In other words: a, q, and x

• adimplete, verb (transitive). To fill; to make complete.
• ambidexterity, noun. Skill or talent, esp. in two or more fields; also: ability to alter oneself, one’s opinions, etc., to serve different purposes; adaptability.
• antennation, noun. The action of an insect using its antennae to touch something, esp. (the antennae of) another insect; an instance of this.
• consistent, adjective. Acting or done in the same way over time, especially so as to be fair or accurate; unchanging in nature, standard, or effect over time; non-contradictory. 
• dep, noun. A person who stands in temporarily for another, esp. a musician in a band; also: an instance of being such a temporary stand-in (from deputy). 
• ex abundante cautela, adverb. By way of extreme caution; as an added precaution.
• kibitz, verb (transitive). To watch (a card game or card player) as a spectator, typically while offering (unwelcome) advice or criticism. 
• metanarrative, noun. A storyline or encompassing theme that gives context, meaning, and purpose to, or unites, all smaller themes and individual stories; (in postmodernist literary theory) a narrative about a narrative or narratives. 
• nutual, adjective. Expressed merely by a gesture.
• quadragenarian, noun. A person who is 40 or more and less than 50 years old.
• querimonious, adjective. Prone to complaint; complaining; see querulous.
• querulous, adjective. Complaining in a rather petulant or whining manner; see querimonious.
• worldview, noun. A comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world, especially from a specific standpoint (aka weltanschauung).
• xanthochromia, noun (Medical). Discoloration.
• xenophobia, noun. Fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign.
• xylotypographic, adjective. Of or relating to wooden type; printed from wooden type or from wood blocks.

More, William Tyndale and Baptism

I posted earlier this month about William Tyndale and baptism. Here is a little more.

The name of Tyndal having been mentioned it may not be improper to give a short account of his labours and sufferings in the cause of God. He went young to Oxford, and had part of his education there, and part at Cambridge. After leaving the university, he settled for a time in Gloucestershire; but was obliged to leave his native country on account of persecution; On the continent he translated the new testament into English and printed it in 1526; This edition was bought up by Sir Thomas More and bishop Tonstall; With the money procured from this source; it was republished in 1530: but as this also contained some reflections on the English bishops and clergy, they commanded that it should be purchased and burnt. In 1532 Tyndal and his associates translated and printed the whole bible; but while he was preparing a second edition he was apprehended and burnt for heresy in Flanders.

He was a great reformer. It is generally supposed he was born on the borders of Wales. Mr Thomas thinks this to be very probable, as “Mr Llewelyn Tyndal and his son Hezekiah were reputable members of the Baptist church at Llanwenarth near Abergavenny, about the year 1700, as appeared by the old church book and there were some of the same family in those parts still remaining.” It is probable, therefore, that Tyndal might derive his superior light from some of the Wickliffites about Hereford and the adjoining counties, where we have already proved that much scriptural truth was for ages deposited. To this great man we are under great obligations for our emancipation from the fetters of popery, as it is not likely these would ever have been broken eff but by the hammer of God’s word.

            The sentiments of this celebrated man on the subject of baptism may be collected from the following extract from his works. After reprobating severely the conduct of the Romish clergy for using a latin form of words, he says, “The wasshynge wythout the word helpeth not; but thorow the word it purifyeth and clēseth us, as thou readest Eph 5. How Christ clenseth the congregation in the founteine of water thorow the word: the word is the promise which God hath made. Now as a preacher, in preaching the word of God saveth the hearers that beleve so doeth the wasshinge in that it preacheth and representeth to us the promise that God hath made unto us in Christe, the wasshinge preacheth unto us that we ar clensed wyth Christe’s bloude shedynge was an offering and a satisfaction for the synne of al that repent and beleve consentynge and submyttyne themselves unto the wyl of God. The plungynge into the water sygnyfyeth that we die and are buried with Chryst as co̅serning ye old life of synne which is Adā. And the pulling out agayn sygnyfyeth that we ryse again with Christe in a new lyfe ful of the holye gooste which shal teach us and gyde us and work the wyll of God in us as thou seest Rom 6.*

Whether Tyndal baptized persons on a professsion of faith or not, it is certain that his sentiments would naturally lead him to the practice; as what is said of the subject of this ordinance in this quotation, can in no sense apply to infants, who cannot be said to “repent and believe, consenting and submitting themselves unto the will of God.” As it relates to the manner in which baptism was at that time administered, his statement is so plain that it requires no comment.

* The obedience of all degrees proved by Gods worde imprinted by Wyllyan Copeland at London 1561.

The excerpt above is from A History of the English Baptists, Volume 1 by Joseph Ivimey (London: 1811, pp. 92-93). Ivimey admitted he had no direct proof for what Tyndale practiced concerning baptism—but pointed out that if Tyndale practiced his sentiments, that was believer’s baptism.

Modernized spelling of Tyndale’s words to facilitate ease of understanding for current readers can be found HERE.

Perfect

“That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:17

What perfection does the Holy Ghost speak of here? Certainly not perfection in the flesh; that is but a wild dream of free-will and Arminianism. But perfection here and elsewhere means a being well-established and grounded in the faith, as we find the Apostle speaking (Heb. 5:14), “Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age” (literally, as we read in the margin, “perfect”), “even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Christian perfection does not then consist in perfection in the flesh, but in having arrived at maturity in the divine life, in being what I may call a Christian adult, or what the Apostle terms “a man in Christ.”

