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Reflective Meditation on God & His Word is Biblical

January 18, 2024January 1, 2021 by Mark Eckel

Biblical meditation links the temporal with the eternal.

[Picture credit: https://christianmeditationforpriests.blogspot.com/]

Meditation should concern itself with the content of thoughtful reflection as well as the methods of contemplation. Many faiths have meditative practices. Christians focus their deliberation on the text of Scripture focusing on Christ’s person and work.

Biblical Theology of Meditation

Reflection is a term that originates with Hebrew words for meditate. One word gives the impression of a “groan” (Ps. 5:1) or a “moan” (Isa. 38:14; 59:11). Psalm 19:14 captures the most famous reflective statement containing thoughts expressed in words, “Let the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord.” Silent rehearsal, turning something over in one’s mind, ends in an enthusiastic, emotion-filled confession. The believer then orchestrates God’s works to all those around (1 Chr. 16:9; Ps. 105:2). Once the silent reflection is told to others, the teaching continues to “talk” to the reflective heart: whether walking, lying down, or awake (Pro. 6:20-22). Meditation is to continue all the time (“day and night,” Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2; 119:97, 99) and even during sleepless hours (Ps. 4:4; 63:6; 77:6). The focus of Hebraic-Christian meditation is on all God’s works and words (Ps. 77:12; 119:27; 145:5).

Meditation shows what is valuable to the believer. Selah, the repetitious word found throughout the Psalms, communicates value by its definition: to hang, weigh, or measure. The term was used in the Old Testament when people used scales to identify the cost or weight of an object (Job 28:15-16). Selah functions as an interlude to weigh a thought. One stops, pauses, ponders, considers, and thinks. The biblical implication is to take a break, take a minute, or take a breath (Ps. 3, 24, 46). Practicing biblical meditation links the temporal with the eternal.

The righteous are to deliberate over proper answers (Pro. 15:28), meditating on the implications (Ps. 1:2). “I thought to myself” and “I thought in my heart” are both a frequent and summary statements in the book (1:16; 2:1, 15; etc.). Leaving no stone unturned, life was “tested by wisdom” (Ecc. 7:23). Solomon declares, “Look, this is what I have discovered, this is what I have found” (Ecc. 6:11-12; 7:27, 29; 12:9). Solomon’s recurring meditation is that a God-centered life leads to gladness, satisfaction, and contentment (Ecc. 2:24-25; 3:12-13; 5:18-20; 7:14; 8:15; 9:9).

Biblical Philosophy of Meditation

Meditation could comprise a number of threads. Simple observations could prompt new or recurring thoughts, ideas, perspectives, or questions. The reader could identify reasons to accept, corroborate, or pursue a biblical author’s thinking. Personal musing and rumination may possibly produce ideas for the practice of any concept. The Hebraic-Christian lifeview rests on essential ideas established in Scripture and reflected upon by the believer

Believers ponder the importance of many Scriptural ideas. There is a consequence of meaning, “Why?” being the chief question in life. Making sense of reality—all inclusive of what is seen and unseen—arising from a meditation of beginnings and ends. The eternal plan of God stimulates meditation: how God sustains His creation while preparing for its culmination. The Creator’s good gifts to humanity encourage meditation while Christians commit themselves to being caretakers of everything given. Meditation provokes the responsibility to teach the next generation to remember God’s work.

Meditation should provide biblical, relational, generational learning opportunities for the believing community. Practical learning opportunities should include

(1) The Revelational—Scripture will be the foundation of all study.

(2) The Relational—dialogue will be engaged within the Christian community.

(3) The Perennial—eternal, universal, great ideas will be understood as “true Truth” dependent upon God as the source of knowledge.

(4) The Historical—a Hebraic-Christian study of history begins in eternity acknowledging the purposeful work of God through persons and nations.

(5) The Experiential—wedding truth with life is encouraged through personal introspection, meditation, and reflection by reading The Text and all other texts, through communion with The Word, The Spirit, and The Body (both in the universal and historical Church).

(6) The Creational—the physical setting of creation allows believers the enjoyment of reflective study in God’s Word engaged with God’s world.

