Maria…

My younger sister Maria graciously agreed to humor me with a quick photo-shoot this afternoon, enjoy.

A History of Christianity…

A few days ago I finished reading Part I of Kenneth Scott Latourette’s ‘A History of Christianity’ and the book has proven itself as comprehensive as it’s title indicates. His first volume focuses on the birth of Christianity and follows the various forms of that faith right up until the late fifteenth century. Latourette’s style and historical approach to the Christian story could not be more compelling or informative. More importantly his is not a work of dry history but a living story full of interpretive and ethical challenges for the modern reader. A particularly attractive trait found in his writing is how he ‘accentuates Christianity rather than the Church’, and though he reveals a powerful Christian bias, at the same time he remains quite neutral or objective as far as Church forms are concerned. Helpful summaries and reflective chapters are strewn throughout the book thereby inspiring the reader to actually evaluate the effects of the events being studied. Thus far he has divided Church history into appropriate sections and dissects those pieces to deal with in individual chapters before moving onto the next section. For example, for any given block of history we will span the entire period looking at theological and doctrinal developments of the time period and then start the period again by focusing on another aspect, say, the geographical expansion of the Gospel or advances in Church structure etc. This may seem somewhat disorientating at first but eventually helps to give a more comprehensive picture of the development of different periods.

As you can probably gather, I’m feeling very positive about this book. Already this rudimentary understanding of Church history has begun to explain the current state and forms of the Church today and help me to intelligently distinguish between them. Also I am particularly indebted to the sections dedicated to explaining developments in theology and doctrine. Somehow it has been extremely helpful to understand the characters and events surrounding the rise of different ideas and has removed a lot of the confusion over some controversial theological ideas. On a more personal level, tapping into the greater story of the Church with its tragedies and triumphs seems to have inspired in me a bigger lens for viewing life in general. The bigger picture begs some important questions to be asked. How will our generation be viewed centuries from now? Will we contribute to furthering the Gospel, the name of Christ, and embody the Christian ideal? Will we be remembered as influencers or simply the tragically influenced? Or will we instead remain utterly passive and self absorbed and not join in the story for good or ill? How much of my life or yours is simply unimportant and wasteful when viewed against this universal backdrop? How much of it will remain for history to recall? Not with the goal of impressing men, but of glorifying God. Am I living my life in order to leave a eternal legacy that will span the ages or thinking only of my own temporal spurt here on earth?

In any case I would wholeheartedly recommend the book to those brave enough for the undertaking. Some perseverance will be required at different sections but I believe the perspective gained will be well worth the sacrifice.

Portraits of Ukraine

Despite our schedule I managed to snap a few photo’s in Ukraine last year. Here are my favorites…

Old Testament Times…

This afternoon I succeeded in reading R.K. Harrison’s comprehensive Old Testament Times ‘A Social, Political, and Cultural Context’. Essentially Harrison’s book attempts at reconstructing the cultures of civilizations surrounding and interacting with the nation of Israel throughout the Biblical narrative. Because of this, his material is heavily reliant on Archeological evidence fundamental to understanding the surrounding nations and by their similarity, Israel. His primary objective is not necessarily to confirm the historicity of the Old Testament (though the evidence he provides continually does along the way) but rather to provide relevant information that may add more depth of understanding to the modern reader who is unfamiliar to the history and cultures of antiquity. As far as structure is concerned he begins some time before the Patriarchal period exploring the ancient civilizations that resided in Mesopotamia followed by a thorough look at ancient Egypt. From this point he loosely follows the Biblical narrative and its characters stopping to divert at appropriate occasions for a look at the contemporary civilizations and cultures. The book ends by preparing the reader for the opening scene of the New Testament. So now my verdict…

I enjoyed Harrison’s book, particularly the insights he provided into the Genesis to Deuteronomy period. Some of the information there was extremely helpful and relevant to gaining a greater understanding of subjects such as the background of Abraham in Ur, Jacob’s conscription to work for Laban, the household god drama, the birthright transfer, Joseph’s ascent to power, the background of Moses, dating the Exodus, and the matriarchal succession of Israel’s kings to name a few. The second half of the book was less revolutionary and served more as a review than instruction, probably due to the excellent Job my teachers in England did while teaching the latter period of Israel’s history. In conclusion, though not as exciting or immediately applicable as F.F. Bruce’s work, Harrison’s book contained some valuable nuggets of information and was a clear, well rounded explanation of Old Testament history. I am however reluctant to recommend this particular book to the casual/average reader with the exception that they are highly motivated and committed to the subject because I suspect they will not survive the opening section on Sumerian culture…

Death by Boredom?

