Obama's Challenges

After Obama's election, I noted that he had set himself up for a near impossible challenge of unrealistic expectations. While his election itself was an accomplishment of historic significance, the likely success of his Presidency was in my own mind a much more dubious proposition. For this reason, I have not been as concerned as critics who fear one term of Obama will undo everything they cherish about America -- the machinery of government simply moves to slowly and there are too many entrenched interests to overcome for any one President to achieve that, even with a Democratic Senate and House. While his personal charisma and the public fascination with him may provide him a longer honeymoon period than afforded most, there inevitably comes a tipping point in public opinion when goodwill will turn into blame, and the possibility remains quite real in my mind that Obama's presidency may turn into a one-term disaster.

I emphasize the word possibility in the previous sentence; there is also a possiblity that he rises to the challenge, achieves significant things, and his historical significance will be more than being the first non-caucasian to achieve the highest office in the United States. But on the likelihood of this, I remain skeptical.

What prompts these thoughts this morning are two news items. First, last night's beer summit was the White House's attempt to manage the fall-out of Obama's mishandling of the Gates-Crowley incident. It was hardly Obama's first gaffe, but it was his first gaffe that gained public traction and forced the White House into damage control mode. Given the transparency with which this is being reported as a political strategy, it is not achieving its goal. In politics, you do strategy but talk policy. When strategy is the story, you are losing.

Second, while this gaffe may contribute to some of the poll numbers, there has been a steady slow decline in the support numbers for Obama, which if I were one of his advisors, would be of major concern to me. There are various poll numbers which could be tracked but to keep it simple and use only one - the daily Rasmussen Presidential approval index. Immediately after the election, Obama had a +8 approval (difference between "strongly approve" and "strongly disapprove"); by inauguration it was in the high 20s; but since then it has steadily crept down til early June when it first hit the zero mark. It is now at the -12 mark. This isn't about any one gaffe or policy -- it is everything together that are conspiring to slowly change the brand of Obama in the the public mind.

In politics, you can occasionally get somewhere by riding the wave of enthusiasm (such as Obama's election in 2008, or Pierre Trudeau's election in Canada in 1968) but in the long haul, it is the longer term brand perception that determines your political mandate and clout. Governing is tough, Obama has taken on some tough issues, and its still way to early in the game to hit any panic buttons -- but if I were an Obama advisor, I think I would be doing more than simply muse over these challenges.

The Pope on Economics

While I was away, on the eve of the G-8 summit, Pope Benedict released a papal encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, dealing with the economic crisis. (A summary can be found from the July 13th Times On-line here.) Now I am a Protestant so there are all sorts of things about papal encyclicals I disagree with, including the authority that they are intended to carry. That caveat aside, that said, however, there is a great deal in this document which I applaud and which provides very helpful insights which ought to be incorporated into the present debate.

Apart from the many helpful definitions and relationships that are quite properly and carefully delineated (see for example, the relationship between justice and love as outlined in paragraph 6), a few of the key points I most appreciated included:

- the focus on the human person (in all of his / her dimensions) at the center of economic development. Inbetween reading this encylical over the past few days, I was also catching up on the accumulated Economists on my reading pile, which included the July 18th editorial "What went wrong with economics?" That editorial makes a valid point - there are silos in the discipline of economics that end up with one-dimensional explanations for things. However, I am not sure that the editors of the Economist, when concluding that "economists are social scientists, trying to understand the real world," they have in mind economic development in the context of human flourishing,to use the encyclical's language, implying moral, social, and spirtual dimensions of life impact our economics. They would do well to read the Pope's advice.

- I appreciate the way the encyclical attempts to balance an appreciation for free market economics and the good it has achieved with its valid critiques of social inequality and materialism. It is easy for these documents to become one-sided polemics that simply piles on the tired left-right debates and this document manages to avoid that pitfall.

- There is an appropriate focus on demographics and the dignity of human life in its fullness, not avoiding the thorny social topics regarding life and family issues. It also appropriately focuses on both individual and institutional solutions.

I am not all that enthused about the encyclical's call for increased global governance in economic matters, implying much more confidence in the ability of UN bodies to reform than I think is warranted.

There is much more that can and will be said regarding this -- the reason I made reading this a priority is that there are further organziational initiatives underway to facilitate conversation, and I had to "catch up" to be an informed participant in the conversation. More on these matters as plans become more concrete and materialize.

Whatever one's ecclesiology, it has to be admitted that the Pope has a unique place among the world's religious leaders in raising a focus on the spiritual dimensions of issues. With this encyclical, he has utilized that position and I think made a very constructive and positive constribution to the debate.

Electioneering Update

Rumours of a fall election are in the news again today. In my last blog on this subject, I suggested next spring is the most likely time for an election, although no one should rule out the fall. I still think this makes most sense, however , the positive news regarding the economy (although the Finance Minister wants to ensure that we don't get too carried away) may create the circumstances in which it is the Liberals and Conservatives who end up agreeing that it is time for the vote, making the need for Bloc and NDP support for an election call redundant.

It is well known that within the Liberal camp, there were many who thought this past spring at the heart of the economic crisis was the time to pull the plug, hoping to receive the benefit from the votes of those who will want to punish the government for their economic woes. If the economy is improving, the pressure is to go for the vote while voters are still feeling the lingering effects, rather than have to face the possibility of an election next year against a PM who will claim to have led Canada through the storm with far less damage than everyone else predicted.

This logic would imply that the Conservativew would want to wait however I suspect there are some in the Conservative party who are thinking that the best time for an election may be while the economy is still tough but showing signs of optimism, (a) in the belief that they will win the "best economic manager" vote and benefit from voters not wanting to rock the boat during such a time and (b) recognizing that once economic better times have returned, voters may be inclined to be persuaded on a ballot question other than the economy, which creates space for the Liberals to propose some innovative social policy proposal which historically have been the ground on which they have most successfully appealed to Canadians.

