Gadfly's Muse

Book Notes for The God of Promise and The Life of Faith by Scott Hafemann

I have prepared detailed notes on this book which are available for down-load.
  Download the_god_of_promise_and_the_life_of_faith.pdf

For those who just want my overall impressions (from the first page of the notes) here they are.

Overall Observations:                        
Hafemann writes VERY well.  This book is full of striking, concise phrases which penetrate and stimulate the reader.

There is plenty of room for theological discussion and disagreement with many of Hafemann’s positions, but his insights into the nature and purposes of suffering are some of the best I have ever seen.  That section alone is worth the reading even if disagreements over other theological issues (the nature of faith, the function and place of obedience, the limits of Jesus’ atoning death and the manner of its application, baptism, etc.) might be an initial distraction.

Some Sobering Thoughts On Suffering:Reflections on Scott Hafemann's "The God of Promise and the Life of Faith

Scott Hafemann is currently teaching at Wheaton College.  This is my first exposure to his writings and I find him to be an engaging author who is clear, concise and readable.  I differ with several positions he takes but generally consider this book very profitable to read.  As I progressed through the work, it was the section on suffering that reached out and grabbed me, pulled me in and got my heart and brain stirred to prayer and conviction.  I simply seek to share some of those thoughts in this post.

Hafemann is absolutely correct in how he sees the presence of evil and suffering in this world as taking a toll on the Christian life of faith.  Running from suffering, either our own or the confrontation with suffering in others, could be regarded as the prevailing character of our modern sensibilities.  We go to extraordinary measures to prevent our own suffering.  This generation seeks out pre-emptive medical care more than any other.  At the first sign of a sniffle or a new ache or something which might be cancer, we're off to the doctor and often with a high degree of anxiety.  And yet our lifespans and quality of life are far greater than any of our fore-fathers.  Perhaps that is the problem.  Life is good and that brings with it the fear that somehow that "goodness" is temporary.  We live with a sense of impending disaster and so we seek to shield ourselves from suffering in ourselves or even that of others, if possible, lest their misery somehow gets in the way of our own sense of well being.  We are pitiful in this regard.

The Delights of Our Incomprehensible God: Reflections on John Piper's "The Pleasures of God"

This book has been out for a while but  I have only recently had the occasion to read it.  John Piper is the focal point of one of those breezes that God blows through His Church throughout the flowing ages. It's how He acts to bring needed correctives or counter-balancing emphases  where things may be drifting the wrong way.  For example, when man starts putting too heavy an emphasis on the fine points of theological speculation apart from doxology, God raises up pietists to remind us of othe importance of religious experience.  On the other hand, when revivalism gets out of hand, someone will start  raising the banner of right knowledge and doctrine.  God guides His church by stirring up the minds and hearts of people to act as a hedge to unhealthy tendencies,  and Piper, to my mind, fulfills a role like that today.

Piper's concern is to remind us that this grace in which we stand in relation to God, is a condition of joy and delight rather than grudging discipline.  As the herald of Christian hedonism he prophetically calls Christians away from the drabness of explicit or implicit practical legalism.  Too many Evangelicals consider discipleship as a general, stoical acceptance of toilsome religious duties and an unhappy scepticism of anything that gives pleasure.  Paraphrasing H. L. Mencken, Piper is fighting against the "suspicion that someone, somewhere is enjoying themselves"  as the prevailing character of Christian life.

A Necktie (hemp preferably) For A Two-Headed Idiot

Review:  Necktie For A Two-Headed Tadpole: A Modern Day Alchemy Book by Jason Murk (Oscura Press, 2006)

I don't remember where I saw a reference and recommendation for this book.  I bought it because I don't pay shipping at Amazon.com unless I absolutely have to and I needed something to fill out my order beyond the necessary $25 required to get free shipping.  There is a price to pay for being cheap.

Jason Murk is without a doubt extremely bright, perhaps even of genius quality.  It is a great sadness to see the gift warped.  He smoked one too many funny cigarettes (at least) and stared at far too many  "whorling whorlding" vortices (yes, he actually wrote that).