When Paul therefore says, “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect,” he means “being no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,” but favoured with a measure of Christian wisdom and strength. It is this Christian maturity which is called in Scripture, “perfection,” and it is only obtained by suffering. It is only in the furnace that the tin and dross of pharisaic righteousness is purged away; and the soul comes out of the furnace “a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet for the Master’s use.”

The Lord of life and glory was made “perfect by suffering;” and there is no other way whereby his followers are made spiritually perfect. Until a man is led into suffering, he does not know the truth in its sweetness. We are full of free-will, pride, presumption, and self-righteousness. But when the soul is baptised into suffering, it is in a measure established in the truth, strengthened in the things of God, and conformed to the image of Christ.

J. C. Philpot (1802-1869)

My soul, there is a country

“Peace” was written by Henry Vaughan (1621–1695). Henry Vaughan was a Welshman, born April 17, 1622, the son of Thomas Vaughan (d. 1658).[i] This Vaughan family was of Tretower Court, the parish of Llanfihangel Cwm-du, Brecknock. As a child, Vaughan was taught by a minister named Matthew Herbert. Except for his time studying in Oxford and London, Henry Vaughan resided “his entire adult life in Brecknockshire on the estate where he was born and which he inherited from his parents.” Henry Vaughan called himself a “Silurist,” signifying the heritage of natives of Brecknockshire in Wales. He also styled himself a convert of George Herbert, crediting his change of views to “the blessed man, Mr. George Herbert, whose holy life and verse gained many pious converts, of whom I am the least.” Vaughan was a poet, translator, studied law, and practiced medicine from in the 1650s until his death. “Peace” appeared in his Silex Scintillans – “The Glittering Flint,” first published in 1650 and enlarged in 1655. He published other works, including Thalia Rediviva in 1678.

Henry Vaughan married twice, first to Catherine Wise in 1646, and after her death in 1653, to her sister Elizabeth Wise (circa 1655). Henry and Catherine had four children (a son and three daughters). He died April 23, 1695, and was buried at St. Brides Churchyard in Llansantffraed, Powys, Wales.

1. My Soul, there is a country 

Afar beyond the stars, 

Where stands a winged sentry 

All skillful in the wars; 

2. There, above noise and danger 

Sweet Peace sits, crown’d with smiles, 

And One born in a manger 

Commands the beauteous files. 

3. He is thy gracious friend 

And (O my Soul awake!) 

Did in pure love descend, 

To die here for thy sake. 

4. If thou canst get but thither, 

There grows the flow’r of peace, 

The rose that cannot wither, 

Thy fortress, and thy ease. 

5. Leave then thy foolish ranges, 

For none can thee secure, 

But One, who never changes, 

Thy God, thy life, thy cure.

The poem as transcribed above exhibits modernized spellings. It is a fitting tribute to the peace of God which passeth all understanding (Philippians 4:7). The author calls the reader away from earthly views and places to consider a country far from mortal sight, which by faith is seen. Vaughan’s vocabulary is simple, yet sufficient. Though not written as a hymn, the verse structure is generally 7s.6s., with an alternate rhyming pattern. The poem invites readers to sing it, and it has in fact been set to music. One pairing is with Christus Der Ist Mein Leben by Melchior Vulpius. Vulpius published this tune as a setting for the funeral hymn “Christus, der ist mein Leben” – “For Me to Live Is Jesus” – in Ein Schön Geistlich Gesangbuch (1609).

As descendants of Vaughans (Vaughns) of Wales, our family possibly has some kinship to this hymn writer.

---

[i] The Dictionary of Welsh Biography states that Thomas Vaughan “married the heiress of Newton in Llansantffraed.” In letters to John Aubrey, Vaughan reveals his mother’s name as Denise Morgan, and that he had a twin brother named Thomas. (Thomas, Jr. became a rector in the Church of England.) Most biographies give Vaughan’s birth year as 1621. However, his tombstone gives his age at time of death as 73 years old. If April 17 is the correct birthday for Henry Vaughan, and if he was 73 years old when he died, then 1622 is the correct birth year. However, Vaughan seems to give the year as 1621 in one of his letters to John Aubrey.

In other words, wind and water

• cyclone, noun. A system of winds rotating inwards to an area of low barometric pressure, with an anticlockwise (northern hemisphere) or clockwise (southern hemisphere) circulation; a depression. 
• derecho, noun. A large fast-moving complex of thunderstorms with powerful straight-line winds that cause widespread destruction; a widespread, long-lived wind storm.
• downburst, noun. A strong downward wind system that emanates from a point source above and blows radially, that is, in straight lines in all directions from the point of contact at ground level.
• funnel cloud, noun. A rotating funnel-shaped cloud forming the core of a tornado or waterspout. 
• haboob, noun. A violent thick dust storm or sandstorm, particularly in the deserts of North Africa and Arabia or on the plains of India. (Such a dust storm can stand hundreds of feet high.)
• hurricane, noun. A tropical storm having sustained wind speeds of at least 74 miles per hour, in particular a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, or eastern Pacific Ocean. Compare typhoon.
• medicane, noun. Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones (typically smaller in diameter and have lower wind speeds than true tropical cyclones). Derived by combining Mediterranean with hurricane.
• squall line, noun. A line or extended narrow region within which squalls (high wind and heavy rain) or thunderstorms occur, often several hundred miles long.
• tempest, noun. A violent windstorm, especially one with rain, hail, or snow.
• thunderstorm, noun. A heavy storm characterized by thunder and lightning.
• tornado, noun. A mobile, destructive vortex of violently rotating winds having the appearance of a funnel-shaped cloud and advancing beneath a large storm system. Compare waterspout.
• tropical storm, noun. A localized, very intense low-pressure wind system, forming over tropical oceans and with winds of hurricane force.
• tsunami, noun. An unusually large sea wave produced by a seaquake or undersea volcanic eruption; also called tidal wave.
• typhoon, noun. A tropical storm having sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour, in particular a tropical cyclone in the western Pacific Ocean or northern Indian Ocean. Compare hurricane.
• waterspout, noun. A rotating column of water and spray formed by a whirlwind occurring over the sea or other body of water. Compare tornado.
• whirlwind, noun. A column of air moving rapidly round and round in a cylindrical or funnel shape.