Throw in the the organizational advantages that the Conservatives appear to still have and the desire not to give the Liberals too much time to get organized, the complications of timing a 2010 election with the Olympics et al. next spring, there may just be the possibility of a fall election, called not because of the three opposition parties jointly conspiring against the government, but because of the Conservatives and Liberals both deciding that now is the time to roll the dice and go for their majority.

Our Canadian Dilemma

Today's Globe and Mail contains a masterful and insightful piece of journalism by Christie Blatchford on the awful case of apparent "honour killings" in Kingston. Read the whole thing to get the context, but her observation near the end merits pondering and raises important questions that Canadians will need to come to grips with:

This is Canada. And Canada is not the United States of America, as we so often point out with tedious smugness. There, the motto on the Great Seal of 1782, the motto carried by the American Eagle, is e pluribus unum , Latin for, “Out of many, one.” There is the melting pot, where everyone is first an American.

Here is the mosaic, where, as a friend reminded me yesterday, years ago Greeks celebrated when Greece beat Canada at basketball, where this spring, protesting Tamils blocked a street full of hospitals in Toronto to criticize our country, where a couple of years ago, Toronto Police bragged of not uttering “the M word” (Muslim) at a press conference held to announce the arrests of a group of young Muslim-Canadian men charged in a terror plot.

“Here is the clash that the great Canadian tolerance is faced with,” my friend wrote. “Here we tolerate a partial and some would say a negligible assimilation or even acceptance of our Canadian norms, beliefs, fundamental principles.”

(h/t Peter Menzies for the link).

Op-Ed on Berlin in Today's Herald

Today's Calgary Herald includes my opinion piece sparked by last week's determination that John Demjanjuk would face charges for his role in a Nazi death camp. Regular readers of this page may recall that I reflected here on Saturday, July 11th on the profound impact of visiting Berlin sites associated with the Third Reich.

This is the truth, brilliantly articulated by Fyodor Dostoevsky in The Brothers Karamazov, that in the "freedom" humans seek, we are capable of things of which we would prefer not to speak. But Berlin, as the rest of the world, still exists. The unspeakable has been overcome, and the only seemingly rational explanation comes not from within, but without. To find hope in such a place, one must look beyond the monuments and place this story in the context of a larger one.

History has a purpose, a truth which seems spoken very loudly amid the haunting silence of the monuments of Berlin.

Published in the Sun

While I am still on vacation in Europe, I notice that the Calgary Sun ran a column that had been written earlier, dealing with the Bloc Quebecois' advantage in campaigns and the implications for minority governments in the longer term. You can read the column here.

We are having a great time in Europe, but getting ready for our return later this week, after which time, updates on this page will once again become more regular.

Would Calvin come to His own Birthday Party?

My best answer to that question, written after last week's Calvin conference, was published in today's Comment.

Still enjoying my vacation... the family history of the journey ends tomorrow and the final leg of a few days of rest and relaxation is about to begin....

When Education Creates Passion

I have never thought of Martin Luther and Lt. Col Claus Schenk Graf van Stauffenberg together before, but after visiting sites focused on each of these German heroes on consecutive days, these two noblemen have come together in my mind, for both personal and historical reasons.

I can trace my own fascination with Martin Luther with considerable precision. I was in Grade 5 when the grades 5-8 classes at Ebenezer Christian School in St. Thomas did a special joint session on the Reformation, highlighted at the end by a showing of the Luther movie. The story captured my imagination and the next year, I received a Luther biography as a gift. It only furthered my appetite and within a few years I had read Here I Stand by Roland Bainton and The Life and Times of Martin Luther by J.H. Merle D'aubigne -- the very first book I purchased which remains part of my library today.

(standing before Luthers pulpit)

Part of the reason we ended up in Berlin on this vacation was a major project which my son did for school this year on Stauffenberg. There is a particular delight that a parent receives when there is a passion about a subject on the part of their child, and we had the benefit of Chris as a tour guide in this day.

(Chris pointing out who is who from the heroes gallery)

These men were very different and comparing their struggles, carried out almost 400 years apart, is not easy to do. But both were resistance fighters of courage, prepared to stand up against the powers of their day and risk all for what they believed to be true.

There is something special about education when it not only fills the brain with the requisite facts, but cultivates a passion and captures an imagination that helps shape our understanding of the world and our place in it. I had the privilege of such an education and so did my son, and it was a joy to be able to investigate our passions in more depth on consecutive days. It makes the money spent on school, and on vacation, have an even greater return.

And now for this commercial.....

For those who may be missing the political flavour that often makes its way to nto this page, we interrupt this vacation reflectionlogue to point out that that ARPA Canada has reposed a series of speeches given in 2005 entitled Kingdom Citizens in Secular Society. It includes a speech I gave entitled "Influencing for Good." It can be found here.

An excerpt...

On more than one occasion I wondered whether the overall objective of influencing the ordering of public life to glorify God was a hopelessly naïve and futile prospect. Maybe those who isolated themselves from the world, devoting themselves exclusively to Bible study and evangelism, were being better stewards of their resources. A troika of temptations seem to water down the effectiveness of Christian public witness. The pragmatic temptation rationalizes compromise and silences conscience tugs with tactical explanations. The belonging temptation causes one to downplay external piety in order to better “fit in,” all of course in the cause of using this resulting relationship influence for good. The mental laziness temptation adopts the solutions conceived in secular policy houses, dresses them up with a few proof texts and pious principles, and baptizes them as the Christian solution to the problem.

Still, retreating into the safe sanctuary of church life never seemed a satisfactory answer. Pragmatism, inconsistency, and a lack of intellectual rigour are on display inside, as well as outside, the church. Besides, to abandon any attempts to influence public life only because the challenge is difficult seemed like the behaviour of the man in the parable who buried his talent. God expects a return on what He has given us and certainly the institutions of public life are part of the creation which must be replenished and stewarded.

...

