Francis Schaeffer at 99

Sunday, January 30, 2011 will mark the 99th anniversary of the birth of Francis Schaeffer.  Compared to his contemporaries, Schaeffer might seem to come up short.  C.S. Lewis was a much better literary stylist, Herman Dooyeweerd was a better philosopher, Hans Rookmaaker was a better art critic, R. J. Rushdoony was a better comprehensive thinker, Cornelius Van Til was a better apologist, Calvin Seerveld was a better literary critic, the faculty at Westminster Theological Seminary included better theologians, and lots of Christians were...better looking...and most were taller.

Without minimizing the contributions to Christian thought and ministry of his contemporaries, it is hard to find someone who performed a mission that so needed and so thoroughly as Schaeffer.  He pastored the minds and souls of a whole generation in his time.  And that ministry continues through those who learned from him and from his many books.  His influence and work continues even in places and situations where some no longer recognize the connection and his contribution.  I doubt that Schaeffer would care one bit as to whether he is getting any credit for his ministries.  His was a life lived to serve God.

Having read a book about Schaeffer and books by him in recent years, I am hoping that this year and next will see an outpouring of studies about him and a revival of interest in him, his books, and the ministry of L'Abri.

Anyone wanting a good, although too short, biography of Schaeffer should read Colin Duriez's biography, Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life.

Schaeffer's Collected Works are a gold mine of material.  I'm not sure of the later editions of this set, but my collected works don't include everything, since a Schaeffer book or two came out after the set was published.

My Top Ten Reads from the Writings of Francis Schaeffer;

1.  How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture

This is Schaeffer's magnum opus.  I teach this book every few years to high schoolers. It is the best book around to introduce movements, events, art, philosophers, and cultural trends to young students.  After many readings, I still learn from the book everytime I teach it.

2.  The God Who Is There

3. Escape from Reason

4. He is There and He is Not Silent

These are the three first books Schaeffer wrote. He was initially opposed to his lectures being put into print. (Before that he was opposed to his lectures being taped. He overcame both objections--thank God.) These books provide the essential apologetic foundations for Schaeffer's worldview.  Countless Christian thinkers have been influenced by this trilogy.  The reprinted version seen below is a great way to acquire and study these works.

 

5. True Spirituality.

This is a study of Christian salvation.  It is a solid exposition of salvation and is quite Reformed without using language that creates barriers to non-Reformed folks.

6.  Art and the Bible.

If, as a Christian, you only read one book about art, shame on you.  But make this short book the book you read.  It is a good start on learning to think about art.

7.  Two Contents, Two Realities.

This short lecture-turned-into-a-booklet is good for frequent readings and discussions.

8.  The Mark of the Christian.

I would be a better Christian if I were reading this book every moment of my life.

9.  A Christian Manifesto.

This later book of Schaeffer's was written during the Reagan years.  He rightly saw that a window of opportunity had been opened to bring about some Christian salt and light into a culture in decay.  The window, by God's grace, has continued remaining opened a bit.

10.  Whatever Happened to the Human Race?

Co-authored with C. Everett Koop, this book was a powerful influence on waking Protestants up on issues like abortion and euthenasia.

I still have Schaeffer works that I have not read or that I need to read again.  Sometimes, maybe often, his writing is repetitive, but repetition is a vital key to learning.

Books by People Associated with Schaeffer or Deeply Influenced by Him:

1. L'Abri and The Tapestry by Edith Schaeffer.  Both these autobiographical accounts tell of Francis and Edith Schaeffer's marriage and ministries.

2.  The Call by Os Guinness.

Guinness is a popular speaker and writer whose books call upon Christians to think widely and deeply and follow Christ whole-heartedly.

3.  Art and the Death of Culture by Hans Rookmaaker.

Rookmaaker and Schaeffer were close friends.  Their minds and hearts were constantly sharpening each other.

4.  Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey.

Nancy Pearcey has written widely on science and worldview issues.  She studied with Schaeffer and is a popularizer of his framework of higher story/lower story thinking.

5.  The Micah Mandate by George Grant.

Grant describes his meeting or bumping into Schaeffer in this book.  Grant, like many others of the late 1960s and 1970s, was reading Schaeffer books during his formative years.

6.  Punic Wars and Culture Wars by Ben House.

I devoted a chapter to Schaeffer's influence.

This list of six books by Schaeffer's family, friends, and followers is not the tip of the iceberg.

