pastor OR scholar?

By | April 24, 2009
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Last night John Piper spoke on “The Pastor as Scholar: A Personal Journey.”  There are many things he said that resonate with me.  If you ‘re pursuing scholarship, you might put this on your “to read” list.  I ‘ll pick out one statement that I agree with and one that is not true for me.

This is one of the differences between me and many scholars that drove me out of the guild. I am regularly bursting to say something about the most precious things in the universe, and not in any disinterested, dispassionate, composed, detached, unemotional, so-called scholarly way, but rather with total interest, warm passion, (if necessary) discomposure, utter attachment, fullness of emotion, and, I hope always, truth.

I’m not, and never will be, in the guild, so I can’t be driven out, but I do presently live in the scholarly world and this reality that Piper describes is an increasing source of pain to me.  Why is “evangelical scholarship” an oxymoron?  Who let the unbelievers take over our Bible?  Why do we so esteem them, bow down to them, and seek praise from them?

The other:

I was teaching in college, not seminary, and so the trickledown effect of my teaching for the good of the church had farther to go than if I had been teaching seminary students. That was frustrating.

But seminary students won’t pick up and move to Africa when they graduate.

You can read notes from D.A. Carson’s talk on the same subject are here.

A Loud and Promised Land

By | April 19, 2009
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That’s the title of a NY Times article that captures so much of Israeli life from the perspective of a foreigner.  Here’s a taste:

Israel is a country held together by argument. Public culture is one long cacophony of criticism. The politicians go at each other with a fury we can’t even fathom in the U.S. At news conferences, Israeli journalists ridicule and abuse their national leaders. Subordinates in companies feel free to correct their superiors. People who move here from Britain or the States talk about going through a period of adjustment as they learn to toughen up and talk back.

Ethan Bronner, The Times’s Jerusalem bureau chief, notes that Israelis don’t observe the distinction between the public and private realms. They treat strangers as if they were their brothers-in-law and feel perfectly comfortable giving them advice on how to live.

One Israeli acquaintance recounts the time he was depositing money into his savings account and everybody else behind him in line got into an argument about whether he should really be putting his money somewhere else. Another friend tells of the time he called directory assistance to get a phone number for a restaurant. The operator responded, “You don’t want to eat there,” and proceeded to give him the numbers of some other restaurants she thought were better.

We can all think of reasons that Israeli culture should have evolved into a reticence-free zone, and that the average behavior should be different here. This is a tough, scrappy country, perpetually fighting for survival. The most emotionally intense experiences are national ones, so the public-private distinction was bound to erode. Moreover, the status system doesn’t really revolve around money. It consists of trying to prove you are savvier than everybody else, that above all you are nobody’s patsy.

You can read the whole article here.

Three Basic Needs

By | April 14, 2009
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My daughter got a perfect score on a test this week.  According to the teacher’s answer key, I would certainly have missed this question:

People have three basic needs.  What are these needs?

a. food, TV, cell phone
b. clothing, books, food
c. TV, clothing, shelter
d. food, shelter, clothing

The Glorious Hope of Isaiah (#13: Armageddon)

By | April 13, 2009
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A friend commented today that he was missing Isaiah, so after more than a month without a post, I opened up tonight to where I left off (chapter 24), and found some interesting verses at the end of the chapter.  It may be relevant to note that earlier this afternoon I read the entire book of Revelation.

The chapter concludes:

Is 24:21-23 (ESV) On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.

These verses occur right in the middle of two chapters that describe awful destruction (chapter 24) and a glorious hope (chapter 25).  Chapter 25, by the way, would be worth memorizing for when bad things happen to you (such as lice infestation in your family, beehive creation in your house, and/or a nasty trojan on your computer).  Chapter 25 describes wonderful things that we will return to.

The sequence of chapters 24-25, with judgment followed by redemption, matches a pattern seen frequently elsewhere in Scripture.  Given later revelation, I think it is quite easy to see chapter 24 describing the (end of the) tribulation and chapter 25 describing the millennial kingdom.  In the middle of this are these three verses, which describe, I believe, what occurs at the transition.

