Hither and thither 2/3/12

Here you go, kiddies.

• We'll start off with a "Yes, I meant to do ALL of that."

• Many of you will be interested in the upcoming Lego Lord of the Rings.
• I think Jeremiah Halstead was the first to send me this romantic "win."
• Paging Buck Murdock for an Irony Alert: Tim Tebow's doctrinal discernment and concern for the Gospel is announced on a TGC blog.
• Of course you heard about the Baptist guy in Texas who murdered his wife for giving birth to a girl instead of a boy? No? Of course, that's because he wasn't Baptist, and it wasn't Texas. Ideas have consequences; terrible ideas have terrible consequences. (Thx Christopher Carney)
• I have had the pleasure of meeting Fred Butler, and I'm pretty sure this isn't him -- just his submission:

• Thank God for our wives, eh?
• Still on the Fred thing, I like this video he found of a clever "stunt" pulled in New York City.
• Fred also wants you to know your "blues name."

• It is a very small subset who will enjoy this Mad Magazine Buffy/Twilight mashup... but they'll enjoy it a lot.
• Elections have consequences... sometimes dire. Want to know what Clinton-named U. S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg thinks of the U. S. Constitution? Not much, turns out. Be sure you're sitting down.
• Goodness, I'd think the incessant "boing boing boing boing" would be distracting.

• If you suspect that Seattle Public (!) libraries are probably significantly different from the libraries of your youth, Kerry Garrett says you're almost certainly correct.
• Why do I assume this is in Texas? (Thanks John)

• Julie Garrett gives us all reason to observe that the "slippery slope" argument regarding homosexual "marriage" was not a fallacy.
• Best line: a protester says  "With the delicate nature of Washington state and the attempt to legalize gay marriage, I find her saying it's a gay marriage disrespectful." In other words, this woman calling her fabricated (pun alert) notion of marriage "gay marriage" is "disrespectful" to his fabricated notion of "gay marriage."
• A word of advice: don't taunt cats.

• Especially if you're edible.
• A number of you sent me this video of a Lego man in spaaaaace (think Dawn Lewis was first).
• An Israeli official says Iranian nukes will be a threat to the US, and I say "Duh." (Sakovich)
• My Jonathan makes, I think, his first contribution to H&T with this comparison:

• Kerry Allen found an image that could persuade me to be a Super Bowl watcher.

• I leave you with the disturbing image of our coming robot overlords going through some drills:

• Finally, these:

THE USUALS WILL BE OBSERVED

Church size, influence, and significance

I'll be brief:

Remember that none of the churches in the New Testament had their own building.

Remember that most of the churches envisioned in the New Testament could fit into a house.

And yet...

The churches in the New Testament managed to tilt their world.

What does that tell us?

Monday music: "Tractor Pull," by Preston Reed (guitar tapping)

I can do this.

...I mean, the holding-the-guitar part.

Hither and thither 1/27/12

Another very busy week, and still struggling with sleep loss and cough. (Wahh, I know.)

So what do you get? A lot of food stuff! But not only.

• Tailgating? Problem solved!

• Cassandra was the mythical prophetess who was cursed with the ability to see the future. "Cursed?" you say. Yes: the ability to see the future, and no one would listen to her. That's the curse part. That's how I feel in the light of this post and especially this post, given how Elephant Room 2 turned out. Those posts were put up well in advance of the event. We're constantly told that Big Names read Pyromaniacs regularly, though few seem to say so out loud. What if one or two or five of those Big Names had taken, say, that second post (or even its ideas, without accreditation), and run with it? Made a big deal of it? Pressed the issue, so that there would simply be no way that Driscoll and MacDonald could ignore them?
• But, as we all know now, they didn't. And Driscoll and MacDonald completely blew it, Jakes' influence spreads, and men like Thabiti Anywabwile's hearts break all over again.

• Carl Trueman points to a survey of some of Jakes' books.
• Cats: it's all about the 'tude.
• I have eaten some meat from one of the above. Hint: wasn't the cat.
• So, be careful about that.

• (Thx for the picture, Fred.)
• You will enjoy the list of laws of Feline Physics that reader mdm pointed out to me. 
• Taking a jet trip soon? Then... probably don't watch this. (Thx Christopher Carney)
• So, this is being a pretty pleasant song, and then... whoops! (Thx Dawn Lewis.)
• Important Safety Tip:

• Sonja found us some Lego vs. Ikea truth.
• BACON: it's not only a health food, but it can be a life-saver!
• Now that you want bacon, reader No Longer Blind brings you 21 beyond-normal bacon recipes.
• More perfect food thoughts:

• And another — S'moreos!

• Chris Harwood found us a really expensive hot dog. Won't be a staple at Casa Phillips.
• Dwayne Warren says this is the cake you're looking for.
• Enough food.
• Kerry Allen says there's a perfect word for it — but it may not be in English.
• Hm. You never think of their home life. Now, thanks to Pierre, we will.

• Robert Sakovich found another illustration of freedom of thought in state reeducation camps, and how there isn't any.
• Relatedly? A substitute teacher falls asleep in Biology class. A student snaps a picture, publishes it in some "social network." Result? Student suspended, of course.
• Oh boy. Don't show my boys. Someone found one of my The Maths papers.

