Abide in You – A Poem

My Sovereign Lord, to You I flee!
When pain and death and sin attack,
Tis only the mighty and powerful Thee
My source of strength, who does not lack.

And who else could, but You, O Lord,
Loose Satan’s grip from my withering soul,
What other pow’r, but Your holy Word,
Could conjure a diamond from what was once coal?

The joys that I sing, the truths that I speak,
Could ne’er be happy, or joyous, or true,
I’d still be in darkness, my future still bleak,
Had I not felt the glorious presence of You.

As I abide in You, matchless divine,
I belong to no other, I am solely Thine.

Wisdom From Above: Reasonable

Today I want to delve into and exposit the word “reasonable” used in James 3:17 as one of the qualities of wisdom from above. The Greek word used here is eupeithes, and while there were certainly some differences in its usage and in the rendering of the word into various translations, the consensus was generally the same.  For example, in the NASB it is “reasonable”; in the ESV, “open to reason”; CSB, “compliant”; and in the King James, “easy to be intreated,”. There are slight variations but ultimately convey the same idea.

One quick note on the differences between the phrase compliant and reasonable. I think ultimately these two concepts are the same in context; the word is being rendered from different angles upon the same idea. As I will explain further we are not looking at a compliant man who simply obeys anyone who tells him what to do, nor are we looking at a man who submits purely to reason; the term is used to describe someone who is “open to reason” or “easily entreated.” This means that if anyone comes to him with a case or a law to be obeyed, the man is open to hearing the case out or accepting this law as the law, hence the connection with the term “reasonable”. This is important in connecting the differing translations together. However one piece of context could cause some confusion here.

In the following chapter James says “Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us?” But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:5-7)

Here God has called us to be both compliant and resistant. He calls us to submit and humble ourselves to Him, but commands the opposite in regards to the devil. This dichotomy is found throughout Scripture:

Proverbs 25:6 says “Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked;” But Proverbs 28:4 says “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them.”  In Romans 13 Paul tells the church “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities,” but in Acts 5 Peter tells the authorities, “We must obey God rather than men.” 

It seems clear that the wisdom from above is not reasonable to all things, but in fact calls us to be unreasonable in some areas. The puzzle piece to understanding this is that just as God is supreme over all, so our compliance is to Him over all things, as He created all things and rules over them. But being compliant to God means that we must respect and honor the authorities that God has put forth. We honor our parents, wives submit to their husbands, husbands submit to the church, and citizens submit to the authority of the state. All of these require us to be open to reason from these areas of authority. However because our obedience to these authorities is derived from our obedience to God, then as soon as the state or the church or our husbands or our parents command us to disobey God, the virtuous thing is to reject and resist the authority regardless of the reason.

In Plato’s work “Lesser Hippias” Socrates challenged Hippias(a renowned Sophist and mathematician) for an idea that he had put forth in conversation.  This idea was that Oddyseus is false and Achilles is true, making the Iliad a better work than the Oddysey. Within the discussion it is determined that men are neither true nor false, but rather they are both. In fact, those most skillful at determining the truth of a subject (i.e., knows the facts, the research, the statistics, etc.) are also the most able to deceive you into believing falsehoods. 

“I must beg, Hippias, that you will answer me with the same frankness and magnanimity which has hitherto characterized you. If a person were to ask you what is the sum of 3 multiplied by 700, would not you be the best and most consistent teller of a falsehood, having always the power of speaking falsely as you have of speaking truly, about these same matters, if you wanted to tell a falsehood, and not to answer truly? Would the ignorant man be better able to tell a falsehood in matters of calculation than you would be, if you chose? Might he not sometimes stumble upon the truth, when he wanted to tell a lie, because he did not know, whereas you who are the wise man, if you wanted to tell a lie would always and consistently lie?”

Why do I bring this up? Because when we hear the phrase “reasonable” in James 3:17, the natural assumption for the untrained eye might be to assume that this entails someone who is skilled in hearing out reasoning and discourse, who knows enough to reason with someone and be reasoned with. Just as Socrates pointed out, however, skill in reasoning alone is not the quality of “wisdom from above” that we are searching for.  The “true man” can lack skills in knowledge and reason, as the “false man” can have great reasoning skills, but the man is both true and false in that his reasoning skills are directed to either virtue or vice. That is the testing point for the reasonable man.

