And then there were eight

Busy week, with the April 1 special, the real monthly sale, the new Publisher Focus, and 5 new kittens.

That's right, we now have eight cats, five of them kittens that were born on Tuesday morning. Here's some pictures that were taken less than 12 hours after they were born.





Yes, this is a part of a diabolical plan to populate the earth with cats :)

Eisenbrauns April sale

New month, new sale—and this one is real, unlike yesterday's :)

Here's the official blurb:

Eisenbrauns is offering the Mesopotamian Civilizations series on sale for the month of April. Save from 30-50% off retail on the books in this highly respected and widely used series.

Here's the link to the sale.

This is a very good series. If you are into the ancient Near East, I recommend you take advantage of some of these books—and I'm not saying that just because I work at Eisenbrauns!

April 1 at Aisanbrauns

Learn about the shortage of letters affecting publishers! Marvel at the Babylon Battle of the Bands! Drool over the latest Nuzi and the Hurrians CD! All this, plus more at the Eisenbrauns Spring Sale (?) page

Or, try the Battle of the Bands song available here

Power?

“There are Sunday school teachers, Christian elders, and friends whose teaching has no power! They never see the fulfillment of the hope: Sinners shall be converted unto thee. It is not from lack of teaching the truth, but from failing to speak about a living experience of this grace. They teach from a knowledge of the truths of Scripture or refer to an earlier spiritual experience. But this is not enough. If you want to see teaching and conversion of sinners, you must have a living effective experience of the grace of God.”—Andrew Murray

<idle musing>
That's right; trying to live on an experience that is 20 years old, or 2 days old, won't do it. If your experience with God is not a moment-by-moment reliance on him, you have nothing to offer.
</idle musing>

Monday's thought

“To a person who has had his heart filled with grace, it is a joy and pleasure to make others acquainted with Jesus. The reason it is so difficult to speak about Jesus is that we are content with so little of the grace of God. We do not yield ourselves to be completely filled wit hit. Let the fear you feel convince you that you do not yet have as much grace as God is prepared to give. God will gladly give every soul so much blessing that his mouth will overflow because his heart is full. He will not be able to remain silent. Love for Jesus and for others will force him to speak”—Andrew Murray

Where have all the bees gone

One of the things I am interested in is honey bees. I never have had a hive, but I hope that someday I may; meantime I watch from afar. Anyway, the last few years there has been a spreading problem among beekeepers called CCD—Colony Collapse Disorder—which simply means that the bees disappear from their hives, usually through death. Many have suspected that it is the result of the use of pesticides, but only recently has proof begun to emerge. I quote from Catch the Buzz, a bee industry newsletter:

Imidacloprid, a systemic insecticide, moves through the treated plant to the nectar and pollen. The chemical remains persistent in soils for several years, can be taken up by subsequent plantings and weeds, and expressed in their pollen and nectar. No mechanism exists to protect honeybees from this exposure. Due to the vitally important nature of pollinators we recommend that imidacloprid be removed from use in the United States. Simply stated there is just no way to protect bees from this danger.

There is a good deal of evidence to back up this request at the cited URL. Please read it.

How, you ask, did we allow this to happen? Let me quote again:

The reader may ask how did we find ourselves at the point where an extremely dangerous chemical compound has come into such widespread use, threatening the very existence and viability of the pollination framework of the country. The answer is simple. Deregulation, the same concept which precipitated our financial collapse, has precipitated an environmental collapse no less serious. At the same time that financial institutions were being given a free reign to regulate themselves on the naive assumption that industry knew best, pesticide regulation was being turned over from EPA to industry on the same assumption.

US EPA used to do pesticide screening in honeybees, do pesticide toxicity study themselves, but today industry directs and funds the critical toxicity studies to determine product safety themselves. The studies are shown to EPA for registration purposes, then filed away as “proprietary information” far from the scrutiny of the public eye. Enforcement actions are not taken by EPA; instead these critically important functions are delegated to individual state departments of agriculture, under an arrangement ironically called a “primacy agreement.”

The problems faced by the beekeeping industry are not limited to one single chemical compound. They are in fact linked to a pervasive regulatory failure. When the EPA was first set up, it was in response to environmental challenges of an unprecedented nature. At that time the country was using 200,000,000 pounds of active ingredient chemical pesticides. Today that number is over 5,000,000,000 pounds of active ingredient. Simply put, the country is drowning in chemicals. These very “economic poisons” are doing their job too well, and because of the deregulation process we are faced with a perfect storm today capable of destroying our countries[sic] pollinator base which will carry with it agricultural and environmental catastrophe.

The fundamental change which is necessary is to return to a system at EPA which independently tests chemical compounds before they are released for widespread use. Precaution and prevention are words which need to return to environmental protection. Massive field experiments, such as what has occurred with the neonicotinoid class of systemic insecticides is just too high risk of a behavior.

<idle musing>
If you let industry police itself, what do you expect? We have seen what happened in the banking industry, with the resulting recession/depression. Can we afford to wait for the bees to disappear?

You say you don't eat honey? That's not the issue! Bees are pollinators; a huge percentage of our crops depend on their pollination. No bees, a lot less food. Less food, higher prices and the genuine possibility of real food shortages.

I have hesitated to post on this issue for a long time, for fear of being seen as a "wolf-crier," but this is getting too serious. But, there is hope; the White House is now keeping honey bees! See here for the details.
</idle musing>

What's in a name, anyway?

Yesterday, I posted about name calling in academia. Jim West took issue with name-calling being bad. He was clear that he is not attacking me, and I don't feel attacked. But, in the interest of clarifying what Efraín Velázquez was getting at, here is a later snippet:

The current debate and so-called crisis in historiographical studies has served to mature both disciplines. As long as the debate does not degenerate into isolation and fragmentation, one must continue listening to provocative proposals and maturing solid arguments. On the other hand, accusations such as “myth holders” or “mythographers” do not serve to advance our disciplines.—Efraín Velázquez in Critical Issues in Early Israelite History, page 75

<idle musing>
It seems clear that the name calling is not what he was concerned about as much as whether or not people are really listening...
</idle musing>

New sale

I just put up a new sale at Eisenbrauns. Have fun!

For the next 10 days, Eisenbrauns is offering you a chance to save 30-60% on some of our newer Festschriften. Whether your interests are the ancient Near East, archaeology, languages, or biblical studies, there is one on sale for you.

"Essays on Ancient Israel in Its Near Eastern Context:
A Tribute to Nadav Na'aman"
Edited by Yairah Amit, et al.
Eisenbrauns, 2006. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9781575061283
List Price: $59.50 Your Price: $35.70

"David and Zion: Biblical Studies in Honor of J. J. M. Roberts"
Edited by Bernard F. Batto and Kathryn Roberts
Eisenbrauns, 2004. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1575060922
List Price: $55.00 Your Price: $27.50

"Hittite Studies in Honor of Harry A. Hoffner Jr.
on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday"
Edited by Gary M. Beckman, Richard Beal, and Gregory McMahon
Eisenbrauns, 2003. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1575060795
List Price: $65.00 Your Price: $32.50

"Sefer Moshe: The Moshe Weinfeld Jubilee Volume:
Studies in the Bible and the Ancient Near East,
Qumran, and Post-Biblical Judaism"
Edited by Chaim Cohen, Avi Hurvitz, and Shalom M. Paul
Eisenbrauns, 2004. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1575060744
List Price: $59.50 Your Price: $29.75

"Le-David Maskil : A Birthday Tribute for David Noel Freedman"
Edited by Richard Elliott Friedman and William H. Propp
Biblical and Judaic Studies from the
University of California, San Diego - BJSUCSD 9
Eisenbrauns, 2004. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1575060841
List Price: $32.50 Your Price: $16.25

"Confronting the Past: Archaeological and Historical
Essays on Ancient Israel in Honor of William G. Dever"
Edited by Seymour Gitin, J. Edward Wright, and J. P. Dessel
Eisenbrauns, 2006. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1575061171
List Price: $69.50 Your Price: $34.75

"Bringing the Hidden to Light: The Process of Interpretation:
Studies in Honor of Stephen A. Geller"
Edited by Kathryn F. Kravitz and Diane M. Sharon
Eisenbrauns, 2007. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9781575061245
List Price: $49.50 Your Price: $29.70

""I Will Speak the Riddles of Ancient Times": Archaeological
and Historical Studies in Honor of Amihai Mazar on the
Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday"
Edited by Aren M. Maeir and Pierre de Miroschedji
Eisenbrauns, 2006. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1575061031
List Price: $97.50 Your Price: $68.25