Our problems are not political parties, lobby groups, or think tanks that are active in the public square. Our problem is a culture in which mediocrity and hedonism shapes the lives of the citizens. And by this, I do not just mean the fact that so many people are evidently not saved and do not lead Christian lives. Even among those who confess Christ, go to church, and even explicitly seek to do politics out of a Christian framework, there is a prevailing attitude of consumerism and mediocrity. So why should we expect government to look any different? I don’t like it. I believe our society is on a path towards spiritual – and with it inevitably legal and social – suicide. But it doesn’t do us any good to deny the realities of our present environment.

From Geneva to Berlin

After spending the better part of a week in Geneva, reflecting on Calvinism which is known for its themes of man's total depravity, God's sovereignty and redemption, today I spent in Berlin where it was time for a study of applied Calvinism.

We took a walking tour of the sites associated with the Third Reich and, with the help of our excellent British tour guide Mick, understand something of the horrors that occured and what led to them. Someone told us before coming here that "seeing Berlin will change your life - you will never be quite the same." It's too early to draw conclusions but I doubt I will soon forget the pictures at the Topography of Terror, some quite graphic of executiions taking place with a nonchalant crowd of onlookers, some with unexplainable smirks on their faces; photos of children participating in cruel anti-semitic plays; and so many artifacts of carefully planned, and meticulously choreographed evil.

I have a history degree and have read the stories, but there is something about standing in the places where these things happened; seeing the bullet marks still in the stones, and seeing monument after monument documenting the horror that makes an impression on you.

The Holocaust memorial is haunting, as the stones seem to go on forever (by design), helping minds like mine, for whom the number 6 million just a big number, to have a sense of the magnitude of it all.

I don't think it is possible for any reflective human to experience a day like today and not consider some of the big questions of life. It is like looking evil in the face. As a Calvinist, I have a theological category within which to understand what happened, although it remains challenging. It impresses upon me the depth of depravity, and seeing the masses who participate -- this was not just a carefully connived conspiracy of a few -- for me provides even more empiracle evidence of the reality of depravity in each of us. While I may be able to separate myself from Hitler and a few Nazi leaders, I cannot rationally believe that all of those involved were made of different stuff than I am. The famous quote from Hannah Arendt about evil being normal came to mind (our condo is on Hannah Arendt Drive) and I just looked it up:

The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal. From the viewpoint of our legal institutions and of our moral standards of judgment, this normality was much more terrifying than all the atrocities put together.

Tbe second reflection that comes to mind is the sovereignty of God. It was telling how many times in the story something unnatural, unexplained, and unexpected changed the planned course of history. Whether it was the winter of 1941 being one of the coldest on record outside of Moscow, magnifying Hitlers tactical error of not trying to take Moscow before winter; the mist that came on Berlin which made the Soviet tactic of using anti-aircraft lights to blind their foes, ineffective; various situations where people "just happened" to be in certain places at certain times....

I was reminded of one of my favourite texts where God "calls a bird of prey from the east,the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it." (Is 46:11-12). Looking first hand at history, especially such a dark chapter as this one, would be much more bleak if there was not the confidence that God is in control. I know that this very truth causes many to question it: If God is in control, why would He let such horror happen? is a common response. There's another side, one captured in William Golding's Lord of the Flies. (its been high school so forgive me if the facts are slightly off, but the gist remains clear in my mind.) The boys live on the island, get progressively more evil, until they almost kill each other off, and just in the nick of time, the British officer comes to prevent them from totally destroying themselves. After coming to grips with the reality of evil that history has demonstrated, the continued existence of this place even through today cannot be attributed to anything but the preserving grace of God.

Redemption is a big concept with lots attached to it, and after 24 hours in this city, I do not mean to pass any judgements on this city or its citizens. In fact, as I looked for a church at which to worship tomorrow, the options did not all seem that confidence-inducing. Yet, at a macro level, I could not help be struck by the honesty with which Germany is confronting its past - telling honest stories about its difficult history and in the process of sharing with others, reminding themselves. The stumbling stones and think memorials speak to an healthy honesty in confessing corporate sin, and seeking forgiveness. Seven Jewish synagogues now are active in this city. The city seems vibrant. Last night at the restaurant, our thirty-something waiter's body language seemed uncomfortable as we talked about the purpose of our trip and our family history. Reflecting among ourselves later, we wondered whether he might have had direct family members who were involved in the battles on "the other side." Even if he didn't,s many do. It would be easier to bury this all, and not invite people into their city to reflect on and talk about this.

Redemption involves confessing and dealing with sin. It also involves living a new life. While the city is still recovering, there seems to be a vitality here that speaks well of a citizenry determined to move on. But at the end, one does not visit places like this to come to opinions about another people. It is necessary to do in order to understand ourselves and the world in which are called to serve. If we are to be like the sons of Issachar who understood their times (I Chron 12:32), places like this need to be reflected on. they shape the living memory of so many of the world's citizens, and the world in which we live.

A key part of that lesson is to remember what Hitler forgot - the world is not different based on our racial heritage. We are all people created in the image of God but fallen in Adam. That truth means the capacity for evil lives in me by nature in the same way as it was exemplified by so many before. It also speaks of our need of the sovereign and redeeming grace of God, which thankfully, has also been shown to be true throughout the history of the world and has been promised to be true by God until the end of time.

It is the truth of God's word, and not the theology of any one man that is the basis for our confidence. Still, at the level of metaphor, I find it most helpful to have come from Geneva to Berlin, for depravity, sovereignty, and redemption are crucial truths to reflect on if we are to make sense of this place.

Conference Concludes

My evening has been spent writing articles for more formal media than this blog, and the hour is late, so a quick reflection and update before I leave Geneva.

I listened to a few papers this morning, took the tour of the archelogical sites under the cathedral, joined a conference closing luncheon in which Geoffrey Thomas provided some informal reflections based on his relationship with Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and this evening, participated in the conference closing worship service. Again we had three sermons.

