Wednesday, April 30, 2014
(Livestream, 1900 EST, 30 Apr 2014) Previews/Interviews/Selection of TEC Bp. for Eastern NC
Very, very painful to watch on several levels.
3-Martini Lunch: Benghazi-gate Washing Machine: Soap, Cycle, Rinse, & Redo Several Times
Jim and Greg discuss new e-mails showing the White House spin machine after Benghazi, a bad economy in Q1, and a $1.3 million fraud in Philly.
Biblical Archaeology: "Jerusalem and Samaria After Destruction"
Ngo, Robin. "Jerusalem and Samaria After Destruction." Biblical Archaeology Society. Apr 30, 2014. http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/biblical-archaeology-topics/ancient-samaria-and-jerusalem/. Accessed Apr 30, 2014.
Ancient Samaria and Jerusalem
Jill Katz on urban anthropology in the capitals of Israel and Judah
• 04/30/2014
Jill Katz explains how urban anthropology can illuminate the ideological importance of ancient Samaria and Jerusalem after the dissolution of the United Kingdom of Israel.
Ancient Samaria and Jerusalem had a lot in common in the ninth and eighth centuries B.C.E. Both were part of David and Solomon’s United Kingdom of Israel in the tenth century, and both became capitals when it split into the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. Jerusalem became the capital of Judah, and Samaria, Israel.
Jerusalem and Samaria were also very different, however. In the Archaeological Views column “Jerusalem and Samaria: An Anthropological Tale of Two Cities” in the May/June 2014 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Jill Katz examines how the field of urban anthropology sheds light on the ideological differences between ancient Samaria and Jerusalem.
Urban anthropology examines cities in their social and political contexts. Jill Katz explains that “[as] social entities, cities have a variety of social roles, including ideological, political/administrative and economic. Yet the relative importance of these social functions is not random but rather derives from the strength of both the city’s economy and the controlling state.”
In urban anthropology terms, ancient Samaria (Israel) would be considered an administrative city—a city with strong political power and control over the agriculture-dependent economy—governed by leaders with access to great wealth. Katz writes that the administrative city “is a repository of state power but unifies through coercion rather than common ideology.”
For the rest, see:
30 Apr 311 AD: Edict of Toleration by Galerius
30
April 311 A.D. Edict of
Toleration by Galerius.
Sometimes when a person nears
death and stares into the face of eternity, he or she becomes more religious or
makes moral changes, perhaps hoping to influence his or her future beyond the
grave. That seems to have been the case with Roman Emperor Galerius when he
issued an Edict of Toleration on this day, April 30, 311.
Galerius was the son of a Greek
shepherd who became a Roman soldier. He rose in power and authority to become a
junior ruler with Diocletian. When Emperor Diocletian began his great
persecution of Christians in 303, Galerius instigated the
action, convincing Diocletian that Christians were dangerous enemies of the
empire.
Galerius himself issued another
edict in 304 requiring everyone in the empire to sacrifice to the gods of the
empire on pain of death or forced labor. Persecutors imprisoned churchmen,
destroyed precious Bible manuscripts, and executed hundreds of Christians.
When Diocletian abdicated,
Galerius became senior emperor in 305. He continued his cruel persecution,
which was so widespread and intense that it became known as the great
persecution. However, Christianity simply would not go away. Even
Galerius recognized the impossibility of snuffing out the illegal religion.
Then he became ill. A Christian
writer named Lactantius said that Galerius' body rotted and was eaten by
maggots while he writhed in agony. Apparently Galerius' conscience connected
his persecution of Christians with his present misery. He seems to have seen
his illness as a judgment from the Christian God. At any rate, his edict
mentioned only Christians.
The edict began by justifying his
murder. "Amongst our other measures for the advantage of the Empire, we
have hitherto endeavored to bring all things into conformity with the ancient
laws and public order of the Romans. We have been especially anxious that even
the Christians, who have abandoned the religion of their ancestors, should
return to reason."
Noting that some Christians had
betrayed their faith out of fear while others endured torture, Galerius decided
illogically that "we, with our wonted clemency, have judged it wise to
extend a pardon even to these men and permit them once more to become
Christians and reestablish their places of meeting..."