This means that the call is not to reason and compliance in a vacuum, but one that is shaped by virtue. James himself alludes to this when he begins his list of characteristics with “First pure, then…” Another noticeable trait in the verse is the repetitive nature of the following three words: “peaceable, gentle, reasonable”, in the Greek “Eirēnikos epieikēs eupeithēs” James commonly uses alliteration and homeoteleuton (repeating word endings) throughout his letter, and this is a great example of the two literary devices.  Imagine that just as James is crafting this verse he is piecing together a man of heavenly wisdom, one who is peacable and gentle and easily entreated; but it is purity that must hold the man and his character together. Without it he will fall to pieces. 

Similar to the characteristics we have reviewed in past articles, each trait, without purity, can become an evil rather than a good. A compliant man without virtue will likely express his lack of virtue in hundreds of different ways, but the commonality in all of them is cowardice; when he refuses to comply to God’s truth and law, he will comply to a myriad of other laws in himself and in others. As William Gurnall says, “Here the valiant swordsmen of the world have showed themselves mere cowards, who have come out of the field with victorious banners, and then lived, yea, died slaves to a base lust at home.” Reason works in the same way: it submits to God’s Law, for God as the source of all reason created it to operate in accordance with Himself. The reasonable man who rejects God will reject reason and accept absurdity. The easily entreated man who reject’s God’s law will reject honesty and accept falsehood. 

God has so ordered the universe so that all things are intended to bring honor and glory to Himself, not to the exclusion of all other things but such that “in Him all things hold together ” (Colossians 1:17). Christ is supreme and eternal, and God has not only promised to lay all the nations at his feet, but He created the nations for this purpose, and all the creation groans for that day. “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:23)

 If our reasoning is directed to God first, and to all those whom God has given us to reason with and comply to, then we are participating in the wisdom from above that is pure and peaceable and gentle. But if our obedience and compliance to anyone or anything is coming from a different source, then we are in fact in disobedience. We are, as Odysseus and Achilles were, both true and false, but in Christ’s redemptive work we can reject the false and cowardly man in us and become the brave and reasonable man he designed us to be.

Wisdom From Above: Gentle

This is a part of my ongoing series, Wisdom from Above, in which I explore Scripturally the various principles described in James 3:17 as “The wisdom from above.” This series is heavy on Scripture references, and I hope you do the diligence of pouring through these with me and gleaning the truth from them. My prayer is always that you will join me on this journey to wisdom and virtue.

At surface level when we read the word “gentle,” the meaning is clear enough. A vision likely comes to mind of a quiet, timid and harmless individual, someone who, regardless of his size or stature, would “never hurt a fly.” Or perhaps we think of a “gentleman,” someone who will hold open the door for a lady, or throw his coat upon a puddle so that she won’t get her feet wet. However, as I was researching the meaning of the word, I found that this was not the fully intended meaning of the word.

In this article, my goal is to explore the word “Gentle,” and convey to you that full meaning as it is used in Scripture. I was faced with two difficulties in interpreting the meaning of gentle. First, the use of the Greek word “epieikes” (and the related term “epeikiea”) is quite ambiguous in its usage outside of the New Testament. Secondly, the English word “gentle” as it is translated has also changed in it’s meaning over time, giving us a double portion of ambiguity in understanding the meaning in Scripture of this word.

I am not an expert in New Testament Greek nor of linguistics in general, but with a bit of reading and searching, there is enough information available to give the amateur reader sufficient material to understand. Beginning with the biblical references, and then moving through the Greek and into the English usage of the word, I am confident that you will have a firm grasp of the term “gentle” and will be a better person for it.

The word epieikes appears 5 times in the New Testament; 4 times it is translated as gentle and once as “reasonableness”:

“not violent but gentle,” (1 Tit 3:3)
“to avoid quarreling, to be gentle,” (Tit 3:2)
“The wisdom above is…gentle..”(James 3:17)
“Servants, be subject to your masters…not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.” (1 Peter 2:18)

Philippians 4:5: “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.”