Rev. Ted Donnelly preached on Rom 8 :35-39 under the theme, "More than Conqureors". He spoke of (1) the sphere of victory; (2) the superlative of victory; and (3) the source of victory.

This was followed by Dr. Hywel Jones on Job 36:1-4 under the theme "One of a thousand." Unfortunately, I could not effectively follow the flow of this sermon due to Dr. Jones heavy accent combined with the reverberating cathedral acoustics. I picked up several profound lines which were inspiring and thought-provoking but hesitate to publicly post on material I am quite uncertain of.

The final sermon was a tour de force by Dr. Derek Thomas on Romans 11:33-36. He spoke of the "Bowing before the Majesty of God" under the theme (1) A vision of the incomprehensibility of God; (2) A vision of the sovereignty of God; and (3) a vision of the glory of God.

I hope to blog some post-conference reflections and will also have material on the conference published in Comment (I just submitted my copy - scheduled for publication on July 17th) and Christian Renewal (scheduled for publication in an August issue). In the meantime, I am leaving Geneva early in the morning to meet up with my family and take up the next three legs of our European vacation - a time in Berlin in which we hope to focus on history related to the German resistance movement and see the sites relating to the fall of the Berlin wall; a time in the Netherlands in which we hope to focus on family history; and a time near the Rhine valley where we simply hope to relax and rest and enjoy some time together as a family. I am quite uncertain what our internet access will be and, even if it is there, will not feel any obligations to try to keep this page current (may or may not, depending on the mood.) We expect to be back in Canada in a few weeks and at that time, will resume the postings relating to current events that regular readers are more accustomed to.

An Edifying Smorgasboard

It's late - a long Wednesday at the Calvin 500 conference has passed and I am feeling exhausted although edified by this day. The morning started with five academic papers as usual. Dr. George Knight led off with a paper on "Calvin as New Testament Exegete" which for a good portion, was an informative survey paper Calvin's NT work concluding with some observations about the strengths and weaknesses of this work for use in the church today. The next two papers complemented each other well. Dr. R. Scott Clark spoke on "Calvin's principle of Worship." He was followed by Dr. Terry Johnson who read a paper written by Dr. Hughes Old on "Preaching as Worship in the Pulpit of John Calvin." Both papers raised many profound insights, too many to atttempt to summarize here. Two samples:

"Piety in godliness is the result of attendance at public worship, preaching and the sacraments. It is meaningless to speak of righteousness without religion of which public worship is the highest expression. To avoid or neglect this is spiritual theft." (wording not exact, but my notes from Clark.)

On the place of the sermon in the liturgy of the sevice, "There is a doxological intention in preaching. Preaching is both an answer and a call to prayer. The word is an answer to prayer and the prayer is an answer to the word. The sacrament is like a signature on a letter or a seal on a charter. That is why the sacrament should be administered without preceding word. Without the word preceding the sign, the sign has no meaning." (wording not exacdt, but my notes from Olds.)

Dr. Henri Boucher followed with a paper on "Calvin the Frenchman" in which he documented the French influences in the life of Calvin and suggested some implications and Dr. William McCormish on "Calvin's Children" in which he quite masterfully demonstrated the scope of Calvins influence, both from a geographic and sphere perspective.

Following the monring session, a number of us had the priviledge of touring the Reformation Museum. This evening was a time for worship again following a similar format as the previous evenings, but this time using a liturgy that was derived from John Knox's 1556 Form of Prayers.

The first sermon this evening was on Ephesians 1:3-14 enttiled "Election" by Rev. Geoffrey Thomas. He expounded the text with five points:

1. Election is a simple doctrine to understand. A useful illustrative narrative between a pastor and parishoner who was confused about election was used to make his point.

Pastor - How are you saved? Parishoner - By God's grace.

Pastor - Did God save you or did you save yourself? Parishoner - God did.

Pastor - Did He do so on purpose or by accident?

2. We should not have small or shrinking thoughts of God's election. He has saved a great multitudes of His people.

3. God chose multitudes because He loved them. "We cannot speak of God without speaking of Him as being in love with His people."

4. The teaching of election effects us by (a) humbling us; (b)encouraging us; (c)providing support for evangelism; (d) making us courageous.

5. How can we know we are elect? We know our election by having Christ. "A faith as thin as a spiders thread, in Christ, will carry us across the fire."

The second sermon was delivered by Dr. Joel Beeke on Matthew 16:18b entitled "Cherishing the Church." Dr. Beeke opened by outlining the opposite extremes of "absolutism and clericalism" (which he identified with a Roman Catholic view of the church) and "a "subjectivism and individualist" view of the church (which he identified with modern evangelicalism.) He suggested that the teaching of Matthew 16:18 provided us the key for a balanced and biblical view. He expounded his text using three points.

1. The Status of the Church as Belonging to Christ. It is His by gift from the Father, by promise, and by purchase. Dr. Beeke powerfully described the price paid on Golgotha as the "dowry price" for the church, asking with the words of Calvin: "If Christ cherished the church that he died for her, is it too much to ask his followers to live for her?" But not only did Christ die for her, He lives for her (referencing the work of His intercession) and He sends out preachers to gather her.

2. The Substance of the church founded on Christ. Noting that a great deal of blood and ink had been spilt over the meaning of the phrase "on this rock I will build my church", Dr. Beeke dealt with the theological controversy briefly and then proceeded to use the biblical imagery of stones and a building to describe the church. Christ Jesus is the chief cornerstone; the teaching of the apostles are built upon that cornerstone; and all believers are become living stones, fitly framed together into a glorious structure. Listening to this in a majestic stone cathedral, the imagery was especially powerful. Dr. Beeke challenged his audience always to keep this identity of the church in mind, noting that even though the church may appear at times to be aging and failing, she remains the bride of Christ and we should not abandon our mother.

3. The success of the church as the workmandship of Christ. He noted how the church has a wonderful indestructability; how she is a wonderful institution; how her members have a wonderful individuality; how she has a wonderful inheritance; and how she is able to give a wonderful invitation."The church is not a closed society, or you and I would never have been able to join."

