In other words, apopemptic to xeric

• apopemptic, adjective. Pertaining to departing; a farewell or valedictory.
• apoplectic, adjective. Of, resembling, or produced by apoplexy (a sudden loss of bodily function due to rupture of a blood vessel; a state of extreme anger); having or inclined to have apoplexy.
• diarrhea, noun. An intestinal disorder characterized by abnormal frequency and fluidity of fecal evacuations.
• grandiloquent, adjective. Language or behavior is very formal, literary, or exaggerated, as used by people when they want to seem important.
• horripilation, noun. A bristling of the hair on the skin or body (as from cold, fright, or excitement).
• incarn, verb. (Rare) To cover or invest with flesh; to cause to heal.
• incarnadine, adjective. Of a fleshy pink color; blood-red.
• incarnation, noun. The union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ (and other definitions).
• incondite, adjective. Badly-arranged, ill-composed, crude, rough, or unrefined.
• jejune, adjective. Not interesting; dull; devoid of significance.
• logorrhea, noun. Excessive talkativeness; (Medical) an excessive and often uncontrollable flow of words.
• luxurious, adjective. Characterized by luxury (sumptuous living, delicacy, elegance); ministering or conducive to luxury.
• multiloquent, adjective. Excessively talkative; loquacious.
• nidus, noun. A nest for insects or small animals; an originating point for a phenomenon.
• pauciloquent. adjective. Using few words in speech or conversation.
• peripeteia, noun. A sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances or situation (especially in a literary work).
• synagogue, noun. A building used for Jewish prayer, study, assembly, and reading of the Torah.
• tachyon, noun. (Physics) A hypothetical particle that travels faster than the speed of light.
• unmissable, adjective. Something so good that it should not be missed.
• usufruct, noun. The right of enjoying the advantages derivable from the use of something that belongs to another (ūsus, use + frūctus, fruit).
• uxorious, adjective. Doting upon, foolishly fond of, or affectionately submissive toward one’s wife.
• whiffler, noun. One who frequently shifts opinion, attitude, course, or interest; an officer or other person who clears the way before a procession by blowing a horn.
• xenagogue, noun. (Archaic). A guide for strangers or foreigners.
• xeric, adjective. Characterized by dry conditions.

Settling of a Minister

Chapter 5. Of Settling a Minister. From A Treatise of Church Discipline, Samuel Jones (1735-1814). Lexington: T. Anderson, 1805.

5. In settling a minister, having appointed a time and place, and invited a council from one or two of the neighbouring churches to assist, and to witness the transaction, one of the ministers, after praying and singing should preach a suitable sermon. Then he, or another of the council, is to put such questions to the minister to be settled, and to the representative of the church appointed for that purpose, as will draw from each of them promises to fulfil their respective parts of the covenant and agreement between them, upon which he pronounces him, in the presence of God and of the whole assembly, to be the pastor and overseer of that church, and said church to be his flock and charge. Then the settled minister and representative of the church give each other the right hand of fellowship, with expressions of mutual joy and congratulation.

6. After this a charge should be delivered to the settled minister, Col. iv. 19. [sic.] and his church; and then, prayer, singing, and a benediction, will close the service.

7. The transactions of the day, and particularly the terms of agreement between the settled minister and the church, should be entered at large on the records of the church.

8. Some may say, that so much formality in the business, with witnesses, is unnecessary, and that a private agreement between the parties is sufficient. But as a public form of marriage is indispensable; so the above is expedient and useful, as might be shewn were it necessary.

Based on my personal observations, black Baptist churches in East Texas follow this practice (at least generally, if not exactly) and white Baptist churches in East Texas do not.

Defining Heretic

Titus 3:10-11 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

In modern times, in modern religious circles, and in modern Bibles, “an heretick” has been downgraded to a divisive person. Mark Ward wants the word to be one of his false friends. An heretic is a schismatic, but particularly so in Christian context due to being divisive in not holding the faith once delivered to the saints. An heretic is not merely someone who is honestly mistaken about some matters concerning the Scriptures, but one who holds heterodox views and separates the saints over them.

Around circa AD 180 Irenaeus of Lyons used the term heretic (in context of Titus 3:10) in reference to those he considered “corrupters of the truth” (Against Heresies, Book III.3.4.). The word would continue in that way, with that understanding.

Rowland Taylor (1510-1555) was a religious reformer in England during the reign of Queen Mary I. He opposed Catholic teachings, including the celibacy of priests, transubstantiation, and concomitation. On March 26, 1554, he was arrested for heresy because he was spreading the word of God in public. He was killed and burned at the stake on February 9, 1555.