Rick Bragg and Southern Winters

It is hard for a Southern writer to be heard since the room is so full.  From that past generation that brought us Faulkner, O'Connor, the Fugitive poets, Jesse Stuart, Caroline Gordon, and Eudora Welty to current, living Southern authors, like Wendell Berry and Jan Karon, the South has poured forth great harvest of writers out of its rich soil.

Rick Bragg, Southern author

One of the best Southern authors around today is Rick Bragg.  Although his primary field of work has been reporting, he has written a series of books about his upbringing.  His stories are autobiographical and factual, but read with the richness of poetry and the imagination of fiction.

A friend of mine, Jason Parolini of that wonderful town of Franklin, Tennessee, sent me word yesterday that Rick Bragg was on the radio, NPR.  On the assumption that even a blind hog finds a nut sometimes, NPR does some things right.

The general discussion on the program is about the Winter Blues.  About 20 minutes into the program, the host interviews Rick Bragg.  Rick reads a marvelous selection from his memoir of his grandfather, Ava's Man.  (That snippet alone and his discussion of his grandfather is enough to ocnvince anyone to read his books.)  He then talks about why winter is so traumatic and troublesome for Southerners, especially since our winters are so mild compared to the northern states.  As Rick puts, his own mother views winter in the same way that most people view the Gulag. 

Click here to listen.



Rick Bragg is funny and right on target about winter in the south. His has lifted my spirits on this somewhat cold day.

This is the book that Bragg reads from on the radio program.  It is about his grandfather. It follows his book, All Over But the Shoutin', which is about his whole family, but primarily about his wonderful mother.

This short book is Bragg's latest.  I got a copy of it for Christmas!

An All Encompassing Education

Just arrived in the mail today: January 18: The latest volume in the Veritas Press Omnibus series:
Omnibus V: The Medieval World.

This series of books, edited by Gene Edward Veith, Douglas Wilson, and Tyler Fischer, consists of in-depth essays and suggested study assignments of literary classics from the ancient world to the modern age, histories both old and new, and theological studies. Divided into primary and secondary readings, the assigned books and readings include Bible studies, books in the great works of the Western canon of literary classics, and more contemporary authors, such as C.S. Lewis and R. C. Sproul.  In other words, many of the books we all want to have read and should have read in high school, college, or in the years after graduating, are discussed in this series of works designed to guide students from grades seven through twelve.  For those of us who have long since graduated, these books are still challenging and helpful guides to reading.

So far, five volumes of this series are now published.  As it happened, I spent much of today working on my meager contributions to Volume VI, which is still in the editorial stages.  Relieved at getting a large part of the work done, I was then thrilled to receive the heavy, large parcel in the mail from Veritas Press that contains Volume V.  I had the honor of writing the chapter on C. S. Lewis' powerful, short book The Great Divorce, for that volume.

Omnibus V: The Medieval World

The riches of Medieval Christendom (along with some of the tarnished metals) are explored in this survey of Medieval literature.

Omnibus I: Biblical and Classical Civilizations. 

This volume, designed for seventh graders, plunges young students into the world of the ancient Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, and early Christians.

Omnibus II: Church Fathers through the Reformation

In eighth grade, students will come to know the great men of God like Eusebius, Athanasius, Augustine, and others, all the way up to Luther and Calvin

Omnibus III: Reformation to the Present

Ninth graders will be able to study the theology, history, and literature of the Modern World.

Omnibus IV: The Ancient World

In tenth grade, students return to the Ancient World to delve once again in the great classics of antiquity, including the works of Homer, the Greek dramatists, and the Roman authors. I wrote the chapter on Edith Hamilton's Mythology for this volume.

This series of books are published and distributed by Veritas Press.  Yes, they are high priced, but these books contain essential, Christian essays designed to teach students how to think and how to read. 

Best Books of 2010

When you read lots of books, you find yourself occasionally reading books about books. This is what Mortimer Adler called “The Great Conversation.” It is the “iron sharpening iron” across centuries, cultures, and experiences. It is the multitude of voices, the exchanging of ideas, and the battle for the soul of man. Books give us information, but more than being encyclopedias of facts, books suggest to us what those ideas mean. This is why one book that did not make the list of “Best Books of 2010” is too good for the list. I speak of Melville’s epic Moby Dick. I used to think the book was about a great white whale. Then I thought it was about an obsessed Captain Ahab. Then I thought it was about Ishmael. In every case, I was right, but I wasn’t and still am not there. I have yet to board the Pequod. Moby Dick is about how we know. As Marilyn Stewart said, “Epic thus by its very nature is concerned with knowledge.”