Epeikea appears twice in the NT:

But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. Acts 24:4

I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ–I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!– 2 Cor. 10:1

We commonly interpret the word gentle as kind, compassionate, caring, or any other myriad of fluffy and sweet terms. This is the spirit that the word has with us, and the context of these verses is not so far off base as to be outright unrelated. However, both in the history of the English language, and of the Greek word we find different meanings which can help us dive a bit deeper into understanding the application of this term to the reader of James 3:17.

Gunter Virt, an Austrian professor of Moral Theology from 1983 to 2006, wrote several papers and books on this very subject. I came across a paper of his on Pastoral Care, one of the few of his works available online. In this paper he briefly outlines “how the understanding of epikeia developed historically in order to present its various nuances systematically.”

In Homer, the adjective epieikes expresses moral temperance and decency. It is an ideal characteristic of the gods (Zeus, Hera etc.) and of heroes (such as Achilles).

In Herodotus, epikeia is the opposite of the rigorous defence of one’s right. In the Sophist Gorgias, epikeia is a dynamic element of justice useful to overcome dilemmas. In the process, the human subject creates his own kairos. In contrast, for the historiographer Thucydides, kairos is supra-individual. He sees history as the combination of destiny and reason, and criticises the Athenians for using epikeia in situations of war as a means of power politics.

In Plato, epieikes as adjective usually has a positive ring, but epikeia as a noun is a dilution of justice. Most commentaries are based on a sentence in Plato’s (possibly posthumous) work Nomoi (VI 757d-e), where he criticizes the election for offices for not being based on virtue and talent, but rather, for being simply by lot. Here, the term epikeia implies a weakening of justice.1

According to Virt, Aristotle provides the most conclusive and unified presentation of this word, which can be seen in the conclusion of his work on Nicomachean Ethics:

It is plain, then, what the equitable is, and that it is just and is better than one kind of justice. It is evident also from this who the equitable man is; the man who chooses and does such acts, and is no stickler for his rights in a bad sense but tends to take less than his share though he has the law oft his side, is equitable, and this state of character is equity, which is a sort of justice and not a different state of character. 2

Aristotle takes all these varying applications of the word and synthesizes them into one word: not gentleness, but equity. Per the Philosopher, equity is a sort of merciful justice, one which is willing to sacrifice of itself to establish justice for others. This is why, in the history of the word, you will find that it takes various forms. This is why some Greeks portrayed it as an establishment of justice an others as a weakening of it.

Aristotle’s definition carries on through Aquinas in his classic work, Summa Theologica:

“Epikeia” does not set aside that which is just in itself but that which is just as by law established. Nor is it opposed to severity, which follows the letter of the law when it ought to be followed. To follow the letter of the law when it ought not to be followed is sinful. Hence it is written in the Codex of Laws and Constitutions under Law v: “Without doubt he transgresses the law who by adhering to the letter of the law strives to defeat the intention of the lawgiver.3

As the concept of equity passed on to the Western world through Aquinas, it is presented as a reasonableness (as translated in Phil 4:5), or a willingness to hear reason. It is a laying down of one’s own preference and sense of justice for the sake of another. by necessity it denotes someone in a place of power or nobility using their status for the benefit of others rather than themselves.

It is from this understanding that the term has passed through Old French (11th century) “genteel” and eventually into English as a conception of nobility and land ownership. For someone to hold property and a higher seat in society, they are expected to hold that seat in an equitable manner, and thus we developed the term gentleman.

So why do we have such a nuanced version of this word today? Just like the meanings conveyed through Aristotle’s predecessors, the modern understanding of the word gentle contains part of it’s meaning, but does not reflect the whole. CS Lewis mentions the development of the word gentleman briefly in his essay The Death of Words:

But surely there are words that have become merely complimentary—words which once had a definable sense and which are now nothing more than noises of vague approval? The dearest example is the word gentleman. This was once (like villain) a term which defined a social and heraldic fact. The question whether Snooks was a gentleman was almost as soluble as the question whether he was a barrister or a Master of Arts. The same question, asked forty years ago (when it was asked very often) admitted of no solution. The word had become merely eulogistic, and the qualities on which the eulogy was based varied from moment to moment even in the mind of the same speaker. This is one of the ways in which words die.4

The word in our cultural understanding evolved from an objective statement of description into a sentimental one, so it is no surprise that the objective qualities of the word faded away and the sentimental ones remained. At least the word gentleman holds a bit more of the intended culture of the word. The difference is clear in the meaning rendered when I say “John is a gentleman” or “John is a gentle man.”