Christian Practice of Meditation

Meditation can prompt the Christian community to recognize and discuss biblical truths and their application to personal life. Interpretation of cultural issues with The Spirit’s illumination of Scripture is an important Christian reflection. Critiquing categories of thought antithetic to Christian teaching is imperative. Proposing solutions to civic and cultural responsibilities within a biblical framework could arise out of meditation. Evaluation of personal commitments to change could keep one in step with The Spirit.

Pastoral renewal is an imperative for the practice of meditation. Workshops for Christian leaders could include teaching on and practice of meditation. Lecture-discussions for interested parties would profit meditation’s promotion. Film review should involve reflection. Reflective weekend summits, retreats, and educational dialogue may generate curriculum, position papers, articles, or reviews all because believers took time to stop, pause, consider, and think God’s thoughts after Him.

“Meditation” © is one of 17 articles included in The Encyclopedia of Christian Education, Rowman & Littlefield by Dr. Mark Eckel.

How Do I Change My Attitude?

January 18, 2024January 1, 2021 by Mark Eckel

Do we need an attitude adjustment?

https://peanuts.wikia.com/wiki/Charlie_Brown

What mindset bends our habits of thought?

Belief and behavior influence a person’s being. Often neglected, building the interiority of one’s inner life is imperative. Character development is important within all educational opportunities. Attitudes are impacted over time, within community, by means of truth, through story. Ethical standards which transform are considered imperative worldwide. Since character and virtue are invisible, immaterial qualities, it seems the emphasis in Christian education settings should be developing that which is unseen.

Biblical Theology of Attitudes

The role of The Spirit in connecting truth with how people live is dependent upon their internal focus. The change agent is not up to the person, but The Spirit; transformation is impossible by oneself (Eph. 2:1-9). The Holy Spirit initiates the ongoing sanctification process through His indwelling creates the possibility for change in the Christian (Rom. 8:5-9). The interior life of the learner is built with the help of The Spirit, under authority of The Word of God, walking in God’s way (Gal. 5:13-6:5). Faulty desires are restrained and redirected through control of God’s law—literally “teaching”—which directs wise choices for living (Ps. 119:97; Pro. 3:1; 13:14).

Jesus changes Christians (1 Co. 1:30) through the work of the Holy Spirit at regeneration (Ti. 3:5). Sanctification begins at one’s conversion, the process is life long (2 Co 3:18), and is completed “at His coming” (1 Co. 15:23; Ph. 3:21). Sanctification is progressive: a continuous, ongoing development of being conformed to the image of God’s Son (Rom. 8:29). God is at work in the lives of believers (Ph. 2:13) to wholly sanctify them (1 The. 5:23). He equips (Heb. 13:20-21) through The Spirit who indwells saved people (2 The. 2:13; 1 Pe. 1:2) who are said to “walk in The Spirit” (Gal 5:16-18). The internal development of conformity to Christ looks forward (Ph. 3:13-14) but presently affects thinking (Col. 1:10), emotions (1 Jn. 2:15), will (Ph. 2:12), body (2 Co. 7:1) and spirit (1 Co. 7:34).

But believers will not continue to struggle against sin (1 Jn. 3:6, 9). Believers are to yield (Rom. 6:13), present (Rom. 12:1), strive (Heb. 12:14), purify (1 Jn 3:3), and make every effort (2 Pe. 1:5) to work out the sanctification process before God. Self-disciplined effort on the part of believers (Gal. 5:23; Ti. 1:8) is “keeping in step with The Spirit” (Gal. 5:25). Motivation for pursuing righteousness comes from love for God (Jn. 14:15, 21), fear of God (1 Pe. 1:17; 2:17), clear conscience (1 Tim. 1:5, 19), and increased effectiveness in the use of God-given gifts (2 Tim. 2:20-21).

Biblical Philosophy of Attitudes

Habits born of walking with The Spirit are developed, directed toward a Christian way life properly lived. Virtue is the proper ordering of one’s life after God ordained ends. Virtue is the development of these good habits. Virtue is creating a disposition toward the good. To do good is first to think and be good. Since Christians are new creations in Christ (2 Co. 5:17) good works should result (Gal. 6:9-10; Eph. 2:10) based on virtuous characteristics (2 Pe. 1:3-11).

