Resources for Reformation Day

Today (October 31) is Reformation Day, commemorating and celebrating the Reformation, which involved renewed focus on the Bible and led to Martin Luther translating the Bible into German. Reformation Day takes place each year on the anniversary of Luther’s nailing of the 95 Theses on the Wittenberg Door on October 31, 1517.

A few years ago, Justin Taylor posted some resources and recommendations for the day, and his post is still applicable (but I have removed most of the videos):

1. Last year I interviewed Carl Trueman about the 95 Theses. It’s a nice way to get a brief introduction to what happened.
2. There are a number of accessible introductions to the Reformation, but if you want to focus on Luther’s life and theology, a great choice would be Stephen Nichols’s Martin Luther: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought. J. I. Packer writes, “For half a century, Bainton’s Here I Stand has been the best introduction to Luther. Stephen Nichols’s engaging volume is in many ways better than Bainton’s for this purpose. It deserves to be widely read.” Nichols also has a good introduction to the 95 Theses.
3. The 2003 movie on Luther starring Joseph Fiennes is surprisingly well-researched and reconstructed. Here is their depiction of the 95 Theses:
4. The Diet of Worms (1521) was where Luther gave his famous “Here I Stand” speech. (Although “Diet of Worms” sounds like an exotic diet, the Imperial Diet was the general assembly of the imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and Worms [pronounced more like verms] was a German town on the western bank of the Rhine River). This is a fascinating and momentous event in history. Here’s a great website for learning more about what happened.

The Luther film portrays Luther arriving in Worms after completing his 15-day, 300-mile journey from Wittenberg on April 17, 1521. At 4 PM he was taken to the Bishop’s Court and waited for two hours to see the Emperor. Then at 6 PM he appeared before the Diet, led by Charles V, the 21-year-old Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and Johann Eck, his spokesman. Along with them were the Roman advisers and representatives, Spanish troops, and the German political elite.

Luther was asked two questions: Do you acknowledge having written these twenty books lying here? Are you prepared to retract them as a whole or in part? 

Luther was taken aback; he was expecting debate, not a yes or no answer. After Luther’s lawyer Hieronymus Schurff objected, “Let the titles of the books be read!” Luther responded in a barely audible voice: “The books are all mine and I have written more.” 

As to the second question, Luther responded: “This touches God and his word. This affects the salvation of souls. Of this Christ said, ‘He who denies Me before men, him will I deny before My father.’ To say too little or too much would be dangerous. I beg you, give me time to think it over.”

The assembly reluctantly gave him 24 hours to think it through. He responded the next evening with his famous answer. 

For an audio overview using good historical sources, you can’t beat Max McLean’s Here I Stand album. They have kindly made the whole thing available for free on YouTube:

1. Introduction
2. The Road to Reformation
3. Luther’s Prayer
4. Here I Stand
5. Eck’s Response to Luther
6. Luther’s Final Response
7. Conclusion
8. Sources and Closing Comments
Total Time: 24 minutes

5. I have mentioned in previous posts some good books for children related to Luther. For example, the illustration at the top of this post was painted by Greg Copeland (and used by permission of Concordia Publishing House) and can be found in Paul Maier’s book for older kids, Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World. I’ve also posted on the new graphic novel about Luther.

But I would be remiss not to mention a brand-new children’s book published by Crossway, written by R.C. Sproul, and illustrated by T. Lively Fluharty, called The Barber Who Wanted to Pray. It tells the true story of Luther’s writing A Simple Way to Pray in response to his barber’s request for help with his prayer life. Even books like these are designed to be read to children, Dr. Sproul has said, “Ultimately, my target audience in a children’s story is the parents who are reading the stories to their children.” We can all learn a lot from this simple book.

Resolutions

New Years resolutions? I usually don't compile a new annual list for myself for personal goals, but the following two lists have been the most helpful for me over the years.

First, Jonathan Edwards wrote about 70 resolutions in the 1700s.

Second, Clyde Kilby mentioned 10 resolutions in a lecture in 1976, and John Piper has spoken about and published these a few times, including his recent post.