I have kept this as short as possible, but have left links and references below should you choose to look in more detail. This journey through the history of the word should give you ample material with which to formulate a biblical understanding of the word here in James 3:17. In the verse preceding James tells us, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice…”

In the concept of epeikia (as equity rather than mere gentleness) there is a denial of these two temptations of selfishness and jealousy. The selfish and envious person is quarrelsome and violent (Jam. 4:1-2), and in the case of a master or ruler they are unjust and unfair (Col. 4:1). An equitable person, however, as we see in the verses referenced above, are none of these things. It is important to note that equity does not dispense with justice or virtue; rather it points to a higher virtue, or the “weightier matters of the law.” (Matt 23:23) This requires a display of both strength and meekness: a strength of character and a meekness of service. It is a recognition of the Master above all masters and the Lawgiver above all lawgivers, to whom all masters and laws must bow to.

In conclusion I leave you with this elegy of the Reverend John Cotton (a minister in England and later in the Massachussetts Bay Colony) that perfectly describes this quality of gentleness, and I pray that you will recognize your place in the world God created, and that God will grant the wisdom of gentleness from above.

“Here lies magnanimous humility,
Majesty, meekness, Christian apathy
On soft affections; liberty in thrall;
A noble spirit, servant unto all.”5

1) Virt, G. (2013). Moral norms and the forgotten virtue of Epikeia in the pastoral care of the divorced and remarried. Melita Theologica, Vol. 63(1), p. 17-34
2) “Book V, Section 10.” Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle, Macmillan Pub. Co., 1986.
3) “SECUNDA SECUNDÆ PARTIS, Question 120.” The Summa Theologica, by Thomas, Catholic Way Publishing, 2014.
4)Lewis, C.S. “The Death of Words.” The Spectator, 22 Sept. 1944.
5)“Magnalia Christi Americana, or, The Ecclesiastical History of New-England.” Magnalia Christi Americana, or, The Ecclesiastical History of New-England, by Cotton Mather, S. Andrus, 1820, p. 258.

Wisdom From Above: Peaceable

This is a part of my ongoing series, Wisdom from Above, in which I explore Scripturally the various principles of wisdom described in James 3:17. This series is heavy on Scripture references, and I hope you do the diligence of pouring through these with me and gleaning the truth from them.  My prayer is always that you will join me on this journey to wisdom and virtue.

The second quality of wisdom given by James is “peaceable.” This word can easily be confused with peaceful; although they can often be used to convey the same idea, “peaceful” generally indicates a state of peace, such as stillness or quiet, and “peaceable” is defined as “promoting or being disposed towards peace.” Aquinas makes a similar distinction (which I quoted in the introductory article) when he says “It belongs to charity to be at peace, but it belongs to wisdom to make peace by setting things in order.” This latter meaning is what I believe is being communicated here. In this article, I hope to demonstrate the meaning and importance of being a “peaceable” Christian in our modern culture. Let’s look at the immediate context of James 3:17.

“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

In the previous article, we dealt with purity, the source of wisdom. Our question was, where is our wisdom coming from? “Peaceable” here seems to be concerned with the end of wisdom, it’s goal or purpose. Verse 16 and 18 are juxtaposed here to give us a clear contrast: the end of self-centered living is disorder and sin, and end of peaceable living is a harvest of righteousness. Peaceable wisdom is not a commitment to tranquility or pacifism, but a way of living that plows the ground and plants the seed so that righteousness can grow from it.

The clearest example of what that disorder looks like is in our political climate today. It seems to me that the majority in society have become susceptible to disorder and destructive speech. As I look at the interactions it seems that no one is concerned with persuading or convincing the other side, but rather the goal is to win at the expense of those we disagree with. And so they have thrown aside the goal of peace, and along with it, all the tools of persuasion, logic, rhetoric, and even love. As a result, we have decided to use vicious words and insults to deride our opponents. This is not a new problem for humans, although one can say it is more aggravated or widespread today. James addresses this very issue in chapter 4 of his letter to the churches:

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:1-3)

The churches James is writing to are facing the same temptations of disorder and division. James points out that the wars happening on the outside are not the primary problem, but the wars on the inside. When people allow their hearts to be consumed by their own passions and desires, it results in jealousy and selfish ambition, which as we know, leads to disorder and every vile practice.