Hiding warts?

I posted here and elsewhere about some of the problems of the Black Lives Matter organization. It is an organization rather than a statement. Not all black lives matter to them, apparently. An interesting development is that they have recently removed the What We Believe page. When I searched for it last night, I got the following message. 

404 Not Found. We can not find the page you are looking for. 

Other browsers may have:

Page Not Found. Sorry, but the page you were trying to view does not exist. 

There is an “About” section on the site. It relates vague things about what the group believes, without going into detail. “What We Believe” was much more detailed, revealing, for example, that Black Lives Matter is a queer‐affirming transgender network that wants to “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.” Maybe they have deemed that clarity with this kind of information generally harmful to their cause. For now, what they used to freely admit is now scrubbed or hidden. Nevertheless, it can still be found on a cached version of the website HERE.

Evangelicals’ Opposition to Abortion

The History of American Evangelicals’ Opposition to Abortion Is Long -- “To take pro-choice revisionists at their word, one would have to believe that, with Roe, the Supreme Court struck down restrictive abortion laws that came from nowhere and were passed by nobody but merely existed.”

The second commandment of the teaching: You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not seduce boys. You shall not commit fornication. You shall not steal. You shall not practice magic. You shall not use potions. You shall not procure [an] abortion, nor destroy a newborn child. [Didache 2:1–2 (a.d. 70)]
In the new historiography of the abortion debate, the reason that pro-lifers are against abortion is not that they sincerely believe it to be murder. Rather they are operating from a false consciousness, hiding their real motive, racism...To take pro-choice revisionists at their word, one would have to believe that, with Roe, the Supreme Court struck down restrictive abortion laws that came from nowhere and were passed by nobody but merely existed.

The Gospel

The gospel is sublime, but also simple. Succinctly, the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

In his death, Jesus suffered the penalty of sin. The wages of sin is death. God told Adam that he would die if he ate the fruit that God forbid. Jesus suffered this penalty when he died on the cross. (Genesis 2:17; Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:56)

In his death, Jesus substituted himself for sinners. His death was substitutionary, or vicarious (experienced in the place of others). Jesus was born sinless. He lived a sinless life. He was without sin. Since the wages of sin is death, death had no valid claim on him. His death was in our place. (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:21-22; 1 Peter 3:18)

In his death, Jesus satisfied the justice of God. Animal sacrifices were not sufficient to atone for man’s sin. The substitutionary death of Jesus the Son of God was sufficient. It satisfied the righteousness and justice of God totally, once for all. (Isaiah 53:5-6, 10-11; Hebrews 10:4, 10-14; 1 Peter 2:21-22; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:9–10)

In his burial, an act related to the process of dust returning to dust (though not for him), Jesus was one with sinners. His burial is the hinge pin between death and resurrection, assuring us that both occurred – verification that Jesus was in fact dead. Experts in execution certified his death. His body was spiced and securely wrapped in burial garments. Guards watched his tomb. (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57-60)

In his resurrection, Jesus was declared or demonstrated to be the Son of God. God is satisfied, well-pleased, signified in his raising Jesus from the dead. The resurrection puts the “stamp of approval” on the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ – indicating he was the true Messiah sent from God. He ever lives as proof that he came from heaven. (Acts 13:29-31; Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Timothy 3:16)

In his resurrection, Jesus is the promise of our resurrection. Our hope and expectation of life after death – rising from the grave – intricately intertwines with his resurrection. If there is no resurrection of Jesus, there is no resurrection of us. There is no hope. (1 Corinthians 15:20; 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, 21-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Titus 2:13)

In his resurrection, Jesus won the victory over death. Death is man’s lot, the wages he pays for sin. In his death, Jesus crushed the head of the serpent. Then he rises victorious over death. He owns the keys of death and hell. He ever lives to make intercession for us. (Isaiah 25:8; Mark 16:6; Acts 2:24; 1 Corinthians 15:23, 51-57; Revelation 1:18)

