Sep
24
Book Review: Blame It on the Brain?
Filed Under Books, Christian Living, Reading, Resources | Leave a Comment
Who needs a book that informs and equips people to minister biblically to people dealing with issues such as depression, dementia, alcoholism, Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD, and homosexuality? A better question is: Who doesn’t need such a book? We are blessed that such a book has been written: Blame It on the Brain? Distinguishing Chemical Imbalances, Brain Disorders, and Disobedience (P&R, 1998) by Dr. Edward T. Welch of Westminster Theological Seminary. Blame It on the Brain is part of the Resources for Changing Lives Series, published in cooperation with the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation of Glenside, Pennsylvania.
Welch’s book consists of two parts. In Part 1 he lays a biblical foundation for understanding brain-related problems. He begins by reaffirming the teaching of Scripture that we are a unity of material and immaterial substance–body and soul. In this discussion he also interacts briefly but helpfully with some of the history of Christian thought in this area. Welch sees four important emerging from his mind-body discussion: (1) The brain cannot make a person sin or keep a person from following Jesus in faith and obedience; (2) Each person’s abilities, including brain strengths and weaknesses, are unique and worthy of careful study; (3) Brain problems can expose heart problems; and (4) Sinful hearts can lead to physical illness, and upright hearts can lead to health.
In Part 2 Welch applies the aforementioned principles to common brain problems, such as diseases or damages which affect behavior, psychiatric problems, and behaviors that once were called sin but now are considered either sickness or normal. In these applications he seeks to provide the reader with a template for sympathetic counsel that distinguishes physical weaknesses from issues of the heart. He subdivides Part 2 into three sections: The Brain Did It, in which he examines dementia from Alzheimer’s disease and head injury, Maybe the Brain Did It, in which he explains principles relevant to psychiatric diagnoses such as depression and attention deficit disorder (ADD or ADHD), and The Brain Didn’t Do It, in which he focuses on homosexuality and alcoholism as behaviors that have long been considered sinful but recently have been reclassified as either normal (homosexuality) or the result of disease (alcoholism and many other addictions).
Welch provides a great deal of helpful information regarding the science of brain injury, as well as the still murky science of depression and psychiatric disorders. In cases of the latter, Welch argues that “it is neither sinful nor a sign of spiritual weakness to take medication [to treat depressive symptoms]“[126]. He points out, however, that there is no evidence that such medications treat specific chemical deficiencies that cause depression in people. Further, counsel fed and led by Scripture will help a person to distinguish between physical and spiritual symptoms and then address heart issues and personal suffering in light of the Gospel.
The Sweet Dropper considers this book essential reading for pastors and elders.
As a bonus here are the lyrics to the 1989 hit by the rightly-despised lip-synching duo Milli Vanilli, Blame It on the Rain (I know many of you have already been humming the tune while reading my review):
You said you didn’t need her
You told her good-bye (good-bye)
You sacrificed a good love
To satisfy your pride
Now you wished
That you should have her (have her)
And you feel like such a fool
You let her walk away
Now it just don’t feel the same
Gotta blame it on something
Gotta blame it on something
Blame it on the rain (rain)
Blame it on the stars (stars)
Whatever you do don’t put the blame on you
Blame it on the rain yeah yeah
You can blame it on the rain
Get
Ooh, ooh (ooh)
I can’t, I can’t. I can’t, can’t stand the rain
I can’t, I can’t. I can’t, can’t stand the rain
Yeah, yeah
Should’ve told her you were sorry (sorry) huh
Could have said you were wrong
But no you couldn’t do that. No, no
You had to prove you were strong ooh
If you hadn’t been so blinded (blinded)
She might still be there with you
You want her back again
But she just don’t feel the same
Gotta blame it on something
Gotta blame it on something
Blame it on the rain that was falling, falling
Blame it on the stars that did shine at night
Whatever you do don’t put the blame on you
Blame it on the rain yeah yeah
You can blame it on the rain
Cos the rain don’t mind
And the rain don’t care
You got to blame it on something
(Blame it on the rain)
(Blame it on the stars)
Whatever you do don’t put the blame on you
Blame it on the rain yeah, yeah
You can blame it on the rain
Girl
Sep
18
Book Review: Mighty Men
Filed Under Books, Christian Living, Family, Men, Reading | Leave a Comment
The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14: Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. John Crotts, pastor of Faith Bible Church in Sharpsburg, Georgia, has written a booklet aimed at spurring men on in that direction called Mighty Men: The Starter’s Guide to Leading Your Family [Sand Springs, OK: Grace & Truth Books, 2004].