Judgment (v. 21-22): The judged include the “hosts of heaven” this is a reference to wicked angels.  In this I hear something similar to what is described in Rev 12:9, when the angels are thrown out of heaven.  (I’m not identifying the two; just noting the similarity.)

Judgment also includes the “kings of the earth.”  This sounds strikingly familiar to the aftermath of the “battle of Armageddon” (Rev 16:14-16).  There the three unclean spirits go and gather the “kings of the whole world.”  Their defeat is described indirectly when the “birds of the air” are called to gather for “the great supper of God” in which they feast on the “flesh of kings” (Rev 19:17-21).

That the defeated in Isaiah are “shut up in prison” and punished “after many days” seems to square perfectly with Revelation 19-20, where the losers are killed and after the millennium are raised for judgment (Rev 20:11-13).

Enthronement (vv. 23): That the sun is “ashamed” is clearly a figure of speech, for the sun does not think or have emotions.  I think it’s also unlikely that the sun’s brightness is in any way altered at this point.  What Isaiah is likely saying is that the glory of the “Lord of hosts” is so great that if the sun could think, it would be ashamed.

I think it’s quite reasonable to conclude, knowing what we do from previous revelation in Isaiah (and certainly from later revelation) that the “Lord of hosts” who reigns in Jerusalem is the Son of David, the rightful heir to the Davidic throne, the Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Immanuel.  Since we ‘re talking about Revelation, I believe this is the same scene described in Rev 20:4.  There it says explicitly that Christ is ruling, thrones are in place, and co-rulers are on them.  These are probably the “elders” that Isaiah mentions.

In short, Revelation is all a repeat.  Just read Isaiah.  :-)

[Seriously, as I study through books of the Bible in the past year, I keep thinking that “this one is my favorite,” “no, this one.”  But for real, I’m in Revelation right now, and I am absolutely blown away.  It’s like I haven’t read the book before.  Of course I have, many times.  But the difference this time is that I haven’t read it in a while, and meantime I have been soaking up some other books.  So when I hit Revelation, it’s like so much just makes sense.  Ok, some of it doesn’t (e.g., chapters 17-18).  My primary response is awe.  Awe at the wrath of God.  Awe at the perseverance of the wicked.  Awe at John’s experience.  Awe at God’s total control.  Awe at the complete and total justice that is coming.  And yes, I’ve also been studying (full) preterism lately, and I’ve been in awe that “Christians” would come up with such a heresy and that the church would tolerate it.  It is utterly wicked.  I guess I got off Isaiah a bit.  Sorry.  There’s a lot more going though my mind than my links to youtube videos might suggest.]

Passion Week Readings

By | April 5, 2009
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Today is Palm Sunday, and if you ‘d like to better appreciate the events in Jesus’s life that led to his crucifixion (Friday) and resurrection (Sunday), I’d encourage you to read the portions in your Bible that correspond to the days of the week in which they occurred in the life of Christ.  There are some difficulties in figuring the week out, but most agree that the triumphal entry was on Sunday, Jesus controlled the temple complex on Monday and Tuesday, he ate the Last Supper on Thursday, and he was arrested and crucified on Friday. 

You can read the story in any of the four gospels (all of which dedicate a huge portion to this week), or you can get the fullest picture by reading all four together.  This is easiest if you have a gospel harmony that puts the four gospels in parallel columns (I use Thomas, NIV Harmony of the Gospels; also in NASB).  A few years ago I went through and tried to pick the “fullest” account of each event and I created a list (doc).  You can read through each day’s events either in a regular Bible or in a gospel harmony.

Book for Review: Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus

By | April 2, 2009
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Last week I received a second review copy from Zondervan of a book co-written by a friend:   Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith.   I have been given permission to send the copy on to someone who would be interested in reviewing it either for their blog or Amazon.   I haven’t read mine yet, but I read another one by Tverberg and I thought it was quite good.   I expect this one will be well written and will have many interesting insights.   If you ‘re interested, send me an email.