Many have voiced the opinion that the journey on which I have recently embarked will inevitably lead to my demise and ensuing insanity. “Death by boredom” they warn “Is a terrible fate to succumb to.” However, despite the incredulous expressions of distaste and amazement I commonly face when breaching the subject, I have begun my reading course.  It would seem that being an avid reader who thoroughly enjoys reading non-fictional works written by dead men, I am in the new minority.  In any case my mission as I’ve chosen to accept it is to read through roughly thirty books as a full-time occupation over the next three months. A broad sketch would place the books into these four categories; Bible Background, Church History, Worldview, and Apologetics. Though I suspect an audience for such things will be very small, I have resolved to trace my thoughts over the next few months by producing a short summary and critique of the books I’ve been reading. Perhaps in the process you’ll be inspired to pick up a copy or two.

This afternoon I finished reading F.F. Bruce’s New Testament History. In his book Bruce undertakes the mammoth task of expounding the relevant historical background information surrounding the events and characters of the New Testament. He begins roughly three centuries before the birth of Christ explaining the activities of the Inter-Testimental Period (the gap of history between the Old and New Testaments) commonly known as ‘the silent years’. He sheds light on the rise of both the Greek and Roman Empires, and very importantly, the effects that their influence had on the inhabitants of Palestine and their corresponding expectations of the coming Messiah. This is followed by a thorough explanation of the Jewish and Roman governments of the first century and the varying branches of Judaism that were common around the time of Jesus. Bruce takes a long look at the ministries of both Jesus and John while disclosing how they would have been received based upon the political and spiritual climate of the day. He concludes his book by covering the apostolic age of the early church and the expansion of the Gospel while giving some excellent insights into the events Acts, particularly Paul’s ministry. Between the covers you can also expect to meet proconsuls, high priests, zealots, governor’s and emperor’s to mention a few.

Overall I was thoroughly impressed with Bruce’s book, He brought clarity to many confusing passages and also further life and vibrancy to familiar ones. In fact, I was very tempted to linger longer on a number of occasions. In particular the chapters on Jesus’ ministry, passion-week, trial and execution when coupled with the information provided earlier about the political and religious climate of the nation were very helpful and in many ways have changed perspectives and brought many gospel passages greater depth and relevance. The chapters on the early church, the council of Jerusalem, the background of Paul and his missionary journeys were also among my personal favorites. I would however remind the potential reader that this is a history book. If you cannot stomach dates, unpronounceable names, and entire chapters devoted to seemingly insignificant details this may not be for you. It is most certainly not in any way, shape, or form a casual read. One potential downside of the book is that Bruce assumes you know some of the basics of New Testament History, and without them you might find some of the concepts or ideas disorientating. Despite that, this book is an excellent resource for anyone with a basic understanding of biblical history pursuing a greater understanding of the New Testament.

Unity Around the Word

[The following was originally written for Titus Project's newsletter "Titus Times"]

Calvinism or Arminianism? Pre or Post Tribulation? Sprinkling or Immersion? Women in Ministry? Rapture? Tongues? These are only a few of the many divisive, controversial, and contentious debates that have without fail split church after church throughout the centuries. The Word of God has been, and continues to be viewed by many as a great cause of disunity and dissension. Particularly as Christians worldwide insist on ‘majoring on the minors’ and dying on every lump of dirt they claim to be a hill worth contending for. In some cases the fine print of our church billboards should more aptly read “Visitors Welcome (Except Catholics, Baptists, Pentecostals, Lutherans, Anglicans, and all other Christians not enlisted as members of our church)” We, like the Church of Ephesus (Rev. 2), have very successfully become so opinionated and effective at rejecting false teachers and those outside our interpretive preferences that perhaps we too have confused our priorities and allowed secondary issues to take the place of what is essential.

