The Riches of the Psalter

We had an excellent evening of discussion last Thursday with a record setting four of us present. We've added one person per month since the start of this academic year, which means that by May we should have 9 participants (we're skipping a December meeting)! I don't know where they'll all come from, however, with so many of you in the States. No matter the final tally, we're growing and the discussion is more and more lively the more people we add.

Seriously though, Andy, Denis, Alister and I spent the whole time trying to get a good handle on the canonical approach to the Psalter. Denis is well-versed in recent Psalms studies and most of the time was spent listening to his clear and convincing proposals. We didn't discuss the Leslie McFall article that I sent out mostly because Denis didn't like it as it was counter to his theories. Alister added insights from the academy, being the most recent of us to have graduated from seminary. Andy and I listened and asked clarification questions, being the least familiar with the canonical approach. It would have been nice to have Jon and Rick with us as they are in-the-know — Jon especially when it comes to the Psalms.

I must admit that my question is still unanswered. Being that the Psalter, as we have it, was ordered after the Psalms were composed (soon or long after does not matter), how exactly are we supposed to apply the results of the canonical approach when we study, teach and preach the Psalms? I'm especially concerned with this for two reasons. Firstly, it seems that Denis' presentation of the canonical approach, McFall's article, which contradicts the canonical approach in a number of ways and the admission that canonical theologians don't all agree with one another leaves us with a certain degree of uncertainty regarding the purpose of the order of the Psalter, as we have it. [Aside: I apologize for my misuse of terminology on Thursday. I made it seem like there was uncertainty about the order of the Psalms. Of course there isn't. The canonical order is the order we have. The uncertainty exists in determining the intent of the complier(s).] If there is such uncertainty, I find it hard to apply the fruits of the approach in my hermeneutics and exposition, especially in light of the fact that we're not even dealing with the Psalms themselves, only their order.

Which leads to my second concern. Denis, and apparently others in the canonical school (if I'm understanding them correctly) seem to propose that we can know very little ("next to nothing") of the historical setting of the individual Psalms, thus making it necessary to focus on each Psalm's place in the Canon to determine how we should study, interpret and preach it. This seems to fly in the face of the authorial intent that we've been placing a high priority on in this blog and that I consider crucial to any legitimate hermeneutic. Now we're talking about compiler intent and I have a much harder time applying my own understanding of the inspiration, inerrancy, clarity and authority of Scripture to a compiler. I'd like to hear a little more on this issue before I could embrace the canonical approach in my own research.

But now to the point. No matter which view one takes, we all come away with true and deep riches from the Psalms that are divinely used to encourage, challenge, rebuke and comfort us. This doesn't mean that we should become relativists as far as the Psalms are concerned. By no means! I think we'd all agree that we should continue to strive for truth and integrity in our Psalms study. But in that striving God is gracious and patient with us simpletons as we humbly try to find the truth that He intends for us, His people.

Here is Dilbert's contribution to the authorial intent issue. Click on the comic to make it bigger. I hope you all have a nice Thanksgiving.

From the Shroud to the Psalms

The three of us who met last month had a great time discussing the merits of the Shroud of Turin, the merits of the arguments put forth by Habermas and the Basingers as well as the merits of several criticisms of the Shroud's authenticity. We also watched an intriguing film on the Shroud that Jason conveniently had in his collection. Way to go Jason!

[side note 1: You get tons of extra credit for Theological Discussion Group if you can bring video to go with the discussion. However, if you bring video and it is boring then you have to bring the snacks to the following meeting. Choose carefully!]

In any case, the articles, film and discussion left me hungry for more, albeit with no time to spend feasting on all of the relevant materials. I find myself fairly convinced of the Shroud's authenticity but I am still uncertain as to how I would go about integrating it into any sort of apologetic presentation. We all seemed to have a little different take on whether and how to do so.

For anyone wanting more to chew on regarding the Shroud, you must visit this site. For anyone familiar with the common objections to the Shroud's authenticity, you should read this article specifically. I was floored by how much material is on this site and I was thoroughly impressed by how reasonable Sorensen's article is and by how convincing his answers are to the many objections that have been raised against the Shroud. If you prefer the "inference to the best explanation" approach to defending Christianity, this article will appeal to you.

[side note 2: You will be surprised at how widely accepted and promoted the popular criticisms of the Shroud are when, in fact, many of them have been revealed to be based on false claims. Shroud "experts" put forth bad evidence against the Shroud that actual Shroud experts dismissed 20 years ago or more.]

But now we move to the Psalms. My teaching gig in L'vov last week and the American Thanksgiving holiday this week require that we meet on Thursday, November 29. You all should have Denis' article on the Psalms to read for that meeting. It is still my goal to get another article out for us to consider. Look for it in the next few days. In the meantime practice your Russian on Denis' article, I'm sure it will require the best from each of us (except for the native speakers, of course). And we can never study the Psalms too much so, if you find something that you want to add to the discussion, get it to me to pass out or simply bring it with you next Thursday. May the result be that we are as honest and honoring as are the Psalmists when we converse with our amazing God.