"Milk and Honey: Essays on Ancient Israel and the Bible
in Appreciation of the Judaic Studies Program at the
University of California, San Diego"
Edited by Sarah Malena and David Miano
Eisenbrauns, 2007. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1575061279
List Price: $47.50 Your Price: $19.00

"From the Banks of the Euphrates: Studies in
Honor of Alice Louise Slotsky"
Edited by Micah Ross
Eisenbrauns, 2008. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9781575061443
List Price: $49.50 Your Price: $34.65

Name calling

"Thompson (1992a) and Barstad (1996) argue that scholars who support an early date for the origin of Israel (the so-called maximalists) are perpetuating a “myth of Israel” and the “mythical past” of the Hebrew Bible. On the other hand, Oded (2003: 55–56) calls the so-called minimalists “mythographers,” because they propose that the origin of Israel should be dated to late periods (that is, Persian or Hellenistic periods). I do not wish to engage in a diatribe that would not advance the study on the origins of Israel. Name-calling and rhetorical outbursts have done much harm and do not promote progress in this discussion. Much of today’s literature is reactionary and does not advance our understanding. However, the dynamics of engaging a subject from different perspectives can be fruitful and the colorful language of these discussions generates interest."—Efraín Velázquez in Critical Issues in Early Israelite History, page 62

Consumption

Just ran across this in an e-mail from Smyth & Helwys, plugging the book 17 Roadblocks on the Highway of Life:

As the old quip puts it, “We spend money we don’t have to buy things we don’t need based on advertising we don’t believe to please people we don’t even like.”

Author Juliet B. Schor describes the problem in terms of today’s consumer society. She locates the problem in what she calls the process of consumption: see, want, borrow, and buy. Our inner desires are prompted by exposure to a plethora of things. Seeing leads to wanting, as our inner desires spur us to action. And often we do not wait until we have the money we need before we purchase something. We simply charge it. Then, after having bought something—often on credit—we are driven to make more money to cover what we have already purchased, all the time driven toward more possessions by the process of consumption. [Juliet B. Schor, The Overspent American (New York: Basic Books, 1998), 68-74.]

<idle musings>
And we wonder why the economy collapsed? This, my friends, is the ultimate end of the person wrapped up in him/herself. Consumption can never fill the hole in the soul.
</idle musings>

Why is it

that we are surprised when people act depraved?

As Christians, we claim to believe in original sin, but then are surprised when people act in a sinful manner...one of those things that makes you go, "hmmm."

A song is given birth in the spring

Joel posted this song to their blog yesterday. It is a reflection on how Emily's passing last June helps him understand the crucifixion a bit better. Click on the widget to hear it. The words are below.

Resurrection Morn
by Joel Pike
Now that I've held death in my arms.
Now that my own flesh and blood has grown cold.
Now that I've seen a soul move on,
leaving behind a little body and a little less of me.

Now that I've seen the heavenly slip away....
Nothings left when the heavenly slips away.
Now that I've seen...
What would've it been like to be there on a hill outside of Jerusalem?
When the earth shuddered and the sky rolled and on the cross hung the one who made it all?
He made the hands that beat him.
He made the tongues that cursed him over and over.
He made the nails that pierced his wrists.
He made the thorns that crowned His bloody head.

The Author of Life wrote His death. He wrote in His own blood.
And the Light of the world was extinguished.
And what is a world without the One by whom it is made?
No there's nothing left when the heavenly slips away.

Oh for the resurrection morn!
Oh for the first light of dawn!

All would be lost it that'd been all;
if death could keep a hold on God
Enter the tomb. Pass the stone rolled away.
He is not here. He is risen from the dead!

Oh for the resurrection morn! (Where would we be?)
Oh for the first light of dawn! (Come Lord Jesus come)

Hmmm

There has been a good bit of discussion about Jon's post about church, but it has all been on Facebook. As expected, it wasn't long before someone trotted out the old Hebrews 10:24-25 verse. I suspect they are using the version that Alan Knox published on June 1, 2008, because it certainly couldn't be the actual one in anybody's Bible:

The fourth installment of "Scripture... As We Live It":

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting don't forget to meet together in the church building every Sunday morning, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another let your leaders encourage you, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25 remix)

<idle musing>
I would only add one thing to his modifications; I would put this at the end: "and all the more as you see Sunday drawing near."

Seriously, why do we think that Sunday sitting in a pew is "considering how to stir one another up?" Maybe because otherwise we would fall asleep? :)
</idle musing>

What do you do with these?

Seriously, what do you do with these verses:

1 Corinthians 7:12 "To the rest I say, not the Lord..." and
1 Corinthians 7:25 "Now concerning the unmarried, I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy." (RSV)

What do you do with these? Do you run through some hermeneutical hoops to make it so that Paul is inspired? Do you basically re-read it to mean that he knows of no saying of Jesus addressing this? Or, do you take it at face value? Are they binding?

I'm being serious here. I honestly don't know (and never have) how to read these two texts. If you take them as binding, then what does that say about your hermeneutic of scripture? If you take them as Paul's opinion, what does that say about your view of inspiration? And, are you comfortable with these decisions?

Church, but not as most view it

There is a thought provoking post by Jon over at The Theos Project on being outside the pale of institutional Christianity. After recalling a recent, awkward, conversation with a neighbor, he talks about why, and what it means, to be outside the pale:

But what if we embraced the void? What if we gave up our foundationalist instinct to find a center and just let be?

I think that if we could do so, then we would be forced to live faith without being able to fall back on an institution/organization/membership for security. We could then allow sacred spaces to open up naturally and organically as the spirit moves.

Most importantly, without a center or foundation, the us-versus-them exclusivistic attitude becomes more difficult to maintain. "Having a home church" means that one is "in," right? And those who don't are out. What if we were all out? What if we were all in? What if that didn't matter so much, anymore?

NOT having a church makes one live faith each moment for the moment, it does not allow for a psychological religious stabilizer.

<idle musing>
Please read the whole thing; he doesn't paint a rosy picture of being outside, nor does he condemn those inside. He simply evaluates what church is supposed to be, where it really is, and how he is responding to that. Personally, I think his response is very well thought out and has a scriptural foundation.

He isn't the only one who thinks this way; according to Barna, this is the fastest growing segment of the church. It used to be the nominal christians who left the institutional church; now it is the ones who really want to live out their faith moment-by-moment. The church doesn't know what to do with these kinds of people. I guess that is one reason that a friend of mine has started saying that he is "unchurched," although he gets together with other Christians throughout the week. He just doesn't want to be associated with the baggage that comes with the current definition of "church;" he would rather it were defined by the New Testament.
</idle musing>

Spring!

Yes, I know it isn't officially here yet, but yesterday sure was beautiful!

I love the season changes; I love winter, but am glad that things are turning green again. I looked at the lilac bushes yesterday night. They have begun to put out little leaves, about 1/2 long right now. The fruit trees have buds that are about to burst open; the maples are getting ready to flower.

I walked over to the garden, trying to see signs of raspberries coming up. Not yet. Then I went over to the herb garden and looked for signs of mint, parley, oregano, but in vain. The chives, though, have 2 inch sprouts. I plucked one off and bit it. The stalks are nice and thick and juicy this time of year and a burst of onion filled my mouth. I plucked a second one to intensify the flavor. Wow, sure did taste good. But, the flavor stuck in my mouth the rest of the night; after a while it does get old :)

I started riding my road bike again this week. Talk about fast! With the mountain bike, it takes me about 25 minutes to get to work. With the road bike, I can do it in 15. The mountain bike I have is heavy and a bit too small for me, but it serves its purpose well. I wouldn't want to be riding my road bike with its skinny tires and expensive components in the salt and snow!

Enjoy the season! I know I am, even though the garden won't get planted for a while yet :)

Making the rounds again

A few good posts from relatively recenlty...

What is worship? asks Alan Knox the other day:

How do we "worship" God? We worship God in the way that we serve, submit to, love, and accept one another. When do we worship? Well, we worship when we serve, submit to, love, and accept one another. What if we're not doing these things? Then we're not worshiping.

What if we're singing and listening to preaching, but we not demonstrating love to those around us? Then we're not worshiping. What if we're demonstrating God's love to those around us, but we're not singing nor listening to preaching. Then, we're worshiping.

And, from Ted Gossard, some thoughts on relationships:

I don't care that much about what I know or what you know, not for itself. Yes, knowledge by faith is important. But the goal is relationship and communion with God and with each other. Of course only in Christ can people come to their senses and repent and thus find themselves found by God. The central need for relationship is inherent in us as humans made in God's image.