Character intention and motivation are internally controlled by the governor of a life habitually connected to deliberation over what is good. A sanctified “conscience,” then, is the brake or gas pedal properly applied in loving God by loving others (Acts 23:1; 24:16; 2 Co. 1:12; 4:2; 1 Pe. 3:16, 21). In every case cited, one’s internal character is directly tied to one’s external commendation before other people. A person’s attitude is changed—at times, through adverse circumstances (Rom. 5:4). Preparation of mind coupled with self-control knowing one’s eternal destiny should cause a person to live a life of obedience (1 Pe. 1:13-14; 4:1-2).

Motivations and intentions can be self-centered (Pro. 16:2; Heb. 4:12-13; Jas. 4:1-3). The thoughts of one’s inner life will be measured by God and seen in life (Num. 32:23; 1 Chr. 28:9; Ps. 44:21). The thoughts and intents of a God-shaped attitude would include a heart tested with integrity, willingness, honest intent, joy, loyalty, and wholehearted devotion (1 Chr. 29:14-19). The habits of one’s heart come from attitudes producing actions, proved by deeds (Acts 26:20; Jas 1:22-25; 2:14-26; Ti. 3:1, 9, 14).

Christian Practice of Attitudes

A Christian life changed through salvation in Christ, a renewed spirit by His Spirit, and attitudes formed through virtuous habits is intentional. Memorization of Scripture creates joy (Ps. 119:103; Jer. 15:13). Reading the histories and biographies of Christian leaders moves the reader to action (1 Chron 12). Internalization occurs in the study before the teacher teaches in the classroom (Eze. 2:9-3:3). The Christian teacher must teach as if the Christian viewpoint has already changed them (2 Co. 3:2). The source of goodness focuses attention on God whose Spirit is transplanted within us (2 Tim 1.14). A person becomes that which they love—an affective directive (2 Tim 4:10; 1 Jn 2:15).

Human beings are resistant to order. If there is a resistance to internal control, external controls will be necessary. All would like to have their own way, go their own way, and be their own person. Because people are resistant to order and just laws which proceed from it, they look for distractions and fulfill selfish vices. Children are incapable of developing good attitudes by themselves. There is a need for discipline of mind and appetite. To build virtuous attitudes, virtuous habits must be created through the virtue of manners. Virtue is the ordering of the person toward what is good in life based on God’s goodness. If pleasure is the end, goal, or focal point the individual is robbed of a complete life. Right attitudes are helped by the Christian community. Christian teaching helps attitude change by instilling virtuous stories.

Ultimately, Christian attitudes show love for God as Christians love people.

Other Helps

Glen G. Scorgie, et al, Dictionary of Christian Spirituality (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2011).

Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2001).

“Attitudes” © is one of 17 articles included in The Encyclopedia of Christian Education, Rowman & Littlefield. by Dr. Mark Eckel.

American Literature: Thinking as a Christian

August 5, 2022January 1, 2021 by Mark Eckel

American writers constructed prose and poetry on a Puritan foundation . . .

. . . but were haunted by the house they built.

Energized by Providence and biblical injunction, migration from Europe to America had its strongest influence from committed Christians. In search of a “new world” where faith could be practiced in freedom, Plymouth Rock pilgrims brought with them a commitment to thinking Christianly about everything. Early American writing was infused with God’s attributes, attributing creational phenomena to the Creator. The personal, eternal, triune God of the Bible was a general commitment of early American authors.

Preacher-writers such as Cotton Mather and Jonathan Edwards advanced the study of all things based on a God-centered view of life. Magnalia Christi Americana and The Christian Philosopher displayed Mather’s literary prowess. Edwards, most known for his prodigious sermon output, wrote volumes on a plethora of subjects including biographies, science, theology, and philosophy. American literature has its roots in 17^th and 18^th century New England.

Of course, not all followed biblical thought, creating new strands in the fabric of American literature. Those who rejected the Christian faith often did so based on

(1) denial of biblical authority,

(2) abandonment of supernatural miracles,

(3) departure from salvation through Christ alone, and

(4) disavowal of original sin.

