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It's enough to make a book-lover smile and cry at the same time. In Sunday's New York Times Magazine, Kevin Kelly wrote about the contemporary quest for the "universal library" -- a collection of all the works ever created -- now made possible through the use of digital media. He writes: "From the days of Sumerian clay tablets till now, humans have 'published' at least 32 million books, 750 million articles and essays, 25 million songs, 500 million images, 500,000 movies, 3 million videos, TV shows and short films and 100 billion public Web pages. All this material is currently contained in all the libraries and archives of the world. "When fully digitized, the whole lot could be compressed (at current technological rates) onto 50 petabyte hard disks. Today you need a building about the size of a small-town library to house 50 petabytes. With tomorrow's technology, it will all fit onto your iPod. When that happens, the library of all libraries will ride in your purse or wallet -- if it doesn't plug directly into your brain with thin white cords. Some people alive today are surely hoping that they die before such things happen, and others, mostly the young, want to know what's taking so long. (Could we get it up and running by next week? They have a history project due.)" As someone who does research of some kind every week -- and often daily -- the thought of access to such a collection is almost beyond imagination. But then I recall the real danger: how will we know when to quit? Many is the preacher who struggles to draw the sermon-crafting process to a close because there may be one more great exegetical nugget or one more amazing story to find. If I can access the universal library from my own pc, then there will always be "one more nugget" available! My other concern is about those who talk about a "paperless society." Of course, they may also be the ones who were once talking about the paperless office; the sale of printers and ink cartridges reflects the fact that such advance is far away. And if some folks want to read e-books from a tiny screen, more power to them, but don't expect us book-lovers to join the celebration. I'm all for technological progress. Just don't try to take my books away. Michael
Duduit, Editor
Should the pulpit be political? In the April 17 USA Today, Notre Dame law professor Richard Garnett argues that it is not the place of government to determine what is or is not appropriate in terms of political speech in the pulpit. He writes: "the First Amendment does not constrain -- in fact, it protects -- 'political' preaching and faith-filled activism. Yes, our Constitution preserves a healthy separation between the institutions of religion and government. This wise arrangement protects individual freedom and civil society by preventing the state from directing, co-opting or controlling the church. It imposes no limits, though, on conversations among religious believers -- whether on Sunday morning, around the water cooler, or at the dinner table -- about the implications of their faith for the controversies of the day. Our First Amendment protects religious freedom, individual conscience and church independence from government interference; it requires neither a faith-free public square nor politics-free sermons. "Even if the Constitution does not presume to tell ministers to stick to parables, is it bad citizenship, or just plain bad manners, for ministers to confuse our 'public' role as citizens and voters with our supposedly 'private' religious lives and beliefs? No. Religious faith makes claims, for better or worse, that push the believer inexorably toward charitable and conscientious engagement in 'public life.' To the extent that religion purports to provide insight into human nature and relations, it necessarily speaks to politics. We best respect each other through honest dialogue by making arguments that reflect our beliefs, not by censoring ourselves or insisting that religious believers translate their commitments into focus-group jargon or cost-benefit analysis. "True, there is the matter of the tax laws. Churches have, for centuries, for the most part been immune from taxes imposed by secular authority. Accordingly, the United States has long exempted corporations organized and operated exclusively for religious purposes from federal taxation. This exemption, however, comes at a price: Like other tax-exempt charitable organizations, religious communities may not engage in activities and expression that are regarded by government as excessively political (or, perhaps, as insufficiently religious). "It is the regulation of the churches' expression, and not their expression itself, that should raise constitutional red flags. Religious institutions are not above the law, but a government that respects the separation of church and state should