Threads from Henry's Web

Author: henry

  • On Receiving Copies of Megabelt

    Megabelt - a story about growing up in the Bible Belt

    It’s always great to receive cases of new books, and yesterday was no exception as our first copies of Megabelt arrived.

    I wrote earlier (Beware Friends Bearing Manuscripts) about receiving the manuscript for this little book. Since then we have done considerable work with it, produced what I think is a truly unique and creative cover (by Robert J. Hill of InnerLight Productions), and added illustrations.

    In this case it was especially enjoyable to receive the books, because within an hour of their arrival, I had author Nick May visiting to get his hands on copies, even if it required special mental powers to do so. He has done an extraordinary job of publicizing his own material. (Note to aspiring authors: You are your own best salesperson!) I really enjoy having authors come to me and say, “I think we need to do such and such, will you pay for it?” rather than waiting for me to come up with the ideas.

    Of course for a first time author, such as Nick, getting your hands on that first copy of your book is a special occasion. So we got to talking about reactions to the book.

    I summarized my reaction thus: There are many things in Megabelt that I have done myself. Many of them, I’m not going to do again. A few of them, I’m going to do anyhow, but I’m going to laugh while I do them. I got a chance to laugh a bit while pulling out my church bulletin and claiming the 10% discount at a restaurant, even though I fully empathize with the fun that Megabelt has with this and some other practices that happen in the Bible belt.

    Nick’s response was simply that this was precisely what he hoped. He wanted to hold up a mirror and get people to think about church culture. I like that idea.

    I sometimes sound like a broken record when I talk about books offending people. But I have to remember the time when a young man spent half an hour berating me at a show because my book What’s in a Version? doesn’t tell people that the KJV is the one and only true Bible. I had another person inform me that he had discarded one of the books I publish because he wouldn’t have it contaminating his book shelf. I have been criticized because I would not declare that I would publish only books that contained only the truth. The problem there, amongst other things, would be the notion of setting myself up as the final arbiter of truth. I could publish only books that I believe to be the truth, but that might result in a narrow list.

    What I hope I’m doing is publishing books that will send readers forward on the search for truth. I can say it about Megabelt, because it was intentionally written as a sort of mirror. But I hope the same thing happens elsewhere. Let the things I publish drive you to the source. A Bible study guide should just be a way station on the way to studying the Bible for yourself. One on prayer of the gifts of the Spirit should be a way station on the way to your own process of listening to God and being led by the Holy Spirit.

    But I digress into excessively serious reflection. Megabelt is fun. Have fun, but don’t be surprised if you feel impelled to change some of your churchy behavior after you read.

  • Blogging Contest about the Church

    My company, Energion Publications, is sponsoring a blogging contest, which provides you with the opportunity to win Barnes & Noble gift cards and books from Energion Publications for doing what you do anyhow – blogging!

    Entries are open until November 2, 2009, the day that Dave Black’s new book Christian Archy is released.

  • Is There a Problem with this Sign?

    What Through Traffic?
    What Through Traffic?

    Does anyone other than me see a problem here? I will reassure you that the gate goes all the way across and so does the mountain of dirt. The only through traffic will be the road destruction equipment.

  • All Saints Day – Cycle B

    Believe it or not, I do regularly read the weekly lectionary passages.  Finding time to write about them is another matter.  This week I’m going to start by providng some links to previous discussions of lectionary passages.

    First, I have a write-up on Isaiah 26 which discusses the structure of the entire chapter.  I think it’s worthwhile to look at passages in context, especially here.  In this case, John the Revelator uses material from the Isaiah passage in our New Testament epistle reading, Revelation 21:1-6a.  I use a series of scenes to illuminate the structure of Revelation in my study guide, and you can find an outline of these combined with my draft translation.  Reading the two side by side, and then expanding the context of the Isaiah passage by reading the whole chapter will give you some insight into the use of the Old Testament in the New.

    Later in the week I hope to post some audio of my previous teaching on the gospel of John.

     

     

  • Ben Witherington on Women in Ministry

    Ben Witherington is taking on Biblical arguments against women in ministry in an article titles Why Arguments against Women in Ministry Aren’t Biblical. (HT: Dr. Platypus.)

    I personally find his first and second arguments quite good, while I tend to be less convinced by his arguments regarding the specific texts. It seems to me that if, as he notes at the beginning of the argument, the New Testament is moving away from patriarchy, that is the overarching argument. Witherington says:

    … As I have argued at length, the patriarchal family was the existing reality in the NT world, and what you discover when you compare what is in the NT and what is outside the NT, is that Paul and others are working hard to change the existing structures in a more Christian direction….

    Thus I would regard his point #2 as the controlling factor in reading the texts cited in #3. The exegesis seems a bit too tortured for me, even when I want to agree with the conclusion. I’d prefer to say that these instructions were correct for the churches and the times to which they were addressed, and did mean that Paul did not permit women to teach at those places and times. I think Witherington’s argument in point #2 suggests that those commands do not apply universally, as the trajectory is toward more rather than less equality.

    I’m glad to see someone of Dr. Witherington’s stature address this issue. Too often those of us who are in churches that accept women in ministry as a matter of course don’t bother to even examine the Biblical arguments. As long as this is not discussed, we have no way to build unity with those of our brothers and sisters who disagree.

  • Purpose of Discussion Section

    Watch here for announcements related to this book and links to other information on the web related to the study of the book of Revelation.

  • Hebews 6:1-6 in Selected Translations

    Polycarp is comparing God’s Word to the Nations with some other translations and has come to Hebrews 6:1-6.  I must confess I prefer the way the NLT translates this passage, but GW is not bad.

    I’ve written on the passage before:  Hebrews 6:4-6:  Can Those Who Fall Return? and then St. John Chrysostom on Hebrews 6, and then in my book Not Ashamed of the Gospel: Confessions of a Liberal Charismatic from a more personal perspective.

    I do believe that trying to resolve the hard words through translation is misguided.  This is a difficult passage, not because of poor translation, but simply because it is a hard passage.


  • Totally Dependent

    I’m the guest blogger at Grace Through the Desert today with a post entitled You are Totally Dependent based on Ephesians 2:8-10 and a few others scriptures, especially my favorite Psalm 104.

  • Christian Carnival CCXCIX Posted

    … at The Minority Thinker.

  • Ed Brayton on Fox News Bashing

    … here, and for the most part I agree with him. I think there is a certain justification for media bashing, simply because journalists keep expecting us to regard them as unbiased when they are not. But the bashing isn’t unbiased either … and so on ad infinitum.

    One of the key skills required today, I think is distinguishing the data points from the opinion and the framing, and then trying to reframe the issue for yourself from the data points. Of course, learning how to fact check is also quite useful.

    But Ed is quite correct–there is no such thing as purely objective reporting.