Rejection, however, does not necessarily equal defection. God may be rejected but He cannot be ignored. As in the biblical book of Esther, lack of God’s mention does not equal His nonattendance. Immaterial questions of authority, meaning, and ethics pervade American literature, questions that allude to, if not cry out for, an immaterial answer. Individualism, pragmatism, traditionalism, or syncretism attempt to fill the void but cannot satisfy the vacancy. American literature is at times “godless” dealing with humans as they are—great yet broken, a vessel empty without God.

Ralph Waldo Emerson tried to fill the void with Nature, attempting to replace God with himself. “I become a transparent eye-ball . . . I am part or particle of God (On Nature) and “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature”[1] (Self Reliance) express the essence of American literature which turned away from Christianity.

Herman Melville’s estrangement from God is metaphorically marked by his masterpiece Moby Dick. Mark Twain’s antipathy toward Christian viewpoints simmered throughout his early writing coming to a boil in later writing such as Letters from the Earth and The Mysterious Stranger. Jack London’s Call of the Wild or short stories such as “To Build a Fire” are more blatant, relying on nothing and no one outside the natural world. Absent supernatural authority, Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” submits to naught more than indifferent nature whose “high cold star on a winter’s night” is its only communication.[2]

Writers who maintained a Christian viewpoint did so struggling with biblical beliefs within a fallen world. Believers’ uncertainty clouded but did not cover their Christian faith in matters of justice, suffering, doubt, and evil. Christianity gives voice to literary artists who want to consider mystery, as in Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Revelation,” or crises of faith, as in John Updike’s “Pidgeon Feathers.” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” describes the tortured human heart.

Annie Dillard is haunted by Transcendent Presence in The Pilgrim of Tinker Creek. Frederick Buechner’s Godric reminds the reader of human depravity, overwhelmed by God’s mercy. Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia is her response to the death of a neighbor’s child within the parameters of Providence. Willa Cather’s expansive view of place tells the reader geography changes us, enticing the reader to consider God’s attendance everywhere. Unimpressed by scientific advance in The Professor’s House, Cather places importance in “the old riddles” concerned that human conduct include the problem of sin because without it people are “impoverished.”[3]

All authors ponder the great questions of life, no matter their beliefs. Marilynne Robinson’s focus on the gospel in Gilead implores the reader to reflect on implications for the Christian message: “You can know a thing to death and be for all purposes completely ignorant of it.”[4] American author, admitted atheist, Cormac McCarthy contemplates life and death, good and evil in books such as No Country for Old Men and The Road. Everyone confronts evil as “a true thing” as he posits through the voice of a Mexican prisoner in All the Pretty Horses

Americans have ideas that are not so practical. They think that there are good things and bad things. They are very superstitious, you know . . . It is the superstition of a godless people . . . There can be in a man some evil. But we don’t think it is his own evil. Where did he get it? How did he come to claim it? No. Evil is a true thing in Mexico. It goes about on its own legs. Maybe some day it will come to visit you. Maybe it already has.[5]

Perhaps E. L. Doctorow’s City of God summarizes the ultimate issue for the searcher: “That the universe, including our consciousness of it, would come into being by some fluke happenstance, that this dark universe of incalculable magnitude has been accidentally self-generated . . . is even more absurd than the idea of a creator.”[6]

East of Eden, John Steinbeck’s master work, might best portray Christianity’s impact on American literature. “Choice,” timshel in Hebrew, provides the crux of the story. Steinbeck concludes “thou mayest” as the decision that all people face between good and evil, right and wrong, righteousness and rebellion; whether one will go the way of Cain or the way of Abel.

The tension found in East of Eden is the tension everyone finds in themselves. Steinbeck, though not a Christian, felt the pressure of timshel through his grandparents who were Christian missionaries. The Christian message is honest with human choice in American literature. The literary preference between following the Christian God or not can be understood by an American use of terms: one either accepts the Puritan ethos or rejects it as “puritanical.”

“Christianity in American Literature”© is one of 22 articles included in the History of Christianity in the United States (Rowman & Littlefield) by Dr. Mark Eckel

References and Resources

Brown, W. Dale. Of Fiction and Faith: Twelve American Writers Talk about Their Vision and Work. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997.

Cowen, Louise and Os Guinness, eds. Invitation to the Classics: A Guide to Books You’ve Always Wanted to Read. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2006.

Davis, Jeffry C. and Philip G. Ryken. Liberal Arts for the Christian Life. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012.