Yet this isolation and division is not always the case, which brings us to Lugansk, an average-sized Ukrainian city on the Russian border. Our Titus Project Teaching Team had been four weeks on the road, traveling and touring throughout western Ukraine and following a grueling thirty-hour train ride found ourselves in this old, grey, post-soviet mining town. Our contacts had arranged for us to teach a number of Inductive Bible Study seminar’s in the local churches over a two week period and we started without delay. During our stay we had the incredible privilege of teaching scores of Christians from varying theological and denominational backgrounds to study the bible, often in the same seminar. Contrary to my earlier statements, we witnessed the Word of God unify and draw together believers from all backgrounds and secondary convictions during or time there. Of my many fond memories, one illustrates the point best.

I can still remember the classroom vividly. A small green chalkboard at the front, three rows of large desks each three deep, a small table with tea and biscuits at the back left-hand side of the classroom, windows with the blinds drawn, two coat-hangers and many eager, excited, faces scrutinizing the colorful note-ridden copies of Titus on the desks in front of them. The classroom in my memory is quite average, quite boring, and nothing special. The desks are wooden but obviously cheap and flimsy. What makes the scene memorable is the people sitting around those desks in excited, passionate discussion.

In this particular seminar we noted students from at least four different Churches with varying denominational backgrounds passionately studying God’s word and absolutely ecstatic at their discoveries. In this moment denominational differences meant nothing – there was only God’s Word and the joy of discovering its truth and living it out together.

Please focus on the right column of desks, two desks deep. There you will find group 3, and sitting around the desk are three women and one man. Each are in their mid-twenties and each are from one of the four churches represented. Somewhat coincidentally they had become ‘group 3’ two sessions earlier. Throughout the seminar I watched as they worked together, studied together, congratulated each other over questions well answered, chatted and joked through the breaks, passionately shared their discoveries, and even exchanged phone numbers. The cherry on the top of the cake appeared right after we had dismissed the students at our last session. As everyone rose to leave, I looked over and to my amazement group 3 remained seated, hands clasped tightly in a circle around their desks, bible’s in the middle, heads bowed in prayer. Thanking God for the seminar, His word, and their time together. Four churches, one Chief-Shepherd. What a profound and beautiful glimpse of the unifying power of God’s word, one I will not quickly forget. Are some hills worth dying on? Absolutely. Can exploring God’s word draw His people together? Undoubtedly.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 ESV)

Trains…

Here’s a short video we filmed on the train between Lugansk and Kyiv…

Trains… from Joshua Walker on Vimeo.

Is My God Too Small?

Typically, the book of Jonah is inseparable in our evangelical minds from cute n’ cuddly Sunday school renditions, ridiculous skits, and classes devoid of any real moral substance. We can still hear Mrs. Susan…“Jonah got swallowed by a whale – weird hey kids!?” The end. In my opinion we have done a great disservice to an exceptional book of the bible that demands our reflection and is screaming for our attention. The book of Jonah refers to and addresses real people, neither of whom saw this story as ‘cute n’ cuddly’, but rather intensely practical and challenging. This is true not only for the original audience, but Christians today. The following meditations have been inspired by a recent lecture series I gave on Jonah…

While unknown to many, the events found within the book of Jonah take place in a period of history after the Kingdom of Israel had actually split into two respective nations, the northern Kingdom [Israel], and the southern kingdom [Judah]. (See 1 Kings 12) This was a direct result of the Israelites disobedience to the covenant of Moses and particularly in the northern kingdom lead to a downward spiral of idolatry and sin. God did not allow their sin and separation from Him to take place easily, as he promised; he continually sent foreign nations such as the Aramaen’s or Assyrians to invade and occupy Israel in order to drive them to seek Him once more. The prophets played a prominent role in God’s call to repentance and relationship. Now after many years of subjugation by their enemies, the northern kingdom’s borders had shrunk, but God in His relentless pursuit sent a Prophet with a Promise. His identity may be surprising… 2 Kings 14:23-25 records that by God’s grace the borders of Israel were expanded, their enemies driven back, and a great time of financial and political prosperity ensued. All of this was heralded by a Prophecy spoken by someone we may find familiar; Jonah the son of Amittai. The very same prophet as found in the book of Jonah. Now after this period of prosperity had taken root the prophet Jonah received a second prophecy of a less pleasant nature, and this is where the book kicks off.

