Spurgeon's Cigar

(Leon Bonnat, 1880 - Public Domain) The following material is copyrighted and cannot be copied or transmitted in print, digital,  electronic, or any other means without express written consent of the author. Direct quotations  or paraphrases are permissible within the legal boundaries of "fair use." Excerpt 16: "Job and God's 'Terrible Majesty' ”  from Chapter IX: "God's Terrible Majesty" TERRIBLE MAJESTY: Biblical Aesthetics and the Recovery of Authentic Fear (Publication date: soon, D.V.) The magisterial connotation of Elohim intensifies when OT writers complement the pluralis majestatis with the precise Hebrew word for “majesty” - hod. Amazingly, the first instance of hod as a descriptor of Elohim’s “majesty” occurs in Job 37:22 when Elihu declares, “with God is terrible majesty.” This inaugural declaration of God’s majesty immediately reenforces our thesis that sublime consciousness of God inherently involves an ex...

“Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”   Isa 44:16 God has always confirmed His presence among His people with a physical sign.    Manna was an obvious one.  God’s sufficiency to meet a daily requirement for sustenance is what sustained His people.  Their physical need was met by supernatural provision.   The tabernacle was another.  It provided the space whereby spiritual atonement for sin might take place.  Physical, ritualistic sacrifices were made there.  An unblemished animal was sacrificed as evidence that supernatural pardon of sin was not only possible but had actually occurred.   Signs always point to something beyond their own manifestation.  The meaning of these occurrences, as spectacular and strange as they often were, transcends their own utility.   In fact, God’s presence being marked by a sign happens so often throughout the Scriptures ...

Demosthenes Practising Oratory by Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte du Nouy Classroom Philosophy and Strategies Rhetoric The following statement of philosophy and strategies of rhetoric apply primarily to upper-level humanities education and reflects my personal opinions and convictions which, I believe, are grounded in and supported by Platonic and Christian principles. Classroom Discussion Lecturing has its place in the classroom, but not first place.  Better teachers are navigators, not dictators, of discussion. Dialogue (Dialectic) is the highest sphere of Socratic contemplation. Better teachers are dialogues, not monologues, who understand the art and science of the question. Teacher-supplied information lends itself to a more passive intellectual response from the student, whereas “the question” requires of the student more active intellectual engagement in the process of discovery. The well crafted question knows the answer it seeks and queries the student in s...

When he saw the blood, repentance and worship ensued.  Upon entering the dark cave, our eyes catch a distant, flickering light.  It is unclear just how we are able to arrive there so quickly during the night.  A full moon has certainly aided our journey.  Drawing near the light, the men who we’d left to guard the king are alerted to our approach.   Our bodies are exhausted beyond belief.  My ankle is severely swollen, and the pain is intense.  Eleazar has a shattered forearm from a severe blow he absorbed during the fight.  Most bloodied amongst us is Shammah, but it seems his dark stains are mostly those of other men.  Being steadied to walk only by the support of the extended arms of these men, we are a hobbled mass of cuts and bruises. “Where is the king?” I inquire of the men.  “He sleeps,” is the reply, “just beyond the light, behind that rock to the left.” “Wake him, and meet us at the fire,” I instruct them....

It is 1am. The sky is clear and bright with stars. I find in this illuminating light a comfort I’ve never known before. Let me briefly explain. Just a few nights ago, at this same time, we were visited by a light so brilliant and so terrible, we knew we would die. The flock scatters violently. And I realize there are no wolves chasing them. Our faces are swiftly buried in the dirt, arms curled over our heads, concealing anything we can. My eyes burn with light, even though they are closed and covered. We are a shivering mass of fear and trepidation. Finally, a voice speaks. It is not the voice of a man. But its tone assures us that we will not die. This voice is clear and unmistakable. It is also powerful. Unapproachable, the light becomes discernible. Yet, its beauty is no less radiant. We look and listen but cannot move. Then, it is gone. How we arrive there, I am unsure. We startle them initially. She tries to hide, and he prepares to fight. We all speak...

Ready or not... We've all said the words.  We've all heard them.  We've all played the game.  The seeker buries his eyes in the crook of his arm, leaning against a tree, and begins counting... 1...2...3... We run.  We run as fast as we can, torn between sneaky silence and the urge to get away and hide.  We try to move quietly, but must flee hastily toward our temporary shelter, our disguise, our hiding place.  We know that the seeker is fair.  We know that the seeker isn't peeking.  But we also know that the seeker is, while counting loud enough for all to hear, also listening to our footfalls, listening to the various directions we are each running to hide.   10...11...12... We each find a space, a spot that seems to be just our size, a covering that seems to be made just for us, perfectly waiting to hide us from the prying and determined eyes of the seeker.  We crouch down and try so slow our breathing and wipe the ...

The opposite of love is not hatred, but apathy. Before addressing the opposite of love, we should first consider the origin of love - God. The Bible clearly states “God is love” (I Jn 4). One writer labels love as “the bond of perfection,” which would corroborate with Paul’s pen, “put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col 3.14, ESV). If you think about it, both the “binding” and “perfect” nature of love make sense when considering both the triune and eternal nature of the Godhead. Before God loved any other, the Godhead is bound in perfection; thus, God is love. The same idea of binding love is also true among men, which is more to Paul’s point. The effectual nature of love is that it “binds (men) together in perfect harmony.” I have heard it argued since God is love, He is incapable of hatred. As the point goes, God does not have the capacity for hatred since He is only and always benevolent, since he is always seeking to only “bind” men to...