Threads from Henry's Web

Author: henry

  • Flying Words

    Flying Words

    My mother used to quote:

    Boys flying kites haul in their white-winged birds,
    But you can't do that when you're flying words.

    The poem is titled “Gossip” and the author is Will Carleton

    Some kind caress—some little petting ways—
    Commenced a-staying in on rainy days
    (I did not see’t so clear then, I’ll allow;
    But I can trace it rather acc’rate now);
    And Discord, when he once had called and seen us,
    Came round quite often, and edged in between us.
    One night, I came from work unusual late,
    Too hungry and too tired to feel first-rate—
    Her supper struck me wrong (though I’ll allow
    She hadn’t much to strike with, anyhow);
    And when I went to milk the cows, and found
    They’d wandered from their usual feeding ground,
    And maybe’d left a few long miles behind ’em,
    Which I must copy, if I meant to find ’em,
    Flash-quick the stay-chains of my temper broke,
    And in a trice these hot words I had spoke:
    “You ought to ‘ve kept the animals in view,
    And drove ’em in; you’d nothing else to do.
    The heft of all our life on me must fall;
    You just lie round, and let me do it all.”
    That speech—it hadn’t been gone a half a minute,
    Before I saw the cold black poison in it;
    And I’d have given all I had, and more,
    To ‘ve only safely got it back in-door.
    I’m now what most folks “well-to-do” would call:
    I feel to-day as if I’d give it all,
    Provided I through fifty years might reach,
    And kill and bury that half-minute speech.
    Boys flying kites haul in their white-winged birds;
    You can’t do that way when you’re flying words.
    Things that we think may sometimes fall back dead;
    But God himself can’t kill them when they’re said.
    She handed back no words, as I could hear;
    She didn’t frown—she didn’t shed a tear;
    Half proud, half crushed, she stood and looked me o’er,
    Like some one she had never seen before!

    Will Carleton, “Gossip” (A good source is the University of Michigan Library)

    I’ll leave application to the reader.

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Translating Puns

    Translating Puns

    Dave Black’s intermediate Greek grammar, It’s Still Greek to Me, is scheduled to be translated into Arabic. One of the features of that grammar is some of the humorous headers that are English puns. Dave wonders how those will be handled in translation.

    Anyone have suggestions? (Only humorous suggestions need apply!)

    While I publish many of Dave’s books, this is not one of them. The booklet with a very similar name, It’s All Greek to Me, is Dave’s brief biography/testimony, and I do publish that one.

    (Note: The featured image was generated by Jetpack AI, and one should not consider it to represent any puns, or likely anything else!)

  • Geoffrey Lentz on Wesleyan Bible Study

    Geoffrey Lentz on Wesleyan Bible Study

    On Thursday I had the privilege of interviewing Rev. Geoffrey Lentz, pastor of First United Methodist Church of Pensacola, regarding characteristics Bible study in the Wesleyan tradition.

    Geoffrey and I have known one another for many years, and authored a book, Learning and Living Scripture, which was published, well, a long time ago. As Geoffrey pointed out in the interview, “Back then, Henry, even you were young.”

    In this video we reference the new imprint, New Fire Press, and two new authored or co-authored by Geoffrey, Bold to Say: Learning and Living the Lord’s Prayer and Project Nebo: Empowering the Generations. Energion Publications (my company) produces this artistically and editorially independent imprint.

    Here’s the video:

    (Featured image combines book covers with an image generated by Adobe’s Firefly Image 3.)

    Project Nebo
    Bold to Say
  • Reading Hebrew Poetry in English (Brief Edition)

    Reading Hebrew Poetry in English (Brief Edition)

    As my Sunday School class is studying Proverbs, I thought I’d provide them with a bit of an explanation of Hebrew poetry. If you’re someone who reads Hebrew and has done any study of Hebrew poetry, this is not for you. Don’t bother to tell me about all the things I’m leaving out. I already know.

    This actually started from my intention to explain a difference in translation, so let’s start with the verse in question.

    8 Attend, my son, to your father’s instruction
    and do not reject your mother’s teaching;

    Proverbs 1:8 (REB)

    Or …

    8 Hear, my child, your father’s instruction,
    and do not reject your mother’s teaching;

    Proverbs 1:8 (NRSV)

    Or … and here’s where the problem is revealed …

    8 My child, obey the teachings
    of your parents,

    Proverbs 1:8 (CEV)

    So how can the Contemporary English Version come up with the translation they did? Though I think we all can recognize that the overall meaning is essentially the same, one might wonder why the CEV would alter the way in which it is expressed so much. For a discussion of various approaches to Bible translation, see my book What’s in a Version?, or the site MyBibleVersion.com that I maintain.