UPDATE: The book has been claimed.

Change of Program

By | April 1, 2009
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After a period of serious reflection, consultation, and consideration, I have decided to make a slight change in my educational program.  The PhD at DTS is quite good, but it is also quite hard, and it takes a long time.  There’s something to be said for hard things, but there’s also something to be said for easy things.  Just because it is hard doesn’t mean that it is good.  I have had hard teachers that I have liked, and I’ve had easy teachers (not at DTS) that I’ve liked.  I’ve been in this program now for 1.3 years and am looking at another 3.2 years, plus whatever delays they decide to supplement the program with.  I love learning the Bible, but education isn’t just about learning.  At some point you just have to stop learning and get the degree.  I’ve come to realize that the degree is really the most important thing.  Students ask if you have the degree, but they never ask how long it took you to get it or what kind of degree it is.

My new program has many advantages.  First, I don’t have to move, but I can finish the degree process from my home.  Second, while it does cost, this degree is much more affordable than $500/unit.  Third, this program takes into account not only my previous education, but my work experience, life experience, job experience, and unemployment experience.  They rightly recognize the value of living.  Fourth, there are fewer requirements.  For example, I do not have to attend the graduation ceremony, but they will mail the degree to me directly. 

My degree will not be a PhD, but it will have “doctor” on the diploma, which is really all that matters.  I will be “Dr. Todd Bolen.”  Yes, once the certificate arrives, I will insist that I be called “Dr. Bolen” by my kids, wife, and anyone else who is around me.

It is true that this new direction is perceived in a negative way by TMC, and as difficult as that loss is, it is more than made up for by my job offer to be Associate Professor of Biblical Profundities at the College of the Mountain Men, located in a state west of Virginia.  The kids are celebrating because 1) they are happy that my days of learning are over and 2) they have never been to where we ‘re going.  Kelli keeps muttering something about “richer or poorer.”  I am most pleased because on the mail order form, I am allowed 15 words to describe myself. 

There can be no doubt that in years to come we will look back with awe and wonder in recalling this momentous decision, made on this day, the first of April, in the year of our Lord 2009.

Netanyahu on a Palestinian State (in 1977)

By | March 30, 2009
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Tomorrow Benjamin Netanyahu will be sworn in as prime minister of the State of Israel.  In recent coalition talks, he made significant concessions to convince the Labor (left-wing) party to join his government.  It is interesting in this light to see an interview with him when he was 28 years old.  From ICEJ News:

An episode of the local Boston PBS show "The Advocate" featuring a 28-year old Benjamin Netanyahu debating the dangers of a Palestinian state has begun circulating on the Web recently. In the 10-minute clip, Israel’s prime minister-designate is introduced as recent MIT graduate "Benjamin Nitay” and is called upon to testify as a "witness" in a mock court case over whether the US should support Palestinian statehood. Asked whether the issue of Palestinian self-determination is at the heart of the Middle East conflict, Netanyahu replied: "The real core of the conflict is the unfortunate Arab refusal to accept the State of Israel… For 20 years the Arabs had both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and if self-determination, as they now say, is the core of the conflict, they could have easily established a Palestinian state, but they didn’t… What we’re talking about here is not the attempt to build the state but to destroy one." Israel’s future prime minister went on to argue that the US should oppose a two state solution because there "already exists a Palestinian state" in Jordan. Netanyahu went on to cite article one of the Palestinian National Covenant that declares "the people of Palestine are part of the Arab nation… The Arab nation has 21 states… there is no right to form another that will threaten my existence." A Netanyahu staff member said that they were forwarded the clip dozens of times and that Netanyahu himself saw it. "I felt kind of embarrassed to see how young I looked," he said. 

Netanyahu apparently went by the last name of “Nitay” while living in the U.S. in the 1970s.)