Geoff's Miscellany

Miscellaneous Musings

Archives for August 2014

Did the Father turn his Face away?

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How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory.

(“How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” by Stuart Townend, I think.)

This concept appears in a great deal of sermons on the atonement and it seems to revolve around this logic:

  1. God cannot look at sin. (Hab 1:13)
  2. He who knew no sin (Jesus), became sin… (2 Corinthians 5:21)
  3. Therefore God could not look at Jesus on the cross. (Q.E.D.)

The other source for the view comes from Jesus’ cry on the cross, “Why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34).

I have a longer essay on this topic that deals with instances of this view in recent Bible commentaries. One day I may edit it down for blog consumption, but in summary, I find the view that God the Father turned away from Jesus on the cross to problematic for several reasons:

  1. The doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation make this notion fairly incoherent.
  2. The whole Bible teaches that God is with the righteous in their suffering.
  3. Jesus’ cry is from Psalm 22, which is a prayer written for times of intense suffering and includes this bit of theological wisdom, “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him (Psalm 22:24).” 
  4. The idea that God cannot look at sin does not actually mean that God doesn’t see sin. It means that God judges sin.
  5. The whole testimony of Paul and Peter on the topic of suffering is that precisely at the moment one seems abandoned by God is when we know that God is with us precisely because Jesus was raised (Romans 8, 1 Peter 2-4, 2 Corinthians 3-5, etc).
  6. If the notion is raised in defense of penal substitutionary atonement, let it be recalled that God’s wrath happens when he sets his face against people (Leviticus 20:3). The metaphor is wrong. If the notion is raised because of the sadness of the even for God, let us remember that “it pleased God” to use the message of the cross to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:21). “It pleased” is a word used to indicate something that was considered best or most useful by a king or Lord. This wasn’t something sad that happened, it is something that God planned.

Conclusion:

Thought I fully understand the piety and logic behind the view that God the Father turned his face away from Jesus on the cross and can appreciate the attempt to maximize our concept of Jesus’ suffering on our behalf, the notion is very difficult to support. I prefer to just hum that part of the song.

Reviving the Quadriga?

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The medieval church utilized a four-fold system of Biblical interpretation which they labeled the quadriga. It attempted to interpret the Scripture in four senses:

  1. Literal- This is the meaning of the passage in the context of the book that contains it.
  2. Allegorical- This would be the significance of the passage as a type or allegory for the gospel or some aspect of the Christian life.
  3. Tropological- This is the moral sense of the passage, describing how it might apply to the believer today.
  4. Anagogical- This is the sense pertaining to the last day and the glories of the new heavens and the new earth.

Though most people would completely and utterly reject such a taxonomy of Biblical interpretation, I do wonder if there is a way to revive this scheme for people.

  1. Literal – This is the meaning of the passage in the context of the book that contains it.
  2. Canonical Meaning – This explains the passage in its salvation historical context, how it fits into the gospel story, and whether/how it is fulfilled in the New Testament. This also compares the book to other perspectives in the canon. If the collectors of the canon included Chronicles and Samuel, they certainly knew about the utterly different perspectives on David. Thus, it would seem, that this level of significance might compare the historical utility or the rhetorical place of each perspective in the life of ancient Israel and even for the Christian today.
  3. Tropological – This explains how the passage is morally relevant to the person today. Perhaps it is a negative example, such as Abraham’s cowardice. It could also be a positive example, such as Paul’s custom of working with his hands. I suppose here too, the use of imagination is important. Believers can see themselves in their struggles as somebody whose faith is akin to those listed in Hebrews 11. Thus, such figures, in their flaws and quests that seem irrelevant to us, become types for our own struggles to conform ourselves to Christ. Another example might be preaching Jeremiah’s message of repentance and then immediately showing how his message was taken up by John the Baptist and Jesus.
  4. Eschatological – This is a further exploration of the text’s significance in salvation history, but with a view toward the eschaton. So, you see in stories about God’s judgment (even ones that make no sense considering the New Testament picture of God) a picture of a final righting of wrongs on the last day.