The final sermon of the evening was delivered by Dr. Martin Holdt on Psalm 110. He noted how this Psalm is rarely preached on, in spite of it being quoted 27 times in the New Testament, surmising that it is due to the difficult subject matter of God's sovereign judgment on His enemies. Yet it is a Messianic psalm, and with a verse-by-verse exposition, Dr. Holdt worked through the truths of the sovereignty of God as it will bring down the enemies of God and bring all of the elect safely home.

Throughout the day, there was much to edify as well as challenge the mind and, when combined with the interesting conversations with fellow-beleivers around the globe, which reminds one of both the joys and challenges of the Christian life, I go to bed with my mind and heart having been filled at the smorgasboard feast that was offered in the day, and looking forward to the final day of this special conference tomorrow.

Evening Worship

Once again we gathered in the cathedral at 7 for a time of worship which included singing, a communal confession of sin, pastoral prayer, and the reading of the creed from John Calvin's 1545 Catechism of the Church of Geneva. We also listened to three sermons. The first was by Dr. Stephen Lawson on Galatians 1:6-10 entitled "Guarding the Gospel." He expounded the text with four points: Paul's amazement, Paul's adversaries, Paul's anathemas, and Paul's anger. The final sermon was by Dr. J. Ligon Duncan on Philippians 2:13-14 which he expounded under three points: A Challenge for the Indolent; A Cure for pride; and a Comfort for the Discouraged.

The middle sermon way by Dr. Ian Campbell on Romans 8:26,27, and 34 and was entitled "Three Great Intercessions." In his first point "The Intercession within the veil", Rev. Campbell used the two altars in the Old Testament as illustrative of Christ's work of intercession. There was the altar of sacrafice and the altar of incense, the first which pointed to Christ's work of atonement and the second which pointed to His intercession. Paul can ask rhetorically "Who is he that condemns?", speaking of the security of the believer, not only because of what Christ has done in the atonement but what He is doing in intercession. The two are closely linked. "The atonement is real because in its very nature, it is an intercession. the intercession is real because in its very nature it is an atonement." Christ's very presence in heaven is an intercession -- a reminder of the work he finished on earth. But although His work on earth was finished, His work itself is not finished. Although the sacrafice on the cross no longer needs to be offered, it is being continually presented.

In his second point, "The intercession within the church", Rev. Campbell quoted Calvin noting that Christ's interceding for us does not prevent us from interceding for each other within the church. In fact, Christ's intercession provides every reason for believers to be bold in their prayers for each other as "the intercession of Christ has changed the throne of dread for glory into a throne of grace." He challenged the audience with the question "not did you pray, but who did you intercede for?"

In his final point, "The intercession within our hearts", Rev. Campbell focused on the words "groanings which cannot be uttered." He used the illustration of a personal care health worker who needs to take care of our most intimate needs, and some do it with a grace and respect that we hardly realize what has happened. So the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, turning our incoherence whose meaning is lost even to ourselves into something that is perfectly heard as eloquence in heaven. He notes the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts is coordinated with the work of the Son in heaven, and so "heaven is brought to earth before the believer is ever brought to heaven." He urged his hearers to be active in using "the inconceivable preciousness of the throne of grace."

The lighting in the cathedral was sombre as a thunderstorm brought down rain and the stained glass looked very different with the backdrop of a darkened sky. Yet, I was not alone in sensing a particular power in the worship. We had been given by the preaching a chance as it were, to stand on our tippy-toes, and see something of the glories of the redemption wrought by God in His people. Dr. Duncan concluded his sermon noting that the reason Jesus named Lazarus when he called him from the grave -- "Lazarus, come forth" -- was that His word is so powerful that had he not named Lazarus but just said "Come forth", every person would have come from the grave. Such is the power that is at work in the lives of believers! After three verses of build-up with the assistance of the majestic organ, the final verse of the final song was sang acapella with a particular fervour:

Hallelujahs render

To the Lord most tender

Ye who know and love the Saviour.

Hallelujahs sing ye,

Ye redeemed, oh bring ye

Hearts that yield hiim glad behaviour.

Blest are ye

Endlessly;

Sinless there forever,

Ye shall laud him ever.

(from Wondrous King All Glorious, Joachim Neander, 1680).

Humanizing Calvin

It does not appear to be a planned theme, but I was struck by the humanity of John Calvin that came through in the papers delivered this morning. Dr. Isabelle Graessle, Director of the International Museum of the Reformation, provided a fascinatinating talk entitled "Calvin and Women: Between Irritation and Admiration." It was a scholarly paper that provided a nuanced perspective on Calvin's views in the context of his sixteenth century culture in the midst of "the invention of the individual" as one of the greatest changes in western civilizati0n. However, it was the narratives included in her talk that I found most fascinating. She made her points by speaking about three circles of women in the life of Calvin. These were a complex mix of stories (with too many unfamiliar names for me to reliably take notes of.) Calvin's mother died when he was young. He married an educated and pretty widow with two children ; she became sickly and died relatively young. Calvin's daughter and sister-in-law were brought by him to appear before the consistory to answer allegations of impropriety, Dr. Graesselle noted, supplementing these stories with interesting accounts of various other women in the city with whom Calvin interacted, three principles that interacted in Calvin's perspective on women- spiritual equality, legal equality, and biblical submission to their husbands. At the end of the day, it is a complex story but contrary to popular perception, "if not seduced, Calvin was at least soothed by the women of his existence."