Several of this year’s selections on my list are either about books or about authors. In terms of authors, several who made the list are there for both the book or books listed, but also the combined effect of their writings. In some cases, this year’s book listing builds upon past readings stretching back through the years. In other cases, the authors are still new friends, still only recent literary acquaintances, but those kinds of friends whose gifts promise future unfoldings.

Perennially, some authors could dominate the list. Melville, Faulkner, Frost, Dickens, Shakespeare, Milton, Homer, Lewis, and others could crowd out the lesser lights. Unlike the Athenians that Paul confronted, I hope to always being wanting to hear something old. I long for what Faulkner called “the old verities,” what Bret Lott implies in the words “Ancient Highway,” what Allen Tate referenced in “knowledge carried to the heart.” So, whether a writer whose works are enshrined in the literary canons of modern thought, or a writer who reflects upon the classics, or a writer who learned the craft from the old school, I keep seeking to hear more from the voices in that crowded room where the Great Conversation continues.

1. Grand Strategies: Literature, Statecraft, and World Order by Charles Hill
I have taught government and I have taught literature, but this book has done more for me in connecting the two subjects than anything I have read or thought previously.  I hesitated to place this book as my top choice because I did not always agree with the author and some of the works he discussed were unfamiliar to me.  But the overall impact of the book was eye-opening.  This book reveals how a good teacher teaches; in other words, how a reader teaches.  With a slow reading of this book, I have just begun to grasp what Hill is doing. I look forward to reading more from this book from beginning to end.

2. The Renaissance and Reformation Movements, Vol. 1 and The Renaissance and Reformation Movements, Vol. II by Lewis Spitz
I rarely list books of a text-book character on my best books list, but this two volume survey is quite good and readable. Being a survey, it covers a wide range of people, events, and movements.  Being well written, it offers some interesting interpretations and analyses of those two most critical events that birthed the Modern World.  I only wish these books had clearer maps and more illustrations.  Spitz is a faithful Christian historian in the tradition of D'Aubigne and Schaff.

3. The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg
In 2009, I read Bragg's memoir of his mother, titled All Over But the Shoutin’.  I thought it was a good read by a Southern boy who I felt could have been a classmate. Rick and I would not likely have been friends, and he probably would have punched me out had we known each other.  But meeting him across the printed page created a kindred spirit. His mother is a saintly and faithful woman and Bragg's honoring of her is outstanding.  His father is the subject of The Prince of Frogtown.  His father was a wicked man and a terrible father and husband, but his troubles grew out of many hardships.  Bragg searched out the world and experiences that warped his father.  This is a moving and sad book, but is extremely well written. I look forward to reading two more Bragg books I own.

4. An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 by Rick Atkinson
Not too much is known of America's war effort in North Africa.  We know about Rommel and the Afrika Korps and the movie Casablanca is a classic, but of the amphibious landing on the shores of North Africa, the fighting against and then working with the French forces there, and the many baptisms by fire that began the creation of the American armies in Europe and that began the leadership careers of men like Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley, we all know too little.This powerful work is part one of a trilogy. Part two deals with the war in Sicily and Italy and is in print. The third volume, covering the war in northern Europe, should appear in a year or two.  Atkinson writes in the same style as such World War II historians as Cornelius Ryan and Stephen Ambrose.

5. Churchill, The Quest for God, and Jesus: A Biography from a Believer by Paul Johnson
The biographies of Churchill and Jesus are recent works of the 83 year old British historian Paul Johnson.  Besides these three books, I could have listed Johnson's history of America, which I read and used in my Humanities class.  Johnson is an amazing writer and thinker.  The scope of his work is astounding, and his biography of Churchill is probably the best short work on that most pivotal leader of the 20th century.

6. Ancient Highway by Bret Lott
I became aware of this writer late in the year and read this novel in December.  I am still haunted by what he did in this book.  Lott is a Christian and a novelist, but this book is not a sappy, sweet "everyone gets converted in the end" kind of story.  It is, however, a powerful novel about failure, family, and forgiveness. Much of the story has to do with the world of Hollywood and of acting.  The reader realizes that we are all actors, trying to secure parts in the story of life.  In our acting, we often miss what is real and true. In reading this book, I have discovered a new author to pursue.

7. Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times by Dr. Ralph Stanley, with Eddie Dean
Ralph Stanley gained great fame and fortune when he was in his late 70s.  The acclaim came as a result of his contributions to the delightful movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?  Long before that movie, Ralph Stanley and his brother Carter were traveling the roads of the country, singing and performing bluegrass and mountain music.  They were outstanding musicians.  Those they inspired included Bob Dylan and Ricky Skaggs.  This autobiography chronicles the hardships, struggles, successes, and faith of a great American artist.