    But here my interest is how the difference is enabled by the nature of Hebrew poetry. In English, we use various combinations of rhyme and meter for most poetic expression, though there is also much less formal free verse or even poetic prose.

    Hebrew poetry does have meter. While there are many arguments as to detail, what I was taught back in ancient times when I was in school was counting accented syllables. While there are some valid objections to this, I think it generally allows one to get a fairly clear picture of the form. Unfortunately, this method is unavailable to most English readers.

    Hebrew poetry is primarily characterized by parallelism of thought, so as an English reader, if you divide a sentence in Hebrew poetry into elements, you can get an idea of how these elements work in meaning. Once you divide the poetry into these elements, you can look for parallels between them.

    These parallels usually come in one of three forms: synonymous, antithetical, or synthetic. In synonymous parallel, two elements essentially express the same thought. In antithetical, the elements express the thought, but in an opposite way. In synthetic parallelism, the two elements go together to express a single idea more comprehensively.

    In the prior paragraph I’m bypassing a great deal of literature and also probably confusing my readers. Let’s take it to our example verse. I’m going to translate it from Hebrew as literally as possible.

    _____ | Obey ________________ | my son | exhortation of your father
    and | don’t leave unheeded |_________ | the instruction of your mother.

    Proverbs 1:8 (my literal translation)

    Now in analyzing Hebrew poetry, we would generally not separate the conjunction, which is not a separate word in Hebrew, but rather a prefix.

    Multiple things are illustrated here. First, one could call this synonymous parallelism, except that the verbs are stated antithetically, “obey” versus “do not disobey,” while the instruction is synthetic, combining the teaching/discipline of parents into “exhortation (or discipline) of your father” and “instruction of your mother.” In addition, you can see how an element can be left out of one or the other line, yet it applies to both.

    You get the full impact of the verse by seeing the way these two lines stand side by side. In some cases you can get a false impression when you fail to realize that two lines are not expressing the same thing, and you will generally understand a verse, usually 2-3 lines, better if you let them work together to bring their message.

    The reason I chose the REB, NRSV, and CEV is that the REB and CEV are considered functional equivalent translations, while the NRSV is a formal equivalence translation. Functional equivalence means to try to find English words for the Hebrew that have the same impact on the English-speaking audience that the Hebrew would have had on the original audience. Formal equivalent translations try to keep the forms as close as possible in a more word-for-word translation.

    You can pick out the elements I identified from either the REB or the NRSV. The CEV, however, is translated primarily to be read by people whose first language is not English. It has departed from the form in order to convey the function to its audience.

    Why doesn’t the REB do so? Generally because it is written in a more formal variety of English and finds the continued repetition of the Hebrew to be quite comprehensible.

    Again, I have quite obviously over-summarized some things and left many out, but I hope this will help.

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI, and modified by me using Photoshop.)

  • Theodicy Again

    Theodicy Again

    Some time ago I did seven interviews on theodicy, or the problem of evil. One of the people I interviewed was Elgin Hushbeck. He and Larissa Munz now produce the Into the Desert podcast. They just released a video titled Christianity’s Biggest Problem, which I’ll embed below.

    The key value for this video is the way in which it outlines the question and potential problems.

    Playlist of My Theodicy Interviews

    Includes one with Elgin Hushbeck.

  • The Limited Value of Debate

    The Limited Value of Debate

    A challenge to immediate debate is a frequent feature of discussions–perhaps arguments!–in religion and politics. But is it a reliable way to get to a better answer?

    There are certainly points of value in open debate:

    1. Hearing more than one side at the same time
    2. Airing out differences quickly
    3. Challenging alleged “facts” on each side by the other
    4. General brevity

    In many political debates, these points are lost as rules of the debate are negotiated by each side hoping to favor their own person. These rules often prevent precisely the things for which debate is most valuable.

    But there are also weaknesses:

    1. Rarely are listeners in a position to check the alleged facts themselves
    2. It’s quite possible for both, or all, debate participants to be wrong
    3. Debates go to the quick, confident speakers, but confidence is not a reliable indicator of accuracy
    4. Debates tend to demand, and often get, quick responses where more deliberation is necessary

    I write this as someone who is often asked questions with an assumption by my questioner that I am an expert. I was once informed that I took too long answering, and should just give the answer based on my expertise in about 30 seconds.

