Seeking True Unity, Part 2: Who Said You Could Do That? The Case of Steve Higginbotham

Here I begin with brother Higginbotham's case to the court ... but first ...

A Preliminary Distant Voice on UNITY  – T.B. Larimore

“May the Lord grant that I may die before I sow discord among the brethren. I have never done so yet—never. I have never introduced, advocated, agitated, said, or done anything that could tend to dissever church, family, or friends. I love the sentiment of the son of America who said, “If I have not the power to lift men to the skies, I thank my God that I have not the will to drag angels down.” … If I cannot bless, then let me not live … Lot chose the cream of the country, all the best of the land. Abraham was satisfied with that which was left, the refuse, rocky and rough. So far as earthly possessions and carnal concessions were concerned, his motto seems to have been: ‘Peace at any price’ in preference to strife among brethren. … {Before we divide} remember that he that soweth discord among brethren is an abomination unto God … Remembering Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Gethsemane—Christ, Calvary, and the cross; remembering, we are dying dust … Remembering the loved who loved us long ago, and all the pure who love us now, remembering that none of us liveth unto himself … let us stand up for Jesus and battle for his cause … let us all be, do, say, and live thus … be one as Jesus and Jehovah are one.” (Sermon on “Unity” in Biographies and Sermons, ed. F. D. Srygley, pp. 43, 46, 49-50).

Summary of the Prosecution’s Case

Our counselor, Steve Higginbotham, approaches the witness but addresses the jury. His goal is to establish what he feels is the bedrock for his case—biblical authority. His opening statement really states the matter quite succinctly: “How one understands the authority of Scripture is the single most important ingredient to achieving unity among God’s children … Any attempts to ignore the centrality of the authority of Scripture, will ultimately fail” (p.9).

In the next section we quickly learn from our counselor that we are not talking about the authority of the Bible per se but rather the realm of “the silence of Scripture.” He points to the American Christian Missionary Society and instrumental music as the sources of rupture of fellowship a “century ago.” The lawyer leads our witness quite affectively to accepting the conclusion that silence is “prohibitive” rather than “permissive.” It is not necessary to appeal to any learned human for a correct answer; rather he says it can be found directly from Scripture itself. To prove that silence is necessarily prohibitive Hebrews 7.14, Joshua 6.1-26 and the flood narrative of Genesis is appealed to.

Counselor Higginbotham knows he has, perhaps, proved to much with his arguments regarding the prohibitory nature of silence. Thus he immediately tries to convince the jury of a distinction between “aides” and “additions.” Returning to Noah’s Ark he says that God was explicit about the kind of wood (“gopher wood”) and but not on the kind of tools used. Tools were an “aid” but a different kind of wood would be an “addition.” (We will not ask what kind of wood "gopher" wood might be, I think this is a poorly chosen illustration).

With rhetorical flare our counselor closes his speech by revealing the slippery slope that he believes some are on. He asserts that some simply deny the need for biblical authority. And without authority we may end up with instruments, popes, “baptism for the dead,” and animal sacrifice.

The parting words to the jury are chosen carefully indeed. These are the words, “For my part, I will not fear that God will be angry with me for doing no more than He has commanded me” (quoting Richard Baxter).

Questions & Thoughts from the Jury … If the Judge will Allow

Agreements: First, I want to commend Steve for his faith in the authority of the Scriptures. It is my observation that this kind of “case” or discussion can only take place among a people that takes Scripture with the utmost seriousness. Everyone else would simply dismiss this out of hand! In a moment I will make some counter points to Steve’s case but first we need to recognize that we do have commonality here. And for the record I believe that Rick Atchley and Bob Russell believe in the authority of the Scriptures (I mention them by name because they are mentioned in Seeking True Unity). Indeed they affirm both the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. Together Again is many things but it is not the work of unbelieving liberals!

Demurs: Second, for my part it is precisely because I take the authority of the Scriptures seriously that I disagree with his opening statement and central argument. Is it really true that the “authority of Scripture” … according to the Scriptures … is the “single most important ingredient to achieving unity?” Do the Scriptures themselves affirm this? Do they by command? Example? or Inference? I think not. This is not an attack upon the authority of the Scripture rather it is a recognition of what the Scriptures actually say. The counselor has brought an assumption - a presupposition - forward and granted it supreme authority. This foundational assumption cannot be sustained by the Bible.