And, from Joel B. about living in a box:

What ends up happening is a lot of faking. A lot of acting. A lot of trying to keep up with others who seem to have it together, while those who seem to have it together know that they don't really have it together, but can't let anyone know! And there is a lot of living inside a box. A box of must's and should's, rather than trust and get to's. A box of performance, trying to get it right, trying to be good Christian boys and girls, but never seeming able to arrive, and therefore never being able to get out of the box. Often not even knowing there's a whole world outside of the box!

</idle musing>
All excellent thoughts. Be sure to read the whole of each of them.
<idle musing>

Slow burn

<idle musing>
I've been doing a slow burn for the last day or so. Perhaps I can put this in a coherent fashion; we'll see.

If you have read this blog for very long, you know that I am a firm believer in the need for revival in the U.S. church. I commented in the past about Lakeland. I believed, and still do, that despite some of the extremes, it was a true move of God (and from what I hear, it is still going on, albeit in a less media-centric way).

I firmly was hopeful that Bentley would reconcile with his wife. I was also hopeful that there would be repentance and confession. Well, this hit my e-mail box 2 days ago. Let me quote the relevant part:

What happened there was from God, and Todd is a true servant of God. He has made some mistakes, and he is trying to get his life back in order, and you can be confident that he will.

OK. There are a few things wrong with the theology of those sentences. I agree with the first sentence; it was of God, and Bentley was a true servant of God. It is the second sentence that has me upset, so here we go:

1. He did not make mistakes—he sinned. People, there is a huge difference between a mistake and sin. A mistake is an error in judgment because we are finite. Sin is willful. Sin demands confession and repentance; a mistake doesn't require repentance, although it might require an apology. Sin is an affront to the living God. Sin kills. Sin demands atonement. Sin will destroy. Sin will eat a person from the inside out. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

2. Notice the subject of the sentence: "He." "He is trying." "he will" Sorry; not going to happen. Never. Not in a thousand years. Not him; not you; not me. Period. We will never, ever, ever be able to get our lives in order. If we could, then Christ died for no reason. It doesn't matter whether you are a Calvinist, an Arminian, or undecided, it is a foundational statement of Christian theology that we cannot be good on our own. It must always be God, and God alone, who can get our lives "back in order." And even after that, we are still reliant on the ever present, ever empowering, grace of God, in the form of the presence of the Holy Spirit, to keep us.

Just in case you missed that, let me repeat it: None of us can get our lives in order, nor can we keep them in order, except by the work of the Holy Spirit! And the sooner we admit it, the sooner we can allow it to happen.

I know somebody will say something to the effect of "Well, that is implied. We all know that God has to help him." Sorry, still not going to happen. God does not help us! He does it. Do you understand? We can do nothing apart from God. As soon as we expect God to help us, we have taken back control of our life; we are again calling the shots. People, we are dead!. When was the last time (in real life) that you saw a dead person take control of their life? Exactly! It doesn't happen; they are dead. In the same way, we are dead so that God can live a holy life through us (see Romans 5-6, for starters). He calls the shots, he does the empowering, not us.

Bentley might get the shell back in place. God might even use him mightily again—I hope God does use him again. But, unless there has been true repentance, the shell will crack under pressure. When it does, not if, we will see the same problems. Don't think I am picking on him; the same thing is true of all of us. We need the immediate, current, moment-by-moment breath of God living in us or we will all be in the same spot.

OK. I'm done—for now.
</idle musing>

Greek musings

Caution, this post might be hazardous to your language skills :)

I was reading through Romans 7 last night in the Greek with a friend. We noticed an interesting thing in verse 15:
ὃ γὰρ κατεργάζομαι οὐ γινώσκω: οὐ γὰρ ὃ θέλω τοῦτο πράσσω, ἀλλ' ὃ μισῶ τοῦτο ποιῶ.
hO GAR KATAERGAZOMAI OU GINWSKO: OU GAR hO QELW TOUTO PRASSW, ALL hO MISW TOUTO POIW.

See the three different words for "do?" The English versions have a hard time with this, usually just glossing them all was "do." But, I think Paul is trying to make a distinction here. Not totally sure what it is, but I suspect this translation might bring it to English a bit better:

For the thing I accomplish, I don't understand. For what I do not desire, this is the thing I practice, and the thing I hate, I end up doing.

OK, what do you think? Tear it to shreds :)

By the way, the interplay between γινώσκω (GINWSKW) and οἶδα (OIDA) in this section is also interesting...

Today's snippet

"Many people concerned about salvation do not understand David's request [Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice (Ps. 51:8)] They think that it is too large a blessing to desire from God, that they are too unworthy to expect to receive such deep joy from God. They are content to be miserable and depressed all their lives, as long as they can hang onto the hope of one day getting to heaven. They feel too unworthy to ask for joy and gladness on earth as well. They think they are not fit to expect such a blessing, and they call this attitude humility. No, in truth, they are always wanting to measure grace according to their own merits, and that is not real grace!"—Andrew Murray emphasis mine

<idle musing>
An easy trap to fall into, I might add. Grace is measured by God's standards, not ours (praise God for that!). We can enjoy his presence continually by resting/remaining/abiding in him.
</idle musing>

Self-deception

"[M]any people experience a superficial conversion and allow themselves to be deceived. For example, there is some anxiety about sin and questions about grace whenever someone is sick, but the person is soon comforted. These feelings of convictions can be easily awakened and also very lightly laid to rest again. Many desire the help of God without being prepared to abandon everything in actual life. 'The heart is deceitful above all things' (Jer. 17:9). Through the pious appearance of religion, people many times deceive themselves. If they would only realize that God searches the deepest recesses of the soul, then this word of David [Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts (Ps. 51:6)] would be a word of heartbreaking power and at the same time a word of healing and quickening."—Andrew Murray

<idle musing>
Ouch! I would say this is only too true, in my experience. Break our hearts, Lord! Bring us to true repentance that we might see sin as you do and salvation as you do!
</idle musing>

Workaholics for the Kingdom

A friend of mine forwarded this to me. It is an excerpt from Making Sense of Spiritual Warfare from Bethany House.

Many of us think that our assignment from the Lord is to identify problems and then apply prayer to them. We see ourselves as “God’s problem-solvers,” and we’re works-oriented. To the contrary, that’s not why we’re here. We are here to do what we see the Father doing.

Oh, we know we’re saved by grace through faith (see Ephesians 2:8-9). However, many of us feel we’re saved to work! We think God saved us to serve Him. This isn’t true any more than I married Alice so that she could serve me. We’re saved to live in vital union, fellowship, communion with Christ.

Failure to understand this will cause us to live lives of spiritual drivenness. We’ll feel obligated to take any and every ministry or assignment that’s offered. Why? Because we’ll be mistakenly trying to establish our identity by what we do rather than by who we are. Some of God’s most hard-charging servants have never had the sweet experience of falling asleep in the Father’s lap. Some dread even appearing “spiritually unemployed.”

<idle musing>
Too true. μένω/rest/abide is the key to the Christian life. Anything else is empty works and shameless self-advancement.
</idle musing>

An interesting thought

Over the weekend, I was reviewing some of the posts that I have flagged, and ran across this little snippet from last April. It is a quote from John Newton on A Place for the God-Hungry:

. . and he is never more a devil than when he looks most like an angel.  Let us beware of him; for many wise have been deceived, and many strong have been cast down by him.

<idle musing>
Sometimes I think we expect the enemy to come in and announce, “Hi, I'm the devil. I hate you and I'm here to destroy you.”