Dr. Herman Selderhuis, (pictured above during a conversation we were able to have after the session - Dr. Selderhuis is on the right, in the middle is Dr. Peter Lilliback, President of Westminster Seminary) is a professor at the Apeldoorn Seminary and a minister in the CGK, the Dutch sister-church of my own denomination. He delivered a paper entitled "See you in heaven: Calvin's view of Life and Death." The first half of his paper was devoted to a more theological perspective on the subject, debunking the commonly held perception that Calvin was cold and dispassionate towards death, advocating a position that would justify repressing tears at the time of death and causing one feel guilty to long to see loved ones in heaven. He noted that Calvin's doctrine of predestination should be viewed in the context of the larger doctrine of providence. It is also crucial to remember that in Reformed theology, death is not destruction. The second half of his talk focused on how Calvin's doctrines translated into his personal practice. His letters are full of tears and expressions of grief and Dr. Selderhuis provided moving excerpts as Calvin dealt especially with the death of his wife. He noted how that Calvin appeared to believe that we would recognize each other in heaven, writing to Luther that they would continue their discussion on the other side of death. Dr. Selderhuis also provided an account of Calvin's own death.

These two presentations were preceded by a paper by Dr. Richard Burnett entitled "Calvin on Secular and Sacred History" and Dr. Anthony Lane on "Calvins' doctrine of assurance revisited." (Both were worthy of discussion but do not fit with this post's humanizing theme so I will pass over them.)

While Dr. William Edgar's presentation on "Calvin's impact on the arts" hardly made one imagine Calvin as an artist (he was a lawyer, after all, and for most it takes an extra art apprecation course to see the beauty of a legal brief), it did go a long way in countering popular perceptions that Calvin degraded the arts and was simply an inconoclast. Given my own vocation, this speech was of particular interest to me. Edgar outlined two schools of "rehabilitation" of Calvin's view of the arts : the Kuyperian school which has suggested a positive philosophy of the arts that emerges from sphere sovereignty (arts are freed from the constraints of the church and worship to its own sphere with creativity as a leading norm) and worldview (with creation, fall, and redemption being exemplified through the arts.) He highlighted the sometimes exagerrated claims of Kuyper how the Dutch art of Rembrant et al. provided an example of how calvinistic thinking affected an art culture. The second school of rehabilitation was identified with Philip Benedict who expresses some skepticism towards Kuypers claims, suggesting that what happened in Dutch culture was a little more complex than Kuyper allowed. Still, Benedicts view does allow that calvinism is one of various significant factors that does explain the Dutch renassaince in art, but a more careful historical responsibility is required before some of the claims that are made can be accepted.

Dr. Edgar concluded highlighting from Calvin's work his positive view of the arts (especially when understood outside of the context of worship, in which most of his polemics against art was directed), some thoughts regarding a Reformed ontology of the arts (noting examples of painting, poetry, architecture to demonstrate an alternative to the postivism of his age) , and some thoughts on culture change (primarily making the point that there is still significant work to be done.)

My short summary hardly does justice nor captures the nuance of any of these papers, but such is the challenge of cryptic blog entries written in a flurry between sessions. More reflective summaries will be published in more formal media settings and the papers themselves will all eventually be published in an academic compilation for those who are interested.

After five stimulating lectures, we had six free hours before the scheduled worship time at 7 p.m. during which three sermons will once again be delivered. Michael Zwiep and I took a self-directed tour of old Geneva, stopping for lunch to enjoy some healthy food as well as a very civilized beer, named after the reformer himself! It seemed a fitting way to finish a morning in which the humanity of Calvin came into evidence.

Vacationing with a Calvinist Work Ethic

The Calvin500 conference began in full swing today with a morning session that included five thirty minute papers (9 a.m. – 1 p.m.), a three-hour afternoon cruise on Lake Geneva, and a three hour time of worship in the evening (with three sermons interspersed with psalm singing.) It was a full day by any standard, but a stimulating and a rewarding one.

The first paper this morning came from Dr. Douglas Kelly entitled “The Catholicity of John Calvin.” His basic thrust was that rather than thinking of Protestant as an opposite of Catholicism, we should understand Protestantism as opposing the papacy and abuses in the church, as there was a lot ofed continuity between the reformers and the catholics as well. He emphasized small c Catholicism which he suggested was more properly understood as “seeking to expound the entire word of God to the people of God and the reading public.”

This was followed by a survey paper by Dr. Richard Gamble who reviewed 15 books and 7 edited collections which have been published about Calvin since 2000. Dr. Daryl Hart followed with a paper “Calvin among 19^th century Reformed Protestants in the United States. He reviewed the details of three debates among American protestants – a debate about the atonement, a debate about language and metaphor, and a debate about the spiritual presence in the Lords supper – and demonstrated through this how individualism and egalitarianism had become significant influences affecting both sides of these debates, such that the corporate character of the faith emphasized in Calvinism has been neglected.

The final two papers of the morning both dealt with discipline. A paper by Robert Kingdom was read by Dr. William McCormish and provided a most interesting summary of the development of the system of discipline and the role of the consistory in Geneva. Dr. Kingdon is heading a team that is transcribing, translating, and publishing the 21 volumes of minutes of the registry of pastors in Geneva which is providing fresh source material to better understand the system of discipline in Geneva. This was followed by a keynote talk by Dr. John Witte on “Reading Calvin as a lawyer.” Dr. Witte highlighted the balance between law and liberty in Calvin noting the development of rights talk began with the Calvinists such that “by 1650, European Calvinists had died for every right” that was eventually included in the American Bill of Rights. However, this “rights talk was never divorced from duties talk.” Dr. Witte developed Calvin’s three uses of the law – its civil use to restrain the sinfulness of unbelievers; its theological use to convict men of their sinfulness; and its educational use to teach believers towards sanctification. He highlighted how Calvin, with reference to both church and state, highlighted the division of powers (between judicial, legislative and executive functions), a mixed system of governments, and federal systems of government as a check against the abuse of power by authorities. He concluded with several reflections on the enduring contribution of Calvin to law, noting the respect for the rule of law within the church, respect for the democratic process within the church, liberty within the church, and a healthy respect for human sinfulness. In the final section of his paper, he noted how Calvin may not have contemplated a neutral or secular state in his sixteenth century context, but how Calvinist since, building on the doctrine of creation and the resurrection, developed systems of pluralism claiming as their seeds Calvin’s thought.