    While I am fairly confident of my answers to many questions in the area of biblical studies, I have some problems with this view.

    First, I am well aware that there are others, many with better credentials than mine, who disagree with my own position. Is it my duty to present a consensus view even if it differs? If I present my own, should I point out that the consensus is different? How much confidence should I show in a view that I know is a subject of valid debate?

    Second, while I often have the upper hand in a debate, I have also experienced times when an opponent overwhelmed me with invention. How do I know? I heard things that I couldn’t confidently refute on the spot, yet which, on further research, I discovered were unfounded.

    We tend to treat the quick thinker as more intelligent, but that is frequently not the case.

    Third, there’s a popular tendency to accept the quick, confident answer as valid and leave it at that. I prefer to fight that tendency.

    But for many people whose brains work more slowly, or whose memories are not stellar, the quick give and take of verbal debate is challenging, and not in a good way. The speaker demands a decision, yet the hearer has not had time to process. We tend to treat the quick thinker as more intelligent, but that is frequently not the case.

    I have some suggestions:

    1. You are the person who has to decide. Take whatever time allows you to make your best decision.
    2. Don’t let anyone dismiss you or diminish you because you refuse to acknowledge their self-assumed superior wisdom in an instant.
    3. Listen to more than one voice. Read more than one article. Study from more than one book.
    4. Don’t be concerned about winning debates. Learning is more important. Planting seeds is more important. Winning on points is just ego-building.

    Debating is actually a good thing and can be helpful. It’s the pressure to make quick decisions that creates problems.

    Listen, study, discern! You are responsible for you.

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Wisdom – You’ve Got to Want It!

    Wisdom – You’ve Got to Want It!

    Wisdom cries out in the street.
    In open spaces she raises her voice. …

    My son, if you take my word,
    and store my commands within you,
    Bringing your ears close to wisdom,
    and stretching your heart to understanding.
    If you call for understanding,
    and use your voice for discernment,
    If you seek her as silver,
    And dig for her as buried treasure,
    Then you will understand the fear of the LORD,
    and find the knowledge of God.

    Proverbs 1:20 & 2:1-5, my translation

    In James 1:5, readers are told that if anyone lacks wisdom (and if you don’t think you lack wisdom, you probably do!) that person should ask God, and they will receive wisdom.

    It’s as simple as that.

    Well, maybe not quite that simple.

    There’s a military aphorism that states: “In war, everything is simple, but nothing is easy.” The two halves of that saying illustrate the change from chapter 1 to chapter 2 of Proverbs. We have wisdom calling out, seeking people, being as obvious as possible. Then suddenly we turn around, and we are being told to listen carefully, seek diligently, even dig for it.

    What’s going on?

    Wisdom is, in fact, simple. Yes, simple. It’s out there everywhere you look. Right and wrong actions have consequences. Success or failure can be found in recognizing and acting on these things.

    And wisdom is, in fact, available. You can discover wise ways of doing things. There are many places where wisdom is calling out, calling to you.

    It might be

    • An older person in your family who has a wealth of experience
    • An expert in their field who can pass on good information and outline courses of action and results
    • The physical world, where you can quickly learn about falling, living, starving, and even dying, and if you are observant, living!
    • Somebody from another culture who may have a different perspective than you do.
    • Somebody whose mind works differently than yours does.
    • The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, working in and through people and creation.
    • A younger person, viewing a situation with more innocent eyes.
    • A good book, written by someone with experience and knowledge you lack.

    Wisdom is everywhere.

    Wise people are much rarer. Why is that?

    You have to want it. Like the military aphorism, wisdom is simple. It’s out there. It’s available.

    But wisdom isn’t easy. It calls out to you, but it doesn’t force you to listen or to act on what it says. You have to be willing to make changes, to act in ways that may be unfamiliar to you. You have to be able to recognize where you’re wrong. Or more importantly where you may be wrong, so that you can correct your actions–or not.

    The problem is that wisdom is often uncomfortable. The wise thing to do is not what you perceive to be the fun thing to do. Following wisdom may hurt your pride. None of that is easy.

