Their Finest Hour

The incomparable Winston Churchill: What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and …

When Courage Falters and Faith Grows Dim

S. E. Morison concludes the Preface to his edition of Of Plymouth Plantation 1620–1647 by William Bradford with this stirring paragraph: Bradford’s history is a story of a simple people inspired by an ardent faith to a dauntless courage in danger, a resourcefulness in dealing with new problems, an impregnable fortitude in adversity that exalts and heartens …

C. S. Lewis and Biblical Theology

In his “Introduction” to Athanasius’s On the Incarnation, C. S. Lewis noted that “Every age has its own outlook.” Reading “the controversies of past ages,” Lewis was struck that “both sides were usually assuming without question a good deal which we should now absolutely deny. . . . they were all the time secretly united . …

The Scriptures and the Shrine: On the Keeping of an Authoritative Copy of the Scriptures at the Temple

Some questions have been raised by Charles Halton and T. Michael Law about the suggestion that an authoritative copy of the Scriptures would have been maintained at the temple in Jerusalem, making discussions of the canon unnecessary prior to the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Law tweeted that there is “not a shred …

Lepanto by G. K. Chesterton

Savor the power of the language in this stanza from G. K. Chesterton’s tribute to the Battle of Lepanto: Dim drums throbbing, in the hills half heard, Where only on a nameless throne a crownless prince has stirred, Where, risen from a doubtful seat and half attainted stall, The last knight of Europe takes weapons …

The Beauty and Joy of Answered Prayer

I’m so thankful for Jason Skaer (follow him on twitter), and what a joy to read this account of how the Lord answered prayer and provided: PROPERTY PRAYER – There were many nights where the men’s ministry consisted of monthly gatherings on the corner of Branch Crossing and Alden Bridge to pray.  I remember hot …

Greek Palindromes

Here’s a great post from Rod Decker: A palindrome is a word or sentence that reads identically forward and backward, e.g., “Do geese see God?” The Greek palindrome inscription: ΝΙΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ is from the Hagia Sophia. (In Greek, Ἁγία Σοφία is short for Ναός τῆς Ἁγίας τοῦ Θεοῦ Σοφίας, “Church of the Holy Wisdom of God.” …

The Scribes Didn’t Just Copy the Text

They also left some comments in margins, like these listed by Tommy Wasserman: “New parchment, bad ink; I say nothing more. “I am very cold.” “That’s a hard page and a weary work to read it.” “Let the reader’s voice honor the writer’s pen.” “This page has not been written very slowly.” “The parchment is …

The Authorial Agony of Charles Dickens

My friend Scott Corbin sent me this poignant excert from Clair Tomalin’s Charles Dickens: A Life, 113-114: “These were all distractions from the central business of the year, which was the story that had started as a few episodes and was being made into a novel, week by week, The Old Curiosity Shop. Against all …

From Abraham to Paul: A Biblical Chronology by Andrew E. Steinmann

As I’ve noted before, Andrew Steinmann has been remarkably prolific in recent years: 2008 – a 600 page commentary on Daniel 2009 – a 700 page commentary on Proverbs 2010 – a 600 page commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah And now this year, 2011, he has brought out a 400 page book on biblical chronology. …