An awesome rendition of one of the most recognized songs of the Christian faith
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body" -Sir Richard Steele
Reading helps us understand our world and our place within it. Being a person that is often alone at night, and a person that does not have cable/satellite tv, I find several hours each night that are "silent." Until recently I did not have internet at home either ... so how to fill that time? Well I read ... and watch movies if I can. Most of the books I read will be non-fiction (there are exceptions to this) and often religious/historical in nature. Here are a few works that I have enjoyed ...
Often when "we" think of American Indians the image of tee pees come to mind. A couple years ago I learned of the Anasazi, a people that flourished a thousand years ago. I took the girls to camp in Chaco Canyon in NM in the shadows of their ruins. What an awesome sight reminding me of pictures of Babylon or Ur! I just finished reading Kendrick Frazier's People of Chaco: A Canyon and Its Culture (revised and expanded). Frazier, and other scholars, dislike the term Anasazi however. These Americans were a sophisticated group of people with engineering and architectural skills that are amazing. Pueblo Bonita is a marvel that so few US Americans know about.
I have been on a "NT" backgrounds kick lately. I have read two very good but very different works recently in this area. Paul Barnett's older (1990s) Behind the Scenes of the New Testament (IVP) is an outstanding and sprightly composed work. It has lots of line drawings, maps and charts to help conceptualize the information. In eleven chapters he covers the history of the first century as it relates to the New Testament. Two outstanding chapters were "Why Was Jesus Remembered?" and "The Gospels" are worth the book. This is an ideal book for a Sunday School teacher, elder, preacher that does not want to get overwhelmed and has limited knowledge of the social context of early Christianity. Reading the Gospels, Acts and Epistles will be enriched by Barnett. I am always looking for a good solid work I can recommend for students and this is one.
Shaye J. D. Cohen's From the Maccabees to the Mishnah spotlights the specific subject of Jewish life, faith and practice in the centuries before and after Jesus. Unlike Barnett who follows a basic chronological approach throughout his work, Cohen divides his material into themes like Jews & Gentiles; Jewish Religion, Practices & Beliefs; Sectarian & Normative; and the Emergence of Rabbinic Judaism among others. Each chapter then develops its theme in a sort of chronological fashion. Written on a slightly different level than Barnett this work is still highly readable. One very helpful section is Cohen's exposition of how "most" Jews believed they should relate to the state and how that was rooted in Jeremiah's letter to the Captives in Babylon. Another helpful and illuminating section is his exposition of Christianity as a Jewish "sect." He convincingly shows (and succinctly) shows how Christianity, especially in Luke-Acts is seen as a "legitimate development of Judaism." The last chapter on the rise of Rabbinic Judaism ... a POST AD 70 development ... is rich. It is here that the eventual separation of "Christianity" from the "rabbis" is to be found. Cohen is right about the Jewish matrix of Jesus, Peter, James, John, and especially Paul. This is one of those books that should be absorbed by serious New Testament students.
Steve Mason's Josephus and the New Testament is a very helpful book. He notes that Josephus is a "perennial bestseller, much loved, occasionally quoted, hardly ever read." Mason believes that Josephus is the "most significant non-biblical writer for NT interpretation." If this is so then why is that so few actually read Josephus? Because the works of Josephus are more extensive than the Hebrew Bible itself, because he seems to ramble "endlessly" in places; and the most accessible edition of Josephus (Whiston's) is as old as the KJV! Mason, a Josephus scholar, envisions his book as a "road map" to the mass that is Josephus. He guides us first into the proper use and the often shoddy "abuse" of Josephus (he is especially critical of some earlier 20th century scholarship). Then he introduces us to the man himself and his writings. He looks at "Whose Who in the New Testament World" as Josephus sees them. His chapter on Josephus and Luke/Acts is very good. I enjoyed this book very much and for those who wish to "dig" deeper in the word and pay attention to the "context" of the Living Word and how that is witnessed to in the written word this will be a valuable tool.
Blessings as we all strive to be better students of the word ...
Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
Reading helps us understand our world and our place within it. Being a person that is often alone at night, and a person that does not have cable/satellite tv, I find several hours each night that are "silent." Until recently I did not have internet at home either ... so how to fill that time? Well I read ... and watch movies if I can. Most of the books I read will be non-fiction (there are exceptions to this) and often religious/historical in nature. Here are a few works that I have enjoyed ...
Often when "we" think of American Indians the image of tee pees come to mind. A couple years ago I learned of the Anasazi, a people that flourished a thousand years ago. I took the girls to camp in Chaco Canyon in NM in the shadows of their ruins. What an awesome sight reminding me of pictures of Babylon or Ur! I just finished reading Kendrick Frazier's People of Chaco: A Canyon and Its Culture (revised and expanded). Frazier, and other scholars, dislike the term Anasazi however. These Americans were a sophisticated group of people with engineering and architectural skills that are amazing. Pueblo Bonita is a marvel that so few US Americans know about.
I have been on a "NT" backgrounds kick lately. I have read two very good but very different works recently in this area. Paul Barnett's older (1990s) Behind the Scenes of the New Testament (IVP) is an outstanding and sprightly composed work. It has lots of line drawings, maps and charts to help conceptualize the information. In eleven chapters he covers the history of the first century as it relates to the New Testament. Two outstanding chapters were "Why Was Jesus Remembered?" and "The Gospels" are worth the book. This is an ideal book for a Sunday School teacher, elder, preacher that does not want to get overwhelmed and has limited knowledge of the social context of early Christianity. Reading the Gospels, Acts and Epistles will be enriched by Barnett. I am always looking for a good solid work I can recommend for students and this is one.
Shaye J. D. Cohen's From the Maccabees to the Mishnah spotlights the specific subject of Jewish life, faith and practice in the centuries before and after Jesus. Unlike Barnett who follows a basic chronological approach throughout his work, Cohen divides his material into themes like Jews & Gentiles; Jewish Religion, Practices & Beliefs; Sectarian & Normative; and the Emergence of Rabbinic Judaism among others. Each chapter then develops its theme in a sort of chronological fashion. Written on a slightly different level than Barnett this work is still highly readable. One very helpful section is Cohen's exposition of how "most" Jews believed they should relate to the state and how that was rooted in Jeremiah's letter to the Captives in Babylon. Another helpful and illuminating section is his exposition of Christianity as a Jewish "sect." He convincingly shows (and succinctly) shows how Christianity, especially in Luke-Acts is seen as a "legitimate development of Judaism." The last chapter on the rise of Rabbinic Judaism ... a POST AD 70 development ... is rich. It is here that the eventual separation of "Christianity" from the "rabbis" is to be found. Cohen is right about the Jewish matrix of Jesus, Peter, James, John, and especially Paul. This is one of those books that should be absorbed by serious New Testament students.
Steve Mason's Josephus and the New Testament is a very helpful book. He notes that Josephus is a "perennial bestseller, much loved, occasionally quoted, hardly ever read." Mason believes that Josephus is the "most significant non-biblical writer for NT interpretation." If this is so then why is that so few actually read Josephus? Because the works of Josephus are more extensive than the Hebrew Bible itself, because he seems to ramble "endlessly" in places; and the most accessible edition of Josephus (Whiston's) is as old as the KJV! Mason, a Josephus scholar, envisions his book as a "road map" to the mass that is Josephus. He guides us first into the proper use and the often shoddy "abuse" of Josephus (he is especially critical of some earlier 20th century scholarship). Then he introduces us to the man himself and his writings. He looks at "Whose Who in the New Testament World" as Josephus sees them. His chapter on Josephus and Luke/Acts is very good. I enjoyed this book very much and for those who wish to "dig" deeper in the word and pay attention to the "context" of the Living Word and how that is witnessed to in the written word this will be a valuable tool.
Blessings as we all strive to be better students of the word ...
Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Here at Palo Verde we have been doing our 120 Days through the Bible. Last night in my Bible class we reviewed the reading since Sunday (Joshua 1-Judges 10). As we have gone through and read this material in God's word I have once again been struck by two significant facts that seeming smack us up side the head:
1) Yahweh is incredibly gracious, long suffering and merciful
2) God's People are incredibly rebellious, blind, disobedient, reach incredible LOWS ... it is hard to conceive of a LOWER point than in some of Judges. And yet though full of sin and apostasy they remain God's People.
Surely if that which was written before was for our learning we can learn something about the way God relates to his people. He calls them to a very HIGH ideal and deals with them with incredible long suffering and mercy.
Further when we look at the leaders of God's People from Joshua to Samson the quality seems fairly low (Joshua clearly being the best of the bunch but then there was the Gibeonite episode). If Samson showed up on my door step to ask my daughter out I'd call the cops!!! Yet the Lord of Grace did in fact use them and blessed their feeble efforts.
Now when I move from the history of God's people within Scripture to that of "profane" history and I see men like Martin Luther and ask myself how he would compare to Jepthah or Samson. Clearly he was mistaken (like Joshua whose mistake cost the ENTIRE people!) on stuff. Even important stuff. Yet I wonder if God changed how he looked at human beings from the time of Samson to Martin Luther? One wonders if Luther would have been satisfied with just one night of dew on the ground and a dry cloth? Or if Luther would have visited prostitutes before bringing a visitation to the Philistines? I am just wondering "out loud?" Are Luther's sins greater than those recorded in Judges when "every man did what was right in his own eyes." I wonder if the grace Samson found was denied to Luther?
Interestingly enough it is only in fairly recent times that restoration Christians decided that Luther was not much better than a pagan. Alexander Campbell could chastize those who CLAIMED the epitaph "Protestant" as traitors to Luther,
"O for another Luther, to lash the popery of false Protestants, who prefer implicit surrender of their own judgment to the decision of ... pretenders to divine wisdom ..."
In his debate with Rice, Campbell extolled his gratitude and respect not only on Martin Luther and John Calvin but their predecessors. Specifically of Luther and Calvin he says these astonishing words about Luther and Calvin. They,
"were God's chosen vessels to accomplish at the proper time a mighty moral revolution, whose might, sway and extended empire over the human mind and destinies of the world, have not yet been fully appreciated." (Campbell-Rice Debate, p. 587).
Those are interesting words. Now Campbell, someone will say was not inspired and I agree. His opinion matters for nothing right!!! However I think Campbell recognized something quite significant ... perfection of either understanding or practice is not what makes one a part of the family of God or makes a people the People of God. Could it be that Luther was in fact truly a disciple. That term is used to describe the "Way" that is the people of Jesus in the NT more than any other term (by a long way). It neither implies "arrivedness" or "perfection" ... rather the term implies the people of God are sophmoric and imperfect ... always learning and growing.
Thus I think Luther was in fact a disciple of Christ. How Luther's errors are worse than Israel's I fail to be able to discern ... but that is just me. Lord, we pray thee, to have mercy on our arrogance and our inability to even perceive YOUR work in the cracked pot Martin Luther.
Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
Tucson, AZ
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Since I began this blog on April 11, 2006 there have been many twists and turns in the life of this Stoned-Campbell Disciple. My family made the trek from the land of beer and cheese in Milwaukee to the land of Saguaros and Scorpions in the Arizona desert. We went from snow in April to sunburns in January!! We moved from one awesome congregation of the Lord's family to another. Along the way the Jobian experience of divorce ravaged the sanctity of my family. All along, in the happy times and the not so happy times, I have blended the personal with thoughts on biblical themes and opinions on contemporary life. I thank my readers who have been remarkably devoted for some reason. I get emails on almost a daily basis about my blog and for this I am grateful ... grateful that God has used it to bless someone somewhere out there. I plan on returning to a regular routine of blogging. I have worked on one for a long time and it has grown into something far beyond a blog post. That will appear very soon ...