    Over the years I have frequently been called on to pray with people about decisions they are trying to make. I’ve found that most of the time, the person I’m praying with actually knows what they ought to do, but they really don’t want to do it. What they’re praying for is an excuse to take a different road, one that is easier, or more satisfying to their pride.

    When I reflect on those prayer times, I’m immediately reminded that I spend much time in prayer hoping that God will provide me with a different path, an easier path.

    Proverbs 2 gives us the unpalatable answer. Yes, you can have wisdom. No doubt about it.

    But you have to really want it.

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Interview: A Day for Joy

    Interview: A Day for Joy

    Background

    As a former Seventh-day Adventist I often get interesting questions. These questions include how I could leave the one true church (from SDAs), or why would I publish books by SDAs (from those who consider Seventh-day Adventism a cult. From many on either side, I’m asked what were the reasons I left the Seventh-day Adventist church.

    Sounds complicated? Well, let’s add that there is a common assumption that the seventh day Sabbath will be a key reason. But that is not the case.

    In fact, while I believe that the new covenant view of sacred time is that all time belongs to God and we use it for ourselves as God directs, I envy Adventists the Sabbath. My approach is hard, and I frequently fail. I fail particularly in getting adequate time for rest and in allowing others time for rest.

    On True Churches

    As for how I could leave the “one true church” I simply don’t believe that the “true church” is the same as any denomination, but rather a collection of believers everywhere as known only to God. So I became a Methodist. I don’t see that as the true church any more than the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

    This also explains why I publish SDA authors. I’ve been told that most former SDAs are antagonistic to the church. I value my heritage and education as an SDA. I honor a number of people who influenced me, worked with me, encouraged me, and taught me. Disagreement on doctrines is fairly minor to me.

    But there’s another reason as well. I think the SDA church has something to teach other denominations as well. One of these valuable topics is the Sabbath, because, as Keith Clouten points out in his interview, while we deal a great deal with sacred space and even sacred resources, we do much worse looking at sacred time. But as he also points out, God ended creation by setting aside and consecrating time.

    The Interview

    To my Seventh-day Adventist readers, I commend this interview as a theologically strong basis for Sabbath keeping. Clouten presents it not as a matter of fulfilling regulations, but of a response of love and a constructive practice for Christian living. To those who are not SDAs, I challenge you to think about what God desires of your time. What is it that God is calling you to do as you live in God’s rest?

    A Day for Joy
  • Wisdom Has Questions

    Wisdom Has Questions

    Wisdom cries aloud in the open air,
    and raises her voice in public places.
    21 She calls at the top of the bustling streets;
    at the approaches to the city gates she says:
    22 ‘How long will you simple fools be content with your simplicity?

    The Revised English Bible (Cambridge; New York; Melbourne; Madrid; Cape Town; Singapore; São Paulo; Delhi; Dubai; Tokyo: Cambridge University Press, 1996), Pr 1:20–22.

    Last week I discussed starting a study of Proverbs and noted a different way of receiving the text. This does not result from a prophetic vision, or from a prophet hearing a voice, but rather from collective (and collected) wisdom from a culture. This is life-time learning, rather than special, instant revelation.

    We like instant revelation. We like answers. We especially like answers that come quickly and fit in with our existing lifestyle and our prejudices.

    The “wisdom” we can gain in this way has another advantage. It can be formed into “ammunition sentences,” sentences that we can fling at other people to shut them up. Often such sentences begin with “the Bible clearly teaches.” We fill in with things we clearly see, largely because we failed to see the whole of scripture.

    I saw a sign in front of a church the other day. The first line read: “God has the answers!” And the second read “Are you listening?”

    That’s good. God does have answers. But sometimes God’s answers don’t match our questions, and the reason is that we’re not asking the right questions, or more specifically, we’re asking questions that limit the range of God’s answers. Sometimes we’re even asking questions in order to avoid God’s answers.

    Over the years I’ve prayed with many people who were seeking God’s guidance. Many of these people were genuinely uncertain, and were trying to seek God’s will. But more of them already knew what God wanted them to do, often because it was clear in terms of ethics, simple right and wrong, but who were hoping they could get a word from the Lord that would set them on a different path, one they preferred to what they already knew. Maybe God’s voice will allow me to take a different turn.

    When you approach things that way, it’s easy to end up believing you’re following God’s path, or the path of wisdom, just because you want so vigorously for that to be the right answer.

