The similar phrase 'Worldly Christianity' is one used by Bonhoeffer. It's J Gresham Machen that I want to line up most closely with. See his Christianity and culturehere. Having done commentaries on Proverbs (Heavenly Wisdom) and Song of Songs (Heavenly Love), a matching title for Ecclesiastes would be Heavenly Worldliness. For my stance on worldliness, see 3 posts here.
Nearby Kenwood House has a special exhibition on at the moment, so we went with my visiting son and his wifeyesterday. The small exhibition is made up almost exclusively of portraits. These are all the work of John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) who died a hundred years ago this year. Apparently, between 1870 and 1914, 102 American women married into the British aristocracy. Often dubbed "dollar princesses" these women, typically heiresses from wealthy American families, exchanged their fortunes for titles and social status within the British upper class. I recognised many of the names of the featured individuals, sometimes married more than once - Astor, Chamberlain, Colgate, Curzon, Playfair, Vanderbilt, etc. These portraits - many in charcoal but some full oils - have been pulled in from all over (Boston, Dublin, Houston, Washingtn, etc) and it is a rare treat to see so many gathered together like this. The exhibition goes on to October 5. (Nice to see the Vermeer, Rembrandt, Gainsborough, etc, again).
Genesis 10:19 and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon towards/toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then towards/toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.
Genesis 15:17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking brazier/firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some ears of corn/heads of grain and eat them.
Matthew 26:34 This very night, before the cock/rooster crows, you will disown me three times
Luke 17:35 Two women will be grinding corn/grain together; one will be taken and the other left.
John 9:6 After saying this, he spat/spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.
Acts 17:9 Then they put Jason and the others on bail/made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.
Acts 27:27 They took soundings and found that the water was forty metres/a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was thirty metres/ninety feet deep.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives among you/dwells in your midst?
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy/empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin.
This week is a bit different and so I took Monday off, the traditional ministers' day off. I took opportunity to head down to Benjamin Franklin's House near Charing Cross. Like most of these places, there is not that much to see and you have to use your imagination. However, it was in this very parlour that Franklin entertained American ambassadors, on these very stairs he carried his dumb bells and before these very windows he would parade naked to dry himself after his bath. They also have a glass armonica, his invention, the very one used for the Harry Potter music. The man who showed us round, American, was quite knowledgeable but not pushy. Sadly, it was only me and a couple from Texas present. After that I kept up the American theme and had a burger in a Five Guys round the corner. A seventies theme was playing out on the music system so after listening to Thin Lizzy we had the whole of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven (the subject of our tract last Saturday). That was nice. Through the day I read most of Penelope Fitzgerald's masterful The Gate of Angels. I also managed my 10,000 steps for once. Watched some TV in the evening.
1 A horse with no name (America) 2 Turn turn turn (Byrds) 3 Hotel California (Eagles) 4 Give a little bit (Supertramp) 5 Free fallin' (Tom Petty) 6 Stairway to heaven (Led Zeppelin) 7 Maggie May (Rod Stewart) 8 Space Oddity (Davi Bowie) 9 More than a feeling (Boston) 10 Pinball Wizard (The Who)
I was attracted to this book by its nice cover and its title. I didn't really take in that it was by Ralph Nader whose name I am vaguely aware of as a many times US presidential candidate. It turns out that he is an American political activist of Lebanese origin who has written many books. This one is partly a trip down memory lane. He picks out lessons learned form his family and sums them up in 17 chapters of what he calls traditions. The book is devoid of any Christian content but at certain points the values do match things upheld in Scripture. The utopian description he gives of growing up in New England can cloy at certain points but it is a pleasant and thought provoking effort.