But in the spirit of being on a journey and sharing my bad days and my good days I offer another page in the life of Bobby, Rachael and Talya Valentine. The readers that are on my Facebook will already know this but God has been faithful to me and my family. I praise him for the church family here in Tucson and back in Milwaukee. I have many friends that have loved me through the dark days.
As God blessed Job he has blessed me too with a new page ... a new "Day" in the on going life of Bobby V and family. My blessing is exactly five foot eight with long flowing dark brown hair and sparkling dark eyes. This blessing deeply loves the Lord, she can recite the shema in Hebrew, loves to laugh and cut up. She is compassionate and giving. She loves to ride my Harley through the mountains. She loves to jam to music (even Pink Floyd!). And get this she likes football. She is so beautiful that Song of Songs was probably written about her ... especially chapter 4! This blessing is named Tifani. She has blown my pea sized brain away!! We pray and read together ... it is wonderful. She has two children just like me (Avery and Evan). She has had some of the same experiences (sad ones) that befell the Valentines but she has not been embittered. Sometimes I am simply amazed at her capacity for grace! I have often talked about grace but she lives it. We have been dating since March of this year and interestingly enough we have known and had the same friends since high school...but never knew each other. Some things are simply mysterious!! Marvelously So!!!
To make a long story shorter I recently asked Tifani to be my wife. She said yes! I cannot begin to express how wonderful a person she is. After my divorce I dated a number of women after I could actually wrap my mind around that reality. They were all fine but I longed for something that would never be. Beyonce has a song called Halo that captures what Tifani did, or God did through Tifani ...
"Remember those walls I built
Well, baby they're tumbling down
And they didn't even put up a fight
They didn't even make up a sound
I found a way to let you in
But I never really had a doubt
Standing in the light of your halo
I got my angel now ...
Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I see your halo
You know your my saving grace ..."
Great song. Great words. For me that is. It is amazing how God can work and we do not even know it. Here are a few pictures of my gal pal ...
Enjoy the song and lyrics of Halo ... and Beyonce has a beautiful voice ...
Blessings,
Bobby V
But in the spirit of being on a journey and sharing my bad days and my good days I offer another page in the life of Bobby, Rachael and Talya Valentine. The readers that are on my Facebook will already know this but God has been faithful to me and my family. I praise him for the church family here in Tucson and back in Milwaukee. I have many friends that have loved me through the dark days.
As God blessed Job he has blessed me too with a new page ... a new "Day" in the on going life of Bobby V and family. My blessing is exactly five foot eight with long flowing dark brown hair and sparkling dark eyes. This blessing deeply loves the Lord, she can recite the shema in Hebrew, loves to laugh and cut up. She is compassionate and giving. She loves to ride my Harley through the mountains. She loves to jam to music (even Pink Floyd!). And get this she likes football. She is so beautiful that Song of Songs was probably written about her ... especially chapter 4! This blessing is named Tifani. She has blown my pea sized brain away!! We pray and read together ... it is wonderful. She has two children just like me (Avery and Evan). She has had some of the same experiences (sad ones) that befell the Valentines but she has not been embittered. Sometimes I am simply amazed at her capacity for grace! I have often talked about grace but she lives it. We have been dating since March of this year and interestingly enough we have known and had the same friends since high school...but never knew each other. Some things are simply mysterious!! Marvelously So!!!
To make a long story shorter I recently asked Tifani to be my wife. She said yes! I cannot begin to express how wonderful a person she is. After my divorce I dated a number of women after I could actually wrap my mind around that reality. They were all fine but I longed for something that would never be. Beyonce has a song called Halo that captures what Tifani did, or God did through Tifani ...
"Remember those walls I built
Well, baby they're tumbling down
And they didn't even put up a fight
They didn't even make up a sound
I found a way to let you in
But I never really had a doubt
Standing in the light of your halo
I got my angel now ...
Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I see your halo
You know your my saving grace ..."
Great song. Great words. For me that is. It is amazing how God can work and we do not even know it. Here are a few pictures of my gal pal ...
Enjoy the song and lyrics of Halo ... and Beyonce has a beautiful voice ...
Blessings,
Bobby V
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