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to resist temptations if that were true? :) But, it doesn't work that way; God expects us to rely on Him for our moment-by-moment walk in the Spirit. It is only then that we are able to discern the difference between the enemy, the flesh, and the Spirit of God. And, it is only by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God that we are able to resist.
</idle musing>

Eisenbrauns sales

OK, we've got a monthly sale going on: Deo titles at 20% off. We've also just started a new 10 day sale 25 CBOTS/CBNTS titles at 40%:

"Die Furbitter Israels: Eine Studie zum Mosebild im Alten Testament"
by Erik Aurelius
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 27
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1988. Paper. German.
ISBN: 912200940X
List Price: $35.00 Your Price: $21.00

"Aram as the Enemy Friend: The Ideological Role of
Aram in the Composition of Genesis--2 Kings"
by C.-J. Axskjold
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 45
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1998. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122018158
List Price: $33.00 Your Price: $19.80

"The God of the Sages: The Portrayal of God in the Book of Proverbs"
by Lennart Bostrom
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 29
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1990. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122013407
List Price: $33.00 Your Price: $19.80

"Dust, Wind, and Agony: Character, Speech, and Genre in Job"
by M. Cheney
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 36
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1994. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122016031
List Price: $55.00 Your Price: $33.00

"Grapes in the Desert: Metaphors, Models, and Themes in Hosea 4-14"
by Goeran Eidevall
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 43
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1996. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122017097
List Price: $41.00 Your Price: $24.60

"A Passing Power: An Examination of the Sources for the History
of Aram-Damascus in the Second Half of the Ninth Century B. C."
by Sigurdur Hafthorsson
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 54
Almqvist and Wiksell, 2006. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122021434
List Price: $58.00 Your Price: $34.80

"The Text of 2 Chronicles 1-16: A Critical
Edition with Textual Commentary"
by Kjell Hognesius
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 51
Almqvist and Wiksell, 2003. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122020012
List Price: $50.00 Your Price: $30.00

"King and Messiah: The Civil and Sacral
Legitimation of the Israelite Kings"
by Tryggve N. D. Mettinger
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 8
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1976. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122009302
List Price: $40.00 Your Price: $24.00

"No Graven Image? Israelite Aniconism in Its
Ancient Near Eastern Context"
by Tryggve N. D. Mettinger
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 42
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1995. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122016643
List Price: $43.00 Your Price: $25.80

"Sacrifice and Symbol: Biblical Selamim in a
Ritual Perspective"
by Martin Modeus
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 52
Almqvist and Wiksell, 2005. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122021205
List Price: $76.00 Your Price: $45.60

"Sein Name Allein ist Hoch: Das Jhw-haltige Suffix
althebraischer Personennamen untersucht mit besonderer
Berucksichtigung der alttestamentlichen Redaktionsgeschichte"
by S. Norin
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 24
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1986. Paper. German.
ISBN: 9122009361
List Price: $35.00 Your Price: $21.00

"The LXX Version: A Guide to the Translation
Technique of the Septuagint"
by Staffan Olofsson
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 30
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1990. Paper. English.
ISBN: 912201392X
List Price: $29.00 Your Price: $17.40

"Towns and Toponyms in the Old Testament:
With Special Emphasis on Joshua 14-21"
by J. Svensson
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 38
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1994. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122015817
List Price: $30.00 Your Price: $18.00

"Die Hexteucherzahlung: Eine literaturgeschichtliche Studie"
by Sven Tengstrom
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 7
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1976. Paper. German.
ISBN: 912200906X
List Price: $27.50 Your Price: $16.50

"Prophets in Action : An Analysis of Prophetic
Symbolic Acts in the Old Testament"
by Ake Viberg
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 55
Almqvist and Wiksell, 2007. . English.
ISBN: 9789163314544
List Price: $74.00 Your Price: $44.40

"Prophecy as Literature: A Text-linguistic
and Rhetorical Approach to Isaiah 2-4"
by B. Wiklander
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 22
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1984. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122009345
List Price: $37.00 Your Price: $22.20

"The Ephesian Mysterion: Meaning and Content"
by Chrys C. Caragounis
Coniectanea Biblica New Testament Series - CBNTS 8
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1977. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122009132
List Price: $32.00 Your Price: $19.20

"The Sign of Jonah Reconsidered: A Study of Its
Meaning in the Gospel Traditions"
by Simon Chow
Coniectanea Biblica New Testament Series - CBNTS 27
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1995. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122016953
List Price: $40.00 Your Price: $24.00

"To All the Brethren: A Text-Linguistic and Rhetorical
Approach to 1 Thessalonians"
by Bruce C. Johanson
Coniectanea Biblica New Testament Series - CBNTS 16
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1987. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122008659
List Price: $29.00 Your Price: $17.40

"Jesus and "This Generation": A New Testament Study"
by E. Lovestam
Coniectanea Biblica New Testament Series - CBNTS 25
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1995. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122016686
List Price: $27.00 Your Price: $16.20

"Forum fur Sprachlose: Eine kommunikationspsychologische und
epistolar-rhetorische Untersuchung des Galaterbriefs"
by D. Mitternacht
Coniectanea Biblica New Testament Series - CBNTS 30
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1999. Paper. German.
ISBN: 9122018336
List Price: $52.00 Your Price: $31.20

"The Origins of the Synagogue: A Socio-Historical Study"
by Anders Runesson
Coniectanea Biblica New Testament Series - CBNTS 37
Almqvist and Wiksell, 2001. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122019464
List Price: $77.00 Your Price: $46.20

"Principles of Chinese Bible Translation as Expressed in
Five Selected Versions of the New Testament and
Exemplified by Matthew 5:1-12 and Colossians 1"
by Thor Strandenaes
Coniectanea Biblica New Testament Series - CBNTS 19
Almqvist and Wiksell, 1987. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9122009930
List Price: $20.00 Your Price: $12.00

And, we are featuring a CBOTS/CBNTS title as the DOTD each day for the next 10 days!

And yet more links...

I was quite behind in reading, so the last few posts have been attempts to catch up and share the wealth with others who might not follow the same blogs I do.

In keeping with the theme of yesterday's closing link on community, Scot McKnight has a post quoting from a book that asks what the basis is for our decisions:

Individualistic values center on the rights and needs of each person. Examples of individualistic values would be freedom, independence, self-sufficiency, self-esteem, individual achievement, personal enjoyment, and self-expression. Collectivistic values prize most highly the person's obligations and duties to others. Examples of collectivistic values would be duty, loyalty, kindness, generosity, obedience, and self-sacrifice.

<idle musing>
Good question. Like Scot, I think it is a bit to black and white, but it is worth thinking about.
</idle musing>

Alan Knox is looking at the book of Jude, and made the following observations:

I think it is very interesting that Jude tells his readers to "contend for the faith" (and thereby thwart the work of divisive, deceptive, and ungodly people) by encouraging one another to remain in God's love and by having mercy on those who are doubting or sinning.

I'm not sure that this is the way the church is attempting to "contend for the faith" today. It seems that we tend to tear down those who disagree with us and ridicule or label or dismiss those who are doubting or sinning. Could it be that its not "the faith" we are contending for?

What if showing love and mercy contends for the faith more than apologetic arguments? What if helping and strengthening one another (other believers) preserves the faith more than creeds and confessions? What if "the faith" is more about living in God's love and trusting him than it is about a set of systematic doctrines?

What if the church focused on love and mercy and allowed God to continue to deal with the divisive, the deceptive, and the ungodly as Jude shows that he always has in the past?

<idle musing>
Worth thinking about, isn't it? The early church (at least through the time of Julian the Apostate) was known for its love. They were very much aware that their citizenship was in heaven, not on earth, but that is another thought for another day...
</idle musing>

More links

In the spirit of sharing the love, here are a few more links that have caught my fancy lately...

Joel at Grace Roots has a series of posts on the practical outworking of grace. Here is a nice little snippet:

I’ve said plenty of times that I’m very opposed to the idea that the Christian life is a matter of living by rules, principles, methods, etc. Life in Christ is a matter of His life in us, working in us and through us and out of us. It’s not about us studying principles to keep us and guide us. It’s not about becoming better people, but rather it’s about living from the new creations that we already are, trusting in Christ’s life in us to animate us...

And so in saying all of this, I want to be absolutely clear that I’m not saying that our life in Christ is a matter of striving to apply godly principles to our lives. It’s not a matter of preaching a new set of principles every week and then going out and trying to make them work.

What I am saying is that as we get more and more rooted and grounded and established in grace and in our identity in Christ, God can and does speak to us in all kinds of ways, through internal and external means, and part of that includes encouraging, exhorting and admonishing us through each other.

The Apostle Paul did a whole lot of this in his epistles. It can be a very grace-full thing to speak these things to one another. Again, it doesn’t make us “better people” and it doesn’t make us any closer to God. It simply helps to bring out the life of Christ.

And, in the second post:

I don’t believe it’s a matter of us going around trying to find principles to follow and I also don’t believe it’s a matter of a preacher coming up with a new set of generic principles to preach each week. I think it’s more a matter of, in the normal course of life, God’s children communicating with one another, and in the proper times and seasons speaking words to one another that come from our own life experiences and from biblical truth that fit the given circumstances, and that will help us to grow in grace and in the living out of who we truly already are in Christ.