The 17 traditions are as follows
1.The Tradition of Listening
2.The Tradition of the Family Table
3.The Tradition of Health
4.The Tradition of History
5.The Tradition of Scarcity
6.The Tradition of Sibling Equality
7.The Tradition of Education and Argument
8.The Tradition of Discipline
9.The Tradition of Simple Enjoyments
10.The Tradition of Reciprocity
11.The Tradition of Independent Thinking
12.The Tradition of Charity
13.The Tradition of Work
14.The Tradition of Business
15.The Tradition of Patriotism
16.The Tradition of Solitude
17.The Tradition of Civics
[Pearl] Zane Grey (1872–1939) was another American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that were a basis for the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealised the American frontier. Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) was his best-selling book. In addition to the commercial success of his printed works, they had second lives and continuing influence when adapted as films and television productions. As of 2012, 112 films, two TV episodes, and a TV series (Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater) had been made that were based loosely on Grey's novels and short stories. Wikipedia lists over 90 of his books mostly westerns. He was one of the first millionaire authors.
Nora Summers, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
1. Dylan Thomas Welsh. He was born in Swansea in 1914. 2. His middle name was Marlais, which means 'voice of the Sea'. Dyaln also menas something like son of the wave and so both names are apt as the sea was to be a recurring theme throughout much of his work, especially in 'Under Milk Wood'. 3. His father was Senior English Master at Swansea Grammar School. 4. His wife's name was Caitlin Macnamara. Born in Hammersmith, London, in 1913, she was of Irish descent. They married in 1937 and had three children (Llewelyn, Aeronwy and Colum). It was a very stormy relationship. They lived in Laugharne 1938-1940 and New Quay in 1944 and 1945. 5. They were introduced by Welshman Augustus John, who painted Thomas's portrait in 1937 and 1938 (Alfred Janes and Rupert Shephard also produced portraits). 6. He is one of the Beatles' heroes (John's?) on the cover for the Sgt Pepper album, gave Bob Dylan part of his name and has had his poems set to music by Welshman John Cale. 7. His 1940 work 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog' humorously parodies the title of James Joyce's 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' published 24 years earlier. 8. His most celebrated work was 'Under Milk Wood', subtitled a play for voices. It was in fact commissioned as a radio play. It was broadcast in January 1954 (having been previously performed on stage in New York in May 1953). 9. Under Milk Wood was narrated famously by Richard Burton. Sir Anthony Hopkins later did it too. Burton and Hopkins, born 1925 and 1937 respectively, were both from the Port Talbot area of South Wales. 10. Dylan Thomas died in New York in 1953. He was only 39. He was undertaking a lecture tour of the USA at the time. Caitlin arrived at the hospital shortly before his death. She was institutionalised for a while after. His excessive drinking led to pneumonia. (Nick Cave's 2012 song "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" includes the line "Dylan Thomas/he died drunk/in St. Vincent's Hospital".)
A friend in Cyprus recommended the book American Indian by the late R J Rushdoony recently on Goodreads and I was able to pick up a kindle version very cheaply (see here). It is a collection of 20 slightly overlapping essays on the subject from various times. if you grew up in the sixties like me, playing cowboy and Indians and watching old westerns on TV then you will already be interested in the subject. Rushdoony lays some myths to rest and writes sympathetically towards the native American and deprecatingly of most US government attempts to "solve the problem". Some of his assertions may sound controversial if you are not a aware of or sympathetic too the wider work of his Chalcedon Foundation. The essays are well written and a well thought out and will repay reading to any thinking Christian, whether the needs of native Americans are high on your agenda of interests or not. It would be good to hear that other Rushdoony materials currently hidden away in old magazines are being given similar treatment. The editorial work on this volume is of a high standard. PS If you're worried not a trace of theonomy or even post-millennialism in these pages.
Underhills, Raines (the Raines are in our front room, of course, or may be not)
When I was a boy we didn't have many visitors and when any did come it was always a special occasion that I enjoyed. I've tried to think why. It's not just that we would often have cake I'm sure. It was more the novelty of having someone fresh in our home talking away about different things. There is an argument to say that time more or less stands still when you have visitors. You have to catch up eventually, of course, but while the visit lasts it's "magic time".
I say this following two welcome visits last weekend from overseas visitors. First, last Saturday we had our friends Mark and Abby Raines here with their children. Mark studied at LTS some while ago and then served as an assistant here for a year before heading to America, where they have been for the last 10 years. Abby is from the Philippines and they met in London. Mark works in the Reformed Baptist Church in Holland, Michigan. They have been over celebrating his parents fiftieth anniversary. it was great to see them.