The format was intense with five papers delivered in four hours, with no time for questions or interaction in a room whose acoustics were less than ideal. Nonetheless, these papers did provide some stimulating discussion (not all agreement) over our water breaks between.

We had to rush to refresh ourselves for a three-hour cruise on Lake Geneva where the beautiful scenery was looked at only between the interesting conversations we were able to have, as many of us mingled and met others we knew through their writings but had never had the opportunity to meet before.

This evening, we had a time of worship in the cathedral that included three sermons. Dr. Philip Ryken preached on I Corinthians 16:5-11, “A Wide Door for Spreading the Gospel in which he highlighted (1) the constraints of the call; (2) the openness of the doors; and (3)the strength of the opposition. Dr. Peter Lilliback preached on I Corinthians 1:29-31, “All the Glorious Offices of Christ” in which he described how Christ as a Redeemer fuctions as prophet, priest and king. In the final message, Dr. Robert Godfrey expounded John 17:3 focusing on (1) the life that is eternal; (2) the God who is true; and (3) the Christ who God has sent.

It was a full day with hardly enough time to absorb, let alone process, the significant and rich content that was shared. However, it was also a time in which communion with the saints and with God was felt as we worshipped together, singing with alternate verses accompanied by the organ and accapello, with (among many other songs), from a 1707 hymn written by Isaac Watts:

Great Prophet of my God

My tongue would bless thy name

By thee the joyful news

Of our salvation came,

The joyful news of sins forgiv’n

Of hell subdues and peace with Heav’n/

Jesus my great High Priest

Offered his blood and died

My guilty conscience seeks

No sacrifice besides.

His powerful blood did once atone,

And now it pleads before the throne.

A Sunday of Worship in Geneva

St. Pierre’s Cathedral in Geneva as unusually full for a morning worship service on July 5^th, but admittedly a congregation that includes at least one archbishop, six seminary professors, twenty-four seminary professors, approximately 100 Reformed pastors from around the world and the author of over 300 books on Calvinist themes do not make up an ordinary congregation. As Dr. Ferguson noted, “Calvin would be surprised to see us here, and I am not sure he would have approved” however hopefully he would approved of the text.

The service followed a generic Reformed pattern, the order flowing from praise, to confession of sin, to thanksgiving, to the means of grace (prayer of intercession, Scripture reading, sermon) to benediction. The congregation sang Psalms 100, 93, 124, and 118 from the Genevan Psalter and for those of us of a generation never to have witnessed the collection being taken up with bags on the end of poles, a history

As appropriate for a Reformed service, the Word was central. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson’s message “In Christ Alone” was based on Philippians 3. He noted that Paul outlines in this passage what he was by nature, how he was found in Christ, and what he became by grace. Paul was a quintessential type A personality, driven to excel, with a passionate zeal for truth. Linking the historical accounts in Acts, Paul’s confession in Romans 7 of covetousness, and his text passage of Philippians 3, Dr. Ferguson suggested that the conviction of sin through covetousness was made real to Paul by the death of Stephen. Dr. Ferguson juxtaposed Paul with Stephen, one of his contemporaries whose reasoning, confidence, and manifestation of grace he could not match. “(In Stephen), Saul saw someone in response to whom he could do one of only two things: he could destroy Christ’s Stephen or he could bow to Stephen’s Christ.” God met covetous Paul on the road to Damascus and by an unexpected conversion, brought Paul to Himself.

Philippians 3 can be read as spiritual autobiography, the “inner scoop- on how (Paul) came to be found in Christ.” Paul is not so interested in the theology of union as he was the person to whom he was united. In vs. 7-10, he mentions the name of Christ extolling His various attributes at least ten times. He calls Jesus his kurios, not to diminish the majesty of His JHWH Godness but to glory in His imputed righteousness. “Paul could stand before God as righteous as Jesus Christ is righteous.” No accusation could be made against Paul before the judgment seat of God as he was in Christ. Paul was “not only in Christ to be justified but in Christ to be transformed into His death and resurrection.” Citing Calvin on internal and external mortification, Dr. Ferguson noted how suffering is often used by God in His people as a key to spiritual usefulness. In remembering the ministry of John Calvin, we tend to sympathize with how he was sickly, maligned in his own time, and misunderstood in history. Yet perhaps it was this suffering which in part explains the extraordinary fruitfulness of his ministry? Referring back to his text and the story of Paul, Dr. Ferguson wondered whether Paul learned a similar lesson from standing over the dead body of the martyr Stephen and a few days later bowing before the risen Christ.

In his final point, Dr. Ferguson expounded on the “satisfied dissatisfaction” that God’s saints feel when they are in Christ. Like young lovers who relish the moment of togetherness but aspire to more, so the believer lives with satisfaction and yet anticipation for something more. Paul uses accounting language, counting “all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord.” (3:8). Noting that Paul was a gifted man who did many things well – preach, pastor, write, pray – nonetheless Paul reduces them all to one thing. Speaking directly to his audience of primarily pastors and theologians, Dr. Ferguson challenged them to similarly focus on the one thing. “Learn to be a man or woman who does only one thing—in all things Jesus Christ and the pursuit of him.” Paul notes that this came with a price – he counted all things loss. He most likely was disinherited as a result of his conversion and certainly suffered a loss of status among his previous peers. And it is not as if his previous accomplishments were worldly – he was a man of significant religious zeal and achievements. Yet the word Paul uses in the text is scabula – usually translated as dung. The sermon closed with a personal challenge. “Are our accomplishments – be they books, positions, or degrees -- garbage to you – scabula – in comparison to the surprising excellency of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord?”

The service was followed by a lengthy time of fellowship and lingering as many new acquaintances and personal introductions of people who were familiar with each other through their writings but had never met. And while self-conscious about the having one’s picture taken on Calvin’s pulpit (with more than one comment being made about the necessity of counting these pictures also as scabula), the cue was a lengthy one (and yes, I did line up as well).