be extremely wary of telling churches and religious believers whether they are being appropriately "religious" or excessively "political" or partisan. Churches and congregants, not bureaucrats and courts, must define the perimeter of religion's challenges. It should not be for the state to label as electioneering, endorsement, or lobbying what a religious community considers evangelism, worship or witness. "Of course, there are good reasons -- religious reasons -- for clergy to be cautious and prudent when addressing campaigns, issues and candidates. "Reasonable people with shared religious commitments still can disagree about many, even most, policy and political matters. It compromises religion to not only confine its messages to the Sabbath but also to pretend that it speaks clearly to every policy question. A hasty endorsement, or a clumsy or uncharitable political charge, has no place in a house of worship or during a time of prayer -- not because religion does not speak to politics, but because it is about more, and is more important, than politics." (Click here to read the full article) http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060417/oplederel26.art.htm
The Pastor as theologian In a recent commentary, R. Albert Mohler talks about the vital theological task performed by the pastor within the local church: "The pastoral calling is inherently theological. Given the fact that the pastor is to be the teacher of the Word of God and the teacher of the Gospel, it cannot be otherwise. The idea of the pastorate as a non-theological office is inconceivable in light of the New Testament. "The pastor's stewardship of the theological task requires a clear sense of pastoral priority, a keen pastoral ear, and careful attention to the theological dimensions of church life and Christian discipleship. This must be foundational to the ministry of the local church, and ministry must emerge from a fundamentally theological foundation. "In a very real sense, Christians live out their most fundamental beliefs in everyday life. One essential task of the pastor is to feed the congregation and to assist Christians to think theologically, in order to demonstrate discernment and authentic discipleship. "All this must start with the pastor. The preacher must give attention, study, time, and thought to the theological dimensions of ministry. A ministry that is deeply rooted in the deep truths of God's Word will be enriched, protected, and focused by a theological vision. The pastor's concentrated attention to the theological task is necessary for the establishment of faithful preaching, God-honoring worship, and effective evangelism in the local church. Such a theological vision is deeply rooted in God's truth and in the truth about God that forms the very basis of Christian theology. "The pastor's concentration is a necessary theological discipline. Thus, the pastor must develop the ability to isolate what is most important in terms of theological gravity from that which is less important. . . . "The pastor's theological concentration establishes a sense of proper proportion and a larger frame of theological reference. At the same time, this concentration on the theological dimension of ministry also reminds the pastor of the necessity of constant watchfulness. "At crucial points in the history of Christian theology, the difference between orthodoxy and heresy has often hung on a single word, or even a syllable. When Arius argued that the Son was to be understood as being of a similar substance as the Father, Athanasius correctly understood that the entirety of the Gospel was at risk. As Athanasius faithfully led the church to understand, the New Testament clearly teaches that the Son is of the same substance as the Father. In the Greek language, the distinction between the word offered by Arius and the correction offered by Athanasius was a single syllable. Looking back, we can now see that when the Council of Nicaea met in A.D. 325, the Gospel was defended and defined at this very point. Without the role of Athanasius as both pastor and theologian, the heresy of Arius might have spread unchecked, leading to disaster for the young church." (Click here to read the full commentary) http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-19