Taylor is referenced in John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (1610, p. 1383). Taylor, writing on the brink of execution, spoke of heresy and heretics in this way:

“It is heresie to defend any doctrine against the holy Scripture. Therefore the Lord Chauncellor and Bishops consenting to his sentence against mee, be heretickes. For them have given sentence against the marriage of Priests, knowing that S. Paul to Timothie and Titus writeth plainely, that bishops, priests, and deacons, may be married…

“My second cause why I was condemned an heretick is, that I denied Transubstantiation and Concomitation, two ingling words of the papists, by the which they do beleeve and will compell all other to beleeve that Christs naturall body is made of bread, and the Godhead by and by to bee joined thereunto…”

Definition of Hereticke in a 1622 dictionary

If you think Jesus got it wrong

...you have got it wrong.

A number of years ago I wrote about the following text (see below), because an author on the liberal ABP (now Baptist New Global) ditched the view of Jesus as the sinless Son of God for a view of Jesus the racist sinner who might be gradually learning better.

Pulpit & Pen Discernment Ministries has recently brought this text and issue back to my attention. On their Facebook page on August 19, they posted a “trans preacher” from the Presbyterian Church USA accusing Jesus of wrong-doing in his treatment of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15). “I want to assure you Jesus can be wrong...He’s wrong, absolutely wrong…” They followed that up on August 20 showing a United Methodist “pastor” accusing Jesus of ethnic prejudice in a “text that has made preachers squirm for ages.” The main reason these liberal preachers must squirm is because they shrink their coverage of Bible “truth” to what Jesus says, but then must subjugate what Jesus says to fit their own predetermined moral codes. When Jesus says something that violates their notions, it is he that they think is wrong rather than they themselves!!

For that reason, I am reposting my earlier writing about this text.

A collated reading of Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30.

Then Jesus arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid; For a certain woman of Canaan [the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation], whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came out of the same coasts and came and fell at his feet: and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But Jesus answered and said unto her: Let the children first be filled. It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she said, Yes. Truth, Lord: yet the dogs under their masters’ table eat of the children’s crumbs which fall from the table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

The above is a collated or combined reading of Matthew and Mark from the King James Bible. I hope no one is troubled by it. The intent is to not to create a new version, but just to get the full description from both the historical accounts while saving a little space.

Many people find this story problematic when they first encounter it. To call this woman a dog and refuse to help her? Where else is one so rebuked by Christ for coming to him? For some it is only problematic to their understanding, for they believe God is sovereign and what he does is right regardless of whether they understand it. For some it is problematic to their faith, for they presuppose certain things are right and then judge that God’s actions must fit into their concepts of right and wrong.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain. (William Cowper)

Notes on the text.

a woman of Canaan...The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation. Some critics have complained about the tri-fold description, while themselves using such descriptions for others. The three descriptors may be nationality (Syro-Phenician, as opposed to Lybo-Phenician for example), religion (Greek, heathen, of a different religion) and “race” (Canaan; or just that she resided in the regions called Canaan).

would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. Here speaks the language of accommodation; the language of God as man; anthropomorphism, the perception of human qualities in divine beings. This is how it appeared from all human recognition and understanding.

a woman of Canaan...came out of the same coasts. If Jesus went into the land of Tyre and Sidon, this appears to be the only time he went into Gentile territory. In my opinion, it is more consistent with the text and the “limit” of his mission that he only went very near to the border of that land, but was still in the land of Israel. The woman came out of the coasts/borders of Tyre and Sidon and came to Jesus. As Jesus needed to go through Samaria, so he deliberately placed himself in this woman’s vicinity.

his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away. At first Jesus answered not a word (cf. John 8:6). Her continual crying brought the disciples distress. Whether they wished her sent away full or empty it is not clear, but sent away nevertheless! She crieth after us. She bothers us. She annoys us. She brings us too much attention.

I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This first address of Jesus is to the disciples rather than the woman. They were involved in this limited sending (cf. Matthew 10:5) so should be aware of it. Hidden from them was what Simeon saw in the babe in the Temple (cf. Luke 2:3). Jesus’ answer silenced the disciples, but not the woman. We ought always to pray, and not to faint.

Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. Strong in faith, nothing doubting. Instead of being perplexed with doubts, by faith throw yourself at Jesus feet for mercy, “Lord, help me.” So will I go in unto the king, and if I perish, I perish (but I will perish there; cf. Esther 4:16).