If within Scripture, within the NT, unity is not based upon the centrality of the authority of Scripture then what is it based upon? It is based upon the Gospel message itself. This truth was fundamental to the Stone-Campbell Movement. Robert Richardson, author of the Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, published a small book on the foundational Principles of the Reformation which was widely praised. He notes that the movement set out to demonstrate the “distinction between what may emphatically termed THE CHRISTIAN FAITH and doctrinal KNOWLEDGE” (p. 27). The error of the sectarians, according to the early SCM, was “they suppose this Christian faith to be doctrinal, we regard it as personal … The Christian faith, then, in our view, consists not in any theory or system of doctrine, but in a sincere belief in the person and mission of our Lord Jesus Christ” (p. 44). In one of his articles about the principles of the “current reformation” he makes this truthful and needed observation:

“Men have lost sight of the obvious distinction which is to be made between the Bible and the Gospel. As the Bible contains the gospel, and its ancient records are important in elucidating and confirming it, they have become so intimately associated … that they {sectarians} have lost sight of the just distinction between them … It should never be forgotten that the Apostles and first preachers of the gospel had no Bibles, and not even a New Testament, to distribute; and that there was no such thing among the early Christians as a formal union upon the ‘Bible alone.’ Nay, rather it was a union upon the Gospel Alone; for in those days, the gospel possessed identity, and enjoyed a distinct and determinate character.” (Richardson, “Reformation, IV” Millennial Harbinger [September 1847], 508, his emphasis).

What Richardson writes is plainly true in the New Testament itself. The folks at Corinth had no Bible to question each other about its centrality to unity. The book of Ephesians which is laced with concerns for unity does not seek it on the basis of biblical authority. The church a Philippi was not turned to a discussion of biblical authority when its unity was threatened. Neither the Bible nor the New Testament's authority was the ground of unity in any of these apostolic churches. Rather the work of God in Christ is the foundational basis for unity at Corinth and the creation of the “ONE new man” in Ephesians and it is the Gospel story of self-emptying in Philippians that is the "central" issue for unity. The church at Corinth makes an interesting study in unity and doctrinal and moral chaos … I dare make the claim that the problems faced by the church in that fair city are magnitudes greater than those facing Churches of Christ internally or Churches of Christ and the Christian Churches. In our efforts at to maintain the unity God has already paid dearly for we need to impress the Gospel upon the issues and ourselves … this is after all what Paul and Peter did. It would be a very long time after Paul that there was unity based on the Bible as we know it today.

The crux of the matter, as important as it may be (and it is important) is not biblical authority in spite of the counselor’s claim. While addressing the jury he shifts from authority to hermeneutics. Interpretation is a different issue than authority. He is correct when he says “how to interpret the silence” of Scripture (p. 10) is important but it is not true that how one understands silence is the same as authority. If this is the case, the core is not the “centrality of the authority of the Bible” as he stated in the beginning, but rather for his case the real core issue is interpretation in a way that he approves. I do not believe that “division was inevitable!" (p. 10). It was not inevitable in Corinth and it was not inevitable in the 19^th century and it is not inevitable now. Division occurred precisely because people demanded homage to their interpretation rather than to Jesus Christ as Lord.

Third: About “aids” & “additions?” One of the most interesting matters about silence is that no one is consistent on it. Every thing that Counselor Higginbotham defines as an “aid” other folks with equal zeal for biblical authority call an “addition.” This is a fact. And most interesting of all is that the Bible is “silent” upon a distinction between an “aid” and an “addition.” Paul never gives us any guidelines on how to distinguish between them. The counselor has created an idea then used it to justify his aids while condemning others’ additions. If we are going to be “silent where the Bible is silent” then how can we speak about something the Bible never talks about … aids and additions. For an examination of the “Regulative Principle” that governs this whole area I recommend John Frame’s article: A Fresh Look at the Regulative Principle  And in A Gathered People we offer some perspective on this area of hermeneutics as well (Hicks, Melton, Valentine, pp. 110-112, 119-120)

Fourth: The Fear Factor. This to me may be the crucial difference between myself sitting in the jury and the counselor attempting to persuade me of his point of view. I have just as much desire to get “it” right as my brothers Jenkin(s), Sanders, Higginbotham, Greene and Baker. I pray and I study hard because I want to get “it” right. I spent years learning Hebrew, Greek and Latin so I could get “it” right. And at one point in my life I lived in great fear of not having “it” right. I do not seek to do my own thing … I want to do God’s thing. Yet, I do not live in fear of not getting “it” right anymore! In fact I know that I do not have “it” right inspite of my very best efforts to get “it.”