In order to make peace in the world, we must make peace in our hearts, submitting it to God. Once we do that, we will no longer desire the destruction of our enemies, but their salvation. We will not be agents of division but agents of peace and righteousness.   “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Cor 5:18-19)

Having God as our source, and peace with Him through Christ as our end, let us plant seeds of peace, so that we may reap a harvest of righteousness.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

Wisdom From Above: Pure

This is a part of my ongoing series, Wisdom from Above, in which I explore Scripturally the various principles described in James 3:17 as “the wisdom from above.” This series is heavy on Scripture references, and I hope you do the diligence of pouring through these with me and gleaning the truth from them. My prayer is always that you will join me on this journey to wisdom and virtue.

As he describes the wisdom above, James tells us, first and foremost, that it is pure. I wondered to myself reading this, why does purity come first? In comparison, all of the other qualities can be easily observed in the people around us through singular deeds and actions. They can all be known in part, but purity is a holistic quality: to observe a pure individual, you must see the whole individual, because if one part is impure, the whole cannot be.

For the average person reading this, purity is almost exclusively a sexual term, a synonym for chastity (which is understandable given the lasciviousness of our culture) . Biblical purity, however, is much wider in scope. It includes chastity, to be sure, but it is more concerned with source than with substance. I’ve seen teaching after teaching of purity in which rules are set down and programs are put into place to ensure that young people are “pure,” but they all are focused on surface level thoughts and deeds. In Scripture, purity in character is the effect of purity of heart.

James outlines this earlier in chapter 3 as he calls the Christians to be wary of the way they use their tongues to speak evil of their brothers and sisters. “[The tongue] is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.” (James 3:9-12)

Jesus similarly warned the Pharisees that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matt. 12:34) Our hearts and minds are the source for our words and deeds. If the source is corrupt, then we can expect all that flows from it to be the same. Pure literally means “unmixed,” of a single element not corrupted by the presence of anything else. A common analogy in Scripture is of silver or gold being refined in the furnace. As silver and gold are heated, the impurities can be filtered out, purifying the mineral.

So the opposite of purity is not uncleanness, as some might think, but it is rather double-mindedness. When our soul has mixed allegiances, we are impure, and this will display through our sinful thoughts and actions. There is a war going on for our affections and desires. Satan, being the father of lies, is content with deceiving us into thinking we can have a small affection for our flesh and be led by the Spirit of God. James strikes this lie down, saying “whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us?” and later, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (v 4:8)

Christians are often tempted to misunderstand the relations between flesh and Spirit, and entertain the extremes of excusing our sin(resistance is futile), or of upholding impossible standards against it. Romans 7 is the reality of the nonbeliever: a Spirit enslaved and imprisoned by his flesh. Christ, however, in his death and resurrection, has broken the bonds of slavery. On the other hand, this does not mean the fight is over. Scripture affirms that sin is a reality in the Christian life. So while the dominion of sin has been broken for the believer, the war is not over. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Cor. 10:12)

Our discussion on purity is vitally important here, as we must understand that the emphasis is not on the SUBSTANCE of purity(being completely devoid of sin), but the SOURCE(being completely devoted to God). In his pronouncement of judgement to the Pharisees he says: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” (Matthew 23:25-26)

To conclude, as we begin the journey towards the wisdom that is from above, we must first check the source of our wisdom. Are we getting our wisdom from God alone, or are our desires mixed and tainted with jealousy and selfish ambition? Where these exist, “there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” The path to wisdom begins with purification, and a “harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

Wisdom From Above: Series Introduction

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. (James 3:17)

In his letter to the scattered Christians of the early Church, James addresses the various challenges they would face, as a small group of believers living in a largely unbelieving world. These challenges were not hypothetical; as is evidenced throughout the letter, many Christians were being “lured and enticed by his own desire,” as James himself warned. This was of great concern, because “then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (vv. 1:14-15) James, seeking to preserve the life of these churches, called them to endure persecution and trials, stop their quarreling, and cease their hateful speech and actions. “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” (v. 3:16)

