Zwingli in the Pulpit

The young red-headed Pastor ascended the pulpit of the Grossmunster in 1519 on the first of January for the first time and it would remain his pulpit until his death at the hands of Catholic troops in 1531. Modern visitors entering the Grossmunster pass through large iron doors festooned with images from Zwingli’s life and times. Below is the panel containing a portrayal of Zwingli in the pulpit. His preaching was so enthralling, according to contemporaries, that people stood enraptured. If such things are of interest to you, if you visit the Grossmunster be sure to pick up a copy of this book, which they sell just at the passageway to the Tower (which is quite an ascent!)

Those Aussies…. Heavens, They Just Ain’t Right…

If you aren’t from the South you might not be familiar with the little phrase ‘he (or she) just ain’t right!’ This phrase describes a person who suffers from some sort of mental disease or imbalance which causes behavior outside sensible or appropriate. To use it in a sentence, for instance, one would say ‘Chris Tilling just ain’t right’ which means ‘Chris Tilling is mentally unstable and his behavior manifests that instability.’

So, when I note that the Aussies just ain’t right I’m forced to this opinion because of things like this:

An Australian man has been fined after buckling in a case of beer with a seat belt but leaving a 5-year-old child to sit on the car’s floor, police said Tuesday. Constable Wayne Burnett said he was “shocked and appalled” when he pulled over the unregistered car Friday in the central Australian town of Alice Springs. The 30-can beer case was strapped in between two adults sitting in the back seat of the car. The child was also in back, but on the car’s floor. “The child was sitting in the lump in the center, unrestrained,” Burnett told reporters Tuesday.

That, dear friends, is a doubtless demonstration of someone who is seriously impaired, mentally.

And yet, so that no one imagine that I ‘have it in’ for an entire population, I do know one Australian who is clever, intelligent, mentally astute, and just outright brilliant and his name is Ben Myers and Wednesday is his birthday! So, Ben, Happy Birthday to the one Aussie who has sense and of whom it can never be truthfully said ‘he just ain’t right,’ because he is.

Vile and Foul Depravity

Aren has the sad news of vandalism at Gath. I share his sentiments regarding the swift capture of the perpetrators though I would add that along with their capture should be a fitting, harsh punishment. I’m thinking they need to restore what they destroyed at their own cost and that they be sentenced to working the Tell all summer- carrying buckets of dirt. Wretched miscreants…

The Problem With Reading Only One Side of the Issue

T.B. asserts that the Bible really is historically reliable, offers the usual reasons why it must be so, and then concludes by naming a few volumes on the subject that he has read or plans to read. There’s nothing really new here- nothing that hasn’t been said before a thousand times in a thousand different places. What struck me, though, and what provoked me to post the present little bit, is how interesting it is to note that T. has- evidently- read only one side of the issue.

To be sure, he may well have read Davies on the subject- but he doesn’t say so. He may have read Ebeling or Brunner or Barth or Kasemann- but he doesn’t say so. He might even have picked up Thompson or Lemche or Whitelam. But he doesn’t say so. I am, therefore, compelled to imagine that he hasn’t and because he hasn’t, he doesn’t have available to his mental arsenal the full resources necessary to make an informed determination on the topic.

Scholarship requires, at its heart, the scholar to investigate issues from both sides, pro and con. And then, and only then, to make an informed decision. Informed decisions are only possible when both sides of an issue have been looked into closely. And yet, that sort of informed consideration is the very thing that’s lacking in much of biblical studies today- from both sides. Fundamentalists and evangelicals (supposing that they really are different things- which I doubt) read fundamentalists and evangelicals. Liberals and moderates read liberals and moderates. Scholars read both fundamentalists and liberals. Why? Simply to get both sides of the story and then to make a decision based on their own evaluation of the evidence.

Much that passes for scholarship is anything but. It is the reinforcement of preconceived or previously held viewpoints. And that’s the problem with reading only one side of the issue.

Oh- and p.s.- scientists do the same thing- so they shouldn’t somehow imagine themselves superior to biblical scholars.  Evolutionists wouldn’t deign to read creationists with an open mind; and intelligent designers wouldn’t dare actually read an evolutionist with an open mind.  So the problem of reading only narrowly and those with whom one agrees is endemic to academia (and outside of it the problem is even worse).

Oh Happy Day Indeed!

I’ve just discovered that the finest of all translations of the Bible is now available online. The Zürcher Bibel is now available, in full, online, because of the kindness of its publisher, the Theologischer Verlag Zürich. If you can’t read Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek and thus find yourself dangling on the dangerous precipice of having to rely on a translation- this is the very best of all. Bar none. Without exception. Enjoy!

Tragedy in China

900 students may be trapped in a High School in China where a powerful quake has killed 8500, according to the Washington Post.

Details were still emerging, but official Chinese news agencies were
reporting widespread damage, particularly in Beichuan County in
northeastern Sichuan, and said the death toll was expected to climb.

Pray for China. It is my humble opinion that when disasters strike, we are all one nation. The Chinese, today, are our brothers and sisters (as are the Burmese).

Let Me Save You Some Money…

I got an email from a certain publication announcing a certain lecture by a certain New Testament scholar in a certain state in the United States. Here’s the advert

God, the Bible and Human Suffering - Bart Ehrman explores perhaps the greatest religious and philosophical issue that anyone can grapple with: the problem of suffering. A specialist in the New Testament and early Christianity, Ehrman will guide you through this complex topic, paying particular attention to the Bible’s viewpoint on the problem.

Let me save you some money. Here’s what Ehrman will say. 1- there is no god. 2- suffering is just a part of life. 3- don’t worry, be happy. Since Ehrman doesn’t take the bible very seriously (how could he, he doesn’t think there’s a god, which makes the bible nothing more than interesting albeit ancient and arcane silly literature), he can’t possibly be fair in his representation of what it says. Ergo, his interpretation of such an intriguing theological question will be pointless. One can’t speak theologically if one doesn’t think there’s a theos.

Mammonianity

Scott takes another brilliant swipe at the modern day sellers of indulgences (because that’s exactly what the prosperity gospel preachers really are) today in this posting. Especially of note is this remark

There may be no sadder commentary on the North American church today than the sector that already has incredible blessing and abundance but sits around desperately unhappy, conniving how to get more from God. Those heart dispositions and actions are not Christian. They are Mammonianity. I beg you whenever you run in to this plague that you not only say what it isn’t (it’s not the gospel) you say what it is: Mammonianity.

I would take it one step further and say that whenever you run into this plague you should call it what it really is: damnable, heretical, un-christian, schismatic, demonic, mammonianity.

Blogs: The Baptist Battleground

The Baptist Standard has a great essay about Baptists and blogging and how the medium has become so important for both dialog and disagreement. Do give it a read if you’re curious about those ‘battling Baptists.’

Potential Blog Name Changes

I like to change the blog theme with upsetting (to some) regularity. So I’m toying with the idea of changing the title as well. Here are some potential replacements for the present one:

Huldrych Bullinger (combining the two greatest theologians into one title)
Heinrich Zwingli (the same)
Zwinglius Redivivus (not that I am bold enough to say that of myself, but because Brandon likes it)
Der Mensch im Widerspruch (from the title of Brunner’s book)
Ich Weiss Alles (it’s not just true, it’s a line from one of Mozart’s operas)
Chris Tilling’s Nemesis (for obvious reasons)
The Best Biblioblog Ever (which though sounding prideful is just a simple fact)
Sheffieldian / Copenhagener (if it has to be explained to you, you should go to Oprah’s site right now)

What say ye? Remain as is or change to one of these or one of your own suggestions?