So ist das leben

I’ve recently been reading mammoth portions of Philip Schaff’s 8 volume History of the Christian Church to fulfill the reading requirement for my Medieval Church History class this semester. Portions are fairly dry and the amount of reading gets rather tedious (almost 1,500 pages of Schaff alone), but on the whole it’s been interesting and even entertaining reading. The superstition/mysticism that was so prevalent in the Middle Ages led to some rather hilarious scenarios. I thought of posting some of the funnier ones, but I imagine I would be one of the few people I know that would find medieval hermeneutical blunders funny.

On a more immediately profitable note, I have been able to squeeze in another book in between Gregory VII and Innocent III. Namely, John Piper’s “Brothers, We Are Not Professionals.” This is an excellent book. It is geared towars pastors, but any Christian would greatly benefit. There are 30 short, easy to read, and yet greatly thought-provoking chapters. I’ve had a difficult time putting the book down, because each chapter is so uniquely challenging. Some of the highlights for me include:

Brothers, Beware of Sacred Substitutes (”The great threat to our prayer and our meditation on the Word of God is good ministry activity.”)

Brothers, Bitzer Was a Banker (Inspirational essay on the value and necessity of pastors learning Greek and Hebrew. Also deals with the superiority of investing time/energy learning the original langues as opposed to “more practical stuff” in a D.Min type program.)

Brothers, Read Christian Biography (Sounded a lot like Minnick here.)

Brothers, Magnify the Meaning of Baptism (This was the most helpful chapter in the book for me. It essentially is a short defense for believer baptism by immersion as traditionally espoused by Baptists as opposed to paedobaptism as is advocated amongst Presbyterians, etc. Very strong, succint apologetic for believer baptism.)

Brothers Let the River Run Deep (”There is no necessary contradiction between form and fire.” Deals with the idea put forth by some that spontanaeity is to be chiefly valued in expressing emotion (and worship) as opposed to form. Uses the book of Lamentations as an example of how form better communicates depth of emotion.)

Brothers, Don’t Fight Flesh Tanks With Peashooter Regulations (Discusses the deadly nature of legalism. Interestingly, tries to prove from Scripture [Colossians 2:16-23] that a church demanding total abstinence from alcohol as a prerequisite for church membership (like in a church covenant, etc) is legalism.)

Overall, a great book. Accessible yet profound on many levels.

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