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: John 11:25

A Faithful Willingness, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• A Faithful Willingness to Apply the Bible to Its Own Preservation -- “2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:20-21 just don’t make those exact types of statements, and yet believers through church history have taken assurance from them that there was a perfect set of sixty-six books in the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.”
• A Word Study Demonstrating the Meaning of the word Church (Ekklesia), And Consequently the Nature of the New Testament Church -- “...this writer is not aware of any published study of the word ekklesia by an advocate of a universal, invisible church position that seeks to refute the local-only position.”
• After vowing to abolish police, Minneapolis City Council demands to know ‘Where are the police?’ as violence plagues the city -- “During a two-hour meeting with Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo this week, the Democratic city council, in brazen fashion, demanded to know why city police are not responding to the violence with enhanced law enforcement measures.”
• Ben Sasse Calls for Repealing 17th Amendment, Eliminating Popular-Vote Senate Elections -- “What would the Founding Fathers think of America if they came back to life...The Congress they envisioned is all but dead.”
• BREAKING: Omaha Bar Owner Charged For Killing Rioter Who Attacked Him and His Business Has Committed Suicide -- “...Franklin bowed to pressure and dug up evidence and came up with charges.”
• Cancel Culture Is Not the Problem; Conformity Culture Is -- “The more difficult cases — largely unknown because they are, unlike discrete and reportable events, unknowable — are those in which scholars restrain their own language not out of fear but rather out of weariness.”
• Gunmen Shoot Up Home Of 2 Cops While They Were Inside With Newborn Baby -- “The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has joined in the search for the gunmen, and a $20,000 reward has been offered for information leading to their arrests.”
• Late ruling on Green Party will delay mail ballots -- “The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered three Green Party candidates to be restored to the November ballot after Democrats successfully sued to remove them...”
• Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, June 24–30, 2020 -- “... 40.9% of respondents reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition, including symptoms of anxiety disorder or depressive disorder...”
• Occupational Gravestones -- “Occupational gravestones can help you discover the story of your ancestor’s life. It’s the dash between the dates!”
• Ode to Parker Motel -- “In the late 1950s, my grandfather bought the Parker Motel...None of us are named Parker, but he couldn’t see changing a perfectly good sign, so the Parker Motel it remained.”
• Understanding the three-fifths compromise -- “Counting the whole number of slaves benefited the Southern states and reinforced the institution of slavery. Minimizing the percentage of the slave population counted for apportionment reduced the political power of slaveholding states.”
• The History of American Evangelicals’ Opposition to Abortion Is Long -- “To take pro-choice revisionists at their word, one would have to believe that, with Roe, the Supreme Court struck down restrictive abortion laws that came from nowhere and were passed by nobody but merely existed.”
• When Looking for a Church, Beware the “Right Fit” -- “I’m looking for a church that’s just like me.”

The land of lost content

Into my heart an air that kills
From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
What spires, what farms are those?

That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.

A. E. Housman

The Great Saviour

1. Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

2. Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my Strength, my victory wins.

3. Jesus! what a Help in sorrow!
While the billows over me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my Comfort, helps my soul.

4. Jesus! what a Guide and Keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
Storms about me, night overtakes me,
He, my Pilot, hears my cry.

5. Jesus! I do now receive Him,
More than all in Him I find.
He hath granted me forgiveness,
I am His, and He is mine.

Chorus:
Hallelujah! what a Saviour!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

John Wilburn Chapman (better known as J. Wilbur Chapman) wrote this hymn. The first line of the hymn, “Jesus! what a friend for sinners,” seems to refer to Luke 7:34 – “The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!”

J. Wilbur Chapman was born June 17, 1859 in Richmond, Indiana, the son of Alexander H. Chapman and Lorinda McWhinney. He was a well-known Presbyterian pastor and evangelist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Gospel singer Charles Alexander usually traveled with Chapman in his evangelistic endeavours, which Chapman entered into full-time about 1907.

In May 1918, Chapman was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. He died in New York on December 25, 1918, two days after receiving emergency surgery for gallstones.

Rowland Prichard (1811-1887) wrote the music with which it most commonly appears, Hyfrydol. Prichard (1811-1887) wrote it in 1830, when he was only 19 years old. In 1844 it was published in Cyfaill y Cantorion (The Singers’ Friend). “Hyfrydol” is Welsh for “tuneful” or “pleasant.” The Psalter Hymnal Handbook (1987) relates, “A simple bar form (AAB) tune with the narrow range of a sixth, Hyfrydol builds to a stunning climax by sequential use of melodic motives.” The hymn may also be sung with the tune Holy Manna.

Strange fact check

Fact check: Popular wolf photo in meme about protective women is actually of 3 male wolves

This seems a strange USA Today fact check. Perhaps they fell prey to a sudden rush of gender acknowledgement. USA Today did not say how they actually made the determination that it was 3 male wolves. Today, with people, you have to ask them how they self-identify in order to make such a determination! However, in the end I decided that this must fall into USA Today’s “See, we told you that every fact check is not about Trump” category.