Eckel, Mark and Tyler Eckel, “Author Without Authority: Stephen Crane’s Belief within The Red Badge of Courage and ‘The Open Boat,’” Intégrité, Spring, 2013 (12:1), 32-41.

Kazin, Alfred. God and the American Writer. New York, NY: Knopf, 1997.

Larsen, David L. The Company of the Creative: A Christian Reader’s Guide to Great Literature and Its Themes. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1999.

Lockerbie, D. Bruce. Dismissing God: Modern Writers’ Struggle Against Religion. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998.

Luccock, Halford E. and Frances Brentano, eds. The Questing Spirit: Religion in the Literature of Our Time. New York, NY: Coward-McCann, Inc. 1947.

Lundin, Roger. From Nature to Experience: The American Search for Cultural Authority. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.

Tippens, Darryl, Stephen Weathers, Jeanne Murray Walker, eds. Shadow & Light: Literature and the Life of Faith. Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University, 2005.

[1] Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ralph Waldo Emerson: Selected Essays, Lectures and Poems. New York, NY: Random House, 2006, pp. 18, 153.

[2] Stephen Crane. The Open Boat: And Other Tales of Adventure. New York, NY: Doubleday & McClure Company, 1898, p. 45.

[3] Willa Cather. The Professor’s House. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2002, p. 68.

[4] Marilynne Robinson. Gilead. New York, NY: MacMillan Publishers, 2005, 6.

[5] Cormac McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses: Book 1 of The Border Trilogy. New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing, 2010, p. 194.

[6] E. L. Doctorow. The City of God. Waterville, ME: Thorndike Press, 2000, p. 47.

Our Choices Create Consequences, Unintended or Not (#1)

June 15, 2023January 1, 2021 by Mark Eckel

“When two objects collide, there’s always damage . . . of a collateral nature”

Professor Moriarty

Sherlock Holmes meets his nemesis, Professor Moriarty, face-to-face in A Game of Shadows. Detective and villain size each other up, announcing their intentions for the coming conflict. In a spirit of diplomacy, Holmes asks his adversary if Mr. Watson, Holmes’ companion, could be left out of the fray, now that he is married. Moriarty explains that this is impossible, “that when two objects collide there is always damage of a collateral nature.” There are always unintended consequences to any engagement (minute 1.45):

The concept of unintended consequences happens everywhere in life. Consider these famous lines:

Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.
Be careful what you wish for.
Flapping butterfly’s wings in one hemisphere creates a tornado in the other.

In one way or another, these aphorisms speak the same truth: every action has a consequence, intended or not.

During the lead up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Secretary of Defense Colin Powell famously used the Pottery Barn analogy “If you break it, you buy it.” His point was clear. If the U.N. saw clear justification for military moves against Saddam Hussein’s regime, it would bear the consequences of its actions. Powell foresaw the inevitable. Every military intervention has a cost, some of which we do not plan.

Christian societies called “Temperance Unions” planned to outlaw alcoholic beverages in the U.S. Collective efforts to curtail alcohol sale, transport, and consumption produced the 18^th Amendment to The Constitution in 1919. During the next 15 years, organized crime ran rampant throughout America, circumventing the law, later repealed by the 21^st Amendment. Did the Temperance societies see the violent end result of their efforts? Probably not.

The Box, a 2009 film, presented individuals with a proposition. A person will receive one million dollars for simply pushing the button in a box delivered to their home. As a result, however, the individual is told that a person somewhere in the world, unknown to them, will die. But nothing is, as it seems. People may think they are unaffected when indeed the impact of any decision strikes close to home.

Decisions sometimes take the form of the classic “make a wish.” What a man will do with three wishes is the premise for W.W. Jacobs’ story “The Monkey’s Paw.” The first wish comes true but tragedy results. Wishes two and three are then enacted to stop the first. But to what end? The reader is left to ponder the proverb, “Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.”

“Leave well enough alone” is another universal proverb worth pondering in the movie The Butterfly Effect. The movie’s title supposes the theory that the beating of a butterfly’s wings in one hemisphere is responsible for storms in the other. The film’s premise leaves the audience to ponder, “If I had the ability to change the past, would I . . . should I?” Human choices always have consequences, intended or not.