• A pro-life woman returns to the clinic where she had two abortions 12 years ago. It's a painful read, particularly her words for churches and pastors who are totally uninvolved in the issue. Killer sentence: “You know that girl you were when you walked in that door? If you kill your child, you will never be that girl again.” Ouch.
• And so there you go. Now you can head off to do all those important things you plan to do this weekend.

• Always, of course, keeping in mind:

THE USUALS WILL BE OBSERVED

Very briefly noted: Proverbs, by Andrew E. Steinmann

Probably every nonfiction author has been bitten this way: you work hard to consult the best and most current works you can get your hands on, you try to send off your manuscript as up-to-date as you can... and immediately afterwards, some pertinent book is either published or discovered.

That's the case with me and Andrew E. Steinmann's Concordia Commentary entry on the book of Proverbs.  The book is a 719-page tour-de-force, written from the perspective of believing Lutheranism. I wish I had had it in preparing my book of Proverbs studies. In writing that book, I had opportunity to refer to some valuable research by Steinmann in journal articles... but only after the manuscript was completed did I discover this volume.

It is a pity, too. The book was already in print (2009), but Steinmann's confessional Lutheranism and "my" circles often don't overlap. So I never even saw a hint of this book until it was too late. I contacted Concordia and was sent a review copy, which I've been using for several months now.

I haven't read most of the book, but I did want to let you know about it. Steinmann's approach to authorship is not my own, but it is another conservative and faithful view. He believes in the text as the Word of God, and closely examines the Hebrew text. Each section receives his own translation, a section of notes on the Hebrew wording, and then a commentary. The commentary is readable, practical, and warmly Christ-centered and Gospel-centered.

In years past I read H. C. Leupold's volumes on Genesis and Daniel with profit, but always wished he'd done Proverbs. This is similar to that — but I think better than anything Leupold could have done. My impression is that Steinmann has produced a volume which will serve Christ's church for a great many years, as have works by other Biblically-faithful Lutherans such as Keil, Delitzsch, Hengstenburg and others. Steinmann deserves to be numbered with them, from what I have seen.

When I have read the whole book I plan to give a full review. But I can already recommend it to anyone wanting a close, detailed commentary on the entire book.

Even better than The Race Card{tm}

If you follow the news, you have seen it happen: whenever anyone of the wrong pigmentation disagrees with our president's policies, or those of certain of his associates, he finds himself accused of racism. Just when you think this may be dead or at least exaggerated, it pops up yet again. The hope is to sideline the logic and force of the criticism and put the critic (A) on the defensive and (B) in an insoluble dilemma (i.e. "Prove you're not racist, on 'three': one, two...").

Such trump-cards are not confined to politics, of course. One of the more egregious is played regularly by Leaky Canoneers.

Perhaps you're new to these parts and unfamiliar with the expression. I invented the term "Leaky Canoneer" to denote the person who formally says that he affirms the completeness, inerrancy, and closed nature of the Biblical canon, but who informally gives the lie to that profession. How? By asserting that God

1. ...continues to speak...
2. ...directly...
3. ...and quotably (or at least paraphrasably)...
4. ...to him...
5. ...apart from Scripture.

I've come at this dozens of times from dozens of angles, both here and at Pyro and elsewhere.

Today's sally is brought to you courtesy of James MacDonald. You'll forgive me for letting you do your own research for links and specifics; we at Pyro (but not we alone) have been pretty much on top of the situation, and sometimes ahead of the curve. Two of my favorite Tree Falling in the Forest posts were on the topic (this and this).

But anyway, James MacDonald decided to feature well-known modalist and word-faith preacher T. D. Jakes as a "Christian leader" on his Elephant Room show. A firestorm of very appropriate concern and criticism arose. MacDonald responded alternately by chest-thumping, backtracking, then more chest-thumping. Many wondered how this guy could be associated with The Gospel Coalition while seeming to be relatively unconcerned about, you know, the gospel.

As usual, Phil Johnson put it best: "The collective leadership of TGC are going to have to decide which is more important: the Gospel, or the Coalition."

Well no, it turns out, they won't.

In a solution that solves nothing, James MacDonald has resigned from TGC leadership, as that leadership has acknowledged.  In making this acknowledgement, however, they only compliment the departing brother, and make no direct reference to his hosting a heretic as a Christian leader. So that problem is unsolved.

What does MacDonald himself say? Oh, this and that, about what you might expect. He's making his priorities pretty clear to everyone, I daresay, and I hope the effect is salutary.

My focus is this bit from MacDonald's post:

See that? MacDonald doesn't want his "minor" leadership role to " to give the impression [the TGC leadership] agree with all God has called me to do."

Let me break that down for you who are keeping score at home:

1. God has "called" James MacDonald to do a number of things.
2. The TGC leadership might not agree with all of those things.
3. Therefore, the TGC leadership might not agree with God.