8. How to Read Novels Like a Professor and How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
These two books are a college education in literature.  They are well worth reading, re-reading, and referring back to.  The author seems to have a working familiarity with a million novels.  And he is witty.  This is another case of a literary man whose teaching style flows out into his writing.  In this context, I will mention two honorable mentions to the book list.  The first is William Faulkner: First Encounters by Cleanth Brooks.  Brooks was a delightful and brilliant literary critic and teacher. I value all my books by Brooks. This book on Faulkner is a really accessible work that is useful for reading both before and after tackling a Faulkner work.  The second honorable mention is Soldier’s Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point by Elizabeth D. Samet. I long hesitated about buying this book off the bargain shelf at Books-A-Million.  But I really enjoyed reading about how she taught literature, and particularly literature about war, to men and women training for war.

9. Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings by James R. Payton, Jr.
This book was painful at points.  We are all prone to over-generalize, gloss over faults of some of our favored men and movements, and polarize the events of history in terms of good guys versus bad guys.  History is ever bit as complicated as calculus and physics. It is just that most of the time, we view it too simply.  This book was a big help to me in preparing for this year's Humanities class.  Seeing the chinks in the armor of our favored causes makes us remember that we worship the Lord of History, not History itself.

10. Heroes by Iain Murray.
This is a wonderful book by yet another British historian who is in his 80s.  Maybe, I am listing it not just for its merits, but for the accumulated works of Murray.  His biographical studies of Jonathan Edwards, John Murray, and Martyn Lloyd-Jones,  his historical studies of Puritans, Scots, and various other Calvinists, and his repeated calls for Christians to look to the past and work toward the future are all reasons why he has had such a great impact on my life and that of others.  This book itself shows who Murray has looked to. It includes biographical sketches of Edwards, George Whitefield,  John Newton, Charles Spurgeon, and others (some of whom I had not heard of).  This book revived a love for and need for Calvinistic piety and doctrinal zeal.  I hope God enable Murray to produce another book or two.

In summary, I would like to learn literature in the classroom from Hill, Foster, Brooks, and Samet.  Then I would like to be learning history in the classroom with Spitz, Atkinson, and Payton.  I would like to learn about writing from Bragg and Lott.  And to sit down with Paul Johnson and Iain Murray and listen and listen and listen, that would be most grand.  At least we have the books.

Good Spiritual Reading in 2010

There are devotional materials that I fear would be positively detrimental to my spiritual life. I don't question the motives and the faith commitments of the authors of many of these works, but I don't do well under their influence.  All too much modern Christianity is light and fluffy, sentimental and sweet, syrupy and sappy.  I tend to like the greater theologians and particularly those whose works are world-view oriented.  There are no substitutes for the likes of Kuyper, Van Til, Bavinck, Machen, Warfield, Gordon Clark, Rushdoony, Bahnsen, Schaeffer, and others of that sort.  Even though I am limited in my understanding of his writings, I love the work of Herman Dooyeweerd.  Many of these men minister to the God-created mind.  Sometimes the devotional life, the life of the soul, the walk with Christ needs a little extra ingredient.  So I appreciate those books and authors who reach the heart through the mind.  Below are some of the books that have blessed my morning readings and other times of more devotional/spiritual/heart-directed readings over the last year.  I only wish that each day had been more impacted by what these books said.  That fault is my own.

Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacArthur
Subtitled “How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness and What He Wants to Do with You.” I hope, in the future, to teach or preach a series based on this study of Christ's apostles.  MacArthur has blessed the Christian world by his writings and by his evangelical Calvinism.

The Spirituality of the Cross by Gene Edward Veith
Veith is one of the most prolific and wide-ranging Christian thinkers of our time. He has written about education, literature, politics, culture, and country music (favorably!).  I enjoyed meeting him a few years back. This work is an explanation of Lutheran theology and spirituality. There is much to delight the non-Lutheran in Veith’s coverage of Christian vocation and a theology of the cross.

Holy Week Sonnets by Philip Rosenbaum
This outstanding collection of poetry needs to be read every year during the week leading up to Easter.  I have enjoyed some correspondence with Mr. Rosenbaum. I read this book together with my two rhetoric students, my son, Nick, and Grace Hornok.