    I remember once having a conversation with a couple of friends about a business decision. Business decisions are hard for me. In this case I was discussing two options and trying to decide which was the next step. I had struggled with the decision for days. I don’t even recall now what the issue was, but suddenly in the midst of the conversation I held up my hand and said, “I’ve just realized I’m doing this wrong. Option A would result in behaving unethically.” My advisors hadn’t seen that, because they didn’t understand all the processes involved. As soon as I explained what would happen, they recognized what would likely happen, and so the decision was made.

    What slowed me down? I knew the process and should have recognized the problem immediately. But I didn’t. I wasn’t responding to the right questions. I was missing them because I wanted something to be true, but it wasn’t. No amount of wanting would make it true.

    “Wisdom is calling out in the street.”

    Cover image of The Questioning God book

    And wisdom is often providing questions. Ant Greenham, in his book The Questioning God, says:

    Our foundational identity as human beings, female and male, is inextricably linked to questioning, to inquiry. The fall of humanity notwithstanding, people are repeatedly called to respond to God in the context of mental and spiritual engagement. And the centrality of a questioning approach is reflected throughout the Bible.

    Ant Greenham, The Questioning God, (Pensacola, Florida: Energion Publications, 2012), 4.

    Greenham goes on to point out the numerous ways in which God’s interactions with us consist of God questioning us. We may have questions of God, but God has even more questions to ask us. I’d suggest as a quick example that you check Job 38. After much discussion and complaint, God becomes active and what does God start with? Lots of questions!

    This approach suggests that God wants us to use our mental capacity. Here’s a famous verse, but let’s think about it again:

    The fear of the LORD is the foundation* of knowledge; it is fools who scorn wisdom and instruction

    The Revised English Bible (Cambridge; New York; Melbourne; Madrid; Cape Town; Singapore; São Paulo; Delhi; Dubai; Tokyo: Cambridge University Press, 1996), Pr 1:7.

    Too often this verse is used to contrast the supposed wisdom of the speaker, which the speaker supposes came from God, verses the use of human intellect. “Don’t trust in your education, your degrees, or your own experience. Do what God says instead!” That’s the common advice.

    I’ve received this advice from some as an admonition not to trust my study of Greek and Hebrew in interpreting the Bible, but just to let the Holy Spirit tell me what the text means. But the second half of the verse challenges that. “It is fools who scorn wisdom and instruction.” I can be listening for God’s voice in so many ways, while ignoring what I have already learned. Often when I’m searching for an answer, I’m directed (in various ways) to look at the scriptures and the wisdom of the community of faith over the centuries for an answer. I’m directed to, not away from, the sources involving intellect.

    I’ve written a few times before on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. There’s lots of history and debate around that. But I like it a great deal. Today, I’m focused on one element: Reason. We like to put reason down in favor of more spiritual sounding approaches. But in the end, it is with your reason that you will comprehend the messages sent to you by God. That’s why God so frequently asks questions. God wants to awaken your reason.

    I want to note one final thing. Intellectual activity and engagement is not exclusively the product of academic instruction. In fact, a great deal of foolishness takes place in academic settings. Any group of people can become so inward looking that they lose site of the whole of creation. They can no longer hear wisdom calling in the street because they are in a room with the windows closed and their select set of sources.

    Intellectual activity is also the farmer learning to manage crops, run farm equipment, and take care of animals. God can and will speak wisdom in that setting. The Greek classroom is not more about wisdom and instruction than is the farm, or the corner grocery store. Wisdom is calling out in all these places and through all these processes.

    God is asking you questions about everything. Are you listening?

  • Dave Black Summits the Riffelhorn

    Dave Black Summits the Riffelhorn

    I’ve been texting a bit with my friend Dave Black (also an Energion author) who is in the Swiss Alps at the moment. Today he told me he summited the Riffelhorn.

    I won’t say how old Dave is, but he is older than I am and has been providing an example for many of maintaining physical fitness. He continues to walk, run, and do some challenging physical activities.

    He texted me this:

    The Lord allowed me to summit the Riffelhorn today. I wanted to give up so many times but my guide the Holy Spirit told me to keep on climbing. All glory to God!!

    This immediately reminded me of 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

    God is interested in what we do with our lives, and doing things that will improve our health are part of Christian living.

    Here are some pictures:

    Climbing the Riffelhorn – Photos by Dave Black and his guide.

    So, folks, whether writing a book, teaching a class, going on a mission trip, or climbing a mountain, do all to God’s glory!