Policy choices—political, educational, business—at times may create unintended cultural consequences. For instance, conservatives encouraged states to create laws defining marriage between a man and a woman in the 1990’s. Now that liberals are using the same tactic to apply marriage to ‘same-sex’ partners in the 21^st century, conservatives must ask was the original tactic beneficial?

Political uprisings reflect the universal sentiment, “better the devil I know, than the devil I don’t.” In 2012, the Egyptian people rioted against Hosni Mubarak because they were economically depressed. Egyptians then rioted against Mohamed Mursi because they are being tyrannically repressed. We cannot always foresee how our decisions will create unintended consequences.

“What we see may not be what is unseen” was a warning Frederic Bastiat gave to his country. Bastiat was a French economist, statesman, and author who lived from 1801 to 1850. Before and during the 1848 revolution, France was rapidly embracing socialism: taxes from the French people would support the programs created by French politicians. Bastiat’s last essay, “What is Seen and What is Not Seen,” was a alarm, left unheeded. In a paraphrase, Bastiat said

An act, a habit, an institution, a law produces not only one effect, but a series of effects. The first consequences are immediate, they are seen; we are fortunate if we anticipate later consequences, these are unseen. A small, present good may turn out to have disastrous consequences. A person must learn to discern between the fruit of what is seen and the destruction yet unseen.

Professor Moriarty was right. “When two objects collide, there’s always damage . . . of a collateral nature.” We make decisions. We formulate choices. We create laws. We follow politicians. We construct policies. We craft economies.

And we live with the consequences, intended or not.

Dr. Mark Eckel believes the consequences of Leviticus 26 ought to be taught from pastors, parents, politicians, and professors everywhere.

Poetry: Thinking as a Christian

February 24, 2023January 1, 2021 by Mark Eckel

“Tell all the truth, but tell it slant.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wheatley_Poems.jpg

Poetry

Our little systems have their day;

They have their day and cease to be;

They are but broken lights of thee,

And thou, O Lord, art more than they.[i]

Every writer, including a poet, has a point of view. The poet addresses the subjects of God, life, humans, ethics, or the afterlife. The poet allows feeling about thinking, wrestles ambiguity within reality, expresses life through symbols, employs imagery about substance, and stresses experience as trustworthy. A word paints a thousand pictures. Poetry is premised upon the visual power of verbal connections in the human imagination.

Biblical Theology of Poetry

And we must extinguish the candle, put out the light and relight it;

Forever must quench, forever relight the flame.

There we thank Thee for our little light, that is dappled with shadow.

And we thank Thee that darkness reminds us of light.

O Light Invisible, we give Thee thanks for Thy great glory![ii]

When a person points to an object, the focus is not on the finger but upon its intended target. For the Christian, poetry is not an end in itself but a descriptive pointer toward Heaven (Ps. 141:2; 142:2) or a marker of experience on earth (Ps. 19:1-6). Unbelieving poets may accept the mythical muse as their director; the Christian believes God’s Spirit communes with the poet’s spirit (Pss. 32, 51), responding to the vagaries and vicissitudes of life. God uses poetry to communicate His Truth to people within His revelation to them. Jesus’ famous words “Haven’t you read?!” (Mat. 12:3, 5; 19:1; 21:16, 42; 22:31) establish the expectation: reading, reflection, and response to revelation is necessary (Ps. 139:23-24).

The interpretation of peoples’ words is important. Ecclesiastes uses poetry to examine naturalism showing that its insufficient view of the world must be corrected (1:2; 3:19-21; 9:1, 10). Laments from Job (chapter 3) or Psalms (88) must be understood in the energetic, emotive spirit of the Eastern mindset. Song of Solomon uses poetic terminology for physical affection between Solomon and his bride. Jeremiah uses animal husbandry to communicate Israel’s sin (2:23-25). Isaiah uses Middle Eastern vineyards to explain Israel’s rootedness to God (Is. 5:1-5).