It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. To be more offended than the woman is to not have a proper view of the helper, to not have an importunate need, and to be more set on fault-finding than truth-finding. If a 21st century reader is more offended than the “offended party,” then he or she lacks the great faith that resided in that party. Jesus was “Lord” when she asked for help and still “Lord” after he seemed to refuse it. Jesus’ answer was devastating, but not derogatory; trying but yet the truth. Those who deserve nothing will appreciate anything. “Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face.”

And she said, Yes. Truth, Lord. The humble acknowledgement of the importunate. Complain on, O complainer. Deny on, O disbeliever. BUT this woman says “TRUTH!”

the dogs under their masters’ table eat of the children’s crumbs. (These dogs were household pets, not wild scavengers; pets that were near the children under the master’s table (cf Luke 16:21). Something in what Jesus said and how he said it dropped a crumb of hope for the helpless woman. Under the Master’s table a glimmering faith picked up the crumb and cherished it. I shall not be sent away empty for there is enough in the Father’s house and to spare (cf. Luke 15:17).

O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour. Does the text not reveal why He came to the borders of Tyre and Sidon. The disciples understood a get-away. But the woman who heard He was there got what she wanted.

And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower. The healing was immediately accomplished.

And when she was come to her house, she found... The immediate healing of the daughter was first viewed by the mother on her arrival, though she doubted it not.

Concluding thoughts.

Instead of complaining and condemning, hawing and hemming, and explaining away the Lordship of Christ, realize God moves in mysterious ways; His ways are not our ways (cf. Isaiah 55:8). The Syrophenician woman caught a crumb many theologians have missed!

Jesus commended the woman’s faith. Jesus cured the woman’s daughter. Surely she could not have hoped for more.

Hymn by William Cowper.

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up his bright designs
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

The wolf cometh

The Apostle Paul did not admonish his readers to focus solely on their ethics. He also admonished them to watch their doctrine, and to understand that the two cannot be disaggregated. Kindness is a genuine Christian virtue. It is not sufficient. A kind heretic is still a heretic. A man who speaks about Jesus with warmth while denying the moral order that Christ himself affirmed is not a Christian statesman. He is a wolf in a very well-pressed suit (Matt. 7:15).

Andrew T. Walker

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

There’ll Be No Sorrow There

I woke up this morning feeling fine. I woke up with heaven on my mind. I wrote that Wednesday morning, July 22nd. It was not a rhetorical flourish, but I literally had this hymn on my mind when I awoke, particularly the chorus, “In heaven above where all is love, there’ll be no sorrow there.”

1. Oh, sing to me of heav’n,
When I am called to die,
Sing songs of holy ecstasy,
To waft my soul on high.

2. When cold and sluggish drops
Roll off my marble brow,
Burst forth in strains of joyfulness,
Let heav’n begin below.

3. When the last moments come,
Oh, watch my dying face,
And catch the bright, seraphic gleam,
Which on each feature plays.

4. Then to my ravished ear
Let one sweet song be giv’n,
Let music charm me last on earth,
And greet me first in heav’n.

5. Then close my sightless eyes,
And lay me down to rest,
And clasp my cold and icy hands
Across my peaceful breast.

6. Then ’round my senseless clay
Assemble those I love,
And sing of heav’n, delightful heav’n,
My glorious home above.

Chorus:
There’ll be no sorrow there,
There’ll be no sorrow there;
In heav’n above, where all is love,
There’ll be no sorrow there.

Additional choruses:

O may we meet in heav’n,
The Christians’ happy home;
In heav’n above where all is love,
There’ll be no parting there.

Amen, amen, amen,
Amen, amen, amen;
Praise God, praise God, praise God, praise God,
Praise God, praise God, Amen!

There’ll be much sorrow there,
There’ll be much sorrow there;
In hell below, where all is woe,
There’ll be much sorrow there.

Mrs. Mary Shindler was a significant 19th century American Christian hymnwriter. She published hymn books, including The Southern Harp in 1840 and The Northern Harp in 1841. One of her hymns still found in popular 20th century hymnals (such as The Broadman Hymnal and The National Baptist Hymnal) has 4 lines inscribed on her tombstone:

     Flee as a bird to your mountain,
     Thou who art sick of sin;
     Go to the clear flowing fountain,
     Where you may wash and be clean

Mary Stanley Bunce Palmer was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, February 15, 1810. She was the daughter of Mary Bunce and Benjamin Morgan Palmer, a Congregational Church pastor at Beaufort. In 1835 Mary married Charles W. Dana of New York, and they moved to Iowa in 1839. After her husband and two year-old son died of cholera that summer, she returned to Beaufort.

In May 1848 Mary married Robert Doyne Shindler, an Episcopal clergyman. Sometime after the Civil War, Robert and Mary moved to Texas. He served as a school teacher in San Augustine and rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Nacogdoches. He died in 1874.