This is the TRUTH the God the Cross reveals in the Death & Resurrection of the Messiah. I have finally come to accept the biblical truth that God would rather let Jesus die than condemn me. And what God did for me he also did for my imperfect brothers and sisters. The wrath of God has been extinguished against my sin (this includes my religious error!). The reason I am the object of God’s mercy is precisely because I don’t get “it.” I am not presuming upon God’s grace rather I am embracing what the Scriptures clearly state themselves.

Higginbotham says, through Baxter, “I will not fear that God will be angry with me for doing no more than He has commanded me” (p. 15). This reminds me of a few passages from Jesus. Jesus once taught about some servants that did only their “duty.” Even very careful servants confess “we are unworthy servants we have only done our duty” (Lk 17.10). Jesus told another story about three men and a master. Each man is given some money. According to the story we have in Matthew, the Master never told them to do anything with that money. But two servants immediately go out, without any instruction (i.e. authority!) from the master, and begin spending and risking his property. One servant decided to “play it safe” and guarded the master’s money with his life. He would not risk loosing the master’s money, he would not risk the displeasure of the master, rather he protected the master’s money. Is it not interesting that in Jesus’ story it is the men who went out on their own, seeking to enlarge the master’s holdings, were praised and granted even more responsibility! Why did the master not say “how dare you. Who authorized you to spend my money?” Rather we read “Well done, good and faithful (interesting choice of words there!) servant.” Is it not interesting that the servant who did exactly as the master said (nothing!!) is condemned. But why is the servant condemned? He is judged precisely on the basis that he imagined the Master to operate (Matthew 25.14-30). Jesus’ parable speaks volumes about the “fear factor.” The safe servant had constructed an idol of his own making.

Does our salvation depend on having the minutia correct? Only if the blood of Jesus is meaningless. Does our unity depend on the minutia? Only if the blood of Jesus is meaningless. 

Final Words

Yes I have said nearly as many words as the prosecution. I am “wondering” out loud about the arguments put forward. I find them unconvincing.

Unity is based upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the Gospel that saves us and it is the Gospel that broke down the barrier of division to create a unified and new humanity in Christ Jesus. It is the Gospel and not all the issues we argue about determine either our relationship to God or to each other. It is precisely because the Gospel, and not uniform interpretation that allowed there to be a Stone-Campbell Movement in the first place. Because contrary to Counselor Greene’s claims that there was “little difference” between Campbell and Stone’s groups (p. 30) there were deep and profound theological differences between the groups (more on that later). I firmly believe that if that unity meeting was taking place today unity would not happen for the very reason it does not today. But, praise God, they united, as Richardson says, upon the Gospel. Unity is “inevitable” when we let the Gospel reign supreme. But when the Gospel is dethroned division will follow … 

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” … Paul

Shalom,

Bobby Valentine

Seeking True Unity Review Part 1 can be accessed HERE
Seeking True Unity Review Part 3 can be accessed HERE

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Seeking True Unity, Part 1, Edited by Dale Jenkins: A Review and Interaction, Part 1

Seeking True Unity: A Review and Interaction, Part 1

I came across this little book (64 pages) at the ACU lectures. I recognized the names of Dale Jenkins and Phil Sanders and decided to purchase it. I had the book finished before I went to bed in my hotel room later that night. Of the writers I have only personally met Phil Sanders before but I have corresponded from time to time with Dale Jenkins. Of the seven contributors I have no doubt they are men of integrity with a passion for the Lord. As it turns out I probably have few problems of fellowshipping them than they will of me ... but I would gladly concede being wrong on this one. 

