Threads from Henry's Web

Author: henry

  • Giving Away a copy of Preserving Democracy

    … on the Energion.com eZine, which is currently in development. But I’m trying to bring a few people over there, so a copy of Preserving Democracy will be given to a randomly selected commenter who writes a relevant comment.

    In mid-October I will be changing the topic to science education, and offering a $10 B&N gift card. The Energion.com eZine will go into full production in January 2010, but even now I am paying for a few articles and offering a few prizes.

    I now return you to the normal, more personal, content of this blog.

  • Blogs in Tenure Applications Etc

    There has been a good deal of discussion of this around the blogosphere, related to graduate school and job applications as well. Nels P. Highberg provides an interesting example at ProfHacker. (HT: Exploring Our Matrix)

  • Christian Carnival CCXCVII Posted

    … at Thinking Christian.  Enjoy!

  • Literal and Figurative in Genesis 3

    I have been reminded several times recently in private conversations of just how inadequate the literal to figurative continuum is in discussing how we understand scripture.

    Bruce Alderman has written an interesting article on the number of things we take as figurative in Genesis 3, and then asks:

    Why is it that so many Christians who have no problem reading Genesis 3 metaphorically, can’t do the same with Genesis 1 and 2?

    While I agree with Bruce on the need to read these chapters largely figuratively, it is important to note another factor.  One can read something both historically and figuratively.  I have mentioned here before teaching one of the first classes I taught in a United Methodist church, and it was on Genesis 1-11.  To my right sat a theistic evolutionist; to my left a young earth creationist.  When we discussed Genesis 3, both were able to agree on the figurative meanings (though I could do some arguing!), but one saw historical events behind the figures, while the other did not.

    But even here you have to ask what historical events might be referred to as a figure.  Let’s consider the parable of the trees (Judges 9:8-15).  Here we have definite reference to historical events, but in a general and figurative way.  In Genesis 3, I don’t regard there as being much history behind the figures, but it is quite possible to read it figuratively with a one-on-one correspondence between the characters and something real.  For example, many readers would take the snake as a symbol pointing to Satan who then acts in tempting a historical Eve who speaks to a historical Adam.  There would be an interplay between historical and figurative elements.

    But at the other end of the spectrum there are historical events that are narrated for figurative reasons.  The Exodus is certainly treated as a literal event in scripture, yet it is related with meanings well beyond any historical events.  For something will less controversy, take the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon.  Here we have broad consensus that the events are historical, yet they are not narrated to answer the question:  What happened in the early 6th century BCE?  Rather, they are narrated to point to spiritual things, first in the life of Israel, then more distantly in New Testament reading.

    It seems to me that both “we don’t take it literally”, and “we do take it literally” are very inadequate statements.

  • Saturn has a Huge Ring

    I rarely post just images, but this came in via one of my NASA subscriptions today. Head on over and take a look. And if you don’t subscribe to their news and/or images, consider subscribing. Their material is a great pleasure.

    Artists Impression of Saturns Huge Ring
    Artist's Impression of Saturn's Huge Ring

    Click on the image to get further information, including a link to download the full size image. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Keck, public domain.)

  • Biblical Studies Carnival XLVI Posted

    … at Hebrew and Greek Reader.

  • And the winner is …

    [Drum roll please]

    Commenter Melinda Lancaster who edged out the runner up by a single point.

    The way I judged this was by by getting two other people, who will remain anonymous, to rank the entries from 1 to 4. Then I ranked them myself. I then combined the three ranks, and the result is what it is!

    All the suggestions were good, and I hope you will check out the original post for ideas on how you might use the Mosaic Bible in devotional study.

  • Christian Carnival CCXCVI

    Welcome to the September 30, 2009 edition of the Christian Carnival CCXCVI.  This is the “I can’t think of a creative theme” edition!

     

    For His Glory presents Your Spiritual Wardrobe posted at For His Glory, saying, “God has provided everything we need for life and godliness (II Peter 1:3). Come and see the list of outfits He has provided for us to clothe ourselves in as we walk through life.”

     

    Will Green writes about the theology of the fall and suffering, with a post titled A theory on the relationship between the Fall and suffering today at Weblog of a Christian Philosophy Student.

    FMF presents Dave Ramsey, Christianity, and Money posted at Free Money Finance, and discusses the financial philosophy and style of presentation used by Dave Ramsey.

    andriel presents Yom Kippur – The Foreshadowing of Christ posted at ReturningKing.com.  This is part 10 of an ongoing series entitled, “A Pastoral Soteriology” (more to come).

    NCSue presents The case of the errant embryo posted at IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING.  This presents a story of very difficult questions and how a couple have responded to them.

    John presents Speaking Truth to Power? posted at Brain Cramps for God, saying, “Is it possible for the members of the Body of Christ in the US to separate themselves from their attachment to their secular political divisions to truly ‘speak truth to power’?

    JLS presents What Ever Happened to Frank? posted at Pastoral Musings.  It’s a haunting question.

    Will D presents How has Literal Interpretation Changed? posted at Fundamentally Changed.  The word “literal” is used quite loosely on all sides.  You will benefit by noticing the nuances presented in this post.