New Flesh, New Earth by Andrew Sandlin
This is the perfect book to read during the weeks immediately following Easter.  This is a great study of the implications of Christ's resurrection.

The Call by Os Guinness
I read three books this year by Os Guinness.  I plan on reading this wonderful book again. The recurring message: “Listen to Jesus of Nazareth: Answer His call.”

The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers
This book calls for another reading, in part because I don't think I gleaned enough from it in one reading.  Challenging book.

Modern Art and the Death of a Culture by H. R. Rookmaaker
Maybe this book should be considered more in the worldview category ratner than devotional reading. This is a serious study. I hope, someday after several failed attempts, to acquire the six volume set of Rookmaaker's works. 

Jesus: A Biography from a Believer by Paul Johnson
I read this book with a bit of dread.  After all, Johnson is a modern man, a British writer, a cultured and urbane man, an artist, and a Catholic.  I feared a big dose of modernism about Jesus, but with his deep reliance on the King James Bible, Johnson spoke like a true believer.  Thank God.

Two Contents, Two Realities and True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer
I should have read these works years ago.  Schaeffer was great at worldview issues and with dealing with heart-issues.  These works are found in volume 3 of Schaeffer's Complete Works.

Heroes by Iain Murray
This is a great study Calvinist piety and preachers by a wonderful Christian historian. This book covers a strain of Reformed life exemplified in Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, John Newton, the Jones family of Georgia, Charles Spurgeon and others that I read far too little of in recent years.

Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson
Thanks to George Grant for recommending this book. Peterson is a delightful writer, challenging and spiritually awakening.

Great Fiction Read in 2010

The annual Best Books of the year, 2010 in this case, will be announced soon. Leading up to it will be some discussion of great reads over the past year.  There will be some overlap between some of these listings and the Best Books announcements. Below are some of the great and memorable fiction readings from the past year.  Some of the readings are enhanced by my getting to read and teach them repeatedly through the years.  The books are listing according to when I read them during the year, rather than giving them a ranking according to my preferences or impressions.

The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis
Twice in late 2009 and once in January 2010, I read C. S. Lewis’ short work The Great Divorce. This is a rich collection of parable-like journeys into the souls of men. As Lewis was so prone to do, he probed the inner recesses of the sinful mind that refused to bow the knee to God. This book is haunting and frustrating at points. It is very much like dealing with humans or examining our own hearts.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville
This is one of those books where each re-reading leads me to want to start it again. I read it in 2010 for the fourth time. I hoping that by reading #10 to begin truly understanding this epic. I listened to some lectures by Bainard Cowan and read some from his book on Moby Dick to try to find more ways to dismantle this great leviathan of literature. I also read with profit some of Melville’s shorter works, such as “Bartleby the Scrivener,” “Benito Cereno,” and the beautiful, short work “Billy Budd.”

The Unvanquished by William Faulkner
I use this work by Faulkner to both introduce my students to that greatest of American novelists and to teach the period of Reconstruction. Having also read and puzzled over Absalom, Absalom in the late summer, I wish Faulkner had written more in the vein and style of The Unvanquished. Bayard Sartoris’ journey to manhood in the book is one of the great quests in literature.

The Old Man and the Sea and A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
The lyric beauty and love found in The Old Man and the Sea brings tears to my eyes every time I read the book. The freshness of Hemingway’s writing shines in A Farewell to Arms, which is a most depressing account of, not just World War I, but the philosophy of what Gertrude Stein called “the Lost Generation.”

Hie to the Hunters, Clearing in the Sky, and Daughter of the Legend by Jesse Stuart
Stuart was one of the great storytellers of American literature. Rooted in an Agrarian and rural world, his books celebrate much about American life and culture, especially that found in rural Kentucky or that of the Melungian peoples of the Appalachians.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Marie Remarque
Because of a writing assignment for Veritas Press, I read this book twice in 2010. I had read it at least twice before. Grim and terrorizing at many points, this greatest of war, or better, anti-war, novels is packed with poetry and sacraments. Sacraments? Yes, men find something in which to form communion and give meaning to life. The central character, Paul Baumer, finds it in the comradeship of his fellow soldiers.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
In many ways, this book can be used as a door to teaching the French Revolution. But it is more than a historical novel. The central story in this book is redemption. Dickens’ personal faith had its oddities, but the Christian message of this book, which cites both chapter and verse, is proclaimed without reservation.