First I want to begin with a commendation of these authors. Though it will be clear that I disagree on a number of minor and major points, I am gratified they affirm a passion for the unity of the body of Christ. Dale writes, “To a man the seven of us involved in this project want unity!” (p.7). He writes further, “We desire to reach across the years and reunite with those from whom we are divided. We desire to swim the channel – climb the steepest hill – we endeavor to achieve and to keep, to seek true unity.” (ibid). I can not tell you how thrilled I am by those words. The book brother Jenkins edits is a contribution to the ongoing dialogue of what “true unity” consists and how to achieve it. So brothers Jenkin(s), Sanders, Baker, Greene, Hatcher and Higginbotham I thank you for this small volume. I share your earnest desire to climb the steepest mountain to claim the right hand of my estranged brothers in the Lord. 

 I have contributed my own “book” with John Mark Hicks, to that conversation of unity and identity, Kingdom Come.  My interaction with and evaluation of the arguments of the book do not in anyway detract from our shared goal, desire or wish for unity. I pray that my words share in the worthy spirit of this little book. I will say, before I move on, that I think a richer and more healthy approach to this subject is presented in a masterful way by Monroe E. Hawley in his epoch book Is Christ Divided? A Study of Sectarianism (Howard Publishing, 1992)

Seeking True Unity  is well written and creatively designed around a theme as we will see. Each short chapter is divided up into six subsections: Opening Statements, Presenting the Evidence, Examining the Facts, Hearing the Testimony, Rendering the Verdict and Cross Examination (set of questions). One quickly sees that we have entered a courtroom - sort of a “Law & Order” approach to this subject of unity. And as we will see in any courtroom drama the evidence can be spun in many directions by the prosecution and the defense. As I read this book I came to the conclusion that what we are hearing from the prosecutions team of lawyers was a version of the evidence (I chose this language deliberately). I say version because the arguments are not dispassionate but come from vested interests and from folks with lots at stake. This is neither good nor bad just an important fact to remember and digest.

Counsel for the prosecution approaches the witness five times. Each time a lawyer well versed in his specialty leads the jury in a specific direction (we want no hung juries, :-) The voices we hear are

Dale Jenkins: Deja Vu All Over Again
Steve Higginbotham : Who Said You Could Do That?
Phil Sanders: Can't We All Just Be Christians?
Mike Greene: How Did We Get Where We Are?
Jeff Jenkins: Same Song, Different Century
Mike Baker: What Do We Do Now?

Thus as I read and reflected on the prosecutions arguments, as a member of the jury, it occurred to me that what I was actually hearing was an apology for the status quo. For division. I kept hearing, through the testimony, why it is good for “us” to remain basically as “we” are. We are told that some “refreshing changes” are being made but we never find out what they are. The origins of this "case" (i.e. the book) we are hearing is almost surely the recent events with the Richland Hills Church of Christ, Tulsa Workshop and the North American Christian Convention.

My plan is to interact with each of the prosecutions key lawyers and their presentations. They are skilled and need to be taken seriously … and this we intend to do. We intend on asking our witness in the dock a few more questions and critiquing the argument of our panel of lawyers … for the sake of unity.

BTW it should be obvious, but sometimes it has to be pointed out, I am using the courtroom metaphor of lawyers and the like and am following the lead of the book itself and is not in ANY fashion meant to be derisive. It is simply a good metaphor ...

Shalom,

Bobby Valentine

Seeking True Unity review Part 2 can be read HERE

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Back from Abilene and On with Life

Well, Friday afternoon I made the long and boring drive from Abilene, TX to Tucson, AZ. Actually the view gets better the further west you go and by the time you hit AZ there are beautiful mountains ... the sunset on the mountains is quite stunning.

I had a wonderful time at the ACU Lectures. I met fellow blogger Frank Bellizzi in the Center for Restoration Studies. It was a very providential meeting.

I took in Mike Casey's class on Garfield Todd. Todd was a Disciples minister in Rhodesia, Africa. He became Prime Minister and became heavily involved in justice for the African people. His is a great story. John Willis' lectures on Micah were great. I was sadly disappointed that Tom Olbricht was not able to make the lectures. I highly recommend getting the CDs to Willis' class (these can be ordered from Gaylor Multimedia).

Most of the keynote addresses are worth ordering copies of. Jerry Taylor, Landon Saunders and Jeff Walling exceeded their own high standards. Walling's sermon was, possibly, the best sermon I have ever heard him preach.

Thursday evening, a day after the lectures, I visited with Randy Harris and made plans PV's men's retreat he will be doing in April of 2008.