Are religious people happier, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• Are religious people happier, healthier? Our new global study explores this question -- “Actively religious people are more likely than their less-religious peers to describe themselves as ‘very happy’ in about half of the countries surveyed.”
• Atlantic Editor Concedes Central Claim Of Trump Hit Piece Could Be Wrong -- “...Bolton confirmed the account from his book in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, saying he had never heard President Trump disparage fallen soldiers.”
• Candace Owens on President Trump’s outreach to Black voters, left’s indoctrination of minorities -- “Political commentator Candace Owens discusses her new book, ‘Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation.’”
• ‘Cuties’ Sparks a Firestorm After Its Netflix Release -- “Rep. Tulsi Gabbard...said on Twitter on Friday that the film ‘will certainly whet the appetite of pedophiles & help fuel the child sex trafficking trade.’”
• Davy Crockett’s Fiddle -- “...country-western singer Red River Dave McEnery recorded When Davy Crockett Met the San Antonio Rose with a fiddle that reportedly had belonged to Crockett himself.”
• Do Pro-Lifers Who Reject Trump Have ‘Blood on their Hands’ -- “How do politics impact abortion rates in the United States? It has been almost 50 years since Roe v. Wade was decided. What have we learned?”
• ‘Don’t come back until you find him’: The harrowing story of a father’s desperate attempt to save his son in the Oregon wildfires -- “Chris Tofte blew past the blockade, his green Jeep Cherokee aimed for the bowels of the raging Beachie Creek Fire.”
• Focus on Texas: Shapes -- “Ordinary objects become extraordinary on the right canvas, where repetition, lighting and perspective change everything.”
• How Should the Preexistence of Christ Shape How We Preach the Old Testament? -- “‘Preexistence’ refers to the real, personal, pre-incarnate existence of the Second Person of the Triune God, before his taking on flesh.”
• “Jesus Died for Sinners”: Do Your People Know What This Actually Means? -- “...these three truths about the penal substitutionary atonement should not be assumed. We must teach them line-upon-line and precept-upon-precept.
• Kamala Harris Meets Extremist Anti-Semitic Father Of Accused Rapist Jacob Blake -- “Harris has yet to address these verified facts, which are supported not just by video evidence but by official police reports.”
• On Diverse Reading Lists: A Friendly Response to Denny Burk -- “The lack of diversity in reading for theological education is a real issue of debate.”
• Southern Baptist Pastors Announce “Resolution on Abolishing Abortion” -- “It also rejects an incremental approach to ending abortion and encourages all government leaders to honor Christ by ‘abolishing abortion immediately, without exception or compromise.’”
• The Dead-end of Research Justice -- “I have always chosen textbooks with the aim of finding the very best texts to achieve the purposes of the course.”
• ‘The Very Definition of Tyranny’: Court Upholds LA County’s Ban on John MacArthur’s Church Services -- “Gov. Newsom has reportedly threatened to cut off power to any church that continues to meet in-person. Yet he is facing a large movement of civil disobedience.”
• Tilley Bend Baptist Church -- “Some of the most interesting legends about the region emerged from a perennial family feud and its consequences.”
• Trump to direct federal agencies to move into ‘Opportunity Zones’ -- “President Trump on Monday will order federal agencies to prioritize moving their offices to Opportunity Zones to spur investment in some of the nation’s poorest neighborhoods.”

People want to be spoon fed, and other quotes

The posting of quotes by human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources. (I try to confirm the sources that I give, but may miss on occasion; please verify when possible.)

“People want to be spoon fed a self-righteous way of living devoid of spiritual exercise. They want the works without the work!” -- Mikal Smith

“Cheer up, you are a lot worse than you think you are. Cheer up, God’s grace is a lot bigger than you think it is.” -- Jack Miller

“Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.” -- Old farmer

“You will run out of sin before God runs out of grace.” -- Jerry Parries

“The harvest of justice is sown in peace.” -- Copied

“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” -- Augustine of Hippo

“There’s a fine line between genius and insanity.” -- Common saying

“All of life illustrates bible doctrine.” -- Attributed to Donald Grey Barnhouse

“Life does not prepare you for things like this—but God’s Word does.” -- Steve Schramm

“Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.” -- Don Kardong

“When religious texts are sung well, greater devotion is inspired: souls are moved…and with warmer devotion kindled to piety than if they are not so sung.” -- Augustine of Hippo

“Fill their minds with Scripture. Let the Word dwell in them richly. Give them the Bible, the whole Bible, even while they are young.” -- J. C. Ryle

“Truth always functions as a polemic against what is false.”  -- Unknown

“If there’s less cheese, the rats have to race even harder.” -- Tiber Fischer

Southern Baptists for Abolishing Abortion

A group of Southern Baptists has started an organization called Southern Baptists for Abolishing Abortion. While pro-life is a common position among Southern Baptists, John Smith, pastor of Evergreen Baptist Church in Cashmere, Washington emphasized this difference, “All other resolutions [in the SBC, about abortion] have stopped short of calling abortion for what it is, the murder of our pre-born neighbors and the call for its immediate end.” 

Derin Stidd, pastor of Harmony Baptist Church in Frankfurt, Indiana told The Resurgent, “...instead of celebrating legislation which regulates when, where, and how a baby can be murdered, our resolution calls for Christ-honoring legislation which seeks to completely and totally criminalize abortion without exception or compromise. In this regard, our resolution is the only anti-abortion call-to-action that is actually consistent with our doctrinal statement.” 

 The resolution can be read HERE.