The word disorder means that things are not in order; things are not the way they should be. When you put together a puzzle and the pieces are arranged incorrectly, it’s easy to see that things are not right. It’s not until we’ve finally put everything where it belongs that we have a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. It is no surprise that life works in the same way. When our minds and hearts are focused on ourselves, things are not the way they should be. It takes the form of jealousy (this person has something I don’t) or selfish ambition (No one else should have what I have), and out of it springs all kinds of bad words and deeds. We never feel that sense of satisfaction in life, because everything seems out of place. This is why James tells us that this wisdom is not from above, but is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” (v. 3:15)

James then provides a contrast to this earthly wisdom, which is what we see in the verse quoted above.  All these things, rather than focusing on what we have or don’t have, are focused on who we can be for others, or what we can give to them. When we build our lives around loving and serving our neighbors, we find that this is the way things were meant to be. “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (v. 3:18) These principles are seeds which, when planted in our hearts, bear fruit in our deeds and bring forth a harvest of righteousness. In the midst of the chaos all around us, this gives me hope, that I can make a difference, if I rely on the wisdom from above and not on my selfishness and sin.

So I have committed to write an article for each of these principles(pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere) in hopes that I, and my readers, can become more intimately acquainted with the wisdom that comes from above. In this day and age, in spite of the many differences between our culture and that of the early Christians, we face the same temptations and challenges they did. The quarreling, clashes between the rich and poor, worldly living, and all other forms of jealousy and selfish ambition can easily be seen around us. So join me as I seek to forsake the worldly wisdom, the “passions at war within”(v. 4:1), and look upwards for wisdom. I pray that we will both be blessed in this journey.

It belongs to charity to be at peace, but it belongs to wisdom to make peace by setting things in order. – Thomas Aquinas

Book Review: The Consolation of Philosophy

Thank you for reading my Book Review! In my reviews, my goal is to engage with the spirit and vision of the book, rather than simply an overview of the content and quality of the writing. I encourage you not only to pick up the book yourself and read it, but also to engage with it in the same manner, let it change your heart and mind, and then apply that change to your life in a meaningful way. Enjoy!

Many questions are asked within the pages of the Consolation, as Boethius, languishing in prison, interacts with wisdom personified as Lady Philosophy. To be honest I was shocked, not because they were unheard of, but rather because they are the very same questions we ask today in regards to suffering. Where I expected some dry, archaic portrayal of suffering, the dialogue felt truly and refreshingly human. What was glaringly foreign to our culture today was manifested in the answers given by Lady Philosophy; our society has abandoned the discipline of philosophy, and this book proves by example that in doing so we are giving up it’s consolations.

Boethius was a Roman Senator who lived in the 6th century, under the rule of Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. In 523 AD, he was imprisoned due to accusations of treason, and soon after was put to death. As he sat in prison, he cried out in anguish and pain. Lady Philosophy then descended to encourage and enlighten him with truth and reason. The entire book covers the conversation they have, and it is broken up into alternating segments of prose and poetry, as the Lady Philosophy began to provide medicine for his mind and soul, building his strength so that he could face his despair.

“Therefore will I try to lessen this darkness for a while with gentle applications of easy remedies, that so the shadows of deceiving passions may be dissipated, and you may have power to perceive the brightness of true light.’

What makes this book so foreign to us? We tend to reject the merits of Philosophy on account of its impracticalities, and too often we confine it to being a subject that is studied and learned in a classroom. It is perceived as the art of reading old dead Greek guys and pretending to understand them. This is simply untrue. Philosophy is no more a subject of study than Fitness is. Every human is philosophical by nature, and the moment you speak a word to express a thought you have engaged in philosophy. In the same way that Fitness is how one disciplines the body, Philosophy is how one disciplines the mind, and thus it is a means of achieving a sound and healthy mind. It is the seeking out of wisdom to better one’s soul.

Our mindset today is generally to discard anything that seems impractical, and so we generally tell ourselves that philosophy goes in the junk drawer. While practicality is important, understanding that importance is a philosophical endeavor, and so we must admit the importance of Philosophy at the same time. As Chesterton said, “the idea of being ‘practical’, standing all by itself, is all that remains of a Pragmatism that cannot stand at all. It is impossible to be practical without a Pragma.” Boethius here is calling himself, and all who would read thereafter, to deny all his practices that did not align with the Idea which gave all practice it’s meaning. We cannot escape philosophy, we can only be faithful with it or unfaithful.

