Justin Taylor's Blog, page 322

Solar Eruption

From yesterday (June 7):

The Tears of a Pastor-Missionary-Theologian

"You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews. . . . Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears" (Acts 20:18-19, 31).

"For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you" (2 Cor. 2:4).

"For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phil. 3:18).

On Hagiography

Carl Trueman has been researching the life of Athanasius and hence has been writing about the problem of hagiography ("the uncritical and adulatory description of the life of a hero of the faith"). If you want to see the problem illustrated, look no further than Gregory of Nazianzus's description of Athanasius in Oration 21:

In praising Athanasius I shall be praising virtue. To speak of him and to praise virtue are identical, because he had, or, to speak more truly, had embraced virtue in its entirety.

At least we know Gregory's perspective at the outset! But as Trueman says, "Hagiography may inspire but too often it tells us less about what actually happened and more about the personal tastes of the author."

In his post Trueman raises questions about the hagiography's (1)  historical inaccuracy, (2) tendency to see the world in rather black and white, Manichean terms; and (3) unintended serious and negative pastoral consequences.

Matt Perman passed along the following example. William Carey's friend and early biographer John Marshman had this to say about William's attitude toward his wife Dorothy and her struggle with mental illness:

The extreme consideration and tenderness which invariably marked his conduct towards her, place the meekness and magnanimity of his character in the strongest light. No word of complaint escaped him.

Even if you know nothing about Carey, this quote should raise some suspicions. One would think that deleting the word "invariably" would be wise, and perhaps saying that the author himself never heard a word of complaint—rather than the blanket statement that "no word" ever escaped him.

And indeed Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi provide some counter-details in The Legacy of William Carey: A Model for the Transformation of a Culture:

But Carey did complain. In his journal he writes, at the beginning of Dorothy's emotional retreat from reality, "I don't love to be always complaining. Yet I always complain." So to suggest that Dorothy's problems never bothered Carey, that he never uttered a word of complaint, or that he never lost patience with her is to place him in an untenable position. He was human as she. We can . . . honor and remember him well without having to make ourselves believe he was perfect in all that he ever said. (p. 51)

The fear of hagiography, however, can take us to another extreme where all admiration, affection, and appreciation are obscured. A desire for historical fidelity should not preclude celebrating God's grace in a person's life.

Furthermore, careful critical thinking does not necessarily require cynicism. Yes, we are all sinners. But we also believe in a God who does supernatural work in the lives of sanctified sinners. The quest for historical faithfulness should also not preclude exercising such virtues as prudence and tactfulness where necessary.

I like what Timothy Dudley-Smith says in the first of his two volumes of biography on John Stott: The Making of a Leader: A Biography of the Early Years (IVP, 1999):

I would not have agreed to write this book solely out of a desire to record events for posterity. Because I owe much to Christian biography in my own discipleship, and because my calling is to be a minister of the gospel, I cannot escape the hope that this book may be of use within the purposes of God to inspire a reader here or there with the 'good example' it portrays. With that hope (indeed, it has been more than a hope; it is a prayer) I would have used my time differently. But in saying this I utterly disclaim any suggestion that I have distorted the record for the purpose of edification. I believe the story will edify (that is, build up the reader in the faith) only insofar as it present a faithful record of events, and of John Stott's place within them. At my insistence he has read the MS of each chapter and helped me to correct errors of faith. But it has been clear between us from the beginning, and proved in practice in many instances, that the final judgment is always mine.

With Dudley-Smith, I believe Christian biography can be appreciative, historically faithful, and edifying—all at the same time. Though such is easier said than done.

A Biography of John MacArthur

Dane Ortlund has a helpful review here of Iain Murray's new biography, John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock (Banner of Truth, 2011).

Conclusion:

What stands out above all in closing the book, however, is MacArthur's steely love for truth, truth as revealed supremely in the Word of God. For this let us all give thanks for John MacArthur, quick to forgive any baggage this brings and quick to rejoice in this faithful expounder of Scripture. Iain Murray is right: John MacArthur is, above all, a servant of the Word and flock.

Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault

A substantial discussion with Justin Holcomb about the book he co-authored with his wife Lindsey, entitled Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault :

You can read Carl Trueman's review of the book here. In his conclusion Carl writes:

Finally, having been preaching through Judges for the last year, I have arrived at the truly terrifying chapter of Judges 19. This chapter is a somber reminder that the sins of the gang rapists in Sodom in Genesis finally made their way into the lives and behaviour of the very people of God. In light of this clear biblical fact, books like that by the Holcombs are to be welcomed and to be read, even though the content can only be described as at times very harrowing. They also, I hope, help those like myself, with little experience in such areas, preach with more sensitivity to a congregation where, statistically at least, these matters are almost certainly of more than mere abstract concern.

You can listen to Dr. Trueman's sermon on Judges 19 here.

How Does a Christian Respond Rightly to Recurrent Miscarriages?

See also Dan Doriani's "Miscarriage: A Death in the Family," where he recounts his own family's situation and then looks at ways in which to minister to, comfort, and serve those who are grieving.