In Mighty Men Crotts hopes to give men something of a kick in the pants, but also give them a set of basic tools to set about the work of demonstrating Christ-like love and solid spiritual leadership at home. He correctly identifies the idolatry of laziness and passivity that grips so many men for what it is–idolatry! He also groups with it the laziness of what he calls ‘the Dictator Dad’–the ‘me Tarzan, you Jane’ approach to headship, which some numbskulls (pardon my use of technical theological terms) confuse with biblical headship. Crotts also addresses with warmth and compassion what I call the intimidation factor of Christian leadership. He writes, “My assumption is that men are so overwhelmed by inflated expectations of spiritual leadership, they don’t even try to take responsibility for the spiritual well-being of their homes” [37]. Crotts encourages men to think of themselves as managers of their home, working under the sovereignty of the owner. He goes on to apply this in some very practical ways.
The strong points of Mighty Men include:
- It is a booklet–only about 40 pages long. In other words, it is short enough that a man might actually read it! Alas, this short attention span is the norm among the majority of our men, and we must pray and labor that God would cure them of this malady! But in the meantime, it’s good to accommodate teaching to the capacities of the hearers.
- He is simple and illustrative in the points he makes.
- He urges healthy Christian growth through the ordinary means of grace as the foundation for the development of Christian character.
- His advice about family worship and prayer/Bible reading with your wife is some of the best, most practical that I have read.
A booklet such as this one might be faulted for what it does not say, but that is not fair. He sets the matter squarely on the table and within reach of any man. Men must go deeper than Mighty Men will take them, but Crotts work is an excellent, succinct resource for men who need to put the shovel into the ground for the first time. It’s time to act like men.
Aug
28
Calvin, Hobbes, and Communicating
Filed Under Books, Christian Living, Fun | 2 Comments
I am a huge Calvin and Hobbes fan. So my interest was piqued when I saw Fred Sanders article entitle, What You Can Learn from Calvin and Hobbes about the Message and the Medium. In addition to being an excellent piece on the comic, it is also a thoughtful critique of mass marketing and Christianity. Check it out for a good read.
Aug
23
Say ‘ruminate’ around these parts, and people think about cows. That’s alright. OK, stop
thinking about cows for just a moment while I tell you about a quarterly arts and literature publication called Ruminate. It is a handsome, high-quality journal devoted to ‘faith in literature and art,’ the labor of some friends in Fort Collins, Colorado. And it is certainly worth a subscription and the time taken to drink it all in. The editors describe the Ruminate this way:
RUMINATE is a quarterly magazine for those who desire the space to share short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, and visual art that resonate with the complexity and truth of the Christian faith. Each issue is a themed forum for literature and art that speaks to the existence of our daily lives while nudging us toward a greater hope. Because of this, we strive to publish quality work accounting for the grappling pleas, as well as the quiet assurances of an authentic faith. RUMINATE Magazine was created for every person who has paused over a good word, a real story, a perfect brushstroke— longing for the significance they point us toward.