    Edward presents A House Divided – Is Age-Segmented Ministry Failing? posted at Crimson Conservative and asks whether it is time to re-think the model of age-segregated ministry.  Crimson Conservative shares his thoughts and reflections on Christianity Today’s recent article.

    Diane R presents Finally….Maybe It’s Over! posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet, saying, “The time for segregating the church into age groups has to be over, hopefully.”  This is a second look at this subject!

    Chasing the Wind presents Does God Exist? posted at Chasing the Wind, saying, “People have been asking if God exists for thousands of years. God has already provided all the proof we need, both external and internal. All we have to do is be honest about our seeking.”  A study of Pslams 19.

    Rick Schiano presents Let Go, for Mental Peace posted at Ricks Victory Blog.  Fear can do untold harm.  Can you let it go?

    Andrea @ Unfailingly Loved presents Safe and Sound posted at Unfailingly Loved.  Lost and unsure of your way? Call out to the Lord. He is faithful to be present. He knows your name, where you are, and where you need to go.

    NtJS presents The Big Birthday Lesson: A new tradition posted at not the jet set, saying, “Starting at 6 years old we decided that a child has finally developed enough socially and mentally to understand sharing and giving, that the world is bigger then them and not centered around them.”

    Ridge Burns presents Presence posted at Ridge’s Blog.  “The presence of God is active and real today.”  Do you notice it?

    Barry Wallace presents Is theology your idol? posted at who am i?, saying, “This is a follow-up to my post on the potentially damning dangers of theology and includes a couple more excerpts from J.I. Packer’s “Knowing God.””

    Rodney Sutton presents Help! My Feelings Have Been Hurt And I Can’t Get Over It! posted at Happy Hog Speaks!.  Forgiveness can be very difficult–yet necessary!

    Marcus Maher presents The Future of Missions? posted at Seeking the truth….  Is ‘business as misions’ a promising model?

    Annette presents By Faith – Abel, Enoch and Noah posted at Fish and Cans.  She examines three examples of faith from Hebrews 11 and looks at how their story might find application in our lives.

    Michelle presents a praise report, 09.26.09 posted at Thoughts and Confessions of a Girl Who Loves Jesus….

    Rey presents The Holy Spirit, an overview on the reality and person of the Holy Spirit, posted at The Bible Archive.

    Trent Cotton presents True Understanding of Salvation-Confessions from a Converted Catholic posted at Christian Men-Christian Warriors.

    My wife, Jody Neufeld, presents Speak Jesus, I am Listening at Jody’s Devotionals.

    Here’s my own contribution for the week–my interview with Keith Williams about the Mosaic Bible (NLT).

    And here are some blog posts that were not submitted, but that I decided it would be worthwhile to call your attention to.

    Josh Mann at for the Sake of Truth wrote a post Ancient Boxing and the Apostle Paul which is just a sample of the many posts he writes on New Testament backgrounds.

    One of our other contributions referenced Allan R. Bevere. Besides the that post, let me call your attention to the first post in his series on Revelation. It looks like it will be fun!

    Would you approve of a conservative Bible translation project? Before you answer, check out this post from Exploring Our Matrix.

    There are many other deserving posts and blogs out there, but I’ll leave it at that.

    That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of The Christian Carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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  • Book Notes: The World of Jeeves

    The World of Jeeves is an omnibus collection of stories about Jeeves and Wooster.  If you’re a fan, this is a great collection.  I have to admit that I had only read a little bit before I picked up this volume, but I am a fan of almost any British humor and Jeeves and Wooster never fail to please.

  • Book Notes: The Laughter of Dead Kings

    The Laughter of Dead Kings by Elizabeth Peters has a couple strikes against it.  (Note some minor spoilers ahead.)

    The first of these is that it is not consistent with other books in the series.  Peters admits this and says she doesn’t care, which is obviously her right.  I find inconsistencies in the background of stories fairly annoying.  I like all the stories with the same character(s) to hang together.

    The second is that it attempts to tie two series together, and I don’t think the series were intended to match.  For some reasons those tie-ins don’t seem to work all that well.  In this particular case, I caught on to it fairly early, and the connections are pretty obvious, but to me they don’t add anything to the story.

    On the other hand, it’s written by Elizabeth Peters, after all, so it has to have something going for it.  Even though I have never liked the Vicky Bliss stories as well as the Amelia Peabody mysteries, I have always found them entertaining and fun light reading, which is obviously what they were written for.  It’s quite unfair to criticize an author for accomplishing precisely what she set out to do.

    Vicky Bliss is still in love with John, and when a major artifact goes missing, he’s obviously going to be blamed somehow, especially if the crime seems particularly brilliant.  Who else could have done it?

    We meet many of the old characters again and I must say I especially enjoy reading about Schmidt and his various antics.  Everything comes out OK, of course, but only at the very last minute.

    So despite the two strikes, I call the book a hit, just not a home run–for me.  Others, who don’t have pet peeves about such little things, may find it a home run in entertainment.

    OK, enough with the baseball metaphors already!