In other words, cuppa gibberish

• ambuscado, noun (Chiefly Military). A positioning of soldiers, etc., in a concealed place, in order to surprise and attack an enemy; the surprise attack itself. Also: the condition or position of being concealed in such a way.
• bagman, noun (British). A traveling salesman.
• beard-stroking, noun. The action of stroking one's beard, especially while deliberating or reflecting on a question. Hence: over-intellectualism, excessive deliberation, pretentiousness. Cf. chin-stroking.
• chin-stroking, noun. The action of stroking one's chin, especially while deliberating or reflecting on a question. Hence: excessive deliberation or pondering, pretentiousness. Cf. beard-stroking.
• comorbidity, noun. A concomitant but unrelated pathological or disease process.
• concomitant, adjective. Existing or occurring with something else, often in a lesser way; accompanying; concurrent.
• coopetition, noun. Collaboration between rival organizations in the hope of mutually beneficial results, sometimes on a specific project; cooperation between competitors.
• coze, verb (intransitive). To sit or recline comfortably and snugly.
• cuppa, noun (British, informal). A cup of tea.
• doss, verb (British, informal).  Sleep (in rough or inexpensive accommodations).
• fomite, noun. An inanimate object or substance, such as clothing, furniture, or soap, that is capable of transmitting infectious organisms from one individual to another.
• gibber, verb (intransitive). To speak rapidly, inarticulately, and often foolishly.
• gibberish, noun. Meaningless or unintelligible talk or writing.
• meep, verb (intransitive). To make a short, high-pitched sound.
• nick, verb (British, slang). To steal. To take into legal custody; arrest.
• oscitant, adjective. Yawning with drowsiness; also dull, lazy, or stupid.
• pseudologue, noun. A compulsive or pathological liar.
• rozzle, verb (transitive). To warm or heat (something), esp. before a fire.
• simp, noun (Informal). A fool; simpleton.
• vaguebooking, noun (slang). An intentionally vague Facebook status update, that inevitably prompts friends to ask what is going on, or is possibly a cry for help (from vague + Facebook).

Few politicians are hung today

“The men whom the people ought to choose to represent them are too busy to take the jobs. But the politician is waiting for it. He’s the pestilence of modern times. What we should try to do is make politics as local as possible. Keep the politicians near enough to kick them. The villagers who met under the village tree could also hang their politicians to the tree. It’s terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hung today.”

G. K. Chesterton (from an interview with The Cleveland Press, March 1, 1921

Joe’s Mask Mandate

• Joe Biden, August 13: “Every single American should be wearing a mask when they’re outside for the next three months, at a minimum. Let’s institute a mask mandate nationwide starting immediately, and we will save lives.”
• Joe Biden, August 20: “We’ll have a national mandate to wear a mask — not as a burden, but to protect each other. It’s a patriotic duty.”
• Joe Biden, September 6: “Here’s the deal, the federal government...there’s a constitutional issue whether the federal government could issue such a mandate, I don’t think constitutionally they could, so I wouldn’t issue a mandate.”

Joseph Butler Rees

The 20th Georgia Infantry was formed at Columbus in May 1861. Joseph Butler Rees, Private Enlisted in Company B, Georgia 20th Infantry Regiment on 23 May 1861. Mustered out on 15 Dec 1861 at Richmond, VA. (death)

Joseph B. Rees

Residence Muscogee County GA;

Enlisted on 5/23/1861 as a Private.

On 5/23/1861 he mustered into “B” Co. GA 20th Infantry

He died on 12/15/1861 at Richmond, VA

(Place of Burial; Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA)

http://www.civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?SoldierHistory?C&154230

Newnan Herald And Advertiser, Newnan, Georgia, September 26, 1890

Jasper County

Edmon Head m. Sarah Smith 18 Apr 1811

William Connell

Catherine Buchannon

14 Feb 1815

Husband: Thomas B. Clopton m. Wife: Harriet B. Claiborne

Date: 18 MAR 1834

Place: Eatonton, Putnam County, GA

A French man chased a fly, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• A French man chased a fly around with an electric swatter and accidentally blew up his own house -- “The explosion left him with minor burns and his home is uninhabitable, according to local reports. The fate of the fly is not known.”
• Cattle Baron John Chisum’s Legacy Lives On Through Descendants -- “Chisum became involved with New Mexico’s Lincoln County War, a conflict between rival cattle barons, that involved the notorious Billy the Kid.”
• Clara Willoughby Made Significant Progress for State of Texas -- “In 1949, while Clara was chairman of the Tom Green County Child Welfare Board, she became concerned that there were no trained social workers to protect children placed in foster homes and to screen adoptive families.”
• COVID-19 and Comorbidities -- “For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned.”
• Eight charged with sexually assaulting unconscious teen after video surfaces -- “The girl’s mother was alerted to the video and was the one who shared it with detectives, Lapatin told The Post early Wednesday.”
• Joe Biden walks back his national mask mandate, admits it would probably be unconstitutional -- “You can’t mandate that.”
• Kamala Harris Is No Moderate -- “Kamala Harris, they assure us, is a ‘moderate.’ A moderate what? Moderate compared to whom?”
• Loss, Peace, and the Folly of Running Away -- “Life does not prepare you for things like this—but God’s Word does.”
• Meet Antifa’s ‘Alice Phallus.’ When She’s Not Rioting, She’s a ‘Life Coach’ for Portland’s At-Risk Youth -- “People like Alice Johnson...tear apart the very city they purport to help. They riot, loot and commit acts of arson in the name of fighting imaginary fascists and racists. And the mayor and DA just let them do it.”
• Nebraska Man Appeals to City Council to Prohibit Lie of ‘Boneless Chicken Wings’ -- “A man in Lincoln, Nebraska urged city council members to crack down calling chicken tenders ‘boneless chicken wings’.”
• New Thinking on Covid Lockdowns: They’re Overly Blunt and Costly -- “Blanket business shutdowns—which the U.S. never tried before this pandemic—led to a deep recession. Economists and health experts say there may be a better way.”
• Pastor told not to offend gay pride as mob threaten to burn down his church -- “With further calls for police to investigate Josh for a ‘hate crime’, a post in an LGBT group called for Newquay Baptist Church, which often houses families, to be burnt down.”
• Video from priest says Catholics who vote for Democrats will go to hell. One bishop approves this message. -- “As the Bishop of Tyler I endorse Fr Altman’s statement in this video. My shame is that it has taken me so long.”
• What Is the Violence in American Cities All About? -- “The brand of the anarchist is not logic but envy-driven power: to take it, to keep it, and to use it against purported enemies...”
• 1,000 people double-voted in Georgia primary, says secretary of state -- “Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Tuesday that 1,000 Georgians voted twice in the state’s June 9 primary...These voters returned absentee ballots and then also showed up to vote on election day June 9.”
• 52 Black ex-franchisees file a $1 billion racial-discrimination lawsuit against McDonald’s -- “The franchisees say they were forced to close or sell more than 200 McDonald’s locations because of ‘systematic and covert racial discrimination’.”