It is not as though Wisdom has left us, nor have we lost our ability to learn and reason. What we have lost is our yearning for it, our desire to learn; or if we do have a desire, that desire is muddled with our selfishness and pride. This is true on the personal level, as well as on the societal level. We live in a self saturated culture that does not have the humility to seek out the truth. We must discipline ourselves as Boethius did, and endeavor to shine light upon the darkness of our minds.

Lady Philosophy sits in the attic of your consciousness, dusty and unused. She is useless and unnecessary to our culture, but I implore you to go to her. Speak with her, learn from her, and you will find that in your despair, in your wanderings, and in your doubt she offers comfort, and hope, and peace to you in this time of need. Like Boethius, we are often blinded by the trials and tribulations of life, and we lose sight of the truths that are beyond us, yet penetrate every part of our known reality. When her truths become alive to modernity, we can perhaps return to that path of Progress that we have so dangerously veered from. This book can be the first step in that direction, and I recommend it to anyone who has even the faintest hunger for a greater understanding of the world we live in.

“I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.” – Proverbs 8:14-17

Book Review: Hannah Coulter

Thank you for reading my Book Review! In my reviews, my goal is to engage with the spirit and vision of the book, rather than simply an overview of the content and quality of the writing. I encourage you not only to pick up the book yourself and read it, but also to engage with it in the same manner, let it change your heart and mind, and then apply that change to your life in a meaningful way. Enjoy!

I should begin by saying that reading this book has been personally transformational, like the focusing of a lens. In many ways it is not the kind of book I would generally pick up, but several people whom I respect and admire have poured out praises upon Berry’s work, and so I was convinced to give it a go. What I discovered in the pages was more than a good work of fiction(although it was a good work of fiction). I found in this book a perspective that I was aware of but generally ignorant of, that had suddenly come into view, and having done so I am changed by it. This is the strength of Berry’s writing, I believe: He pulls you so deeply into his story, into this “time and place,” that you must take it as your own as you read, and when you do so you cannot leave without a part of it in your heart and mind.

This is true in every story, I think. If we are reading properly, then we are entering into the story as if it were our own. If this is true then the story should change us to a degree. Of course, every reader can resist the empathic urge, and choose to be a passive, unemotional audience. This is often the reaction when reading a particularly bad or moralistic story. An aspect of good writing, then, is that the story impresses itself upon you, and it becomes difficult to resist, to be passive and unchanged. It grips our hearts and desires, it moves our souls and animates us because we experience what is being written. I believe this is the best way to describe what this novel has done for me.

Earlier I emphasized “a time and a place” because the majority of this book is centered around a single place that is lived in over a lifetime. Hannah (our main character) is telling us the story as an old woman remembering this place and all that has happened there. Hannah lost her mother at an early age, and at the time of telling us her story has been widowed twice. She has felt much pain and sorrow and loss, but in the midst there is the constant echo of thankfulness. All the pain of what has been lost contains within it the joy of something once had, and the hope and promise of something that will be restored. As she introduces her story to us in Chapter 1 she says:

“This is the story of my life, that while I lived it weighed upon me and pressed against me and filled all my senses to overflowing and now is like a dream dreamed. So close to the end now, what do I look forward to? ‘Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.’ Some morning, I pray, I’ll have the good happiness of ‘the man who woke up dead,’ who Burley Coulter used to tell about. This is my story, my giving of thanks.”

For much of the story(and most of her life) Hannah lives on a farmhouse in Port William, working the land with her second husband Nathan and the community around them. Some of them are family, some of them not, but they all shared a common bond of hardship, of necessity, and of course, time and place. Or perhaps it is better to say that as they share in these things, the bond forms as a result. They begin to build, as Hannah puts it, a “room of love.” Yet the strongest bond remains between herself and her husband Nathan, a stoic and hard working man who helps her carry through the darkest hours of her life, even in his own sickness and his death.

As she tells this story, she recalls this fully lived life, and not only the people in it, but the accidentals; the house, the trees, the river, the hills. The land she lives in is the face and body of the life she has lived within it, and as she walks through it she recognizes it all and shares with us her story with thankfulness for the gift of this room of love.