Galerius added that "...it
should be the duty of the Christians, in view of our clemency [mercy], to pray
to their god for our welfare, for that of the Empire, and for their own, so
that the Empire may remain intact in all its parts, and that they themselves
may live safely in their habitations."
Prayer seems to be the point of
the edict. Galerius wanted Christian prayers. Did he hope for a miracle? If so,
he was disappointed. He died a week after issuing the edict.
His successor, Emperor Maximinus,
tried to counteract the edict but did not succeed to any great extent in his
short rule. The Great Persecution of Christians had ended.
Bibliography:
1. Adapted from an earlier Christian
History Institute story.
2. "Galerius."
Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1967.
3. "Galerius."
http://myron.sjsu.edu/romeweb/ EMPCONT/e178.htm)
4. Kleinman, Joseph. "The
Emperor Galerius." http://www.pnna.org/pan/galerius.html
30 Apr 1602 AD: Birth of Robert Baillie, Westminster Commissioner
30
April 1602 A.D. Birth of Robert Baillie, Westminster
Commissioner
Myers, David T. “April 30: Birth of Robert
Baillie, in Glasgow.” This Day in
Presbyterian History. 30 Apr
2014. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/04/april-30/.
Accessed Apr 30, 2014.
April 30: Birth of Robert Baillie, in Glasgow
Who am I? Born in 1602 in Glasgow, Scotland, I
graduated from the University there. Through hard work, I gained a
working knowledge of thirteen foreign languages. Ordained into the Church
of Scotland, I came heartily into the Covenanters. I served as a
Presbyterian pastor, an Army chaplain, and a professor of divinity at Glasgow
University. I was a member of the Glasgow Assembly when Presbyterianism
was reintroduced in Scotland. Especially I enjoyed my time-serving as a
non-voting member of the Westminster Assembly. Through all of these
experiences in my life, I wrote letters which today are studied by many to gain
an understanding of my times. Who am I?
If you, the reader, answered Robert Baillie, you are
correct.
Robert Baillie was born on this day, April 30, 1602. We
could write many things about his accomplishments in the churches in
Scotland, but what stands out to this author is the informative letters which
he wrote, not only describing Scottish life and times, but also his description
of the Westminster Assembly, of which he was a non-voting attendee from
Scotland.
Consider his graphic description of the appearance of the
assembly as they held their discussions (Note: the term “prolocutor” means a
chairman.)
“(The commissioners) did sit in Henry VII’s chapel, in
the place of convocation; but since the weather grew cold, they did go to
Jerusalem chamber, a fair room, in the abbey of Westminster, about the bounds
of a college forehall, but wider. At the one end, nearest the door, and
on both sides, are stages of seats . . . . At the upmost end, there is a chair,
set on a frame, a foot from the earth, for the master prolocutor Dr.
Twisse. Before it, on the ground, stand two chairs, for the two
master assessors Dr. Burgess and Mr. White; before these two chairs
through the length of the room, stands a table, at which sit the two scribes,
Mr Byfield and Mr Roborough. Foranent the table, upon the prolocutor’s
right hand, there are three or four ranks of forms. On the lowest, we
five (ie. Scottish commissioners) do sit; upon the other at our backs, the
members of the Parliament deputed to the Assembly. On the forms foranent
us . . . the divines sit as they please, commonly they keep the same
place. The lords of Parliament used to sit on chairs in that end about
the fire. We meet every day of the week, except Saturday. We sit
commonly from nine to two or three afternoon. The prolocutor, at
beginning and end, has a short prayer . . . .”
As to the content of the Standards, this came in by
parliament procedure, as is seen in the following descriptive paragraph by Mr.