I visited with Fran Moser Winkles and her husband Dub several times. These are wonderful people. Thursday while at the Winkles I made a "providential" discovery. I found a book that at first looked simply like a bound copy of The Gist of Romans (that is what it said on the spine). But upon opening the book it was rather a alphabetical listing of every preacher and preacher student (from ACC, Harding, OCC, York, FHC, Pepperdine) that Moser sent a copy of his book to. The info included the name, location and date of the recipient. It was fascinating to see names as diverse as Bill Love and Hugo McCord listed. This is a little goldmine ...

I am slowly but surely coming to a deeper appreciation of Moser's life and one day this will express itself in a theological biography of the man.

I was glad to pull into the drive way late Friday night. I decided to go to bed ... and then at 5 am my lovely wife decided to go for a run (she is training for a marathon!!) so I got up and went with her. I was nearly dead afterwards ...

I continued my class called "A Gathered People" only now those who wanted a book can have one. This afternoon I was at Southside Church of Christ here in Tucson and will be preaching for a gospel meeting beginning tomorrow. This is a small, largely African American congregation with wonderful fellowship. Our song leader is a blind brother, and to tell the truth he was awesome!

Shalom,
Bobby Valentine

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A Gathered People: Revisioning the Assembly as Transforming Encounter

A Gathered People: Revisioning the Assembly as Transforming Encounter

Greetings from Abilene ... After many months of preparation and several more of being with the publisher I am pleased to announce that A Gathered People: Revisioning the Assembly as Transforming Encounter is finally available. The book is authored by John Mark Hicks, Johnny Melton and Bobby Valentine.

It is available on Amazon (linked above) or it can be ordered directly from ACU/Leafwood Press at 1.877.816.4455 (toll free).

Here is the book description, "A Gathered People is an in-depth biblical, historical and theological study of the Christian assembly or Lord's day. It examines Hebrew assemblies in the Old Testament, Christian assemblies in the New Testament, and the changing nature of assemblies in Christian history, and the assembly in the Stone-Campbell heritage. It concludes with a theological argument about the nature and purpose of the assembly, and reflections on Christian assemblies today"

The price of the book 14.95

Shalom,
Bobby Valentine

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ACU Lectures

Today is Monday the first full day of the ACU lectures is nearly history ... here is a link to the class schedule

I left Tucson after a kiss from my girls: Pamella, Rachael and Talya, I deposited my rear securely in a rented Pontiac and headed out toward the East. After going through the obligatory border patrol check point it was just shy of 1 pm Tucson time when I left and just shy of 3 am when I arrived Abilene time.

The hotel would not let me "check in early" so I slept in my car from about 3 am ET to about 6:30 when some "sounds" aroused me from my slumber. So fresh from my car seat I went to hear my good friend Edward Robinson talk about one of the most fascinating men in American and Stone Campbell history, Samuel R. Cassius. Tomorrow Edwards is going to compare and contrast Cassius and Marshall Keeble ... this will be interesting because Cassius looks more like Malcolm X when compared to Keeble.

I took in Duane Cummins discussion of volume 2 of Eva Jean Wrather's Alexander Campbell, Adventurer in Freedom: A Literary Biography.

I then had lunch with Fran Moser Winkles and her husband Dub. Fran is K. C. Moser's daughter and has been a great source of inspiration when it comes to her father.

Lectures are as much about friends as anything else. I communed with Dr. Berryhill, Jonathan Camp and Trevor Thompson and the day is not done.

And of course I picked up a few books. I bought vol 2 of Wrather's bio mentioned above, I got a reprint of John Allen Hudson's The Man and the Moment: A Study in the Life of Alexander Campbell, and I got a most fascinating book by Robert Brimlow What about Hitler? Wrestling with Jesus' Call to Nonviolence in an Evil World. The title alone made it worth looking at. I also bought and have already finished reading a small volume edited by Dale Jenkins Seeking True Unity with contributions by Mike Baker, Mike Green, Phil Sanders, Dale and Jeff Jenkins. I plan on doing a review and assessment of this small book as soon as I have time.

I am told by Leafwood Press that our book, A Gathered People will be released tomorrow so I am looking forward to that.

If you are at the lectures give me a ring and lets get together.

