Gadfly's Muse

Praising God For The Life Of A Man I Never Met

I never met  Arthur Fayette Johnson but I wish I had.  He died peacefully in his sleep this past  18th of April at age 100 at his last home in West Des Moines, Iowa.  I know of him only through the testimony of his son who is an elder in our church.  It is possible, as C. S. Lewis thought, that the greatest rewards in heaven might await those whose service on earth was the least heralded in their days of struggle.  The teaching that the "first shall be last and the last first" can certainly encourage us to believe that such is the case. 

For your encouragement as it was for mine, here is a synopsis of Mr. Johnson's life as provided by his son.  Following that I have included one of the many poems he wrote during his long and productive life.

Arthur Fayette Johnson, 100, went home to be with his Lord & Savior on Apr 18, 2006, at Bickford Cottage, West Des Moines, Iowa; he died peacefully in his sleep.  He was born on a sheep ranch in eastern Oregon on 4 Aug 1905. Arthur was a professional Civil Engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation, Dept. of Interior for 40 years, helping with part of the design for Boulder Dam.  During this time, he also served as a consultant for the World Bank, providing them with dam site surveys and feasibility studies for agricultural and water supply projects to be built in Cuba, the Virgin Islands, Bolivia, Lebanon, and Peru.  He was Ruling Elder Emeritus in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, serving both at Knox OPC, Silver Spring, MD and Park Hill OPC, Denver, CO over a period of more than 50 years.  He loved reading his Bible in Spanish & French as well as in English.  As a hobby, he hand-made several dozen violins, violas, and a couple of cellos.  He also wrote much poetry over the years, both in English and Spanish.  One of these English-Spanish poetry books is currently being given to seminary students at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary of Bolivia, supported by our church & Han-Sarang EPC.  His steadfast faith in, and service to, his Savior has been a guiding light to all of his friends & descendents.  He is survived by 6 children, 17 grand children, 41 great grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Jean, who faithfully served in the church and radiated her love for her Lord.  We have a great spiritual heritage, and rejoice in his home-going, although he will be greatly missed. Praise the Lord, for His mercies endure forever.

                               GARMENTS OF PRAISE
by Arthur Johnson

Dress me, Oh Lord, in garments made for praise,
In garments of salvation, all my days;
Array me in Christ's robe of righteousness,
Apparel of imputed grace, for dress.

Bless me, I face life judgment's dire intent,
Identified with Christ, found innocent;
Accepted guest to eat the wedding feast
With Him, my bridegroom, and my Prince and Priest.

The wolf will don sheep's clothing to deceive
God's cloak is for the ones He will receive;
His praise derives from inward fires of joy,
Bright radiance that Christians can employ.

The joy those sharing in salvation wear,
Prevails above the spirit of despair;
With double portions of inheritance,
the one in heave, other in advance.

Copyright, Arthur Johnson, 1983

Criminal Insanity: Grounds For Leniency???

The attempts by defense lawyers in the Zacarias Moussaoui  trial to seek mitigation of sentence on the grounds of mental incompetence demonstrates just how far our culture has departed from the notion that the prosperity and health of a nation is inextricably linked to its respect for justice. (Prov. 29:4)

The wholesale swallowing of the idea that medical categories can be assigned to mental and psychological aberrations implicitly assumes that there is a normal, healthy baseline from which one can measure deviations.  When a child has a fever her parents can measure the extent that temperature has departed from a standard state.  However, are we Christians obligated to follow the general trend and assume an analogous relation exists in the realm of mental (and spiritual) issues?

Biblical Bickering (?)

A friend of mine just sent me "a prayer for the PCA" by John Armstrong.  In this article Armstrong deplores the "bickering" about the strains of conservative theological positions raised by the "barking critics" from the "vocal minority who just can't stop arguing" and who "thrive on polemics."  He further characterizes these folk as those holding "strange interpretations of ecclesial trivia that are clearly out of the main stream of historic Reformed life, and ... pastors and elders who regularly attack one another in broad daylight."

Pretty strong words.  One wonders if Armstrong has decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, at least in the use of emotional invectives and raw opinion divorced from any supporting argumentation.

Here's my point:  If Armstrong is correct, that the kind of "bickering" that is going on is counterproductive to the health and prosperity of God's Kingdom, and that it poses a danger to the PCA denomination - then on what authority do we discover him to be correct?  He offers an opinion that he assumes is so clearly established as to not need warrant.   But what of those who are involved in this bickering?  Do they not have some reason for their vehemence?  Where does Armstrong demonstrate any greater charity with regard to their opinions than he decries in their activities?  If it is there, I don't see it.

Even If An Angel of Light...... : Reflections on Brian McLaren & Generous Orthodoxy - Part IV

"Astonishing" is an over-used and abused word.  Very few things to which the word is applied truly are.  But it is the only accurate way to describe my reaction to McLaren's views on the "necessity" for a period of "pluralistic relativism" within the general as well as the Christian culture (presumably just in our country or other countries  and cultures at the same stage of emergence as ours) so that the next level of Christian consciousness can emerge.

To Brian McLaren, the transition from Modern & Post-Modern thinking to whatever it is that comes next must be through the  birth-pangs (cf. Gal. 4:19, Rev. 12) of a dogmatic relativism that is generously accepted.  It is something we must "go through" and "pass beyond" (pg. 287) so that we arrive at "something beyond and better."

Even If An Angel of Light...... : Reflections on Brian McLaren & Generous Orthodoxy - Part III

Today I would offer a few observations on Brian McLaren's views and apparent views on history and, indirectly, his views on Scripture.

McLaren appears to fall into the "Liberal-Optimistic" camp (to add another category to his multiple list) with regard to history and man's progress in it.  At the heart of his take on "emergence" is the idea that a "new" Christianity is emerging within the development of history and that, rather than being a new thing, it is really just a further increment in the manner in which man has developed in his social, moral and spiritual improvement throughout history.  For McLaren, history (and scripture) is narrative and the narrative is concerned with progress.