Scriptorium Archive
for April, 2011

Gates of Adamant are Broken

| Theology | 04.24.2011

An Easter poem by C. S. Lewis, only printed (so far as I know) in The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume III: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950-1963 (HarperSan Francisco, 2007), p. 955. The poem is from a June 1958 letter to Francis Turner. It's not the kind of thing that could stand on its own, but for echoes of Narnia and a vision of the cosmic significance of the resurrection, it's good Easter reading. Lords co... Read More...

Men of Easter: Pontius Pilate

| Theology | 04.21.2011

If you are not God, you only make the Creed if you're God's mother or his murderer. That means it is great to be Mary, but not so great to be Pontius Pilate. Call no man happy until history decides his role. Pilate was well known for most of his life and Mary obscure. Even at death, the relative importance of the two would have been unclear to the average Roman. Today there are plenty of people named after Mary, but no... Read More...

Additional Scriptorium for April, 2011

Men of Easter: John

| Theology | 04.20.2011

John was the man that stayed and hanging around with Jesus changed his life. Many men wanted to follow Jesus until the Teacher said some hard things. Jesus demanded people think, but most men just wanted Him to provide bread and edutainment. John saw people look for easy answers and miss Jesus. A few men were intrigued with Jesus, but balked at giving up their stuff. J... Read More...

Men of Easter: the Other Simon

| Theology | 04.19.2011

Simon knew talent. Simon was brave. Simon loved his nation. Simon did not say much, but Simon followed Jesus. This Easter Simon the Zealot has been on my mind. He was a follower of Jesus easy to forget, because we only know his name and political point of view. Simon wanted freedom for his people crushed by Roman tyranny. When he saw Jesus, Simon heard a call and foll... Read More...

Protestants, not Protesters

| On This Day, Theology | 04.19.2011

Today (April 19) is the anniversary of the 1529 Protestation of Speyer, which is generally regarded as the first time that the word "Protestant" was used to refer to a religious position distinct from Roman Catholicism. A coalition of German princes and leaders refused to abide by the imperial ban on Luther's teachings, and called instead for the free spread of gospel teaching ... Read More...

Algernon Crapsey’s Heresy Trial

| On This Day, Theology | 04.18.2011

Algernon Crapsey worshiped telegraph poles, but that's both better and worse than it sounds. It was April 18 in the year 1906 that Reverend Algernon Sidney Crapsey (1847-1927) was put on trial by the Episcopal Church in the state of New York for teaching, preaching and writing contrary to the Christian faith. He was found guilty, and was removed from the ministry. In his... Read More...

On Titanic Day 2011

| Misc. | 04.14.2011

Reading “A Night To Remember” during Middle School made April 14 memorable all my life. Slowly the last survivors died and this year none are left who were on the great liner when it went down in the Atlantic. I used to dream of it. The sinking of the ship was mythic for me, like Narnia or Atlantis only with the added force of history. So often have I dreamed of it th... Read More...

Terry Jones: Get a Grant

| Culture | 04.13.2011

Pastor Terry Jones, Koran burning boor, is behaving foolishly, but most commentators miss a key element of his folly. He is a bad neighbor, but he also does not understand the times. If a Christian pastor burns a book for religious reasons, universal condemnation will fall on his head. If an artist mocks the piety of the faithful, he can get paid to do it and many will come ... Read More...

The State of the 2012 Presidential Election

| Misc., Politics | 04.12.2011

Opinions about a race this far away are like predicting the top draft pick for your favorite team and as likely to be as accurate as Mel Kiper, but it is a fun game so everyone does both things. (The Packers will pick a lineman . . . or not.) During the last race, I warned the GOP that the election was the Democrats to lose. My friends on the right should recall that this ra... Read More...

Deficit Spirituality

| Theology | 04.11.2011

When I learned how to drive a car, my dad made sure to start me out on the most primitive contraption that was street legal. It had a manual transmission, of course, and manual everything else as well: door locks, windows, seat adjustments, and all. You dimmed the headlights by stomping a switch on the floor. The dashboard didn't feature any red idiot lights to blink at you whe... Read More...

On Dressing for Hope

| Misc. | 04.11.2011

Traveling and speaking teaches many deep lessons. One of those isn’t this observation: Christian women care more about their appearance than Christian men. My sociology friends would point out that I have done no survey, collected no data, and yet the evidence before my eyes has been overwhelming. Try it yourself: When eating out, take a look at the difference between the ... Read More...

Laughing at Impiety

| Culture | 04.07.2011

My misspent youth had a laugh track provided by the Monty Python crew. There was a time when saying "Neet" in a crowded room was a great way to find a fellow nerd and future friend. Like all good comics, and any prophet, the Pythons mocked the powerful and punctured pretensions. Anybody thinking the government is here to help has never met the Ministry of Silly Walks. The we... Read More...

Values: the operating system of a culture

| Politics | 04.06.2011

No culture, no matter how rich and powerful at the start, can survive a bad value system. God will judge nations in His time, hoping always for change, but His judgments are sure and fatal to the wicked. Any election will turn on values, because voters will vote their deepest beliefs. Abraham Lincoln thought so and Lincoln was right. When Republicans talk about values, th... Read More...

Tenth Annual G. Campbell Morgan Theology Conference

| Theology | 04.06.2011

Here is a chance to survey the entire scope of Christian doctrine: a brief enough summary to show the whole thing at a glance, but with enough detail to see the various parts and how they relate to each other. We've put the entire 2011 G. Campbell Morgan Theology Conference online at Biola's YouTube channel. Ten hours of theology by nine of our best theologians, each doing wh... Read More...