Jesus Never Talked About

Josh Williamson and his church, Newquay Baptist Church in Cornwall, England, prayed for a “Gay Pride” event to be cancelled. The pastor rejoiced on social media when it was cancelled. The “LGBTQ+ community” immediately went to work against Williamson and his church, reporting them to police for a “hate crime,” as well as threatening to burn down the church house. Afterward two members of the Cornwall Pride homosexual group requested Pastor Williamson to meet with them. At the meeting he gave to them a tract (see link below) to explain the beliefs of him and his church. A member of Cornwall Pride using the name Rosie Posie “spoke out about the hurt seeing the leaflet had caused on social media” – which was only on social media because they posted it! Rosie went on to say, “This is 2020 and very soon publications like this will be made illegal.” 

Don’t believe it? You had better. It is the aim and activity of many homosexuals and their allies to see that any biblical condemnation of their practices will become “hate speech” and “hate crimes.”

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

The Jesus NEVER Talked About Homosexuality tract which Williamson presented “addresses many of the common justifications for sexual sin offered by the LGBTQ+ community, while leading the reader to a clear presentation of the Gospel.”

Happy Labour Day

• Exodus 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
• Psalm 104:23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
• Psalm 127:1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
• Psalm 128:2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
• Proverbs 10:16 The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.
• Ecclesiastes 1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
• Lamentations 5:5 Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest.
• Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
• John 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
• Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
• 1 Timothy 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
• Hebrews 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
• Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
• Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

Tyndale on baptism

And to know how contrary this law is unto our nature, and how it is damnation not to have this law written on our hearts, though we never commit the deeds; and how there is no other means to be saved from this damnation, than through repentance toward the law, and faith in Christ’s blood; which are the very inward baptism of our souls, and the washing and the dipping of our bodies in the water is the outward sign. The plunging of the body under the water signifieth that we repent and profess to fight against sin and lusts, and to kill them every day more and more, with the help of God, and our diligence in following the doctrine of Christ and the leading of his Spirit; and that we believe to be washed from our natural damnation in which we are born, and from all the wrath of the law…and from all actual sin which shall chance upon us, while we enforce the contrary and ever fight there against, and hope to sin no more. And thus repentance and faith begin at our baptism, and first professing the laws of God; and continue to our lives’end, and grow as we grow in the Spirit: for the perfecter [sic] we be, the greater is our repentance, and the stronger our faith…

In “Pathway Into the Holy Scriptures,” an introduction to his New Testament (circa 1525), William Tyndale teaches believers’ baptism and immersion as baptism.

Summer suns are glowing

1. God’s free mercy streameth

Over all the world,

And his banner gleameth,

By his church unfurled;

Broad and deep and glorious,

As the heaven above,

Shines in might victorious

His eternal love.

2. Summer suns are glowing

Over land and sea;

Happy light is flowing,

Bountiful and free;

Everything rejoices

In the mellow rays;

Earth’s ten thousand voices

Swell the psalm of praise.

3. Lord, upon our blindness

Thy pure radiance pour;

For thy loving-kindness

We would love thee more;

And when clouds are drifting

Dark across the sky,

Then, the veil uplifting,

Father, be thou nigh.

4. We will never doubt thee,

Tho’ thou veil thy light;

Life is dark without thee,

Death with thee is bright.

Light of light, shine o’er us

On our pilgrim way,

Go thou still before us

To the endless day.

William Walsham How (1823-1897) is author of the hymn “Summer,” published in Church Hymns in 1871. How was a Bishop in the Church of England, known for his work among the poor and destitute. The hymn is often set to the tune Ruth, written by Samuel Smith (1821-1917) in 1865. The meter is 6.5.6.5.D.

Random revelry

If I were set up and caught trying to hire a hit man, would the fact that I was set up excuse the murder in my heart?

Would the same apply to a pandemic perm?

artotyrite, noun. A member of a sect originating in Galatia in the 2nd century AD, who celebrate the Eucharist with bread and cheese.

I love cheese, but that just ain’t right!

Religion, we have a problem

In Fundamentalists have a problem with Jesus, Mark Wingfield and Mitch Randall write, “They [i.e., the Fundamentalists] have remade Jesus in their own political image. They have replaced Jesus of Nazareth with a Jesus of American nationalism...” I do not doubt this is an apt description of some fundamentalists. The stone-casters might look within to find that “We have remade Jesus in our own political image. We have replaced Jesus of Nazareth with a Jesus of the Liberal imagination.” Just ask them to tell you about their Jesus and compare that to the complete picture presented in the Bible. 