There were two services in the evening – one led by the Rt. Rev. Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda, who preached on Matthew 24:45-51 “Be a Faithful Servant.” The 8 p.m. service was led by Dr. Bryan Chappell of Covenant Seminary who preached on Ephesians 1:3-6 “In Praise of Predestination.” Both sermons are worthy of summaries in their own right, but if I tried to summarize everything that happens here on this blog, it would make my nights very late. It was a wonderful day of worship, inspiring and challenging, and hopefully the foretaste of a wonderful week to come.

Genevan First Impressions

I arrived in Geneva eight hours ago, enough time for a quick self-directed tour of the downtown and St. Pierre's cathedral, a short organ concert, and a cafe dinner with a few new-found friends. I took some pictures of Calvins' cathedral intending to share them here but I forgot the cord, so you'll have to do with the thousand word version instead.

The celebrity focus on Calvin is very uncalvinstic (he was a man who insisted on an unmarked grave after all) but there is something about being in a building the first stone of which was laid in 1150; which has served as a place of worship for both Catholics and Protestants; and which has been the place of so much history. Truthfully the organ concert this evening was a bit out of the reach of my aesthetic appreciation (i recognized most of the songs on the program and the organ had a majestic sound, but the playing was classically technical and somehow didn't inspire - I will blame it on 29 hrs of being awake with only a few catnaps.) I spent the hour observing the details in stained glass, counting the steps and checking out the sightlines from the pulpit (there are 14 steps and the pulpit is strangely positioned so that a significant proportion of the congregation would not possibly be able to have eye contact with the preachere - the reasons for which i will have to discover before the week is out); and recounting the history of this place that I knew from my reading and trying to imagine in my mind what it would have been like to be here 500 years ago (actually 440 or so, given that Calvin was born 500 yrs ago. - he was a prodigy but not quite that much of one!).

As we made the 20 minute walk back from Old Geneva to our hotel, it was evident that there was some sort of party at Lake Geneva which was attracting young people who did not seem overly concerned about Calvin's birthday. (It was a rave-type party according to the policeman we asked about it.) There was a stream of young(er) people whose dress combined to provide us an interesting art show (alas one that caused a little less reflection than the cathedral.) The cafe we ate at provided a most tasty meal (not sure what my entree was called but i had some lamb shaved off of a shank on a baguette with various condiments and a very spicy chili sauce - a bit tear-inducing but good none the less.) I also had the chance to get to know a PCA pastor from Georgia with whom I connected quite well (in addition to a few other folk) as we shared stories of common passions but very different backgrounds and experiences.

A quick impression of a touristy part of town on a Saturday evening hardly makes for a fair basis to evaluate a city, but I could not help be struck by the disconnect of the richness of the history I had come here to celebrate and the modern emptiness that youth culture carries with it. I realize organ concerts are not everybodys thing - tonight if I were to be honest, it wasn't mine either. Still even the architecture, stained glass, and richness of the building caused pause and reflection. My pastor friend shared some stories from his experiences and connections on the social and religious decline that characterizes Europe. Hopefully, as we travel through Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands over the next 3 weeks, we will be able to find signs of hope and not just remnants of history.

All in all, an invigorating start to what promises to be a memorable time. I will do my best to keep those interested informed via this page and, if a cord can be found, perhaps sharing a few pictures of my adventure as well.

A Calvinist Writers Challenge - Clear and to the Point

Justin Taylor has a link to Marvin Olasky on writing clearly which seemed particularly appropriate for today. I am getting ready to head to Geneva to celebrate Calvin's 500th and, among other things, write related articles for Comment (will appear in the July 17 on-line edition), Christian Renewal, and this blog. I will try to be suitably Calvinistic in both what I write but also how I write it.

In the meantime, give Olasky a quick listen as he makes some excellent points.

Canada Turns 142!

(h/t image Nanton Lancaster Society)

Canada Day is a special holiday, although it doesn't always feel that way. It is a time for newspaper columnists to wax eloquent about what needs celebrating, the challenges we face, or how things are changing in Canada. The Herald this morning ran a headline story on the sources of our patriotism, with the flag, our armed forces, and hockey topping the list. There is the obligatory whine about flags and pins being made outside of the country and the usual official celebrations with fireworks etc.

Patriotism is important to me and I cannot imagine being anything other than a Canadian, but none of this really captures my emotion or energy. When I think of why I am thankful to be a Canadian, I think of the opportunity that this country represents. My ancestors were Dutch and the stories of the Liberation at the end of World War II (which in my families case are intermingled with stories of involvement in the underground movement hiding Jews) cause me pride. Canada has a proud history of doing more than its proportionate share in standing up for freedom and justice in international affairs. It was a pioneer land which my grandparents looked to as providing opportunity for their children (my dad was one of 10; my mom one of 8) and grandchildren to have a better future. They were concerned not only about the economic prospects, but the opportunity for religious freedom.

Canada has for the most part fulfilled its promise. It is hardly a perfect land and it does leave a great deal to be desired. But, compared to most every other country in the world, it remains a land of opportunity and freedom. We continue to stand up for what's right in the world, and the men and women of our armed forces continue to take on assignments that are greater in proportion to Canada's place in the world. Freedom is something that can never be taken for granted and each generation needs to protect it anew.

Its always hard to know how to celebrate this day properly. Last year I borrowed an article from the UK celebrating Canada in this space concluding that citizenship is less a gift to enjoy than a responsiblity to be carried out. A year later, it bears repeating.

I am no great Kennedy fan but his famous line "ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country" deserves consideration. Maybe rather than getting to carried away with the fireworks, we should celebrate Canada Day 2009 by making a resolution to give something more to our country in the year to come than we did in the year just gone by. I suspect many of those resolutions may go the typical way of new years resolutions, but even the process of thinking about these resolutions may be useful in articulating in our own minds the privileges and opportunities we have as Canadians.

Happy Canada Day!