Baillie. He writes:
“When, upon every proposition by itself, and on every
test of Scripture that is brought to confirm it, every man who has said his
whole mind, and the replies, the duplies, and triplies are heard, then the most
part call ‘to the question,’ Byfield, the scribe, rises from the table and
comes to the prolocutor’s chair, who, from the scribe’s book, reads the
proposition, and says, ‘As many as are in opinion that the question is well
stated in the proposition, let them say Ay;’ when Ay is heard, he says, ‘As
many as think otherwise say No.’ If the difference of ‘Ayes’ and ‘Noes’
be clear, as usually it is, then the question is ordered by the scribes, and
they go on to debate the first Scripture alleged for proof of the
proposition. . . No man contradicts another expressly by name, but most
discreetly speaks to the prolocutor, and, at most, holds to general terms, ‘As
the reverent brother who lately or last spoke on this hand, on that side,
above, or below . . . .”
Now to some of our readers, the above is boring, boring,
boring! But remember the momentous issues of theology were being
carefully considers in these difficult days in England and Scotland. Such
carefulness was demanded by those times.
It is interesting that at the close of the Assembly, the
Parliament of England made a handsome present of silver plate for Robert Baillie,
with an inscription on it speaking of their great respect for him, even though
by his own testimony, he did not participate in the verbal parts of the
Assembly.
What is also interesting is that though firmly attached
to Presbyterianism and against prelacy, he was a member of the Covenanter
faction known as Resolutioners, and not the Protesters. The latter two
parties of Covenanters had separated from each other over the issue of how much
power should be given to the king of England in the ordering of church
affairs. To the Protester Covenanters, the answer was simple — there is
no king but King Jesus. For that position, they were to suffer countless
deaths at the hands of the government. And yet Robert Baillie was
featured in the book of Scot Worthies by John Howie.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Krauthammer's Take Re: Benghazi-gate: "Coverup of Coverup"
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: It's wrong in all of those counts. It is in conflict with what we've been told, with what Jay Carney has been saying and that is their story has always been this stuff all came from the CIA, from intelligence, so it was completely clean. Now we know from [Michael] Morell who testified under oath -- he at the time was the deputy director of the CIA -- that he never brought up the video so it didn't come from him. That leaves only the White House and the State Department.
We now have the smoking document, which is the White House saying we're pushing the video because we don't want to blame it on the failure of our policies, which is what anybody whose looked at this assumed all the way through. Before an election, Obama is saying al Qaeda is dead, GM is alive, al Qaeda is dead. He's running essentially the foreign policy issue on which the whole campaign is based is one that says he killed bin Laden, al Qaeda is on the run.
So, this undermines the whole narrative. Therefore, they have to invent the video. So, I think this is extremely important. Now, I know what's going to happen, the mainstream media is going to say, 'oh, it's so complicated,' and they are not going to look into this and without it, it is going to be quite a struggle.
I think the Republicans have something here that really aught to be looked at, I just don't know if there's going to be any interest in the mainstream media. They should because this exposes a coverup of a coverup. The fact that it was redacted, when the documents were asked for, and only revealed by a court order is telling you this is a classic coverup of a coverup, and that is a serious offense.
3-Martini Lunch: Bad Obama Poll Numbers & Rand Paul's Doubts Re: Obamacare Repeal
Jim and Greg discuss bad approval numbers for President Obama, Rand Paul's doubts about repealing Obamacare, and the strange casr of N.Y. Rep. Michael Grimm.
Contra Mundum: Old Testament Verses Concerning Predestination
Contra Mundum: Old Testament Verses Concerning Predestination:
Old Testament Verses Concerning Predestination
Old Testament Verses Concerning Predestination
Genesis 21:12-13 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
Exodus 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Exodus 33:19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
Deuteronomy 4:37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;
Deuteronomy 7:7-8 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 10:15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 32:8 When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
Joshua 11:20 For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
1 Samuel 12:22 For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.
1 Kings 12:15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
1 Kings 20:42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
2 Kings 19:25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.
2 Chronicles 6:6 But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
Job 23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take: [when] he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
Job 23:13 But he [is] in one [mind], and who can turn him? and [what] his soul desireth, even [that] he doeth.
Job 23:14 For he performeth [the thing that is] appointed for me: and many such [things are] with him.
Psalms 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
Psalms 9:9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
Psalms 18:28 For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
Psalms 27:1 { [A Psalm] of David.} The LORD [is] my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD [is] the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalms 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
(Psalms 33:12) Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
Psalms 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the LORD: [he is] their strength in the time of trouble.