“The root problem with fundamentalist theology is a disdain for the red letters of the Bible,” says Winfield and Randall. As stated, this reflects their own liberal view that discounts the inspiration and verity of the entire Bible. Yes, some (many?) fundamentalists pick and choose what they like. So do conservatives, evangelicals, neo-evangelicals, moderates, progressives, and liberals. Perhaps the great sin of fundamentalists is that they claim to believe the entire Bible while not being too keen on the hard parts. On the other hand, the great sin of the liberals is not even claiming to believe the entire Bible, neither relying on it as our only rule of faith and practice. I trust a fundamentalist more. At least I can check out his or her claims against the Bible itself. Many liberals believe in the Jesus imagined in their own minds. It is hard to investigate their imagination. 

Let’s search the Scriptures. If what we have been taught is so, then believe and practice it. If what we have been taught is not so, chunk it while searching the Scriptures more to find out what is so. Believe and practice according to the light we have, and pray for more light. Some fundamentalists and liberals blather on as if they have arrived. Others of us figure we are on a journey. Arrival is future. The destination will not be completed in this life. Nevertheless, be on the journey.

Journalism on the blink

In another example of what passes for journalism, William Cummings of USA Today wrote that “Sen. Ted Cruz came under fire after saying Wednesday on social media that pregnancy is not ‘life-threatening’ when the U.S. has the highest maternal death rate out of the world’s developed nations.” What Cruz actually said is that “Pregnancy is not a life-threatening illness, and the abortion pill does not cure or prevent any disease. Make no mistake, Mifeprex is a dangerous pill. That’s why 20 of my Republican colleagues and I are urging @US_FDA to classify it as such.”

Senator Cruz made no claim that women do not die from complications of pregnancy. Rather he said that pregnancy  is not a life-threatening illness. Pregnancy is not an illness. Mifeprex is not a drug that cures an illness. Mifeprex is a drug that, when it works as intended, is life-threatening to unborn babies.

[Note, 7:30 am, 04 Sept 2020. Possibly Cummings was called out for his duplicity. Regardless, the article this morning includes the word illness in the first sentence (with a few other changes). “Sen. Ted Cruz came under fire from abortion-rights proponents after saying Wednesday on social media that pregnancy is not a ‘life-threatening illness’ when the U.S. has the highest maternal death rate out of the world's developed nations.”

What is Praise?

WHAT IS PRAISE? by Mark Osgatharp

“The voice of the Lord makes the hinds to calve, and discovers the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.” Psalm 29:9

Praise is speaking about the fact that God is the one who makes baby deer to be born at His command. If it is glory that God makes the “hinds to calve”, how much more when He makes a human baby to be born! Believe the ramifications of this one little verse of this one little Psalm and you will be overwhelmed by the presence and power of God Almighty! You will cry out with the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3

It has been my observation that many Christian people think that the creation is running on auto pilot. As if God formed the creation, put it in place and that it operates on perpetual motion. From a scientific perspective this is an absurd position. In the material world there is no such thing as perpetual energy. Crackpot inventors have tried for years to come up with a perpetual motion machine. They never have and never will because every form of energy will eventually deplete itself. Which is precisely why evolutionists claim the universe will eventually run out.

The consistent, clear and copious Biblical doctrine is that God is in constant and perpetual supervision and empowerment of the physical world. Even when animals, evil mean and evil angels are doing bad things, God is still so directing them as to accomplish His will.

This doctrine, though thoroughly Biblical, is repugnant to man because it forces us to deal with God as He is. It forces us to deal with the fact that God is responsible for injecting abject misery into our lives as well as the good things we enjoy.

It is easy to say “praise God” when He sends a soft rain on our thirsty garden. But it is difficult to actually praise God and verbally acknowledge He is the one who made our child sick unto death.

Think deeply on the ramifications of this truth.

[Cf. Job 1:21 and Job 2:10.]

Beza, Revelation 16:5

Notes I am saving on Revelation 16:5
And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.

Theodore Beza Novum Testamentum. 4th folio edition. Geneva, 1598
16:5 και ηκουσα του αγγελου των υδατων λεγοντος δικαιος κυριε ει ο ων και ο ην και ο εσομενος οτι ταυτα εκρινας

Stephanos, 1550:
16:5 και ηκουσα του αγγελου των υδατων λεγοντος δικαιος κυριε ει ο ων και ο ην και ο οσιος οτι ταυτα εκρινας

Greek Orthodox, 1904
16:5 Καὶ ἤκουσα τοῦ ἀγγέλου τῶν ὑδάτων λέγοντος· δίκαιος εἶ, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν, ὁ ὅσιος, ὅτι ταῦτα ἔκρινας·

UBS, 1975
16:5 καὶ ἤκουσα τοῦ ἀγγέλου τῶν ὑδάτων λέγοντος, Δίκαιος εἶ, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν, ὁ ὅσιος, ὅτι ταῦτα ἔκρινας,

This KJV reading is based on Theodore Beza’s 1598 edition of the Textus Receptus.  Critics, however, raise issue with the reading “and shalt be” (και ο εσομενος) because it does not appear in any existing manuscript.  Existing manuscripts read “holy one” (και οσιος), “that holy one” (ο οσιος) or “and holy one” (και οσιος). For example, Revelation 16:5 in the Nestle-Aland 26 based NASB Update reads:

“And I heard the angel of the waters saying, ‘Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things;’”

Beza and Revelation 16:5 -- “This KJV reading of Revelation 16:5 is based on Theodore Beza’s 1598 edition of the Textus Receptus.”