<idle musing>
When we were visiting some friends in Minnesota last fall, one of them summed it up very nicely by saying, “So, what the Bible is doing is showing us what the grace-filled life looks like, not telling to do this in order to get grace.” Very insightful, I think.
</idle musing>

Somehow I missed this post until this weekend; it is from way back on February 14. Alan Knox, quoting from The Christian Century, says:

Every congregation has its supply of believers who would love nothing more than to cultivate their own private spirituality by taking home that beloved hymn refrain or sermon quip to benefit their personal life. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this private eagerness for spiritual nurture. But as soon as personal edification becomes the primary focus for "attending" church, individualism begins to infect the health of the congregation and the possibility of a grander sense of true community.

<idle musing>
I am realizing more and more each day that we are called to be a community—a community of faith, reflecting the kingdom of God, bearing witness to the power of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.
</idle musing>

Another meme

I have been tagged in a Google meme. Alan Knox has tagged me. The meme consists of the following rules:

Google your full first name (not your nickname) and the word "needs" like this: "James needs" and then post the first 10 things that Google finds. You may have to go to the website and do a little reading. Then tag 5 friends (not including the person who tagged you) and pass it on.

So, here are the top 10 things that I am supposed to be needing, according to Google:
1. James needs a hat. I don't think so, although it was cold riding to work today.
2. rotten tomatoes. What? No, thanks! I wouldn't mind a fresh one, though.
3. Vista, but prefers OS X. Absolutely not! I am glad I don't have to run Vista!
4. Australia. Sure, why not?
5. a cat-sitter. Not right now; our cats are all outside cats
6. an agent. For what?
7. a vacation. Not right now, but when the new grandkids arrive in May and June, I will gladly take one!
8. to come home. That sounds good.
9 . a bigger share of the vote. Didn't know I was in the running for anything.
10. a job. I hope not! Do you know something I don't?

Well, that was interesting. I guess 10% isn't too bad, unless you are a prophet.

OK, I tag the following:
Jim West, just because I know he hates memes!
Nick Norelli
Andy Kerr
Jon Erdman
Joel B.

Link love

I thought I would link to some posts that have piqued my interest this week:

Scot McKnight has been running a series on IGens. Today's and yesterday's were especially good. From today's:

She thinks there is (and I use my own term here) a social anorexia. That is, "we're malnourished from eating a junk-food diet of instant messages, e-mail, and phone calls, rather than the healthy food of live, in-person interaction" (110). There is an instability in relationships -- beginning with divorce and casual romantic relationships and the biological clock ticking for young women and young men (1.2 men unmarried for every one woman). Lots of living alone and lots of moving from one location to another ... looking for jobs and the economic realities of how expensive it is to buy a home and dual income and then kids and fees for taking care of kids ... much of this driven by the desire to stand alone. Add to this higher expectations by the young adults ... and the desire to make it on our own.

<idle musing>
Reminds me of Aspects of the Atonement, where he talks about shame.
</idle musing>

Which leads right into this from Ekklesia,which is from here (I'm quoting from the second link):

Forgive me if I go off on this again, but I really do think this is central: Given the ways we are influenced by capitalism and the way we let it reign in so many areas of our lives, is this kind of koinania possible in our times? I get chastised whenever I try to show how capitalism shapes Christians into being pagans. Many of my evangelical friends, automatically assume I am espousing socialism as a social system that is better than capitalism. Sorry, I am not doing that. Instead I am showing how this system shapes us into a spiritual formation that disables us from being Christians. Chan’s illustration of life insurance illustrates my point. Many of us have sat down with an insurance broker and watched him/her outline on an excel sheet how much we will accumulate if we contribute so much. We then hear the words and if we “want to maintain our lifestyle” when we retire we will need some sort of outrageous number of dollars of life insurance. Then this person walks off in disgust if we dare question these “scientific expert” projections. But right there, as we listen, we are all being shaped by the powers to be independent, do not trust anyone else, and be responsible, and maintain a lifestyle you never needed in the first place. This in turns shuts us off from one another, and keeps us working harder and longer and keeping more of our money so we can pay these insurance premiums. We lose our capacity to be dependent upon one another and to give time and money to His Mission. This is one good example of how capitalism shapes and forms our lives into being pagans.

<idle musing>
I've said it many times on this blog, but it doesn't make it less true, most christians are practicing atheists.
</idle musing>
Which leads to this:

Are you furthering your education to get a degree? Burning midnight oil and studying to make an A? Planning lessons to make your point? Growing a church to build a better resume? Visiting folks to appease the pastor? Attending church to feel better about yourself throughout the week? Preparing sermons to fix some individual or group? Supporting missions, ministers, leaders and campaigns so goals are met and numbers increase?

If we answer yes to any of those questions, our actions are of no benefit whatsoever. Nada. None. Zip.

It’s only when we fall back completely and surrender every iota of our self-sufficiency to Christ, that the Spirit can fill us and use us for His glory. We can do nothing apart from Him and when we do something with anything other than Him in mind, we do nothing at all.

<idle musing>
Yep!
</idle musing>
Which leads me to this:

It is very difficult to discuss "worship" in the context of the American church (and perhaps in other nations as well, I don't know) without the discussion centering on the church meeting. In fact, some readers probably bristle because I used the phrase "church meeting" instead of "worship service". However, we must realize that the inclination to associate the church meeting with worship did not arise from Scripture.

Go ahead and study... you should. Studying the association in Scripture between the church meeting and worship is one of the reasons that I became interested in ecclesiology. But, that study also encouraged my interest in worship - not singing and praying and preaching, but worship, from the perspective of Scripture. And, as I studied worship in Scripture, I found that worship has more to do with how I live my life than what I do on Sunday mornings - although that is certainly part of it - around 1% of it (1-2 hours out of my 168 hour week). So, why do we act as if that 1-2 hours is 90% of our worship (or even all of it)?

<idle musing>
Worship is what we do all the time as we walk in Christ! There is no "secular/sacred" divide in him.
</idle musing>

Today's quote

"The truth is that among those who actually went through the experience of Auschwitz, the number of those whose religious life was deepened—in spite of, not because of, the experience—by far exceeds the number of those who gave up their belief. To paraphrase what La Rochefoucauld once remarked with regard to love, one might say that just as the small fire is extinguished by the storm while a large fire is enhanced by it—likewise a weak faith is weakened by predicaments and catastrophes, whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them."—Viktor Frankl (an Auschwitz survivor)

The branch on the vine

" For, alas! is it not often true that our work comes between us and Jesus? What folly! The very work that He has to do in me, and I for Him, I take up in such a way that it separates me from Christ. Many a laborer in the vineyard has complained that he has too much work, and not time for close communion with Jesus, and that his usual work weakens his inclination for prayer, and that his too much intercourse with men darkens the spiritual life. Sad thought, that the bearing of fruit should separate the branch from the vine! That must be because we have looked upon our work as something other than the branch bearing fruit. May God deliver us from every false thought about the Christian life."— Andrew Murray

<idle musing>
Get on the wheel, you hamster! Round and round it goes, but you get nowhere fast—except exhausted.

How many burned out christians do you know? They are trying to live the Christian life by themselves. It has never worked, and it certainly isn't going to start working now! Abide in Jesus. Let him be the vine; you be content to be the branch. You aren't responsible for growth, the vine is. Relax!
</idle musing>

Quote for today

"If you want people to have faith and belief in God, you cannot rely on preaching along the lines of a particular church but must, in the first place, portray your God believably—and you must act credibly yourself."—Viktor Frankl in Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning

<idle musing>
Yep. You have to walk the walk in order for people to see that what you are saying is true.
<idle musing>

The gospel

Wonderful post on IVP's Behind the Books about why an author wrote his book. Here's an extract:

Jesus’ Gospel includes forgiveness of sins and eternal life, but—and this is crucial—it cannot be reduced to it. The gospel of the Kingdom has to do with becoming, through grace and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the cooperative friends of Jesus, who live constant lives of creative goodness for the sake of others through the power of the Holy Spirit. That story, unlike the story of going to heaven when you die, can produce a new life—which is of course an eternal kind of life.

<idle musing>
I like it when someone else says it :)

Note the repeating of the phrase "the empowerment of the Holy Spirit." That cannot be said enough; anything else is works.
</idle musing>

He continues:

Second, my decades long practice as a pastor tells me that we Christians tend to misunderstand the nature of community and its essential connection to both evangelism and serving others. Driving 20 to 30 minutes across town to go to church for an hour or so does not constitute community. Neither does adding a drive 20 to 30 minutes in the other direction mid-week to attend a home group.

<idle musing>
Yep. The believers of the early church were in each other's lives on a daily basis. Community, a misunderstood and misused term, but the heart of a church.