My friend Richard Rieves, pastor of Grace Church Presbyterian in Fort Collins, gave me a free sample in June at the PCA General Assembly (full disclosure: he gave it to me like the proud papa he is, for his daughter Whitney is a reader for the magazine). I have carried it around with me for weeks in my bag as a ‘just in case I’m stuck somewhere with nothing to read’ kind of thing. Last week, though, I pulled it out of the bag and sat down with it a cup of coffee (yes, chicory, in case you were wondering). I’m urging you to sample with me, but brew your own coffee, because the coffee maker here at FPC Kosciusko isn’t very big.
Jul
31
Book review: The Holy Trinity
Filed Under Apologetics, Books, Christian History, Holy Spirit, Worship | Leave a Comment
The best and most challenging class I took in seminary was an elective class during my final semester under my favorite professor, Dr. Douglas F. Kelly. The class was ‘The Doctrine of the Trinity.’ The lectures and the reading were like hiking in high elevation–awe-inspiring, humbling views, but the oxygen was thin and I tired easily. Murray Garrott and I co-wrote a paper on ‘The Trinity and Personhood’ which was not all that great, but I managed to do well on the oral exam at the end. Those who want to catch the vistas these days have a great guide and companion along the mountain paths in Robert Letham’s The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship (P&R, 2004).
Letham is senior minister of Emmanuel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware, and adjunct professor of systematic theology at Westminster Seminary and the Washington/Baltimore extension of Reformed Theological Seminary. His book is divided into four parts: 1) Biblical foundations, 2) historical development, 3) modern discussion, and 4) critical issues (the incarnation, worship and prayer, creation and missions, and persons). While writing from a Reformed perspective, Letham interacts with theologians from all periods of church history and from a wide variety of backgrounds, from East and West, from Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
Most Christians do not have a biblically solid and precise understanding of the Trinity, finding it all ‘a mathematical conundrum, full of imposing philosophical jargon, relegated to an obscure alcove, remote from daily life’ (1). Letham is not attempting to write a ‘Trinity made simple’ book, but one that is thoroughly biblical and wide-ranging in its survey of the doctrines development and implications. For example, Letham observes that in Eastern Christianity (e.g., the Greek and Russian orthodox churches) there has been a tendency to fall into the error of subordinationism, viewing the Son and the Holy Spirit as deriving from the Father and thus not quite as much ‘God’ as the Father. In Western Christianity (Roman Catholicism and the Protestant churches) the tendency has been toward modalism, blurring or eclipsing the personal distinctions so as to view God as a single person who simple manifests himself at different times as Father, Son and Spirit.
All of this has daily significance because Christian experience of God and communion with God is inescapably Trinitarian. The design, accomplishment, and application of our redemption is a work of all three persons of the one true God. The Father, Son and Spirit are vitally united to worship and prayer. Letham presents a deep and thrilling case that embracing a full Trinitarian theology equips us to engage Islam and post-modernism with the claims of the Gospel, to engage Darwinism and pagan environmentalism with the biblical vision of order, coherence, unity and diversity in the universe, and end manipulation and lovelessness in our relationships with others. The ‘critical issues’ section of the book are worth the effort of working through the thicker parts of the historical development sections.
A Prayer from Service Book of the Syrian-Antiochene Orthodox Church, the all-night vigil service, the third hour:
Glory to thee, our God; glory to thee,
O heavenly King, the Comforter, Spirit of Truth, who are in all places and fill all things;
Treasury of good things and Giver of life:
come and take up thy abode in us,
and cleanse us from every stain; and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal One, have mercy upon us.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal One, have mercy upon us.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal One, have mercy upon us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
O all-holy Trinity, have mercy on us.
O Lord, wash away our sins.
O Master, pardon our transgressions.
O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
now and ever, unto ages of ages. Amen.