Shalom,
Bobby Valentine

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"Argula von Grumbach: Courageous Debater, Theologian, Female Voice in the Reformation ... A Woman on the Family Tree"

Argula von Grumbach: Courageous Debater, Theologian, Female Voice in the Reformation ... A Woman on the Family Tree

A sea of political, social and religious change was flowing through the world in 1492. Christopher Columbus set out on a historic voyage. Within a generation Guttenberg developed the printing press. Spain was united and finally evicted the Muslims from western Europe. Lorenzo Valla demonstrated the power of the new learning of the Renaissance in critiquing the church. It was an era that saw the publication of Copernicus’ heliocentric vision of cosmology in 1543. It was also a time that heard the powerful call for reform of Martin Luther. In the midst of all this churning a girl was born in 1492 to a Bavarian family. She would stand like a Judith in front of the intimidating theologians of the University of Ingolstadt and challenge them to a debate. Her name was Argula von Grumbach.

Grumbach’s family was very pious. And even though the family’s Franciscan advisors counseled against letting young Argula (a girl) study scripture because it would “only confuse her,” she was given (at age 10) an expensive (and graphically beautiful) Koberger Bible translated into German in the late 15^th century. The stories of Deborah, Susannah, Judith, Esther, Mary and a host of others thrilled her soul. Argula, as her later life shows, became a walking German Bible with the vast majority of its contents committed to memory.

At age 17 she lost both her parents to the plague (in 1509). A few years later her guardian, Hieronymus, was executed for political intrigue. She would then marry Friederich von Grumbach. She would eventually put her children through college, bury a couple of husbands and carry on extensive correspondence with Luther, Melanchthon, Hubmaier … she would meet Luther face to face on 2 June 1530. She traveled, wrote and debated all of which was way beyond the comfort zone of most European men of the day.

By 1522 Lutheran ideas were making inroads into southern Germany and the court declared the importation of these ideas to be illegal. A young teacher at the University of Ingolstadt, Arsacius Seehofer, who had been to Wittenberg became a supporter of reform. The theologians brought pressure to bear and he was put on trial, forced to recant and exiled to the monastery.

When no one stepped forward to defend Seehofer, Argula stepped into the gap herself. On September 20, 1523 issued a letter, that was turned into a booklet, the first ever written by a Protestant woman, addressed to the city council and leading theologians of the university. Here is an abbreviated title for her booklet, The Account of Christian Woman of the Bavarian Nobility Whose Open Letter …” Here are some selections of that booklet a selection from the Preface which most scholars have attributed to Andreas Osiander:

“Brothers: it is time to rouse ourselves from sleep. For our salvation is closer than we think. Therefore, my Christian reader, and you, to, you blind, raging, deluded Pharisees – you have always resisted the Holy Spirit … Many are now quite aware of this saying {i.e. Joel 2} and now it is quite evident in the person of the woman mentioned above {Argula}, that she criticises the biblical scholars at the University of Ingolstadt for their persecution of the holy Gospel (as Judith, chapter eight, the false priests), and exhorts and instructs them, citing a host of ‘insuperable’ divine writings.”

Argula realizes she has “crossed the line” so to speak. The world may have been undergoing radical change as we have seen but it was not prepared for a woman who thought for herself. She explains her actions,

“I suppressed my inclinations, heavy of heart, I did nothing {about the persecution}. Because Paul says in 1 Timothy 2 {v.12f} But now that I cannot see any man who is up to it, who is either willing or able to speak, I am constrained by the saying, ‘Whoever confesses me” …”

Matthew 10 and many female examples in Scripture, Argula believed, charged her as a disciple to stand up and speak out. Argula demands that the theologians prove from Scripture that what Seehofer affirmed was heresy. She even challenged them to a debate. Argula had a formidable knowledge of the Bible, so much so that Balthasar Hubmaier declared that she, a woman, “knows more of the divine word than all these red hats {the theologians} ever saw or could conceive of.” Needless to say the theologians did not accept her challenge.

The wrath of the theologians knew no bounds. Rather than debate her, the powers that be fired her husband and ordered him to bring her in line, using violence if necessary. She needed to remember her “place.” She became the target of Professor Hauer’s sermons. In one sermon on December 8, he used the following epitaphs for her. Argula was a “female devil,” a female desperado,” a “wretched and pathetic daughter of Eve,” an “arrogant devil,” a “fool” and he tops it off by calling her a “heretical bitch” and “shameless whore.” He could not believe that she would make the Virgin Mary equal to all women. Certainly not the most uplifting sermon!!