Then last Monday we had a welcome visit from Keith and Priscilla Underhill from Nairobi, Kenya. Keith was a student in Aberystwyth once upon a time but has spent his life preaching the gospel in Kenya and is a latter day Apostle to Kenya, if we can use that phrase without any non-cessationist overtones. It was my privilege to preach there the year before last. They have been visiting their grown up children and others in America and the UK and very kindly popped into visit us en route from Hayes to Southend. They seem to be thinking of retirement back here in a couple of years time
James Fenimore Cooper 1789-1851 was a prolific and popular writer whose historical romances of frontier and Indian life in the early American days created a unique form of American literature. He lived most of his life in Cooperstown, New York, established by his father. A life long Episcopalian, he attended Yale but dropped out after three years, discontented with college life. He then served in the US Navy as a Midshipman, something that informs many of his writings. He is best remembered as a novelist, his most famous work being The Last of the Mohicans which I confess I have never read.
President Obama is, of course, famously linked with Kenya. The name Obama has become very popular there though I met none with the name. i saw an advert for Kenyan TV's broadcast of the royal wedding next week with the tag line "it started in Kenya". William evidently proposed in Kenya.
The Summer School of Theology is currently on at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. I was not able to be there for the Wednesday meetings but was present for part of Tuesday. I missed Jack Seaton and much of what John Thackway had to say. The final afternoon session was taken by Dr Masters himself. One of the concerns this year is to attack the new Calvinistic movement because of its questionable stand on Reformed worship and traditional views of worldliness. Dr Masters, as so often, was quite negative and his message turned into something of a rant.
My ears perked up when he mentioned blogs. He described two Reformed ministers discussing on their blogs which was the better performer, Elvis Presley or another. I would guess it is a reference to something that took place between Martin Downes and Gary Benfold. As far as Dr Masters is concerned we should have nothing to do with such things. One can see his point even if one does not agree on his idea of guilt by association. I suppose it is the public nature of blogs that has brought the subject into sharp relief and I must confess that I had to ask myself a few questions (as I am often doing when blogging). If someone tunes into this blog and finds a Marc Bolan video here, it is possible that they could assume that I am supportive of everything the man ever did. That, however, is not the case, anymore than if I feature Mozart of Tchaikovski. Indeed, if that were not the case it would be difficult to do much. Just because Dr Masters gives a platform to paedobaptist Joel Beeke I don't assume he has abandoned his Baptist position. If he watched England play soccer and cheered for them, I wouldn't assume he was condoning the antics of John Terry and others.
I am reluctant to say anything but having sat through it I thought I ought to make some response, however much less holy I would guess I am than Dr Masters.
Anyway the evening session was an excellent one - much more positive and in the end much more searching. Joel Beeke took us to the puritans on holiness and was teeming over with good and challenging things to say.
It was good to chat with him and others in the tea interval. It is amazing who you meet. It was good to bump into friends from India, Romania, Guernsey and the USA as well as your usual more UK types. Rhodri was with me and he bumped into people he knew too, which was nice. We also had chance to hear about the work in Baldock under Jonathan Northern, an attempt to repeat the Met Tab approach in a much more rural Hertfordshire setting.
Rhodri and I went to see the film Good hair the other day. This fascinating film is a documentary feature film starring the (usually foul mouthed - but not here) African American comedian Chris Rock. It all started when his daughter said she wished she had good hair.
The film is an exploration of the African American hair industry (20% of the population 80% of the money spent on hair products) with a hairdressers competition in Atlanta, Georgia as the central theme. From relaxing hair with dangerous chemicals through to the use of expensive weaves made from hair sacrificed to Hindu gods, the whole story is a weird and wonderful one. If you see this film you will never look at a black woman's hair in the same way!
A 12A, there has to be a brief warning but for the most part this film managed to be decent, very entertaining, quite funny and very much out of left field. Rock is desperate not to be judgmental but it is difficult.
Fascinating.
PS Before anyone else comments, yes the irony of being there as a white male who is bald was not lost on me.
I've been reading about the forgotten Andrew Reed. He made a trip to America and wrote about it in 1836. In a fascinating and understated passage we read as follows.