After meditating upon what I have read in Hannah Coulter, there were a few  things that I observed. While it was obvious that Hannah’s love was far greater than the physical world, her love was also inextricable from it. After her husband passed away, her love for him remained, but it was held intact by the memories she had of his face, his eyes, of the places he sat and ate and slept and worked. It is quite tempting for us to disembody the things we love, so as to save ourselves from pain and heartache, but in doing so we lose the thing itself. We often say that we love “people in general” which is admirable enough, but is this a realistic goal? I would argue not. People generally have a hard enough time loving everyone they know, much less everyone in the world. If it is not possible, is it a worthy goal to pursue?

The inescapable nature of Love is that it is an embodied truth, and it cannot be understood unless it has a time and a place. This is why, I believe, we have the commandment to love our neighbor. It means we are required to love someone real, someone right next to us, right now. Christ was not a disembodied truth; we read that the “Word became flesh.” He entered into the material world and lay His life down to save sinners, and so we who follow Him have a call to lay our own lives down for others (even if we don’t think they deserve it). To say we love “people in general” seems almost an escape from the implications of love that render it beautiful and redemptive. Love requires sacrifice, and sacrifice requires something tangible and real.

So I ask you as I ask myself: Does your love for others have a body? Does it live in reality through words and deeds or is it an untouchable, inexpressible feeling? There may be some merit to looking around us, at our families, friends, our churches, schools, workplaces, and communities, and ask ourselves how we can love these people. If everyone does this, then the notion of love touching everyone in the world seems a bit more possible.

I highly recommend this book. Many people can write an essay or an ethical treatise, but to write a compelling story that accomplishes the same end of teaching us truths about our world and our selves, is a unique and marvelous gift. Berry has this gift, and I believe anyone who picks this up will recognize it.

Arrow of God: A Poem In Memory of Jeremiah Thomas

This poem is dedicated to my brother in law, who was diagnosed with cancer, and passed away on Sunday August 26th, 2018. This poem is an expression of his life, his faith, and his courage in the face of sickness and death, which will forever serve as my inspiration and example. May this poem edify you in the same way.

An arrow, built of flesh and bone,
shoots forth from the bow,
As father pulls his precious son,
Up from the water below.

As sin and death swims underneath,
A man of God is raised,
Fire, born from heaven, falls,
And tears flow down his face.

The God above, His ways and thoughts,
Higher and better than ours,
Makes plans we cannot comprehend,
To show forth His great power.

Jeremiah, young and strong,
With passion in his eyes,
To God He cries, “My life is yours!”
Our Gracious Lord replies,

“Dear Son, I will do mighty things,
My Kingdom bursting forth,
My Light will shine from you, young man,
Bright burning like a torch.”

“My humble child, to grow this tree,
We must first plant the seed,
And as you sink into the ground,
My power will proceed.”

“This road is full of pain and strife,
Bestowed on special men.
For only those with great resolve,
Can fight this fight and win.”

“It is one thing to best your foe,
With sword in mighty hand,
Or beat them with your cunning,
With crafty schemes and plans,”

“But as you will soon understand,
This truth by which you’re saved,
That I have done my greatest work,
From deep within the grave.”

Satan, the Accusing One,
He fears the arrow’s blow.
He’ll dispatch every hellish imp,
to thwart this warrior’s hope.

Yet Satan in his pride, is blind,
to God’s redeeming plan,
That every blow the devil throws,
Is strengthening the man.

With our earthly eyes we see,
His loss, as he decays,
We see his mortal frame unfurl,
His strength just wastes away.

It pains us so, but one great hope,
Will keep us from despair,
That what is sown in weakness here,
Is raised in power there.

As this arrow hits its mark,
So many more are notched and drawn,
Let us look past the dreadful dark,
to a great and glorious dawn.

Will you stand to fight like him?
Or will you sit idly by?
Will you honor this warrior’s death?
Will you heed his battlecry?

I tell you, the battle is the Lord’s,
so stand and join this fight,
and one day, just like Jeremiah,
your faith will become sight.

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me! I am excited to begin posting here! Please stay tuned for content like blog articles, book reviews and eventually there will be a podcast! Site is currently under construction, so bear with me as I work through this. Enjoy the below obligatory auto-generated sample content from WP.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

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