Despite the attack of the theologians Grumbach’s booklet became a bestseller and went through no less than sixteen editions and she became a household name. She was not done writing for the cause of reform either. She exhorted Frederick the Wise and several other essays including a lengthy poem that is sort of her “self-defense” against the slander of her enemies. Her enemies included her husband who remained a faithful Roman Catholic. In her poem she reveals how she wants to treat her husband correctly but refuses to let him decide her faith. She writes against the charge that she was a poor wife and mother,

“But how can I profit from such as you
Who force the people the truth to eschew?
You even dole out free advice
How we should offer obedient service
And hold our husbands in esteem
Anything else would make me squirm!
My heart and soul are both inclined
To be at his service at all times
Delighted always to obey I’d hate it any other way!
And I trust that to all it’s plain
He has uttered no word of complaint.
May God teach me to understand
How to conduct myself toward my man.
But should he ever wish to force me
From God’s word, compel or coerce me
I should think that counts for nought
(Which seems to be your anxious thought)
As I find in Matthew written
You can read it in Chapter Ten:”

Argula appeals to Matthew 10's "whoever confesses me" and applies that to the "priesthood of all believers" and not simply the priesthood of all men. She believes the "whoever" applies equally to herself and all who dwell in the kingdom.

Argula stated that her writing was no “woman’s chit-chat, but the word of God.” And it was not. Her writing is serious biblical interpretation ... She refused to be put down. Unheard of in that day, she traveled (alone) to Nuremberg to encourage German princes to accept Reformation principles. In 1530 she traveled to meet Martin Luther. She tried to mediate and even arranged a meeting between Melanchthon and Bucer to come to a compromise on the Lord’s Supper controversy beginning to divide Protestants.

It is tragic that Argula’s name has been lost for most Christians. While she was not Luther, she was a great witness for Christ. She challenged powerful stereotypes that prevail even today in some places. When others ran, she stood in the gap. The biblical knowledge she gained as a child pain rich dividends in her writings and teaching. Even today her material is challenging and edifying and conducive to theological reflection.

So was Argula a “she devil” as the theologians called her? Or was she, as Hubmaier said, another Deborah, Huldah, Judith or one of Philip’s daughters. She was a remarkable woman … and I am happy to have this theologian on the Family Tree.

A very good introduction to Argula is the recent collection of her works, Argula von Grumbach: A Woman's Voice in the Reformation (T & T Clark, 1995) edited by Peter Matheson. All the quotations above come from this book. It is well done and better yet you get to read Argula's own writings.

Shalom,

Bobby Valentine

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Mountains, Rainbows & Sunsets

Mountains, Rainbows & Sunsets
Friday afternoon we had a little bit of rain. The black clouds were sitting over the Rincon Mountains to the east of my house. A perfect rainbow, from horizon to horizon, was superimposed on those dark clouds. This picture captures part of the bow but does not do anything like justice to the scene.



















Here is another photo of the same part of the rainbow


This is what was 180 degrees away from the rainbow to the west ...


As I pointed out these pictures are fairly tame to what God was putting on display in the sky.

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Material Worthy of Your Attention

"Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2.15, ASV)

I wanted to pass on two links to my friends and family out in cyberspace for two excellent articles. By excellent I do not mean that they are 100% correct (though they may be) or that I agree with them 100% either. But they are both great reads for thinking through two very important subjects related to our understanding of the Scriptures and our walk in this life.

The first article is called "Just War and the New Community:The Witness of the Old Testament for Christians Today" by Gordon Brubacher in the Princeton Theological Review {fall 2006}. This article is most easily read by copying it and pasting it on some paper and printing it out. But I can assure you that you will be challenged in reading this article. From my point of view I am deeply sympathetic to Brubacher's argument. I have long argued that many abuse the war texts in the Hebrew Bible through shoddy hermeneutics. Dr. Brubacher, I am sure, has not answered all the questions but he has made a good faith effort to wrestle with the issue rather than make mere assertions.