Paul and the role of women In his book Roman Wives, Roman Widows (Wm. B. Eerdmans), Bruce Winter (a professor at Cambridge University) offers a well-researched and fascinating analysis of the role of women in the Graeco-Roman world of the New Testament, particularly the emergence of a "New" Roman woman -- "a woman in high position, who nevertheless claims for herself the indulgence in sexuality of a woman of pleasure." Winter points out that the appearance of these "new" women would have been an influence on Paul as he exhorted Christian wives and widows to avoid the conduct and dress that would have characterized many of their secular counterparts. One example is the appearance of unveiled wives, which ran counter to the social understanding of a "modest wife." It would not be surprising, then, that Paul comments on the issue when addressing the Christians in Corinth, encouraging them to distinguish themselves from the "new women" in Roman society. Winter writes: "It should have been self-evident to the Corinthian Christians that the removal of their veil was totally inappropriate. . . . On reflection, it should be completely obvious to everyone why it is important for the wife to do this. If 'you were what you wore' (or rather what you did not wear) while undertaking to pray and prophesy in public, then a clear signal was being sent and received by the messengers. Yes, they were married because they wore the mantle, the upper part of which was used as a veil. They were not dressed as prostitutes who wore the toga. However, they were flagrantly defying their status by deliberately removing the marriage veil from their head. They looked like the promiscuous married women, for the veil sent an unmistakable signal. It was not proper by first-century standards to do this." (Click here to learn more about the book Roman Wives, Roman Widows)
ILLUSTRATION: Power In the May 2 edition of his Tuesday Mornings newsletter, Tom Barnard writes, "Few things in the home cause more frustration than a power outage -- not a neighborhood power outage, or a city-wide power outage, but a single-family-home power outage. Several years ago we experienced one at our home. . . . It wasn't a total power outage -- only a partial one. One-half of the house had power; the other half had none. But the 'had none' half was crucial -- air conditioners, computer, microwave, range and oven, televisions, appliances, washer/dryer, garage-door opener. You know -- the crucial stuff. "Fortunately, the telephone worked, so we did the normal thing and called the electrical company. They did the normal thing and said it would be some time before they could get a repairman there. 'Some time' for them meant late that afternoon -- not as bad as next week, but not nearly as good as 'We're on our way.' No computer and no television caused all kinds of frustration. And it was a hot summer day -- not a good time to be without air conditioning. "When the electrical utility repairman arrived, he discovered the problem quickly. It wasn't something we did. One of the two 'hot' lines into the house had shorted out. It happened underground at the furthest point from the house -- near the property line. A temporary hookup was connected, and full power was restored within an hour of the repairman's arrival. He had to dig down to the line to find out exactly where the short was located. When the section of broken cable was removed, it was discovered that something as small and insignificant as a pin-hole in the cable -- located several feet underground and out of sight -- allowed just enough moisture to invade the cable and cause the short, making the electrical system only partially operational. "In our spiritual lives internal breaks may occur from time to time. Sometimes it is not something we have done, but something someone else did to us. Some pin-hole-size decision allows unwanted moisture into the recesses of our hearts, resulting in a short circuit and loss of power somewhere in the 'system.' Not everything blows at once -- just enough to cause aggravation and frustration. For awhile, we may even be able to manage without full power -- you know, with candles and flashlights and oil lamps -- but not for long. "How should we react when we experience a short-circuit in our spiritual lives? Ignore it? (No.) Walk away from it? (Come on!) Pretend it didn't happen? (Not recommended.) Try to fix the problem ourselves? (Ouch!) Actually, the only reasonable way to address a personal power outage is to contact the Person who knows all about such problems and knows how to restore normal power in a person's life. Invite Him into your heart; let Him go about finding a satisfactory solution. There is no problem too small or too big for Him. And best of all, He specializes in house calls." (For a free subscription to Tuesday Mornings send an email to barnard22@cox.net.)
ILLUSTRATION: Death A group of nine-year-olds was asked their opinions on the subject of death. Jim said, "When you die, they bury you in the ground and your soul goes to heaven; but your body can't go to heaven because it's too crowded up there already." Judy answered, "Only the good people go to heaven. The other people go where it's hot all the time like in Florida." John thoughtfully replied, "Maybe I'll die someday, but I hope I don't die on my birthday because it's no fun to celebrate your birthday if you're dead." Marsha added, "When you die, you don't have to do homework in heaven, unless your teacher is there too."