Ancient Highway by Bret Lott
This book was read late in the year, and my initial impressions, after the opening chapters, were muted. By that, I mean, I was not impressed with the book, but was withholding judgment. By the time I got to the last third of the book, I was a captive. This is one of the most powerful books about the human condition, about our failures, our self-deceptions, about family, and forgiveness that I have ever read. Like the main character, we are all failed actors, who too often miss the real drama in our lives.

The Homecoming by Earl Hamner, Jr.
I read this book in March because I love the 1970s movie by the same title which became the pilot for the Waltons television series. (And I love the television series.) I read the book again in December just to help enjoy the Christmas season, and I even backed Olivia’s Applesauce Cake (“It just wouldn’t be Christmas without Olivia’s applesauce cake.”) On the second reading, I paid special attention to the description and plot development. A fine short novel.
 



January Wish Fulfilled

A Wish in January


A wall of stacked firewood, four feet high.
I gaze at a still unclouded sky.

Kindling all gathered—dead sticks of pine;
Look at the weather, but not a sign.

A blanket of leaves still tops the ground.
I want a crunch, not a crackle; white, not brown.

Fixings for soup I’ll stir and simmer;
Books: new to read; old to remember;

A pot of coffee, steam from the cup,
To sip while the drifts slowly bank up.

A trail to walk, with trace of pine scent,
Where once-straight saplings now are ice bent.

Bread crumbs for the birds hopping about;
The roadways shut down; all schools turned out.

A folded quilt at the foot of the bed;
I’ll awake—cold—and pull it over my head.

How much longer to wait, I don’t know.
Please Lord, it’s January, send south some snow.

Crossway Delights and Other Readings

I am always thankful for good and Godly book publishers.  Through the years, the works of Banner of Truth, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, and Baker Book House have been the means of God blessing my soul, mind, and labors.  (There are other publishers as well who have produced great books.)  Not by design of my own, it has happened that I am currently reading three books by Crossway Publishers.  I am rejoicing over the great works Crossway is producing and hope their business prospers for their own well being and for the Kingdom of God.

In the morning, with coffee freshly brewed:

I don't know how many R.C. Sproul books I have read over the past 25 or more years.  However many, it is not enough and not all of what he has written.  Currently, he is producing a series of devotional commentaries in a series called St. Andrew's Expositional Commentaries.  If you fear the fluffiness of devotionals, don't be put off, this is solid theology.  If you fear the dryness and weightiness of commentaries, don't shy away for this book is eminently readable.  Each of the 60 plus chapters is about five pages long and each covers a small selection of verses.  This book is wonderful for a combined Bible reading and Bible study in short order.

I have already promoted The Theology of B. B. Warfield on several occasions.  I am still reading through the first third of the book.  I only read a few pages each morning and I use the book as a theological alarm clock to both wake my mind and alert my body to the day ahead.  This is solid stuff. Warfield was a big influence on many Reformed writers, theologians, and thinkers.  This book gets at the heart of his teachings.

As the day ends, I gravitate to some more relaxing reading.  Last night, I finished another Charles Dickens' Christmas novel (The Haunted Man) and I read a small portion of a Jan Karon novel, but I also read from Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life.  This is an easy to read and encouraging biography of a truly monumental Christian leader.

Too Much History

In her book, The Romance of Protestantism, first published in the early 1900s, Deborah Alcock gives the following lament about the public schools of Britain:

"Pity it is that in our great public schools the young, who will by and by be the leaders of our thought and the pioneers of our progress are taught much about the siege of Ilium, but little about the sieges of Leyden and Londonderry; much about the noble 300 who died at Thermopylae in obedience to the sacred laws of Sparta, but little of the yet nobler 300 who died in England during five short years, in obedience to the higher laws of Christ their King. Far too much neglected has been the study of our Church history, and especially of our Protestant Church history. If only a few young minds--a few young hearts already devoted to Christ their King--would give themselves to that noble and most instructive branch of historical study, I think they would do great service to God and man, and I know they would be amply repaid."

In general, I agree with the author on the importance of studying the history of the church and particularly the history of Protestants.  I am, right now, teaching about the Puritans and teaching John Milton's epic poem, Paradise Lost.   I find the quote amusing because of her lament about students knowing so much about the siege of Ilium (that is, the Trojan War as told by Homer, Virgil, and others) and the Greco-Persian Wars.  (My junior high students have recently studied the Trojan War, by reading The Odyssey and selected portions of Edith Hamilton's Mythology.  Next, they will be reading about the Greco-Persian Wars through studying Herodotus.) Thankfully, in classical Christian schools, students are being taught both about the wars of the classical world and of the history of the Church.