Random Tuesday afternoon thought

The weather here in my little corner of the world has been wet and cold.  There is a threat of freezing rain, so we have decided to cancel our youth group for tonight.  This has left me with time for my mind to wander a little.

I was watching television for a bit while I ate my lunch, and there was a commercial for "First Response," which is a product to help women who are trying to conceive, specifically helping them know the best time for conception.  The woman talks in glowing terms of knowing when we're pregnant from the moment of conception.  Times have changed.  Women used to have to wait a good long while before they could confirm pregnancy.  When I had my first child, I did not use a home pregnancy test.  I went in and had a test at the doctor's office and waited for a day.  Even then, when I found out, it was fairly early.

I also thought as I watched this commercial, of an occasion where a young 30-something woman I know shared her experience regarding her infertility; all nine months of it.  Yes, she considered not being able to get pregnant in under a year, when she was only about 27 years old, "infertility."  In the same venue as this woman's testimony, there was another woman who talked about waiting three years to conceive a child.  I thought at the time what a huge contrast this was.  I also know many women who have waited many more years; one friend of mine waited for ten years.

Many of us would be horrified to hear someone talk about genetic engineering, whereby we seek to control things like the sex of our child.  We would be horrified to think of taking control of a pregnancy in its early stages to prevent having a child with developmental difficulties.  Yet at the same time, we want to have our children when we want them, and we want to know the moment we've conceived.  We really like to be in control, don't we?

Childbirth is a miracle.  For those of us who have had babies, think back to that first moment you felt that vague fluttering of a child inside you.  I remember the first time I felt it.  I was on a commuter train, on my way to work, on a cloudy, rainy day, and as the train sped along, I felt those little rumblings that would eventually be the feet and hands of my daughter, my first child.  I sat there, in amazement, wondering at the beautiful thing that is a child inside of me; a child who is closer to my heartbeat at any given moment than any other human being.  It's incredible.  Yet we want to take the mystery out of this.

Some women will have serious difficulty conceiving a child.  Some will put themselves through tests and emotion-saturated procedures, and will never know the experience of having a child.  Some will have this continue for years.  I guess I can understand how these women would want to know as soon as possible.  But we must not forget that having this technological information does not give us any more control over children, or over the birth of a child.

I liked not knowing the sex of my babies.  I liked the wonder and the day dreaming.  I loved the mystery of childbirth.  It was the kind of thing that is unmatched by anything else.  I think we've lost a lot of that with the technological advances.  Are we happier mothers because we know all of this information as compared to the women of the past who knew very little?  I wonder.

Encouragement for the budding historian

Carl Trueman starts his book Histories and Fallacies with cautionary words regarding how to properly approach history.  He opens the book by pondering the question, is some history more valid, or more reliable than others?  Post modern thought does not like absolutes; to say that one historical account is more reliable than another is an offense to such a principle.  Trueman goes through a number of issues to point out the error of that thinking.  History can indeed be done badly if the historian does not follow logical thought processes.

Trueman discusses the issues of neutrality and proper validation in the first chapter, using Holocaust Denial as a case study.  In the second chapter, he discusses various frameworks through which historians evaluate information, using the Marxist framework to point out how such frameworks have both strengths and weaknesses.  He then goes on to discuss in the chapter "The Past of a Foreign Country," the prevalence of anachronism as historians approach their topic.  And then in the fourth chapter, he summarizes some of the more common fallacies that are used.  Throughout each of these chapters, one thing becomes very clear: historical analysis and interpretation is a very complex business.  There are no straight lines in history.  The study of history is not simplistic in any way.  One needs to remember that history is the account of people in various settings, whether it is economic, social, intellectual, or military.  People are complex, and the way they affect history is also complex.  To understand history is, as I have suspected since my days as a history major,  not possible with simple bite-sized chunks.  It takes a lot of reading and pondering

The book ends with Trueman giving some really excellent advice for budding historians.  I am not a professional historian; if I had the time, wherewithal and financial resources, I think I would pursue a graduate degree in historical theology.  That isn't where I am right now, but I continue to be a student of history.  These are his recommendations:

1. Read widely.  Read many different writers, and go beyond your topic of interest.
2. Read history with a mind to content as well as method.  When reading history, be aware of how the historian has done his work.  What kind of information has he used, and how has he employed it?
3. Familiarize yourself with the culture of the day.  Trueman points out that he encourages his students of medieval theology to also read works by Dante and Chaucer, in order to be familiar with the cultural influences.
4. Read other genres of history.  I have always had more of an interest of how people lived and thought throughout history than other areas, such as military history of economic history.  Again, though, I can see how being familiar with other historical areas could help understand the time in a wider context.
5. Have a grasp of the history your discipline.  Read books about the history of historical endeavour.
6. Read the great classical works of history.  I have had Herodotus's Histories on my shelf for a long time. The print is small, and the paper a dull colour, so I've been put off.  Maybe I need a different edition.
7.  Read books about how to conduct historical research and analysis.