We had a conference with the pastors here; and afterwards went to the church, which is enriched with the remains of Whitefield. The elders of the church were present in the porch to receive us. We descended to the vault. There were three coffins before us. Two pastors of the church lay on either side; and the remains of Whitefield in the centre. The cover was slipt aside, and they lay beneath my eye. I had before stood in his pulpits; seen his books, his rings, and chairs; but never before had I looked on part of his very self. The skull, which is perfect, clean, and fair, I received, as is the custom, into my hand. I could say nothing; but thought and feeling were busy. On returning to the church, I proposed an exercise of worship. We collected over the grave of the eloquent, the devoted, and seraphic man, and gave expression to the sentiments that possessed us, by solemn psalmody and fervent prayer. It was not an ordinary service to any of us. More care should be taken to preserve these remains, and less freedom used in the exhibition of them.
My parents were Perry Como fans and I think of this song from time to time. As a fan of punning I think this is very funny and hard to beat.
Oh, what did della wear boy,
What did della wear?
What did della wear boy,
What did della wear?
She wore a brand new jersey (3)
Thats what she did wear.
One, two, three, four! (English)
Oh, why did calla phone ya,
Why did calla phone?
Why did calla phone ya,
Was she all alone?
She called to say how are ya (3)
Thats why she did call.
Uno, dos, tres, cuatro! (Spanish)
Oh, what did mrs sip, boy,
What did mrs sip?
What did mrs sip, boy,
Through her pretty lips?
She sipped a mini-soda (3)
Thats what she did sip.
Un, deux, trois, quatre! (French)
Oh, where as Ore gone, boy,
Where has Ore gone?
If you want, Ill ask 'er,
I'll ask 'er where she's gone
She went to pay her taxes (3)
That's where she has gone.
Eins, zwei, drei, vier! (German)
Oh, how did wiscon sin, boy,
She stole a new brass key,
Too bad that arkan saw, boy,
And so did tenne see?
It made poor flora die, boy,
It made poor flora die, you see,
She died in misery, boy,
She died in misery.
Oh, what did della wear boy,
What did della wear?
What did della wear boy,
What did della wear?
States mentioned (15 of 50): Delaware, New Jersey, California, Hawaii, Mississippi, Minnesota, Oregon, Alaska, Texas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, Missouri.
It appears to be a traditional and there are other verses. Eg (another 8 - Idaho, Maryland, Iowa, Washington, Oklahoma, Connecticut, the Dakotas)
Oh, what did Ida hoe, boy …. She hoed her merry land, boy
Oh, what did Io weigh, boy … She weighed a washing ton, boy
Oh, where has Ore gone, boy … She's gone to okla home, boy
And
How did Connecti cut, boy … He cut with his arkan saw
What else did Delaware, boy …. She wore her northda coat, boy (or southda)
That leaves 28. I can manage another 18:
What does Ohi owe, boy?
He owes the bill you toreWhat does Ohi owe, boy?
That much again and more.
Oh, why did Massa choose it ... Because he are 'is ownerOh, why did Ala bar me ... Cause I was ill in Oy, boy
Just where I rode I landed ... Right in de aniseed, boy
Oh, can Sas find some space, boy? Can Tucky show a care?
Oh, Lou is 'e a nat'ral?
But for his pencil vain, yeah
Oh, why d'ya call Orado?Oh why O Ming, oh why?
It's the main thing when I sit
For this I'll never die!
In my reading I recently came across a reference to a book I was unaware of. Published in 1682 in America, it is called The Sovereignty and Goodness of God ... Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.