Psalms 48:14 For this God [is] our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide [even] unto death.
Psalms 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Psalms 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: [are they] not in thy book?
Psalms 56:13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: [wilt] not [thou deliver] my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
Psalms 57:2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth [all things] for me.
Psalms 65:4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
Psalms 78:67 Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
Psalms 105:17-22 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: 18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: 19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. 20 The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. 21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: 22 To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.
Psalms 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he [is] God: [it is] he [that] hath made us, and not we ourselves; [we are] his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Psalms 118:24 This [is] the day [which] the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalms 135:4 For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
Isaiah 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
Proverbs 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Isaiah 43:5 Fear not: for I [am] with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
Isaiah 43:6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
Isaiah 43:7 [Even] every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Isaiah 44:1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
Isaiah 49:15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isaiah 49:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of [my] hands; thy walls [are] continually before me.
Jeremiah 1:4-5 4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Malachi 1:2-3 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, 3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness...
Exodus 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Exodus 33:19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
Deuteronomy 4:37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;
Deuteronomy 7:7-8 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 10:15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 32:8 When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
Joshua 11:20 For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
1 Samuel 12:22 For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.
1 Kings 12:15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
1 Kings 20:42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
2 Kings 19:25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.
2 Chronicles 6:6 But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
Job 23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take: [when] he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
Job 23:13 But he [is] in one [mind], and who can turn him? and [what] his soul desireth, even [that] he doeth.
Job 23:14 For he performeth [the thing that is] appointed for me: and many such [things are] with him.
Psalms 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
Psalms 9:9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
Psalms 18:28 For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
Psalms 27:1 { [A Psalm] of David.} The LORD [is] my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD [is] the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalms 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
(Psalms 33:12) Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
Psalms 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the LORD: [he is] their strength in the time of trouble.
Psalms 48:14 For this God [is] our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide [even] unto death.
Psalms 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Psalms 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: [are they] not in thy book?
Psalms 56:13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: [wilt] not [thou deliver] my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
Psalms 57:2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth [all things] for me.
Psalms 65:4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
Psalms 78:67 Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
Psalms 105:17-22 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: 18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: 19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. 20 The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. 21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: 22 To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.
Psalms 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he [is] God: [it is] he [that] hath made us, and not we ourselves; [we are] his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Psalms 118:24 This [is] the day [which] the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalms 135:4 For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
Isaiah 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
Proverbs 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Isaiah 43:5 Fear not: for I [am] with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
Isaiah 43:6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
Isaiah 43:7 [Even] every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Isaiah 44:1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
Isaiah 49:15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isaiah 49:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of [my] hands; thy walls [are] continually before me.
Jeremiah 1:4-5 4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Malachi 1:2-3 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, 3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness...
Online Colloquy, 29 Apr 2014: "The Future of Protestantism" (Calvinist International)
http://calvinistinternational.com/2014/04/29/rabbi-duncan-protestantism/
About a week and a half ago I posted some quotations from John “Rabbi” Duncan’s Colloquia Peripatatetica that will perhaps be seen to be relevant to this evening’s event at Biola on “The Future of Protestantism.”
Here is another, that will, I hope, spark some pre-conversation reflection. It is Duncan’s view on “Protestant Dissent”:
It will be of great interest, I think, to see the ways in which Drs. Leithart, Sanders, and Trueman approach such questions as these, and I, for one, am rather looking forward to it.
About a week and a half ago I posted some quotations from John “Rabbi” Duncan’s Colloquia Peripatatetica that will perhaps be seen to be relevant to this evening’s event at Biola on “The Future of Protestantism.”