Nice, huh? They do nothing but compliment their departing heretic-promoting brother, and he responds by accusing them of sinning by not agreeing with him. Because that is the rub, right? God "called" James MacDonald to do certain things. Of this MacDonald entertains and allows no doubt. But the TGC leadership might not agree with those things. Those things that God called him to do.

Which means they don't agree with God.

So what is it when you don't agree with God? Right. Sin.

Nice, huh? And slick! You see, this way MacDonald doesn't have to answer any questions! He's completely off the hook! He doesn't have to explain featuring a heretic, his judgment, his priorities — why, now we know his priorities, according to him: he just wants to do what God tells him to do!

And who can blame him for that?

Unfortunately, much of the leadership of TGC probably can't, because at least some of them accept MacDonald's position at least in principle. God just might be mumbling and hinting and suggesting things apart from Scripture. Who can say?

And let's be very clear on this as well. Do you have a verse in your Bible saying, "And I command James MacDonald to give prominent platforms to men who deny the revealed truths of My nature and play fast and loose with Scripture on the whole"? Mine lacks that verse. This can only mean that God "called" James MacDonald directly, apart from Scripture.

So you can't judge it. See? God wasn't talking to you. He wasn't talking to me.

He was just talking to James.

This is that ugly little absolutely necessary corollary of Leaky Canoneering: adherents can play the "God told me" card and instantly get out of all criticism.

Well, not only that, right? Because now we know that James MacDonald isn't someone so desperate to be popular and well-liked that he'll make unwise (at best) associations to promote himself — no, he's a hero, because he and he alone is listening to the voice of God.

And these other guys? Psh. Carnal! Hidebound. Unspiritual, clearly. Because they might not "agree with all God has called [MacDonald] to do."

So, see? You thought it was James MacDonald who was looking kinda bad?

No, sir; no, ma'am.

It's TGC leadership, and anyone else who disagrees with MacDonald. For treating MacDonald with kid gloves, they get thrown under the bus.

And that, friends and neighbors, is "The 'God Told Me' Card."

Nicely-played, too.

Monday music: "Stormy Weather," Nicholas Brothers

Kids, that's entertainment!

(Thanks for the suggestion, Mizz Harpy.)

Hither and thither 1/20/2012

Howdy-hi there, friends and neighbors.

Back late Sunday from our wonderful week in Copperfield, near Houston, TX. Then a busy week here in the Big Tomato involving... getting sick! Not too bad, just barely enough for whining rights.

So I've been through what I could of tips and suggestions, and have a little crop. If yours wasn't used, please never take it personally. Grateful to all who think of me.

Our trips through the airport terminals were relatively incident-free, thankfully. I mean, could've been worse.

• This week's Coffee: It's A Health-Food installment — coffee and diabetes risk?
• And another Unmarketable Skill Update: "Yes, Mr. Brodie, that's all very impressive... but we actually were looking for someone who can do car repair." (h-t Fred)
• Oh, what the hey. Here's a second USU: Mr. Beardyman.
• DAOD located creative ways to deal with boo-boos, plus some more bacon magic.
• Also, DAOD shares some seasonally timely tips for boosting kids' immunity to colds... even as her tiny tot Timothe suffers a cold.
• Yep, no doubt; 'way simpler than just doing it by hand.
• Susan noted a former employer of mine in an odd place h-t Sacred Sandwich)

• More seriously, Susan also noted a stirring video about an autistic girl's breakthrough.
• Readers like Michael Beck noted this ominous prequel to our coming robot overlords.
• Reader John found us some old-school coffee jerks.
• Marriage proposal, Lego style. (Thx Dave Sloan; also Sonja)
• One amazing card trick, can't imagine how he does it. (Warning: one PG word.)
• You'll love the What Kids See graphic Fred Butler found.
• Chris Carney casts another vote in my pile of Why Bungee Jumping Is Stupid.
• This is pretty wonderful: pulpy posters for "What If?" sci-fi movies.
• Reader No Longer Blind found an amazing marching band tribute to America's armed forces. The Navy segment is particularly awesome.
• Hey, what're you looking at, eh?

• You know, looking at these flying cranes gives me a sense of vertigo I don't get looking out the window of a jet. I guess it's because I'm in something, whereas the cranes are just... just up there... just 'way up there... and... and... whoa, gotta get a hold of something!
• Gil Sebenste alerts us to a (model of a) large Hadron collider... made of Legos.
• Apropos of nothing currently not confined to my head: it is encouraging to know that change, while often hard, is not impossible.

• You ladies who feel safe from snakes in your nice brick houses... maybe not so much. (Warning: one PG word.)
• You might think having two hearts would be cool. Maybe... but not if you're having heart-attacks in both of them! (Thx Andy Dollahite)
• Yep. This is the only way I can bear Lionel Ritchie's "Hello."
• Another musical note. Fred Butler pointed me to this video of a Golden Retriever dancing the merengue. The weirdness of the first seconds melted away in amazement at the complex series of steps this dog knows, smiling all the while. Dogs can be so amazing.
• Don't show my wife that one; she'll make the (incorrect) inference that, if the dog can learn such complex dance steps, then...
• I leave with with this disturbing image:

• Finally:

THE USUALS WILL BE OBSERVED