Relatively little is known about Rowlandson (1637-1711). Wikipedia says she was a colonial American woman born Mary White in England and who lived in the frontier village of Lancaster, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of one of the town's founding fathers and she married Joseph Rowlandson in 1656. Her husband was ordained a Puritan minister in 1660. At sunrise, on February 10, 1676, during King Philip's War, the bloodiest war in American colonial history, Lancaster came under attack by a band of Naragansett Indians. She was the mother of three: Joseph, Mary and Sarah, and was among the hostages taken that day. For 11 weeks and five days she was forced to accompany her captors as they fled through the wilderness to elude the colonial militia, under what she describes as horrible conditions. In simple, artless prose she recounts the stages of the odyssey in 20 distinct "Removes" or journeys. She witnessed the murder of her friends, the death of one of her children, and suffered starvation and depression, until she was finally reunited with her husband. On May 2, 1676, she was ransomed for £20 raised by the women of Boston in a public subscription, and paid by John Hoar of Concord at Redemption Rock in Princeton. During her captivity, Mary's youngest child, Sarah, died, while the remaining two were separated from her; nevertheless, Rowlandson continued to seek guidance from the Bible - the text of her narrative is replete with verses and references describing conditions similar to her own. She saw her trial as a test of faith and considered the "Indians" to be "instruments of Satan". Her final escape, she tells us, taught her "the more to acknowledge His hand and to see that our help is always in Him." Until recently, it has been assumed that she died before her narrative was published. However, more recent historical research indicates that Mary Rowlandson re-married after the death of her husband and lived as Mary Talcott till January 1711, thus reaching an age of approximately 73 years. The book, however, not only became one of the era's best-sellers, going through four editions in one year, but also earned her an important place in the history of American literature. Her book is a frequently-cited example of a captivity narrative, an important American literary genre used by James Fennimore Cooper, Ann Bleecker, John Williams and James Seaver. Because of Rowlandson's intimate relationship with her Indian captors, her book also is interesting for its treatment of cultural contact. Finally, in its use of autobiography, typology, and in its homage to the Jeremiad, Rowlandson's book helps the reader understand the Puritan mind.
A tough-minded, independent woman, she never lost her faith in God while dwelling in a "lively semblance of hell." A modern writer has said "Her voice is singular — one of the first strong voices of a woman writing about her experience in North America — and her memoir became a model for later writers, who often wrote about periods of crisis that were also times of spiritual transformation." Below is the extract that struck me. There is more here.
By their noise and hooping they signified how many they had destroyed (which was at that time 23) those that were with us at home, were gathered together as soon as they heard the hooping, and every time that the other went over their number, these at home gave a shout, that the very earth rang again. And thus they continued till those that had been upon the expedition were come up to the Saggamor's wigwam; and then, oh the hideous, insulting and triumphing that there was over some English mens scalps, that they had taken (as their manner is) and brought with them. I cannot but take notice of the wonderful mercy of God to me in those afflictions, in sending me a Bible: One of the Indians that came from Medfield fight, and had brought some plunder, came to me, and asked me if I would have a Bible, he had got one in his basket, I was glad of it, and asked him if he thought the Indians would let me read? He answered 'yes' so I took the Bible, and in that melancholy time it came into my mind to read first the 28th Chapter of Deuteronomy, which I did, and when I had read it, my dark heart wrought on this manner, that there was no mercy for me, that the blessings were gone, and the curses came in their room, and that I had lost my opportunity. But the Lord helped me still to go on reading, till I came to Chapter 30, the seven first verses; where I found there was mercy promised again, if we would return to him, by repentance; and though we were scattered from one end of the earth to the other, yet the Lord would gather us together, and turn all those curses upon our enemies. I do not desire to live to forget this Scripture, and what comfort it was to me.
We are aware of a limited number of Native American words in our vocabulary. Some are not every day words (such as the Algonquin Tomahawk [axe weapon and now missile]; Wigwam [His house - a Native American dwelling] and the Cree word squaw). Apart from place names most of the words seem to be from two Algonquian languages - Algonquin and Cree (my attributions may well be wrong - don't write).
Algonquin
1. Caribou - a type of reindeer 2. Caucus - advisor - a political committee 3. Moccasins - shoes 4. Pecan - a type of nut 5. Racoon - a nocturnal animal Cree 6. Moose - North American elk 7. Pow wow - he dreams - A big meeting (originally a medicine man's conference). 8. Skunk - American carnivore that emits a strong smell 9. Squash - the vegetable 10. Chipmunk - North American ground squirrel
From Algonquin we also get terrapin (a freshwater tortoise) and from Cree, Eskimo (eaters of raw flesh. Eskimos call themselves "Inuit"); Opossum (small tree-dwelling American marsupial).
Other words worth noting here are toboggan (Micmac), totem (Ojibwa) and Tepee (Sioux).