Here are Kilby's 10 resolutions for mental health, according to Piper's article:

1. At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about me.

2. Instead of the accustomed idea of a mindless and endless evolutionary change to which we can neither add nor subtract, I shall suppose the universe guided by an Intelligence which, as Aristotle said of Greek drama, requires a beginning, a middle, and an end. I think this will save me from the cynicism expressed by Bertrand Russell before his death when he said: "There is darkness without, and when I die there will be darkness within. There is no splendor, no vastness anywhere, only triviality for a moment, and then nothing."

3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event, filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities. I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence, but just as likely ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood.

4. I shall not turn my life into a thin, straight line which prefers abstractions to reality. I shall know what I am doing when I abstract, which of course I shall often have to do.

5. I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.

6. I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic" existence.

7. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the "child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder."

8. I shall follow Darwin's advice and turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.

9. I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, "fulfill the moment as the moment." I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is now.

10. Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life on the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the architect who calls himself Alpha and Omega.

An Advent Reading: Our Father's World

Underlying what some take as mere coincidence or simply human activity, God's sovereign hand ordains all things...including the socio-political circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth 2,000 years ago. Barbara Reaoch wrote,

Only God has power so great as to create all the circumstances of Jesus’ birth just as He said. Caesar Augustus’ military power appeared to control the census that took Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. But only God’s universal power could create historic events so Jesus was born from the lineage of King David in Bethlehem, exactly as the inspired prophets declared centuries before.

Everyday Prayer is a blog posting daily Advent readings (like the above) this December.

Advent

The first Sunday of Advent was last Sunday, and our family has many traditions. Here are a few  (number 3 is a new one this year for us):

1. Jesse tree, 

2. Luke 2 reading, 

3. 12 days of Christmas: Around the World with Kate & Mack (Wycliffe) - Mexico, Finland, Japan, Serbia, Ghana, Greece, Australia, Argentina, Russia, Philippines, DRC, Greenland, and 

4. Lighting the Advent candles each day: 4 (1 new addition each week) + 1 (Christmas Day)

5. Ouma's Christmas devotional

What Advent traditions are you and your family practicing this year?

Cameroon's National Holiday

Cameroon celebrated today its 41st annual national holiday: celebrates the unification of Cameroon (Anglophone and Francophone parts) and inauguration of the republic.

Also celebrated in Paris (note the young image of Paul Biya in the background)!

Home Remedies from Google: Things Learned During Cleanup

1. Blueberry stains on white t-shirt.
Loved the blueberry pancakes, but the berries were so juicy, they skipped the plate and landed several times on my shirt!
Solution: vinegar soak, then pour boiling hot water on it, then rub out the stain with elbow grease and laundry detergent.

2. Blood on cloth.
Pour hydrogen peroxide on it. Blood bubbles right out. Unbelievable!

3. Chocolate on cloth.
Carefully scrape the excess off the cloth (do not rub into the cloth). Flush club soda over it. Gone.

4. Chocolate becoming chunky (cooling) when you need it to be fondu.
A little bit of Canola and boiled water slowly while it was being stirred.  Fondu success!

5. Sediment stains on porcelain (or, BM on toilet bowl!).
Pour baking soda in the bowl, letting it sit overnight. Flush in the morning. Gone (at least the area that had been in direct contact with the water). For the rest above the water line, we attempted vinegar doused on a cloth in contact with the line, but this yielded no noticeable results. Next, we scraped the rest off with a pumice stone, with success.

First Due Date Today

Today marks the first due date, given us by a Cameroonian doctor during the 1st trimester and based on the 40 week bell-curve. But a Harvard study found that the average pregnancy actually goes 41 weeks and 1 day, so we are not holding our breath for today!

We have received 2 other due dates, though, so this "due date" thing is much more confirmed to be an art than an exact science.

Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States
A Proclamation

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United Stated States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

Abraham Lincoln

Source

Reformation Day: First 7 of Luther's 95 Theses

As you may recall, Halloween shares the anniversary of Luther's posting of his 95 Theses, commonly considered the event that launched the Protestant Reformation.  Here, I post the first 7 of those theses, and simply remark that Luther's focus (as seen in thesis #1) is interestingly repentance. That all of life is repentance.  And not the sort (e.g. confession to the priest) that the Church practiced at the time.