Do yourself a favor and read the rest of his post...
</idle musing>

Interesting thought

In this month's Harper's there is an article about the Frankfurt Book Fair. In the midst of the article is this little paragraph on page 49:

It is tempting to think that the problem with publishing is just too many awful books, but then again 99 percent of anything is mediocre, and people don't tend to complain that there are too many mediocre widgets. Books are something we have higher expectations for.

<idle musing>
Interesting thought, isn't it? We accept mediocrity in all kinds of things, from software to food. But, when we read a book, we expect more than the run-of-the-mill banality we see in the rest of life. Maybe that is part of the staying power of books.
</idle musing>

Today's quote

"Let me say, first of all, that this faith means utter impotence and helplessness before God.

"At the bottom of all faith there is a feeling of helplessness. If I have a bit of business to transact, perhaps to buy a house, the lawyer must do the work of getting the transfer of the property in my name and making all the arrangements. I cannot do that work, and in trusting that agent I confess I cannot do it. And so faith always means helplessness. In many cases it means: I can do it with a great deal of trouble, but another can do it better. But in most cases it is utter helplessness; another must do it for me. And that is the secret of the spiritual life. A man must learn to say: 'I give up everything; I have tried and longed and thought and prayed, but failure has come. God has blessed me and helped me, but still, in the long run, there has been so much of sin and sadness.' What a change comes when a man is thus broken down into utter helplessness and self-despair, and says: 'I can do nothing!'"—Andrew Murray in Absolute Surrender

<idle musing>
Not very palatable to our "can-do, self-help" theology, is it? But, it is true...
</idle musing>

Sports and Eisenbrauns?

I just received an e-mail linking to this article. The lead-in line of the e-mail said:

No matter what your core business, sports can be infused into your marketing plan effectively. Here's how you can ensure that same passion and enthusiasm of sports fans can be transferred to your business.

OK, your task is to figure out how in the world that would work for Eisenbrauns. Name one sports celebrity that would have a clue what we do...

Time's up! Yep, me too. A big zero!

<idle musing>
Second task: does that say more about our culture or about Eisenbrauns? :)
</idle musing>

The Rise of Evangelicalism

This one has been sitting on my bookshelf for about 4 years now, but I finally read it. Way back in early 2004 my IVPress rep came through and The Rise of Evangelicalism caught my eye in their catalog. I asked for a review copy, and its a good thing he never checked to make sure I put up a review!

In the book, Noll reviews the various factors that led to the rise of evangelicalism in the 1700's. He doesn't limit himself to the physical factors, although there are many, but he also includes the spiritual factors. The thing that caught my attention was the condition and position of the laity in the church. There was a dissatisfaction with established religion (sound familiar) and a growing group of lay people who would meet in informal settings to read and study both devotional books and the Bible, and pray together. Noll sees these as the seedbeds that triggered the evangelical revival in conjunction with the newly established "quick" communication between continents. The reports of revival in New England would be broadcast across the British isles via pamphlets, which would trigger revivals in the British isles, which would then be written up and sent to the various other British terrritories, including New England. These pamphlets would engender more revivals, etc.

So, what can we learn from this (very simplistic) summary? It seems that revival engenders revival; that communication of what God is doing in your life, when shared, causes others to want more of God. This, in turn, causes them to share, and the cycle goes on. Now, this raises the question of how that can happen in a normal church setting where a group of semi-professional singers "leads" the singing until such a time as a paid professional speaker gives an inspiring message and then dismisses everyone. Maybe before or after the "service"—if you can get anyone to stick around...

Are you a mystic?

“Perhaps the gut issue is not how much theology we have studied or how much Scripture we have memorized. All that really matter is this: Have you experienced the furious longing of God or not?

“This very question provoked the brilliant Karl Rahner to prophesy: 'In the days ahead, you will either be a mystic (one who has experienced God for real) or nothing at all'

“In times of persecution, theoretical Christianity will collapes”— The Furious Longing of God, pages 125-126

<idle musing>
That is the final excerpt from The Furious Longing of God. I hope you were challenged, even offended, by what he has said. Anything, as long as it made you re-examine where you are and where you are headed in your Christian life. May you experience Christ in you, the hope of glory!

The book will be released sometime in March of this year; visit you local bookstore and ask for it. It is published by David C. Cook; the ISBN is 978-1-4347-6750-9.
</idle musing>

Winners in Eisenbrauns Valentine's day contest

I see that some of the winners have already posted on their blogs...

We have chosen our winners for this year's ancient Near Eastern Valentine contest. The winners were in Hittite, Egyptian, and Ugaritic:
http://www.eisenbrauns.com/wconnect/wc.dll?ebGate~EIS~~~~VDAY2009
Or tinyurl:
http://tinyurl.com/bp2ax8

Congratulations to all who won, and thanks to all who entered.

Selling God short

“How is it then that we've come to imagine that Christianity consists primarily in what we do for God? How has this come to be the good news of Jesus? Is the kingdom that He proclaimed to be nothing more than a community of men and women who go to church on Sunday, take an annual spiritual retreat, read their Bibles every now and then, vigorously oppose abortion, don't go to x-rated movies, never use vulgar language, smile a lot, hold doors open for people, root for the favorite team, and get along with everybody? Is that why Jesus went through the bleak and bloody horror of Calvary? Is that why He emerged in shattering glory from the tomb? Is that why He poured out His Holy Spirit on the church? to make nicer men and women with better morals?

“The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make brand-new creations. Not to make people with better morals, but to create a community of prophets and professional lovers, men and women who would surrender to the mystery of the fire of the Spirit that burns within, who would live in ever greater fidelity to the omnipresent Word of God, who would enter into the center of it all, the very heart and mystery of Christ, in the center of the flame that consumes, purifies, and sets everything aglow with peace, joy, boldness, and extravagant, furious love. This, my friends, is what it really means to be a Christian.”— The Furious Longing of God, pages 120-121

<idle musing>
What more can one say?
</idle musing>

Are we listening?

“Because we approach the gospel with preconceived notions of what it should say rather than what it does say, the Word no longer falls like rain on the parched ground of our souls. It no longer sweeps like a wild storm into the corners of our comfortable piety. It no longer vibrates like sharp lightning in the dark recesses of our nonhistoric orthodoxy. The gospel becomes, in the words of Gertrude Stein:

...a pattering of pious platitudes spoken by a Jewish carpenter in the distant past.”

“...We have all experienced the sadness of a Christian life that is secure, well regulated but basically impoverished. We long, at least occasionally, for a generosity that would life us about ourselves.”— The Furious Longing of God, pages 113, 115

<idle musing>
Give me the wild ride of life with Jesus over the security of an impoverished churchian life any day. As I used to tell my son, “The Christian life is like a backwards roller coaster; you don't know where you are going; it goes up, down, and all around, but you know you won't fall out. So, enjoy the ride!”
</idle musing>

Join me!

“It is jarring indeed to learn that what he went through in His passion and death is meant for us too; that the invitation He extends is 'Don't weep for me! Join me!' the life He has planned for Christians is a life much like He lived. He was not poor that we might be rich. He was not mocked that we might be honored. He was not laughed at so that we should be lauded. On the contrary, He revealed a picture meant to include you and me.”— The Furious Longing of God, page 112

<idle musing>
So much for the health and wealth heresy...united with him in his death is the way Paul puts it on more than one occasion.
</idle musing>

The test of love

“Is there a Zacchaeus in your life? Somebody that everybody's given up on? Judged incapable of any further good? Grand aunt, distant cousin, spouse, former spouse, inlaw, member of your church, neighbor on your street, colleague at work? Someone of whom you've said 'I've been wasting my time trying to make you understand anything. You are incorrigible. Thank God, I'm quits and free of you.. Don't you ever dare to darken my door again'? You probably wouldn't say that because that's cruel. I don't like to say cruel things either. They make me feel guilty and I don't want to feel guilty. So, I play it smooth; I call it cool cordiality and polite indifference. Good morning, you dork. In the churches across our land, we allow this garbage to masquerade as the love of Jesus.

“Jesus said you are to love one another as I have loved you, a love that will possibly lead to the bloody, anguished gift of yourself; a love that forgives seventy times seven, that keeps no score of wrongdoing. Jesus said this, this love, is the one criterion, the sole norm, the standard of discipleship in the New Israel of God. He said you're going to be identified as His disciples, not because of our church-going, bible-toting, or song-singing. No, you'll be identified as His by one sign only: the deep and delicate respect for one another, the cordial love impregnated with reverence for the sacred dimension of the human personality because of the mysterious substitution of Christ for the Christian.”— The Furious Longing of God, pages 81-82

<idle musing>
Ouch!
</idle musing>

February sale at Eisenbrauns

Mea culpa! I forgot to post the February sale at Eisenbrauns. Good thing this isn't the official Eisenbrauns blog or I'd be in trouble :)

Here's the blurb:

We're making room in the warehouse. Help us out by purchasing some of the following titles at savings up to 90% off. Because this is a clearance sale, quantities are limited; when they are gone, they are gone. There will be no backorders at sale prices, so hurry.

