is a connection between our plummeting literacy levels and the failure of the Church...

More on Milton

I am zipping along in my listening to Paradise Lost, and have enjoyed some discussion of Milton from a previous post. This put me in mind of how I use some other poetry by Milton in my composition class.

One of the things I do is teach through the progymnasmata in about three semesters, including the exercise of comparison. In comparison, of course, we pit two people or things against each other, discussing their similarities and differences, comparing their strengths and weaknesses, praising them for virtue (encomium) or blaming then for vice (invective). I use Milton's companion pieces (which may have, indeed, been formed by this experience of writing comparisons), L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, and we do a variety of things with them: first, we endeavor to understand the meaning behind the beauty of the language and the richness of the allusions, then we write essays that present the same ideas in prose, and finally write a comparison between the life of sociability and the life of contemplation. What fun!

If you like the idea of comparison, you can see the text and examples from the medieval grand-daddy of all rhetorical teachers, Aphthonius, here, and read his comparison of Achilles and Hector, along with his examples of the other progym exercises. Don't miss his invective on Phillip of Macedon: there is definitely no love lost there!

Wednesday Without Words