Faith Bible Blog

Information and Reflections for the FBC Family

March 30, 2006
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Posts: 303

Edwards & Young Christians

Jonathan Edwards is arguably known as the foremost American theologian.  The style & content of his writings betray the depth of his mind, and can at times even overwhelm the reader.  Less realized is his unswerving concern for the growth of young believers.  A small pamphlet has been published by P&R, edited by Stephen Nichols.  The booklet contains Edwards’ famous Seventy Resolutions and a letter he penned to a young believer in a nearby town.  Though not written for publication, the letter was published after his death and has remained in print since the 1800s.

His counsel to the young lady remains relevant and insightful.  Here’s a brief overview of his suggestions: 

  1. Strive for godliness in the same way you did when first saved.
  2. Practice what you hear unbelievers exhorted to do.
  3. When you hear sermons, hear them for yourself.
  4. God has forgiven & forgotten your past sins.  You shouldn’t.
  5. You should be more grieved over your post-conversion sins than you felt about your pre-conversion sin.
  6. Be humbled by the sin that remains in you, but not disheartened.
  7. In prayer & the sacraments, come as a needy worshipper.
  8. Remember that pride hides in your heart and will destroy your peace and communion with God.
  9. Consider the best conversations & experiences to be the ones that: (a) humble you the most, and (b) fixate your heart on sacrificing yourself for God.
  10. If you begin to doubt your salvation, look over your past for a while and then seek to discover new things about Christ.
  11. When your spiritual life ebbs & fear floods your heart, don’t let it be cast out until love overwhelms it.
  12. You should often be exhorting, counseling and warning others.
  13. When you counsel, do it with earnestness, affection, thoroughness and humility.
  14. Meet with other Christians occasionally to talk about spiritual things.
  15. In times of great difficulty, need or desire, secretly engage in a day of fasting & prayer.
  16. Do not give non-Christians the opportunity to dismiss the faith because of your life.
  17. Do not talk of religion & spiritual things with levity and laughter.
  18. Walk as a child with God, keeping your eye closely on the cross.
  19. Pray much for the church, it’s ministers and the work of the gospel in people’s lives.

These are a brief summary of his letter.  Thankfully, his ‘Advice to Young Converts‘ is available online.  Do take the time to read the whole thing!

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March 27, 2006
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Posts: 303

Printed Bibles & Red Letters

{mosimage}Well, I missed the anniversary by 5 days and I forgot to send a card, but March 22, 1457 (or round abouts)  is the first printing date of the Gutenberg Bible – the first Bible printed using movable type.  Over at the ESV blog, they published a brief photo survey of printed bibles over time, along with some interesting links to more information.

Interestingly,  the ESV blog also devoted another post to why, when & how bibles began to use red letters for the word of Jesus.  All due to a man named Louis Klopsch.

 

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March 24, 2006
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Posts: 303

Your Child’s Sidewalk Art

Disclaimer:  this post is just for fun & amusement…


Virtually every household has a set of chalk with which the children go out & draw sidewalk scribbles & the occasional piece of ‘art’.  In an effort to inspire them to greater mastery of their medium, you may want to encourage them to view this web page which has pretty amazing 3-D sidewalk art.

Here’s an example.  Notice the artist (Julian Beever) standing on top of the world, looking pretty small.

 
Now here’s a view of it from the side… 

 


Check out this web page for more examples!

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March 23, 2006
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Posts: 303

Translation Challenges

In America, we have a plethora of bible translations to help us get at the original meaning and/or to clarify when we don’t understand a particular phrase or word.  In other areas of the world, it is not so.  Consider this quote from the introduciton of a translator’s handbook on the Gospel of Mark:

"…any translator who is working in a language which is outside the Indo-European family of languages will need to have help on just how the various interpretations, as may exist in the Greek, can be adequately rendered in some other language. For these problems the commentaries are relatively useless, for there is no real need and, consequently, little attempt to explore these difficulties. In English, for example, the explanation that the Greek term for “repent” means “to change the mind” offers little difficulty to the reader. In many languages, however, “to change the mind” means merely “to change one’s opinion,” which is a far cry from the radical change envisaged by the original Greek term. It is necessary, therefore, to add that the meaning of “repent” in Kekchi, a language of Guatemala, is brought out by the phrase “it pains my heart”; in Baouli, of the Ivory Coast, “it hurts so much I want to quit” is the proper equivalent; in Northern Sotho, of South Africa, one must say “it becomes untwisted,” and in Tzeltal, of Mexico, the correct expression is “my heart returns because of my sin.” The idiom “to beat the breast” needs no explanation for English readers, but translators working in many of the languages of Africa need to be warned that this idiom, when literally translated, may mean “to congratulate oneself” (the equivalent to the English “pat oneself on the back”)…"

 

Bratcher, R. G., & Nida, E. A. (1993, c1961). A handbook on the Gospel of Mark. Originally published: A translator’s handbook on the Gospel of Mark, 1961. UBS handbook series; Helps for translators (vii-viii). New York: United Bible Societies.

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March 16, 2006
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Posts: 303

Jonathan Edwards & Janet

Now if you’ve read much about Jonathan Edwards, the title of this may be puzzling you.  You see, Jonathan was married to Sarah Pierpont.  Janet Edwards, on the other hand, is Jonathan Edwards sixth-great granddaughter.  It is sad to see the present day course of his descendants and to consider how exceedingly rare it is in the Bible that one’s grandchildren and their grandchildren remained faithful to God.  Here’s a bit of the story on Janet.  It is a resounding call to pray for our future grandchildren and theirs…

Nearly 265 years after her legendary fire-and-brimstone forebear
delivered his historic sermon warning of hell’s horrors, a Squirrel
Hill clergywoman is under church scrutiny for joining two women in
marriage.

The Rev. Janet Edwards, 55, likens performing the ceremony to her
famously orthodox ancestor, Jonathan Edwards, preaching to the Mohicans
in the 18th century, when racism made Native Americans the object of
scorn and fear.

"I would say his acceptance of the Mohicans of the time is
similar to my inclusion of gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgendered people
now," Janet Edwards said.

Edwards is one of about a half-dozen Presbyterian ministers
nationwide being investigated by local churches for marrying same-sex
couples.

…


"If the point of (Janet Edwards’) analogy is that he followed his
conscience and so did she, and that they both went beyond some boundary
or other, that’s not enough," religious historian and retired
University of Chicago professor Martin Marty said.

But Jonathan Edwards scholar Amy Plantiga Pauw, a doctrinal
theology professor at Louisville (Ky.) Presbyterian Seminary, calls
Janet Edwards’ argument persuasive.

"There is a kind of parallel — Jonathan Edwards was not afraid
to challenge so-called respectable Christians of his time," Pauw said.

Born in 1703, Jonathan Edwards is best known for his sermon,
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," with its fiery warning to the
unrepentant: "The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one
holds a spider or some loathsome insect over a fire, abhors you and is
dreadfully provoked: his wrath burns towards you like fire."


Edwards’ sixth-great granddaughter remembers him for an activism that still inspires her own.

"Marriage is a sacred union of two people who are committed to
each other, without regard to gender," Janet Edwards said. "I do not
feel I have done anything wrong. On the contrary, I felt I was holding
up the vows of my ordination."
 

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