The first paragraph of Jonah is action packed yet strangely confusing. This popular and successful prophet is given another assignment to ‘Go to Nineveh, that great city and call out against it’. Yet immediately without further ado, Jonah does exactly the opposite. The text reveals that instead Jonah ‘rose to flee to Tarshish’. Now Tarshish is considered to have been a coastal town in the western Mediterranean, most likely as far away as Spain. Nineveh was a landlocked city east of modern day turkey. It doesn’t take the best geographer to realize that this is not a pit-stop on the way to Nineveh. It was essentially the equivalent to the ‘ends of the earth’ at that time, the most remote destination imaginable. What is even more interesting is that two times in this paragraph, and also in 1:1, Jonah is recorded to have been running from ‘the presence of the Lord’. Of all that we have looked at thus far this is the most shocking, because it tells us something essential about how Jonah views God.

Now in the ancient world it was common to believe that gods and goddesses were localized deities. Meaning that if this country had one reigning god, another typically didn’t. The Assyrian gods were in Assyria, and the Aramaen gods were in Aram.  Meaning that they were limited to one location or concerned with a certain people group to the exclusion of all others. Jonah’s action here presupposes that he can actually ‘flee’ the presence of the Lord as if Yahweh was just another localized deity like the gods of the nations surrounding Israel. And as if by leaving he could somehow escape God’s realm of control. Meaning that God was limited to a physical location, only concerned with the people within it, that there is some place’s and people where God has no claim or authority. By doing so he reveals his own misconceptions about God. He implies that Yahweh was not universal, all powerful, all knowing, and ever-present as He had clearly revealed himself in scripture to be. Sadly this was a common false syncretistic belief of the time which stated that ‘Yahweh was the God of Israel alone, and that he was limited to the Temple and his jurisdiction of influence was confined to the geographical borders of the nation’. This is the perspective of both Jonah within the story, and the original Israelite readers after the fact. Many of them have this false view of God, and the fact that God is continually shown as universal and sovereign throughout the book would have been a profound shock and challenge to them. God shows he is sovereign over the sea (1:4), controls the lots of the sailors (1:7), facilitates their repentance (1:16) God controls animals such as the fish and the worm (1:17, 4:7), God is concerned with the sin of Nineveh and desires their repentance (3:1-5, 10, 4:10-11), God controls the east wind and causes a plant to grow in Assyria (4:6-8). None of these fit into the box they have created to confine God.

Now what strikes me about this passage is that we do the exact same thing. Often times we limit God’s involvement or authority to speak into our lives to Sunday, ‘religious activities’, or the personal aspects of our life. Yet we act as if God is not present, active, or concerned with other areas of our lives. We draw a line, point at God, and tell him this is an area of our lives where he has no say. And somehow all of a sudden God is permissible only on Sunday or in church, home groups, and bible studies. Perhaps He has some say in raising our children, and then there is that thirty second prayer window where we may acknowledge Him before a meal or before bed, but for many this is the extent of his influence. This is where the borders are drawn. Do we as Christians limit God’s say simply to the family and personal matters?  Since when has the sovereign God of the universe become ‘irrelevant’ to how we approach business, education, media, art, family, sex, government, and agriculture? Since when have these spheres become ‘secular’? Where has this thinking come from? I promise you that you will not find license for such thinking in the Bible. Like Jonah we all need to ask ‘is our God too small?’ We may be surprised to find that, along with Jonah, He will not fit into our little boxes no matter how craftily we devise them.