Jul
24
Book Review: Here I Stand
Filed Under Books, Christian History | Leave a Comment
I admit a lifelong aversion to all things historical and biographical. Whether it was a bad history teacher in high school or my own generational arrogance I cannot say. However, Hebrews 11 is having its way with me. I am growing in my appreciation of biography and history as I read more of it, especially as it relates to the history of the church. Despite my aversion to all things historic, I have known from very early on in my Christian growth that I should spend time at some point studying the life of Martin Luther. If you are a Protestant of any flavor, there is no excuse for not knowing at least a cursory amount of information on the universally recognized father of the Reformation. It was this growing love for history combined with a nagging guilt of Luther ignorance that lead me to read Here I Stand: A life of Martin Luther, by Roland Bainton.
I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Bad writers can ruin good history with relative ease. The life of Martin Luther is fascinating history. Bainton’s scholarship and writing style provides just the right setting to highlight the life of Luther in a way that avoids being cumbersome while at the same time providing rich depth. I read this book a chapter at a time over the course of a month, frequently finding myself sad to reach the end of a chapter and anxious to begin the next. Someone looking for an intricate scholarly analysis of Luther would find this book wanting but for the average minister or lay person, Bainton provides pleasurable readability.
Anybody who knows anything about Martin Luther knows that Luther had a propensity for being highly opinionated on a number of topics. His opinions have caused varying responses in people, some of whom rightly understand Luther’s historical context and some who do not. Luther’s vitriol poses difficulty for the biographer. Bainton handles Luther’s peculiar personality exceptionally well. He shows the very real internal struggles in Luther’s life that lead to the growth of this theology. He aptly shows the corruption of the Roman Catholic church to which Luther responded. There are places were Bainton openly confesses that Luther was overly sensitive and outright grumpy. At other times Bainton takes time to explain why a particular aggressive comment of Luther’s was justified in light of the ecclesiastical context of 16th century Germany and Europe.
I also appreciated Bainton’s decision to handle some parts of Luther’s life in chronological order while dealing with other issues on a topical basis. The book is mainly split in that order. The first half covers the chronology of Luther’s conflict with the Roman Catholic church. The latter part of the book deals with various themes in Luther’s life including the effect of his theology on marriage, state, and church.
I found three parts of this book especially interesting. First, I found Bainton’s portrayal of Luther to rightly show Luther’s desire to reform the church based on the Bible. I have heard Luther spoken of as a hot-headed reactionary who hated the church and wanted to start over based on his own ego-maniacal views of the Bible. Over and over again, through Luther’s own words and Bainton’s analysis you see Luther’s desire for the church to be built upon and nourished by the Word of God. It is for this cause that Luther was willing to fight, write, preach, and die. Secondly, Bainton did an excellent job describing the oddity of Luther’s depression. Luther is known commonly as a man who struggled with severe depression. What is odd about his depression is Luther’s enormous output in the midst of his darkest days. The most common symptom of depression is inactivity and withdrawal. Luther fought his depression with extreme exertion and a strong grasp on the Word of God. Certainly there is wisdom here for those who struggle with the darkness of depression. Lastly, I especially enjoyed the look at Luther’s marriage which Bainton provides. Luther’s profound effect on the Christian family may not even now be fully explored. To read the anecdotes of Martin and Katie’s marriage are at times humorous and other times profoundly meaningful and challenging. Many a mighty theologian has been shown to be an imbecile in his own home; for Luther this was not the case.
I cannot end my review without saying, “This book has pictures!” Let’s be honest, we really never make it past kindergarten. A good book should have pictures in it. Bainton has included in his biography over 100 illustrations of woodcuts taken from Luther’s own time. It was a pleasure to read the history as well as to see the art, sometimes beautiful sometimes satricial, that grew out of the conflicts in which Luther found himself.
In conclusion, I lay upon you the same guilt I felt before reading this book. Every Protestant should study the life of Martin Luther. He is the father of the Reformation. Given this mandate, the church is in desperate need of a good, readable biography, universally appealing to layman and minister alike. Bainton has provided the church with such a book. You are under obligation to read this book. It will do your soul good. And who knows when the church will again have need of men with the courage of Luther? This book serves Christian training that the church might find us ready should she need defending again.