And here's the link

And here's the list:

"Romans: A Commentary"
by Robert Jewett
Edited by Eldon J. Epp
Hermeneia
Fortress Press, 2006. Cloth with dustjacket. English.
ISBN: 0800660846
List Price: $90.00 Your Price: $63.00

"Psalms: Volume 2: Psalms 42-89"
by John Goldingay
Edited by Tremper Longman III
Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms
Baker Academic, 2007. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9780801027048
List Price: $44.99 Your Price: $19.50

"Matthew"
by Stanley Hauerwas
Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible - BTCB
Brazos Press, 2006. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1587430959
List Price: $29.99 Your Price: $12.00

"1 and 2 Kings"
by Peter J. Leithart
Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible - BTCB
Brazos Press, 2006. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1587431254
List Price: $29.99 Your Price: $13.37

"Acts"
by Jaroslav Pelikan
Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible - BTCB
Brazos Press, 2006. Cloth with dustjacket. English.
ISBN: 1587430940
List Price: $29.99 Your Price: $13.26

"Understanding Matthew: The Early Christian
Worldview of the First Gospel"
by Stephen Westerholm
Baker Academic, 2006. Paper. English.
ISBN: 0801027381
List Price: $16.99 Your Price: $8.30

"The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition"
by Florentino Garcia Martinez and Eibert Tigchelaar
Brill Academic Publishers, 2000. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9789004115477
List Price: $139.00 Your Price: $69.50

"Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient
Art from the British Museum"
Edited by Edna R. Russmann
University of California Press, 2001. Paper. English.
ISBN: 0520230868
List Price: $39.95 Your Price: $28.50

"Ancient Records of Egypt, Volume 2: The Eighteenth Dynasty"
Edited by James Henry Breasted
University of Illinois Press, 2001. Paper. English.
ISBN: 0252069749
List Price: $19.95 Your Price: $16.13

"The Early History of Ancient Near East 9000-2000 B.C."
by Hans J. Nissen
Translated by Elizabeth Lutzeier
University of Chicago Press, 1988. Paper. English.
ISBN: 0226586588
List Price: $29.00 Your Price: $14.67

"Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?"
by William G. Dever
Eerdmans, 2003. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 0802809758
List Price: $25.00 Your Price: $12.50

"1 Corinthians: A Shorter Exegetical and Pastoral Commentary"
by Anthony C. Thiselton
Eerdmans, 2006. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 0802840361
List Price: $30.00 Your Price: $13.36

"Taposiris Magna, 1998-2004:: Alexandriai Magyar Asatasok"
by Gyozo Voros
Egypt Excavation Society of Hungary, 2004.
Cloth. English and Hungarian.
ISBN: 963214886X
List Price: $99.00 Your Price: $60.41

"Anton Kiraz's Archive on the Dead Sea Scrolls"
Edited by George Anton Kiraz
Gorgias Press, 2002. Paper. English.
ISBN: 1931956383
List Price: $75.00 Your Price: $36.43

"The Gospel of Jesus: In Search of the Original Good News"
by James M. Robinson
HarperCollins Publishers, 2005. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 0060762179
List Price: $21.95 Your Price: $12.48

"The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation"
by Michael O. Wise, Martin G. Abegg, and Edward M. Cook
HarperCollins Publishers, 2005. Paper. English.
ISBN: 006076662X
List Price: $24.95 Your Price: $13.98

"Novum Testamentum Graece: Wide Margin Edition"
Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Stuttgart, 2007.
Cloth. German, English, and Greek.
ISBN: 9781598562002
List Price: $59.95 Your Price: $32.67

"Craft Specialization and Social Evolution:
In Memory of V. Gordon Childe"
Edited by Bernard Wailes
University Museum Monograph - UMM 93
University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology -
University of Pennsylvania, 1996. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 092417143X
List Price: $49.95 Your Price: $41.46

"Pocket Dictionary for the Study of New Testament Greek"
by Matthew S. DeMoss
IVP Pocket Reference
InterVarsity Press - IVP, 2001. Paper. English.
ISBN: 0830814647
List Price: $8.00 Your Price: $4.30

"Hebrews"
by Alan C. Mitchell
Sacra Pagina - SP
Liturgical Press, 2007. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9780814658154
List Price: $39.95 Your Price: $20.72

"What Have They Done to the Bible?:
A History of Modern Biblical Interpretation"
by John Sandys-Wunsch
Michael Glazier, 2005. Paper. English.
ISBN: 814650287
List Price: $39.95 Your Price: $23.47

"Philippians and Philemon"
by Bonnie B. Thurston and Ryan Judith
Sacra Pagina - SP
Liturgical Press, 2004. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 0814658202
List Price: $39.95 Your Price: $21.75

"In Search of Wisdom: Essays in Memory of John G. Gammie"
Edited by Leo G. Perdue, William J. Wiseman, and Bernard Brandon Scott
Westminster / John Knox Press, 1993. Paper. English.
ISBN: 0664252958
List Price: $29.95 Your Price: $2.71

"Archaeology and the Religion of Israel"
by William Foxwell Albright
Old Testament Library - OTL
Westminster / John Knox Press, 2006. Paper. English.
ISBN: 0664227422
List Price: $34.95 Your Price: $22.47

"Jeremiah 30-52 and Lamentations"
by John M. Bracke
Westminster Bible Companion - WESBC
Westminster / John Knox Press, 2000. Paper. English.
ISBN: 0664255833
List Price: $19.95 Your Price: $12.40

"Acts and Ethics"
Edited by Thomas E. Phillips
New Testament Monographs - NTM 9
Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2005. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 190504822X
List Price: $85.00 Your Price: $52.50

"Reading Bibles, Writing Bodies: Identity and The Book"
Edited by David M. Gunn and Timothy K. Beal
Routledge, 1996. Paper. English.
ISBN: 0415126657
List Price: $43.95 Your Price: $24.35

"eBible Platinum Edition on CD-ROM (Windows)"
Thomas Nelson, 2004. CD-ROM. English.
ISBN: 0785250247
List Price: $399.99 Your Price: $136.49

"1 Kings"
by Simon J. De Vries
Word Biblical Commentary - WBC 12
Thomas Nelson, 2004. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 0785250913
List Price: $49.99 Your Price: $21.50

"Philippians"
by Gerald F. Hawthorne
Edited by Ralph Martin
Word Biblical Commentary - WBC 43
Thomas Nelson, 2004. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 0785250085
List Price: $49.99 Your Price: $21.50

"Visual Education Biblical Greek Academic Study Card Set"
Visual Education, 1998. Greek.
ISBN: 1556370075
List Price: $14.95 Your Price: $10.45

"Survey of the New Testament Laminated Sheet:
Zondervan Get an A! Study Guides"
by Robert H. Gundry
Zondervan Publishing Company, 2007. Paper. English.
ISBN: 0310273145
List Price: $6.99 Your Price: $4.19

Eisenbrauns on Twitter

Hey, check it out! We're on Twitter.

So what? Well, each day we are going to offer a book for sale at about as low a price as we can. In some cases it might even be our cost, or below. Each day, right around noon, Eastern time, we will announce it on Twitter. If it sells out, we will send a second "tweet" letting people know.

Don't do Twitter? You could subscribe to our RSS feed, which will be the same information. Or, you could visit the home page every day. Personally, I think Twitter is the easiest because you can put it in your RSS feeder.

So, what is it today?

The Akkadian Language in its Semitic Context
Studies in the Akkadian of the Third and Second Millennium BC
Publications de l'Institut historique-archeologique neerlandais de Stamboul - PIHANS 106
Edited by Guy Deutscher and M.J.C. Kowenberg
Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten/Netherlands Institute for the Near East (NINO), 2006
xii + 298 pages, English and German
Paper
ISBN: 9062583172
List Price: $39.00
Your Price: $25.74 (34%)
www.eisenbrauns.com/wconnect/wc.dll?ebGate~EIS~~I~DEUAKKADI

Just so you know, that's cheap...I'm barely covering our cost.

Union with God

“Until the love of God that knows no boundary, limit, or breaking point is internalized through personal decision; until the furious longing of God seizes the imagination; until the heart is conjoined to the mind through sheer grace, nothing happens. The idolatry of ideas has left me puffed up, narrow-minded, and intolerant of any ida that does not coincide with mine.

