“We must consequently know our Bibles, because sometimes doctrinal issues of the greatest moment can hang on apparently trivial matters. Paul faced down Peter at Antioch because the gospel was at stake in Peter’s avoidance of certain dinner companions. Other issues are apparently trivial because they are, well, trivial. When forbidden to destroy our brother …
Why Not Both?
“Thus we have a curious dichotomy in the modern literary scene. Whereas the popular culture gives us books that offer entertainment but no ideas, the ‘high culture’ gives us books that offer ideas but no entertainment. There are many books—in my opinion the best books—which manage to do both” (Gene Edward Veith, Reading Between the …
A Slight Improvement
“The Bible contains a great deal about doctrinal priorities. Some of the most withering criticism leveled by our Lord was directed at religious meatheads who did not know that the altar was more important than the gold placed on it, and honoring parents was more important than contributing to the current pledge drive for the …
Just Plain Bad
“Some of the most popular books are starkly bad — bad in their content, bad in their effect, and, in a related way, bad aesthetically” (Gene Edward Veith, Reading Between the Lines, p. 27).
Purity Circling the Drain
“Some perfectionists look at this dismal state of affairs and conclude that what we need is an additional splinter group — and presbyterian denomination of three people, not counting the stated clerk. The stationery proudly proclaims that they are a continuing presbyterian church, that they sing Psalms through the left nostril, unlike those hardy blasphemers …
Who Knew?
“Reading promotes continuity, the gradual accumulation of knowledge, and sustained exploration of ideas. Television, on the other hand, fosters fragmentation, anti-intellectualism, and immediate gratification” (Gene Edward Veith, Reading Between the Lines, p. 21).
True Believers
“The Christian Church is called to disciple the nations over the course of centuries, not to be social engineers for the next three weeks, maybe four. Our message is the cross of Christ, not a systematic and doctrinal bundle of plastic explosives. Our approach must be patient, organic, biblical, and inductive, and never ideological, abstract, …
Essential Bunyan
“Such passage seem to me the essential Bunyan. His prose comes to him not from the Authorized Version but from the fireside, the shop, and the lane. he is as native as Malory or Defoe. The Scriptural images themselves take on a new homeliness in these surroundings” (C.S. Lewis, Selected Literary Essays, p. 140).
Loving to Read for Obvious Reasons
“It is no exaggeration to say that reading has shaped our civilization more than almost any other factor and that a major impetus to reading has been the Bible” (Gene Edward Veith, Reading Between the Lines, p. 19).
Scholarship Chasing Its Tail
[The] “authority of truth means that hard study was not just a matter of scholarship chasing its tail. Questions are to be raise for the sake of finding answers. A wise pastor knows that splitting the difference between the right answer and the wrong answer will only result in another wrong answer” (Mother Kirk, p. …