The other article is by J. Richard Middleton called "A New Heaven and a New Earth: A Case for Holistic Reading of the Story of Redemption" published in the Journal for Christian Research (2006). Middleton's piece is very well done and there is little that I can disagree with. I wish I had read it before I did my series on heaven ... it would have saved me a great deal of effort.

Both of these articles are nothing short of stimulating and conducive to serious thinking and reflection on reading and interpreting the Bible. I commend them both to you for your enjoyment.

Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
PaLO VErde Church of Christ
Tucson, AZ

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The Witness of Perpetua: A Woman on the Family Tree

The Witness of Perpetua: Woman on the Family Tree

Most Christians know of the story of Polycarp and his powerful testimony to the Christian faith. His name is deservedly remembered and honored. There is another story mostly forgotten among modern Christians, just a generation after Polycarp, of incredible sacrifice that concerns a young twenty-two year old girl who died facing the wild beasts in North Africa. She was revered in the early church and it is tragic that her memory has faded among Western Christians. Her name was Perpetua.

Perpetua came of age during the reign of Septimius Severus in Carthage. She, along with her brother and servant (Felicitas) and others were arrested on the charge of being Christian in A.D. 203. Her parents were not Christians and disapproved of her actions. Christians are most fortunate that Perpetua kept a diary of her time in prison and it has been preserved by an anonymous editor who included an account of her death in the arena. This classic is known as the Passio Perpetuae (in English The Passion of Perpetua)

Prison Drama

The scene opens with the twenty-two year old being counseled by her beloved father to make a simple concession to the Romans. She asks if a vase can be called anything but a vase? “No,” he replied. “Well, so too I cannot be called anything other than what I am, a Christian.” At this point in the story we learn that Perpetua is a new mother and has her baby with her.

Perpetua apparently had the gift of prophecy thus her brother asked if she was to die as a martyr. That evening she received a vision of a ladder and a vicious dragon. She comes to understand that the dragon is Satan himself and she will battle him in the arena. Indeed Satan returns in the person of her father. He appeals to her,

“Have pity on my grey head—have pity on my your father, if I deserve to be called your father … do not abandon me to the reproach of others. Think of your brothers, think of your mother and your aunt, think of your child, who will not be able to live once you are gone. Give up your pride! You will destroy all of us!” (5).

Hilarianus, the governor apparently did not want to kill Perpetua either. He called on her and said, “have pity on your father’s grey head; have pity on your infant son. Offer the sacrifice for the welfare of the emperors.” “I will not” she retorted. “Are you a Christian?” asked Hilarianus. She answered forthrightly, “Yes, I am.” The governor had her father beaten in front of her in an act to get her to "come to her senses." She did not cave in.

On the “day of victory” as Perpetua calls it, she and her compatriots gathered together and exchanged the “kiss of peace.” Indicative of the great esteem she was held in two leaders of the church in Carthage meet her and appeal to her wisdom for guidance. Optatus, a bishop, and Aspasius “the presbyter and teacher” had let Christian love depart from their relationship. The beg her “make peace between us. For you have gone away and left us thus” (13).

Once in the arena Perpetua led the Christians in singing a psalm (which one is not stated). One by one the Christians, male and female, were murdered either by the animals or an Egyptian gladiator. A “mad heifer” had been “prepared by the Devil” to meet Perpetua. The animal rammed her and tossed her into the air tearing her clothing and exposing her thigh. She stood and fixed her clothing and straightened her hair “for it was not right that a martyr should die with her hair in disorder, lest she might seem to be mourning in her hour of triumph” (20). As she was being maimed she encouraged her compatriots, “You must all stand fast in the faith and love one another, and do not be weakened by what we have gone through.”

Perpetua end came at the hands of the Egyptian. Being struck with the sword the Egyptian stood in front of her and strangled her to death for the enjoyment of the mob.

Our anonymous editor concludes the Passion of Perpetua by saying “these new manifestations of virtue will bear witness to one and the same Spirit who still operates, and to God the Father almighty, to his Son Jesus Christ our Lord …”

Her Legacy

The story of Perpetua is filled with gripping pathos. More importantly her life and death empowered Christians to live as resident aliens in North Africa. She was praised by Augustine … and he did not always say the wisest things about women. I am proud to have Perpetua on the family tree. She is a woman whose sandals I am unfit to tie. What a woman of faith.

Shalom,

Bobby Valentine

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