Mary Shindler lived with her son and daughter-in-law R. C. and Anna Mary Shindler until her death on February 8, 1883, in Nacogdoches, Texas. She is buried in the historic Oak Grove Cemetery near downtown Nacogdoches.

Writings include:

• The Southern Harp (Boston, 1840)
• The Northern Harp (New York, 1841)
• The Parted Family, and other Poems (1842)
• The Temperance Lyre (1842)
• Charles Morton, or the Young Patriot (1843)
• The Young Sailor (1844)
• Forecastle Tour (1844)
• Letters to Relatives and Friends on the Trinity (1845)

The above hymn have been set to several tunes. In The Sacred Harp, it is used with the tune Sing To Me Of Heaven (page 312), arranged by John Massengale. In Favorite Songs and Hymns, it is paired with There’ll Be No Sorrow There (No. 219) by C. R. Dunbar.[i] The hymn is also paired with a tune in the oral tradition, composer unknown (See There’ll Be No Sorrow There, sung by Myra Dalton).

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[i] According to Find-A-Grave, Charles Raymond Dunbar was originally buried at Broderick Cemetery (Union County, Ohio) in 1895, then moved to Oakdale Cemetery in 1928.

In other words, various ologies

• –ology, –logy - A suffix indicating the science of or the study of; from the Greek term “logos” meaning word, saying, principle.

• Anthropology, noun. The study of the origins, physical and cultural development, biological characteristics, and social customs and beliefs of humankind.
• Archaeology, noun. The study of ancient or historic peoples and their cultures by analysis of their artifacts, inscriptions, monuments, and other such remains, etc.
• Bibliology, noun. The study of the doctrine and nature of the Christian Bible as the word of God; also the study of Biblical literature.
• Biology, noun. The study of of life or living matter in all its forms and phenomena.
• Christology, noun. The study of the person, nature, and work of Jesus Christ.
• Cosmology, noun. The branch of study dealing with the origin and general structure of the universe.
• Ecclesiology, noun. The study of the nature and organization of the Christian Church.
• Epistemology, noun. The branch of philosophy that investigates the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge.
• Eschatology, noun. The branch of theology dealing with last things, such as death, immortality, resurrection, judgment, and the end of the world.
• Etymology, noun. The derivation of a word; the study of historical linguistic change, especially as manifested in individual words.
• Geology, noun. The study of the dynamics and physical history of the earth, the rocks of which it is composed, etc.
• Hagiology, noun. The branch of literature dealing with the lives and legends of the saints.
• Hamartiology, noun. The study of the nature, origin, and consequences of sin.
• Kinesiology, noun. The study of the mechanics and anatomy of human muscles, especially with respect to movement.
• Martyrology, noun. The branch of knowledge dealing with the study of the lives and history of martyrs; a list of martyrs.
• Missiology, noun. The science or study of missions (especially, the practice of evangelizing across cultures).
• Neology, noun. The study or holding of novel religious views; a new doctrine or new method of theological interpretation.
• Ontology, noun. The study of the human mind and the reasons for people’s behavior.
• Ornithology, noun. The study of birds.
• Pathology, noun. The study of diseases.
• Patriology, noun. The study of God, specifically focusing on the person of the Father within the Trinity.
• Philology, noun. The study of linguistics; or of literary texts and of written records, especially to establish their authenticity and their original form.
• Pneumatology. noun. The study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
• Psychology, noun. The study of the mind or of mental states and processes.
• Sacramentology, noun. The systematic study of the sacraments within Christian theology, focusing on their nature, significance, and function.
• Sociology, noun. The study of the origin, development, organization, and functioning of human society
• Soteriology, noun. The study of the divine accomplishment of the salvation of humanity; especially or specifically, in Christian theology, the study of salvation as effected through Jesus Christ.
• Teleology, noun. The study of the evidences of design or purpose in nature; or, of final causes; or, in Christian studies, the study of God’s design and purpose for the world and all that he created in it.
• Thanatology, noun. The study of death and its surrounding circumstances (as in forensic medicine), or the study of the effects of death and dying.
• Theology, noun. The study of the nature of God and of religion and religious beliefs.
• Zoology, noun. The study of animals, including their classification, structure, physiology, and history.

Oceanfront property

2025 Revision Committee: “We used a blind selection process to select songs for a new revision of our book. Coincidentally, we just happened to blindly pick two songs by two composers whose two other songs in the 1991 book we wanted to remove; and so we swapped them out.”

Me: “Yes. And I have some oceanfront property for sale in Arizona.”