1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.
2. This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance, i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by the priests.
3. Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers mortifications of the flesh.
4. The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
5. The pope does not intend to remit, and cannot remit any penalties other than those which he has imposed either by his own authority or by that of the Canons.
6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God's remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely unforgiven.
7. God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His vicar, the priest.

Source

Holiday Last Weekend

All over the world (except in Saudi Arabia), last Saturday, February 4th was the M*sl*m holiday Mawlid an-Nabi, celebrating the birthday of the prophet.

Why Easter?: Book Release!

From Shepherd Press' website, the latest book is about to release, Why Easter?

Why Easter?

Easter is a celebration of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But how many children know why Jesus died and came to life again? This illustrated devotional contains 28 lessons - one for each day of the four weeks leading up to Easter - in a short, focused format designed to help parents show the Christ of Easter to their children.

Congrats, Mom and Aunt Carol!

The Photo on which a Pickpocket Capitalized

I was guarding my wallet the entire Timkat celebration except for during this shot when we were passing an ark of the covenant (and the picture did not even turn out that well!):

• Right hand holding camera to take the picture
• + Left hand on friend's shoulder so to stay together 
• = no hands on wallet = pickpocket!

And be especially on your guard in places of close contact where the traffic is moving both directions!

Timkat in Ethiopia

Timkat = Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebration of Epiphany.

Wikipedia sums up well some of the differences between Western and Eastern celebrations of this holiday:

• Epiphany, (Koine Greek: ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, "manifestation", "striking appearance"^[1]) or Theophany,^[2] (Ancient Greek (ἡ) Θεοφάνεια, Τheophaneia) meaning "vision of God",^[3] which traditionally falls on 6 January, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. 
• Western Christians commemorate principally (but not solely) the visitation of the Biblical Magi to the Baby Jesus, and thus Jesus' physical manifestation to the Gentiles. 
• Eastern Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God.^[4]
• Eastern Churches following the Julian Calendar observe the Theophany feast on what for most countries is 19 January^[5] because of the 13-day difference today between that calendar 
• and the generally used Gregorian calendar.^[6]

Ps. because the minibuses could not drive through the mass of people at this Timkat celebration in Addis last Friday, we had to walk back (over 6 kms) from the grounds to our home.

Cameroon's 50th Birthday

Really this whole year celebrates their 50th Anniversary of independence, but October 1st is special as that marks the date (1961) when the anglophone and the francophone parts of the country voted and united together as one country and one republic.

For some footage of part of downtown Yaoundé and its Boulevard de 20 Mai...

End of the Fast...

...means National Holiday today and (for good measure) yesterday, though celebrated mostly by people groups in the North.  For more info, Wikipedia.

14 July National Holiday

France's equivalent of July 4th, commemorating the storming of the bastille and the topple of the monarchy in France, July 14, 1789.  We didn't go to downtown Paris, but went to some local fireworks near where we are taking seminary classes northwest of town.

Happy Mother's Day...in France!

That's right, France celebrates Mother's Day 2 weeks after the States.

La Fête des Voisins, 27 Mai

The US equivalent is National Night Out, where neighbors meet one another, gather and eat together, and participate in community. In MN, we also found those nights to be creative and important times for making building steps in evangelism in these neighborhood block parties, as well as care for our fellow neighbor (e.g. in the neighborhood watch system).

1999 was the first year France (just in Paris) held the Fête, but it seems to have largely 'caught on.'

Holy Week Tools

Timeline Visualization by Stephen Smith at Bible Gateway:

And a Google map by Crossway of the major Holy Week sites in chronological order.

(HT: JT)

Valentine's Day - Not French Originated!

That's right. Though it is a common mistake to make, contrary to what one might assume, France did not create the celebration and holiday of Saint Valentine's Day. Chaucer (England) in 1382 was earlier. SVD as:

• A modern commercial holiday is rooted in England and America
• Celebrated in France is not nearly as commercial as in the USA
• Celebrated in France is not for kids; schoolchildren do not exchange valentines.

We delayed our celebration a couple days; today, we ate some pizza, had family worship time, and read a poem!

  (Wikipedia)