Here is another, that will, I hope, spark some pre-conversation reflection. It is Duncan’s view on “Protestant Dissent”:
We Protestants are all Dissenters. It is necessary to vindicate our dissent, but as necessary for those in the Protestant established Churches to remember that they are dissenters from the Church of Rome;–dissenters but not schismatics. Rome was schismatic in forcing us out. And it would be well for Christendom, if all the members of Christ’s catholic church would endeavour to preserve the unity of the spirit, and think oftener of the many and major points in which they agree, than the few and minor ones in which they differ. (p. 80, emphasis his)Some questions immediately spring to mind. Is he right? Is he right about Rome? Was he right then, but wrong now? Is the Reformation over? What is Christendom, especially in the twenty-first century? Is there a Protestant center to be preserved? Where is it found? What is catholicity, and how does it relate to denominational boundaries and distinctives? What are those distinctives, and how do we know whether they are major or minor? Does the command to maintain (eagerly, as Paul says) the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace apply only to institutional churches and denominations, or does it somehow cut across denominational boundaries?
It will be of great interest, I think, to see the ways in which Drs. Leithart, Sanders, and Trueman approach such questions as these, and I, for one, am rather looking forward to it.
29 Apr 1909 AD: Birth of Presbyterian Chaplain A.J. Dieffenbacher: Combat Casualty of D-Day
29
April 1909 A.D. Birth of
Chaplain A.J. Dieffenbacher—Presbyterian
Churchman, Army Chaplain, & Combat Casualty of D-Day. Took a fatal hit from an artillery round, 5
Jul 1944.
The PCA historian tell the
story.
Myers, David T. “A Casualty of D-Day.” This Day
in Presbyterian History. N.d. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/04/april-29/.
Apr 29, 2014.
A Casualty of D-Day
The following account comes from THE INDEPENDENT BOARD BULLETIN, Vol. 10, no. 10 (October
1944): 4-7. This was (and
is) the newsletter of the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions.
FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH
In the falling of the Reverend Arthur Johnston
Dieffenbacher on the battlefields of Normandy, July 5, 1944, the Independent
Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions has lost its first and one of its best
missionaries by death. Few details are known even at this writing but in Arthur
Dieffenbacher’s passing his family, the Board, China and a host of friends have
sustained a very great loss; yet we know that God’s people should view all
things from the standpoint of eternity and therefore we can rest assured that God
Who knows all things “doeth all things well.”
Arthur Dieffenbacher was born in Titusville, Pa., April 29, 1909; and thus
was but a little over thirty-five years of age when the Lord called him home.
His early years were spent at Erie, Pa. where he was graduated from high school
at the early age of fifteen. Two years of college work at Erie followed, and
two years later in 1927 he was graduated from Grove City College. In 1931 he
finished his theological education at Dallas Theological Seminary, with a
Master’s degree in his possession and also credit toward a post-graduate
Doctor’s degree. He had proved himself precocious during his school days, but
he was also in advance of his years in the things of the Lord, his deep
interest in these things showing itself, for instance, in his spending the
first night of his college life away from home in a prayer meeting with a group
which was destined to aid him greatly to the clear insight into God’s word
which his later years so fully exhibited.
In September, 1932, Mr. Dieffenbacher was appointed a
missionary of the China Inland Mission and in company with his intimate friend
John Stam, who himself was destined to become a martyr, soon left for China.
There, after language study and a brief period of work in Changteh, Hunan
Province, he met in 1934 Miss Junia White, daughter of Dr. Hugh W. White,
editor of The China
Fundamentalist. Miss White and he were soon engaged, but because of
illness and other causes they were not married until June 1938, joining at
about the same time also and with the good wishes of the China Inland Mission,
the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions with the principles and
purposes of which both were in full sympathy.
All the years spent in China were filled with adventure
which included a flight from Chinese communists in 1935; and the summer of 1938
saw battles raging all around Kuling where Miss White and Mr. Dieffenbacher had
been married. Indeed China had been engaged for a whole year then in the war
which was to engulf eventually so many lands and was, for Arthur Dieffenbacher,
to end so tragically upon the battlefields of Normandy. On their way from
Kuling this young bride and groom had to pass through the battle zone, just
behind the fighting lines, but God gave them protection and enabled Arthur even
then to point a sore-wounded and dying Chinese lad, a soldier, to Christ as the
Lamb of God who was slain for our sins.