“The wild, unrestricted love of God is not simply an inspiring idea. When it imposes itself on mind and heart with the stark reality of ontological truth, it determines why and at what time you get up in the morning, how you pass your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read and who[sic] you hang with; it affects what breaks your heart, what amazes you, and what makes your heart happy.”— The Furious Longing of God, pages 70-71

<idle musing>
Wow! See what I mean by Brennan blowing you away at times. This is Christianity in a nutshell. As Debbie (my wife) likes to say, “Self out; Christ in.” And this is what it looks like, “the furious longing of God.”
</idle musing>

Don't read this

Unless you want to be shaken up, that is.

The ordinary pablum of popular religion caters to the idealistic, perfectionistic, and neurotic self who fixates on graceless getting worthy for union, while allowing the prostitutes and tax gougers to dance in to the kingdom. Our strategies of self-deception persuade us that abiding restful union with Jesus is too costly, leaving no room for money, ambition, success, fame, sex, power, control, and pride of place or the fatal trap of self-rejection, thus prohibiting mediocre, disaffected dingbats and dirtballs, like myself, from intimacy with Jesus.

Until we learn to live peacefully with what Andre Louf calls “our amazing degree of weakness,” until we learn to live gracefully with what Alan Jones calls “ our own extreme psychic frailty,” until we let the Christ who consorted with hookers and crooks to be our truth, the false, fraudulent self motivated by cowardice and fear will continue to distance us from abiding restful union...

There are no palliatives for raw faith. In living out our union with Jesus one day at a time, the most decisive issue is believing. In contrast to the domesticated, feel-good Jesus of TV evangelism, who is committed to our financial prosperity, the Christ of John's gospel who has made His home in us invites us to walk with Him daily in humble service even unto death. We may have acquired graduate degrees; we may have mstered biblical principles, we may hold roles of secular and spiritual leadership; and we may have authored books on Christian maturity, and our wits may have been sharpened on the carborundum wheel of the world. So much the better if they have elicited raw faith, so much the worse for those on the inside track who dismiss union, fusion, and symbiosis as merely sophisticated metaphors not to be taken literally.

Believing is living as though John 15:4 [Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.] is true.— The Furious Longing of God, pages 68-70

<idle musing>
Don't say I didn't warn you! Rest/remain/stay/abide (μενω) is the “secret” to the Christian life, and Christ is able to make it happen.
</idle musing>

But, hey, I'm getting there, right?

“The entire process (of self-development) can be very exciting and entertaining. But the problem is there's no end to it. The fantasy is that if one heads in the right direction and just works hard enough and gets actualized, one will be there. None of us is quite certain exactly where there is, but it obviously has something to do with resting.

“In retrospect, my ponderous ponderings on the purgative, illuminative, and unitive stages of my spiritual life, my assiduous search for shortcuts to holiness, my preoccupation with my spiritual pulse and my fasts, mortifications and penances have wrought pseudobliss and the egregious delusion that I was securely ensconced in the seventh mansion of spiritual perfection.

“What would I actually do if I had it to do all over again? Heeding John's counsel, I would simply do the next thing in love.”— The Furious Longing of God, page 62

</idle musing>
Do yourself a favor; listen to his advice! Brennan is in his 70's; if he can't get there by his own works after all these years and spiritual disciplines, who do you think you are that you can?

Just let it all go and rest/abide/stay/remain (μενω) in who God is and what Christ has done on the cross.
<idle musing>

Union with Christ

“Words such as union, fusion, and symbiosis hint at the ineffable oneness with Jesus that the apostle Paul experienced: 'It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me' (Gal 2:20). No human word is even remotely adequate to convey the mysterious and furious longing of Jesus for you and me to live in his smile and hang on his words. But union come close, very close; it is a word pregnant with a reality that surpasses understanding, the only reality worth yearning for with love and patience, the only reality before which we should stay very quiet.”— The Furious Longing of God, page 61

The Love of God

“I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me. May the be so perfected in unity that the world will recognize that it was you who sent me and that you have loved them as you have loved me. (John 1:22-23 NJB)

“While praying over those remarkable words, I came to the inescapable conclusion that the degree of Abba's love for me is in direct proportion to his love for Jesus. For example, I can love the mailman with twenty percent and my best friend with ninety percent. But with God, there is no division, no more and no less. God loves me as much as He love Jesus. Wow!”— The Furious Longing of God, pages 57-58

<idle musing>
Wow! is right. That is an amazing and breathtaking thought.
</idle musing>

Snowpeople

It warmed up briefly Sunday afternoon, so I did what any self-respecting Minnesotan would do: I made snowpeople (note the inclusive language :) ) Actually, since snowpeople are genderless, does it matter what we call them? I guess not. But, in this case it does, because These are special snowpeople. Debbie was talking to Renee on the phone, so I made snowpeople: Joel, Renee, Joshua and Rachel. I tried to make a bigger belly on Renee to represent Grapenut, but didn't succeed.



Since I was on a roll, I decided to make another snowperson, waiting for the mail:



And, of course we need someone out by the road alongside the driveway:



By that time it was getting colder and the snow wasn't packing as well, so I couldn't make anymore. Maybe this weekend?

Take back the wonder

Always insightful, Kevin Edgecomb has a thoughtful post on the dangers that attend knowing too much:

I curse my studies. Sometimes, anyway. What good is it to be following a Bible reading plan for the faithful when half of what is going on during my reading is (Lord, have mercy!) a critique of the translation, a mental retroversion to the Hebrew and/or Greek involved, mental notes on historical illumination and literary parallels, and all manner of distractions. The wonder is often gone. I hate that.

<idle musing>
Would that I couldn't identify! There are times when knowing too much blocks the wonder of God communicating with me. It is times like that that "I have to force myself to step back and turn off that running commentary, that mental footnoting, imposing silence. The silence is necessary" as Kevin says.

I echo Kevin: "It’s time to take back the wonder. Give the glory to God!"
</idle musing>

The Furious Longing of God

I just received an advance copy of The Furious Longing of God by Brennan Manning. As usual with his books, some things he said make me mad, others make me laugh at myself for the same incorrect thinking, other things leave me speechless. Tag along with me for the next week or so as I pull out some extracts.

For twenty-one years, I tried desperately to become Mother Theresa. I lived around the world in griming poverty and depersonalizing squalor. I lived voluntarily for six months in the garbage dump in Juarez, Mexico, garbage as high as your ceilings. It was a place filled with everyone from four- and five-year-old children to senior citizens in their eighties, all crawling over broken whiskey bottles and dead animals, just to find something to eat or possibly sell to hawkers on the side of the road. I've lived voluntarily as a prisoner in the prison in Pueblo, Switzerland; the warden there believed priests shouldn't be chaplains but actual prisoners. Only the warden knew my identity. I've lived on the streets of New York City with eleven-, twelve-, and thirteen-year-old prostitutes, both boys and girls, and ministered to them through Covenant House. I just knew if I could become a replica of Mother Theresa, then God would love me.

Pretty impressive, right? Yeah, right.— The Furious Longing of God, page 29

<idle musing>
Wow. If ever anybody looked right on the outside...but he still felt unloved. Why? He talks about that as the book progresses. Stay tuned :)
</idle musing>

In conclusion

I finished the book To Preach or Not to Preach?, and here is his conclusion:

We have seen that in the New Testament churches the growth into spiritual maturity of both individuals and communities was achieved by a variety of means, which did not include the regular sermon. Indeed, the experience of the churches and current knowledge about the learning process suggest that regular use of the sermon tends to have harmful consequences. It frequently fails to instruct; it deskills; it foster an unhealthy dependence on the clergy. In these ways the regular sermon not only fails to promote spiritual growth but also intensifies the impoverishment of Christian life which characterizes large areas of the church today.

The regular sermon does not, of course, stand alone as the one great corrupter of Christian faith and life. It is embedded in a complex organizational structure which is far removed from biblical patterns and which also inhibits Christian growth to maturity. The sad irony is that many preachers want to see their congregations grow in knowledge and love. Many take a great deal of trouble over preparing their sermons. Yet the teaching method they have chosen to use is, in practice, working with other factors to frustrate their hopes.—To Preach or Not to Preach?, page 115

<idle musing>
All of the statements above are his summary of what he has laid out in the preceding 50 plus pages, with extensive footnotes. If you disagree with his conclusions, you will have to get the book (it's out of print) and read it to see if you can negate the arguments behind his conclusions summarized above.
</idle musing>