Am I crazy for admiring the quadriga? I’m not crazy for that particular reason. I do find that the quadriga provides a way for people to see multiple layers of significance to Biblical passages without doing violence to the immediate intent of the authors, editors, and framers of the canon.

Sermon on Proverbs 15

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Pro 15:14-19 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly. (15) All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. (16) Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it. (17) Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it. (18) A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. (19) The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.

Introduction:

Today’s sermon is more like a series of many mini-sermons, but for that it is not less important. I suppose if I had to sum it up into a single thesis statement I’d say that, “The wise person accepts the world as it is and then obeys the Lord.” What I mean by that is that the wise person accepts that fact that some things are true and some are not and tries (not just learns by accident), but tries to know the difference. The wise person learns to recognize when they are in a state of internal duress and then does something about it. The wise person recognizes the great value of a proper relationship to the LORD, of loving relationships with family, of not being easily offended, and the unpleasantries of laziness.

  1. (14) The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
    This particular passage of Scripture is meant to challenge you to change what you do with your mind. Do you wish to be a fool? Do wish to understand the world? You cannot, ultimately have both mindsets. Thus, the challenge is this: seek knowledge. If you spend all of your time mindlessly surfing the internet, mindlessly watching television, mindlessly listening to the radio, etc, then you will likely become a fool. Seek actual knowledge about yourself, seek knowledge about the world around you at school, with good books, or a fruitful use of the internet. Also, seek knowledge of God in the Scriptures. But you must seek it. Anybody can learn things by accident, babies do that. But only somebody with a heart of understanding seeks out knowledge. With this heart of understanding you can accept the world as it is, then obey the Lord.
  2. (15) All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.
    The idea here according to the commentators is that those who are in a state of internal anxiety often find the negative in every situation. Those who are in a state of internal joy can find something good and feast-like in every situation. Now, this Proverb is much more descriptive than prescriptive I would think. One type of person, the negative Ned, or the man of enduringly Eeyore-ian disposition can find something troublesome about every situation and use that to be sad, depressed, or defeated. The other type of person, the cheerful of heart/Polyanna Pam finds a continual feast upon the goodness of creation. At first this sounds good and down right mystically appropriate (see Thomas Traherne). But upon further reflection, such a person might gloss over real problems because they refuse to see that there is a famine. So, certainly the text is descriptive. But there is a prescription in Scripture for both kinds of people. If you’re a negative Ned all of the time, then it might do you and those around you some good to intentionally look for the actual, really, truly there goodness in a situation. Even better, it would do you good to remember the blessings of the gospel. Part of the fruit of the Spirit is joy and Paul says elsewhere that this joy is commanded this way, “Rejoice in the Lord.” This means to rejoice in the blessings of the gospel message: God loves you, God forgives you, the Lord will judge evil and renew the cosmos, you have a family with the church, you’re a new creation, and so on and so forth. If you’re a positive Pam who refuses to see true problems and feasts on emotional highs because you cannot think critically for even a second, then you need to see the evils that are there in your day. Jesus himself noted that each day has trouble. The truly wise person sees the world as it is and then obeys the Lord.
  3. (16) Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it. (17) Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.
    Now, Socrates has a similar notion to this, “It is better to suffer injustice than to commit it.” So did Jesus, “Blessed are you when you suffer for righteousness’ sake.” It appears in several Bible stories. A favorite is in Dan 3:16-18, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. (17) If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. (18) But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”” It also appears in C.S. Lewis,’ ““Doubtless this signifies,” said the Prince, “that Aslan will be our good lord, whether he means us to live or die. All’s one for that.” “Courage friends,” came Prince Rillian’s voice, “whether we live or die, Aslan will be our good lord.” Christian, your very name signifies that you have committed yourself to follow Jesus. Whether you live or die and whether it turns out pleasant or not, Jesus will be your good Lord. The truly wise person sees the world as it is and obeys the Lord.
  4. (18) A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