Do You Look to the Father as Love?

John Owen:

Eye the Father as love; look not on him as an always lowering father, but as one most kind and tender.

Let us look on him by faith, as one that has had thoughts of kindness toward us from everlasting.

It is misapprehension of God that makes any [to] run from him, who have the least breathing wrought in them after him. "They that know you will put their trust in you" [Ps. 9:10].

Men cannot abide with God in spiritual meditations. He loses soul's company by their want [=lack] of this insight into his love.

They fix their thoughts only on his terrible majesty, severity, and greatness; and so their spirits are not endeared.

Would a soul continually eye his everlasting tenderness and compassion, his thoughts of kindness that have been from of old, his present gracious acceptance, [then] it could not bear an hour's absence from him; whereas now, perhaps, it cannot watch with him one hour.

—John Owen, Communion with the Triune God, ed. Kapic and Taylor (Wheaton: Crossway, 2007), p. 124.

"A Place of Healing" by Joni Tada: Free Audiobook for June

Joni Eareckson Tada's A Place for Healing is available as a free audio download this month from Christian Audio.

(Amazon has the hardcover at 60% off. These "bargain prices" are usually temporary until they sell through it.)

Here is David C. Cook's description:

In this eloquent account of her current struggle with physical pain, Joni Eareckson Tada offers her perspective on divine healing, God's purposes, and what it means to live with joy. Over four decades ago, a diving accident left Joni a quadriplegic. Today, she faces a new battle: unrelenting pain.

The ongoing urgency of this season in her life has caused Joni to return to foundational questions about suffering and God's will. A Place of Healing is not an ivory tower treatise on suffering. Its an intimate look into the life of a mature woman of God.

Whether readers are enduring physical pain, financial loss, or relational grief, Joni invites them to process their suffering with her. Together, they will navigate the distance between God's magnificent yes and heartbreaking no and find new hope for thriving in between.

You can read the first chapter below:

A Place of Healing, By Joni Eareckson Tada (Chapter One)

The Fear of the Lord and the Temptation of Life without Consequences

Russell Moore:

Almost every adultery situation I've ever seen includes a cheating spouse who honestly believes that he or she is not going to get caught. The cheater often doesn't want the marriage to end in divorce. Instead, like the characters in today's headlines, he or she instead wants to keep everything the same: spouse, kids, and lover too. That's irrational and completely contrary to the way the world works. Anyone can see that.

But you can convince yourself…or be convinced…that it will work for you. You're special, after all. That's the way temptation functions. We put consequences out of our minds, both temporal and eternal consequences. We start to believe that we are gods, with power over good and evil and life and death. And then we do crazy things.

This doesn't have anything to do with intelligence. Satan is hyper-intelligent. And yet, even knowing that he will ultimately have his skull crushed, he rages all the more against Christ and his people, "because he knows his time is short" (Rev. 12:12). In terms of the most basic principles of military strategy, that's crazy. What we need is not intelligence, but wisdom. Wisdom includes seeing where the way I want to go will lead (Prov. 14:12).

I don't know who you are, reader, but I know you are probably not smarter than Anthony Weiner or Arnold Schwarzenegger or John Edwards. And neither am I. Both of us, you and I, are on the verge of wrecking our lives. We're probably not on the verge of a situation quite like any of those men, but the gospel tells us we have vulnerabilities just the same, and they all can lead to destruction.

The answer isn't found in talent or in strategy or in brilliance. It's found in fear, the fear of the Lord and the vision of his future.

Lord have mercy.

Read the whole thing.

The Fear of the Lord and the Tempatation of Life without Consequences

Russell Moore:

Almost every adultery situation I've ever seen includes a cheating spouse who honestly believes that he or she is not going to get caught. The cheater often doesn't want the marriage to end in divorce. Instead, like the characters in today's headlines, he or she instead wants to keep everything the same: spouse, kids, and lover too. That's irrational and completely contrary to the way the world works. Anyone can see that.

But you can convince yourself…or be convinced…that it will work for you. You're special, after all. That's the way temptation functions. We put consequences out of our minds, both temporal and eternal consequences. We start to believe that we are gods, with power over good and evil and life and death. And then we do crazy things.

This doesn't have anything to do with intelligence. Satan is hyper-intelligent. And yet, even knowing that he will ultimately have his skull crushed, he rages all the more against Christ and his people, "because he knows his time is short" (Rev. 12:12). In terms of the most basic principles of military strategy, that's crazy. What we need is not intelligence, but wisdom. Wisdom includes seeing where the way I want to go will lead (Prov. 14:12).

I don't know who you are, reader, but I know you are probably not smarter than Anthony Weiner or Arnold Schwarzenegger or John Edwards. And neither am I. Both of us, you and I, are on the verge of wrecking our lives. We're probably not on the verge of a situation quite like any of those men, but the gospel tells us we have vulnerabilities just the same, and they all can lead to destruction.

The answer isn't found in talent or in strategy or in brilliance. It's found in fear, the fear of the Lord and the vision of his future.

Lord have mercy.

Read the whole thing.