ILLUSTRATION: Eternity In Thornton Wilder's classic play "Our Town", there is this important line: "Everyone knows in their bones that something is eternal and that something has to do with human beings. All the greatest people that ever lived have been telling us that for 5,000 years, and yet you'd be surprised how many people are losing hold of it. There's something way down deep that's eternal about every human being." Our secular culture disparages that truth. We are told that we only go around once so we should grab for all the gusto we can. They say that life is a game, and the one who dies with the most toys wins. The reason people are coming to church in droves is because something deep within them says that this world is not all there is. (Bill Bouknight, "Just a Thought")
ILLUSTRATION: Preaching, Sermons It was Sunday evening and Harry Ironside had preached five times that day. He was weary, and on the way home his wife asked a question to which he responded with irritation. Immediately he felt conviction, and apologized to his wife. Saying: "Forgive me, I am quite tired. Remember, I have preached five times today." To which his wife responded, "Yes, dear, I know. But remember, I have had to listen to you five times today!" (Moody Monthly)
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"No sin is small. It is against an infinite God, and may have consequences immeasurable. No grain of sand is small in the mechanism of a watch." (Jeremy Taylor)
From the sponsor of this week's edition: The English Standard Version Bible "The ESV satisfies the preaching, memorizing, studying, and reading needs of our church, from children to adults. We are building all our future ministry around it." -- John Piper, Preaching Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis To see why leading Pastors everywhere are making the ESV the fastest growing Bible translation in the country, visit http://www.esv.org/about/intro
ILLUSTRATION: Confession A parish priest was being honored at a dinner on the 25th anniversary of his arrival in that parish. A leading local politician, who was a member of the congregation, was chosen to make the presentation and to give a little speech at the dinner, but he was delayed in traffic, so the priest decided to say his own few words while they waited. "You will understand," he said, "the seal of the confessional can never be broken, however I got my first impressions of the parish from the first confession I heard here. I can only hint vaguely about this, but when I came here 25 years ago I thought I had been assigned to a terrible place. The very first chap who entered my confessional told me how he had stolen a television set, and when stopped by the police, had almost murdered the officer! Further, he told me he had embezzled money from his place of business and had an affair with his boss's wife. I was appalled! But as the days went on, I learned that my people were not all like that, and I had, indeed, come to a fine parish full of understanding and loving people." Just as the priest finished his talk, the politician arrived full of apologies at being late. He immediately began to make the presentation and give his talk. "I'll never forget the first day our parish priest arrived in this parish," said the politician. "In fact, I had the honor of being the first one to go to him in confession."
An antique is something your grandmother bought, your mother threw out, and you are now buying back.
Speak Like a Parent Given that last Sunday was Mother's Day and Father's Day is around the corner, it seems appropriate to offer these definitions used by experienced parents: AMNESIA: condition that enables a woman who has gone through labor to have kids again. DEFENSE: what you'd better have around the yard if you're going to let the children play outside. DROOLING: how teething babies wash their chins. DUMB WAITER: one who asks if the kids would care to order dessert. FEEDBACK: the inevitable result when a baby doesn't appreciate the strained carrots. FULL NAME: what you call your child when you're mad at him. GRANDPARENTS: the people who think your children are perfect even though they're sure you're not raising them right. HEARSAY: what toddlers do when anyone mutters a bad word. INDEPENDENT: how we want our children to be as long as they do everything we say. LOOK OUT!: what it's too late for your child to do by the time you scream it. OWWW: the first word spoken by children with older siblings. PRENATAL: when your life was still somewhat your own. PUDDLE: a small body of water that draws other small bodies wearing dry shoes. SHOW OFF: a child who is more talented than yours. STERILIZE: what you do to your first baby's pacifier by boiling it and to your last baby's pacifier by blowing on it. STOREROOM: the distance required between the supermarket aisles so that children in shopping carts can't quite reach anything. TEMPER TANTRUMS: what you should keep to a minimum so as to not upset the children. TOP BUNK: where you should never put a child wearing Superman jammies. TWO-MINUTE WARNING: when the baby's face turns red and she begins to make those familiar grunting noises. WHOOPS: an exclamation that translates roughly into "get a mop."
And finally . . . It appears there will be no bonuses in the Somerville police department this year. That's because police in the Massachusetts town accidentally discarded more than $31,000 in confiscated drug money when they sent an old desk to the landfill, according to a May 12 Associated Press report. They didn't realize that an evidence technician -- while doing some cleaning of the evidence rooms -- had stashed the cash in a drawer of the broken desk. While the tech was out of the office, officers helping with the cleanup project threw out the desk along with other old furniture. When the technician returned to work and realized what had happened, officers went to the Rochester, NH landfill to try to retrieve the money. Unfortunately, by the time they arrived the desk was buried under hundreds of tons of super-dense, hydraulically compacted waste, and even with heavy equipment they couldn't get to the desk. "A very bad mistake," acting police chief Robert Bradley said of losing the money. The $31,535, which covers about a dozen investigations conducted by Somerville police since July 1, 2005, was to have been split between the department and the Middlesex County district attorney's office if prosecutors won convictions in those cases.
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