    This is an especially important proverb for myself. I, personally, have always had a rotten temper. That temper has occasionally led to actions that I have regretted. It has led to many that I have perhaps sinfully bragged about. Unleashing the brunt of anger always feels like it will make a positive change, but these feelings are not true. Being hot tempered can be precisely what stirs up unnecessary strife in an otherwise slightly frustrating or innocuous circumstance. It doesn’t matter if anger is justified in one circumstance out of ten (my normal justification), it is simply true that strife comes if you let your temper flare without thinking the issue through or letting it play out for a while. Those who are slow to anger, though, are able to quiet contentions. It will take a great deal of work for me, but I do indeed see this path to be the most obviously Christ-like (at least in the context of business/family/work/church endeavors). Thus, in this case too, the truly wise person sees the effects of their anger, and then obeys the Lord.

  5. Questions for Reflection
    1. Do you ever feel tempted to simply wish the world were different all day instead of actually viewing it at how it is?
    2. Do you tend towards unrealistic cheeriness when others ask for advice or toward impossible negativity? What can you do about it?

Baking Soda as a Sports Supplement?

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One of the amazing things about the world is how seemingly disparate things are connected in profound ways. One of these connections is between sodium bicarbonate (household baking soda) and intense physical exertion.

I use Sodium Bicarbonate for my heartburn when it comes up (less common these days thanks to eating less carbs), but I never would have guessed that it functioned as an ergogenic aid.

But. these studies indicate that it does:

  1. Saunders, Bryan, Craig Sale, Roger C. Harris, and Caroline Sunderland. 2014. “Effect of Sodium Bicarbonate and Beta-Alanine on Repeated Sprints During Intermittent Exercise Performed in Hypoxia.” International Journal of Sport Nutrition & Exercise Metabolism 24 (2): 196–205.
    This study notes that Beta-Alanine and Sodium Bicarbonate combined or separate seem to have no effect on performance, but did have an effect on blood pH. The authors also admitted that other studies found results which indicated a positive effect on performance under different circumstances.
  2. Mueller, Sandro Manuel, Saskia Maria Gehrig, Sebastian Frese, Carsten Alexander Wagner, Urs Boutellier, and Marco Toigo. 2013. “Multiday Acute Sodium Bicarbonate Intake Improves Endurance Capacity and Reduces Acidosis in Men.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 10 (1): 1–9.
    This study indicated that several days of acute doses of sodium bicarbonate prior to competition increased endurance performance and reduced acidosis.
  3. McNaughton, Lars R., Jason Siegler, and Adrian Midgley. 2008. “Ergogenic Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate.” Current Sports Medicine Reports (American College of Sports Medicine) 7 (4): 230–36.
    This meta-analysis shows sodium bicarbonate supplementation to be generally effective for increased athletic performance. It does note that roughly 10% of people tend to have intestinal distress due to its ingestion though. The analysis showed 10 studies which noted a positive effect due to sodium bicarbonate supplementation, 2 which showed decreased performance (both involving swimming), and 5 which indicated no effect.

 

I found several more studies indicating that the effect is positive and a few more that noted little to no effect or determined that individual differences may dictate response to the chemical. I don’t really have a desire to improve my exercise performance utilizing baking soda, but it may prove useful for athletes and casual people who train for pleasure or their well-being.

I’m not a doctor though so this blog can’t diagnose or treat diseases. Also, do note that you can overdose on the stuff. If you wish to see a more comprehensive review of the subject that does not require access to ebsco or a university library, Chris Beardsley reviews the literature here.

Wife’s Musings

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Avery and I don’t have any children except for a college student who rents from us are folks from the Sunday school class we joke about having adopted. But, many of our peers have children. So, she wrote this article that might be helpful for people in a similar situation. Go read it.