Thoughts on the Scriptorium Daily

Evening all!

Eric awhile back recommended the Scriptorium Daily as a good blog, and one related to Biola. So I have looked at it occasionally. There are some good articles, interesting thoughts. I wanted to react to two articles briefly. First, by John Mark Reynolds regarding J. K. Rowlings revelation that Dumbledor in the Harry Potter books was gay.

The first comment I would make was my surprise about how Christian he felt like the books are in overall structure and theme. I have not read the books, but know people who have. And the ending of the seventh book especially has some strong Christian parallels. It's just that, after hearing the books so demonized, to have him say that was surprising. I do not necessarily disagree, and this is in no way a protest. I am just saying I was surprised.

However, another comment he made was about the relationship between J. K. Rowling and her books at the present time caught my attention. Reynolds said this:

"No offense to an excellent author, but Dumbledore no longer belongs only to Rowling. He also belongs to her readers who have been given a series of books in which Rowling was free to say what she wanted to say. She wrote about Christianity openly by Book Seven, but if Dumbledore was gay, she decided to hide it. She hid it so well that there is no evidence of it."

Reynolds goes on to talk briefly about the obvious implications for Scriptural interpretation and authorial intent, but I don't think he addresses fully the problems that he is creating. To simply say that because there is no explicit evidence of Dumbledore's homosexuality in the books, therefore it doesn't matter what the author now says, to me overlooks the inherent ambiguity in many texts. It is simply a fact that some texts can be read from two very different perspectives, and in fact it is only the clearly expressed authorial intent that can settle it. For instance, we don't know against whom Paul was writing in his letters to the Romans, the Colossians, or in the Pastorals. There are verses where a better understanding of the enemy could better inform us as to his meaning and emphasis. I feel like the lack of clear evidence in a text one way or the other leaves options open rather than closing them. And authorial intent leaves them certain. I say that books still belong to Rowling, just like Paul's still belong to him. And yes, I am against homosexuality.

Now, the second article I wanted to comment on is the article called "Faith is Nothing," by Matt Jenson. I disagree. I think faith is something. I see his argument as a futile philosophical reduction that ignores both the Biblical text (see all of Romans 4, not just the beginning) and the theology of what the goal of salvation actually is. I think faith is something, and that it's being something is no way a threat to God's work, sovereignty or anything else. And I think that Luther, Calvin and Edwards (not to mention Paul) would agree with me.

Shrouded in Methodology

If you've read the articles I sent out by Gary Habermas and the Basingers regarding the Shroud of Turin, you now know that their discussion isn't about the general authenticity of the Shroud, as I had hoped. Rather, their discussion is about how certain we can be the that the Shroud is the actual Shroud of Jesus — or whether it belongs to some other beaten, crowned with thorns, forced to carry his cross, crucified and stabbed first-century guy who escaped from the cloth without it being unwrapped or torn away from his bloody skin and who left a light/heat imprint of his face on it — and whether it should make any difference in our resurrection apologetic. Nonetheless, we'll talk in depth about who's made the better case on Thursday, October 18, 7:00 PM, at the Oldenburg apartment. Hopefully, Jason will provide us with a video on the Shroud that can provide some controversy and intruigue.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from our combatants:

"When the scientific shroud evidence is combined with the previously and independently validated gospels, the result is more than the probable identification of Jesus with the man of the shroud."
-Gary R. Habermas

"Scientific evidence is relevant to Christian belief, but the move from scientific evidence to significant religious conslusions is more difficult than Habermas seems to recognize."
-Randall and David Basinger

See you tomorrow!

Monty Python - International Philosophy

Some of us in our studies are needing to wrestle with philosophy. I don't feel like we have plumbed the depths of the philosophical issues, however. Take a look at this contest between German and Greek philosophy. It certainly deepened my understanding of the ontology of football. Enjoy!

Wherever 2 or 3 are gathered ...

We had a small group on Thursday (just Jason and I) but that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy ourselves. For one thing, it meant that we were able to consume all that we desired of my wife's delicious baked goods , still having some left over to enjoy the next day. It would have been nice to have more people but, I don't think we would have covered as much theological ground if there were more. We talked about the creation/evolution controversy, Paul's theology of mission, why so many bad books get translated into Russian when there are so many great ones yet to be translated, and more. We also had plenty of time to share personal stories that may or may not have had much to do with the above themes. So, for all who couldn't make it, we think you missed out on a good time and hope that you can join us for our October meeting. Let's get back on the 3rd Thursday of the month schedule and meet on the 19th. I'll try to get something out to y'all soon. Maybe I'll follow up on Mark's post regarding atonement theory. Or feel free to email me if you have a burning issue to discuss and we can make that top priority. Have a great month!