This trip led to Harbin, Manchuria, the “Manchukuo” of
the Japanese, where two years of happy, fruitful work ensued, years which saw
the beginning of what despite the hardness of the soil of that great cosmopolitan
city might have developed into a much greater work had it not been for the
tyranny of Japan and the war which was so soon to bring to an end so much
Christian work both in the Japanese empire and in China. In the testings of
those years in regard to Shinto and the Japanese demands upon Christians Arthur
and his wife remained faithful.
In the summer of 1940, after eight years in China, Mr.
Dieffenbacher returned to America with his wife on furlough. There on June 19,
1941, a little daughter, Sara Junia, was born. As war conditions were gradually
spreading it was thought that Mr. Dieffenbacher ought to return alone to
Manchuria and so passport and passage were obtained but ere he could sail the
events of December 7, 1941, compelled all such plans to be abandoned for the
time being, and as it proved in Arthur’s case, forever.
In America Mr. Dieffenbacher proved to be a good and
effective missionary speaker. He also rendered efficient aid at his Board’s
headquarters in Philadelphia. Later he held a brief pastorate in the Bible
Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati, Ohio. But when the American Council of
Christian Churches obtained for its member Churches a quota of Army
chaplaincies, Mr. Dieffenbacher applied for a chaplaincy and was appointed and
joined the Army on July 18, 1943.
In the Army Arthur Dieffenbacher won recognition for two
things. For one, he took with his men, for example, the whole system of
training including the dangerous and difficult “infiltration” course and other
things which were not required of chaplains, but which he did that by all means
he might win some. This ambition to win men to Christ was the second notable
trait of which we speak. Indeed it showed itself not alone while he was in the
Army but also throughout all his life. He always preached to convince, convert
and win. On his way to England with his unit he with two other God-fearing
chaplains, won eighty-four men to Christ. A brief letter home, mentioning this
asked, “Isn’t that great?” Truly it was great and not merely in the opinion of
his friends, we believe, but also in the sight of the Lord. Some of his friends
are praying that from among those eighty-four after the war some may volunteer
to take Arthur Dieffenbacher’s place in China. God is able to bring such things
to pass.
The time from April to June 24, 1944, was spent in
England. There, too, Arthur Dieffenbacher was constantly on the search for
souls and also for that which would bring inspiration to his men and to his
family and friends at home. Some of the poems he found and sent home testify at
once to his love for good poetry and for the things of the spirit, especially
for the things of the Lord. He believed thoroughly that he was in God’s will.
He longed to see his wife and child and mother again but assured them that “no good thing would the Lord withhold
from them that walk uprightly.” He rejoiced in full houses of
soldiers to whom to preach the Gospel of salvation. He was often tired after a
long day of duties done, but preached and lived that we are “More than Conquerors”
through Christ. With it all he learned to sew on buttons and patches and to
wash his own clothes and his good humor bubbled over into his letters when he
said, “Oh, boy, you should see the result!” Up at the front large attendances
at services were the rule, men searching for help, for strength, for God, as
they faced the foe. Perhaps a premonition was felt of what was to come. He
wrote, “There are so many chances of getting hurt in war or in peace that which
one affects you is by God’s permission. Hence I don’t worry, but take all
reasonable precautions and trust the rest to God. His will is best and His
protection sufficient.” On July 3, he wondered how they would celebrate the
Fourth, and knew not that on the morrow of that day he would celebrate humbly
but joyfully in the Presence of God. When killed by German artillery fire his
body was recovered by his senior chaplain, Chaplain Blitch, and later an
impressive funeral service was held.
“Faithful unto death” are words which characterized the
whole life of Arthur Dieffenbacher. The realization of that fact brings an
added measure of consolation to his mother, Mrs. Mildred J. Dieffenbacher, to
his wife and will, in time, to his little three-year-old daughter as she comes
to understand what her father was and what he did. It brings consolation also
to The Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions and to all his
friends. But as Arthur Dieffenbacher himself would have been the first to say,
all he was and did he owed to Christ in whom he was called, chosen and
empowered and made faithful till that day when surely he heard the welcome “well done, good and faithful servant,
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”