Obviously, those last few suggestions are for the die-hard student, but even regular folks like me can benefit from reading such volumees.  In fact, one of Trueman's book suggestions dealing with the methods of history is one I actually purchased on my own, thinking it sounded good; lo, and behold, it's one of the ones he recommend as a must read.

I really loved this book.  I wish I had read something like this when I was a student.  It would have likely directed what I read when I was a student.  What I found really encouraging is that Trueman points out that historians are like fine wine:  they improve with age.  He pointed out that as a historian gets older, some his best work lies ahead, as he grows in historical understanding and knowledge.  I guess that means I will continue to learn even if I am just learning for my own edification.

The best laid plans and new discoveries

So, I decided that with being as busy as I am, tackling a read through the bible in a year plan was probably going to run amok at some point.  I'm teaching the Psalms for twelve weeks, studying Leviticus and studying Galatians.  Did I really need something else to be behind on? 

Recently, there has been a lot of chatting out in the blog world about how difficult it is to slow down and savour Scripture when we read a schedule that takes us through the whole bible in a year.  I really pondered those thoughts, so I scaled down from a through the bible in one year, to a through the bible in two years.

A few days later, I saw something that Dennis Gundersen, the owner of Grace and Truth Books, posted on Facebook.  It is called a Journabible.  Basically, it is a very well-bound black, hardbacked notebook, with very nice paper, where one can write a copy of a book of the bible.  Since I am teaching the Psalms, I thought I would buy the volume on Psalms.  Each notebook is specific to the book of the bible one is working on.  The pages have verse markers labelled on the right hand side of the book, and on the left, one can make notes after writing out the Scripture passage.  Now, if you're looking for something to slow you don reading, copying will do it.  I couldn't resist.   These books are very reasonably priced and the service from Grace and Truth Books, which is in Oklahoma, was excellent, considering shipping to Canada can be a tedious process.   I received mine today, in about a week.  Check it out for yourself.  There is a very infomative video clip to watch.

Journabibles at Grace and Truth Books.

The "good" of the death of Christ

From The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, by John Owen.  The suffering of Christ had an intended end.  It was not suffering for suffering sake, but rather to achieve an end: the glory of God and our redemption:

The death of Christ had nothing in it (we speak of his sufferings distinguished from his obedience) that was good, but only as it conduced to a further end, even the end proposed for the manifestation of God's glorious grace.  What good was it, that Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and people of Israel, should, with such horrid villany and cruelty, gather themselves together against God's holy child, whom he had anointed?  Acts iv. 27:  or what good was it, that the Son of God should be made sin and a curse, to be bruised, afflicted and to undergo such wrath as the whole frame of nature, as it were, trembled to behold?  What good, what beauty and form is in all this, that it should be desired in itself for itself?  Doubtless none at all.  It must, then, be looked upon as a means conducing to such an end; the glory and lustre thereof must quite take away all the darkness and confusion that was about the thing itself.

Voices of the Past - January 16, 2011

When I Am Afraid, I Put My Trust In You
Psalm 56:3

It is the saints' duty, and should be their care, not only to believe that God is Almighty, but also to strongly believe that his almighty power is engaged for our defence and help in all of our straits and temptations.  What is the foundation of this trust?  (1.) We are his own dear children.  Everyone takes care of his own - the silly hen, how she bustles and stirs herself to gather her brood under her wings when the enemy appears.  How much more will God stir up his whole strength to defend his children!  (2.) The dear love God has for his saints engages his power.  The believing soul is an object of God's choicest love, even the same love with which he loves his Son (John 17:26).  God loves the believer as the birth of his everlasting counsel.  He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.  O, how must God love that creature he has carried so long in the womb of his eternal purpose!  God also loves his saints as the purchase of his Son's blood.  They cost him dear.  He that was willing to expend his Son's blood to gain them will not deny his power to keep them.  (3.)  The covenant engages God's almighty power; 'I am God Almighty; walk before me' (Gen. 17:1).  God will put forth the whole power of the godhead for his people.  God does not parcel himself out by retail, but gives his saints encouragement to challenge whatever God has, as their own.  As his name is, so is his nature; he is a covenant-keeping God, and expectations from God in all their trials, oblige his power for their succour.  (5.)  Christ's presence in heaven lays a strong engagement on God to bring his whole force and power into the field upon all occasions for his saints' defence.  He intercedes for fresh supplies of grace and help for us.

William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour; 1:28-30.