Response to the wonder-awe of the mysteries of life, the immensity of creation, and the ineffable nature of God must be part of the poetic interpretive process (Pss. 104, 149, 150). Poetry demands an attention to peoples’ emotions (Ps. 13:1-2). Personal-relational-historical connections from the reader to the author are necessary (Ps. 57). Imagination is necessary to understand poetic connections (Hab. 3:17-19). Repetition of truth through poetry strengthens Christian teaching processes (Deut. 32; Jud. 5; 1 Sam. 15:22-23; Col. 3:16; 1 Tim. 3:16).

Word pictures are used to make the reader visualize (see), empathize (feel), and synthesize (fuse) their worlds. Advertisements in television, radio, magazines and billboards explain what is obvious: pictures are important. When Isaiah (44:6-20) sarcastically belittles idol makers, the visual imagery in the poetic diatribe reverberates off the page. Zoomorphism, personification, metaphors, and anthropomorphism bring words to life. Christian teaching should utilize the power of poetry both inside and outside of the Bible.

Christian Practice of Poetry

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;

As tumbled over rim in roundy wells

Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s

Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:

Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;

Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,

Crying What I do is me: for that I came.[iii]

Methods of teaching could employ various uses for poetry. Hopkins’ poem above explains that everything in God’s world has purpose; its meaning is tied up in what it is, what it was intended to be. The design of God’s creation cannot be overlooked. In another way, poetry can be used to compare and contrast point of view. The poetry of the skeptic William Ernest Henley “Captain of My Fate” can be seductive. But Alfred Lord Tennyson’s eternal view in “Crossing the Bar” gives one pause when the poems are placed side-by-side. e.e. cummings “pity this busy monster manunkind, not” could be held up next to Shakespeare’s seven stages of a man in “As You Like It” and Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Conquerer Worm.” The images by themselves are stark, showing human-centered, earth-bound views of people. A comparative, distinctive Christian view would be obvious. Symbolism, imagery, and figures can be aptly used in worship and teaching. Allowing words to be heard, to be given honor, would benefit all who listen, giving credence once again to the importance of expression and memory. Poetry addresses wounds too great to bear, helps to deepen the understanding of the tear, cleansing the wound.

Poetry stimulates imagination and activates possibilities. Poetry exposes ideas in different ways. Poetry builds theological vocabulary. Creating connections with people happens through poesy. Peoples’ perspectives are broadened through different thinking processes in poetry. Ultimately, transformation—people changed in their thinking and living—is the ultimate Christian teaching outcome (Ps. 119:103; Jer. 15:16; Ezek. 3:2).

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant—

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth’s superb surprise.

As Lightning to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind.[iv]

Other Helps

Dana Gioia Can Poetry Matter? Essays on Poetry and American Culture (Minneapolis, Graywolf Press, 2002).

W.H. Auden, The Dyer’s Hand and Other Essays (New York, Vintage Books, 1990).

“Poetry” © is one of 17 articles included in The Encyclopedia of Christian Education, Rowman & Littlefield, April, 2015 by Dr. Mark Eckel.

[i] Alfred Lord Tennyson, “In Memorium: A.H.H. The Prelude”

[ii] T. S. Eliot, “The Rock”

[iii] Gerard Manley Hopkins, “As Kingfishers Catch Fire”

[iv] Emily Dickenson, “Tell It Slant.”

Our Choices Create Consequences, Unintended or Not (#2)

June 15, 2023January 1, 2021 by Mark Eckel

We might have the best of intentions but our actions may cost us more than the original price.

We all do stupid things. Pushing ‘send’ on an email, hurrying an unedited ‘tweet’, or posting Facebook frustrations often leaves us in a place we would rather not be. We can be dumb, ditzy, and delirious.

But what happens when we do ‘smart’ things? Sometimes ‘being smart’ gets us in trouble.

“Don’t get too big for your britches” is a phrase I remember from childhood. “He thinks he’s ‘all that’” is the 21^st century equivalent. Just about the time we think we’ve “arrived” we find our destination eludes us. Decisions backfire. One choice eliminates options. Human intervention often creates problems even with the most benign, beneficent intentions. The negative outcomes of human action are all around us.

Alien and the three movies that followed scared us on screen. But aliens from space may be a metaphor for what we do to ourselves. Alien animal species transported from one habitat to another is one example of many. Laws restricting the movement of wildlife are in place for a reason. The consequences of humanity’s undisciplined freedom can ravage an ecosystem.

Want a pet from another country? Not a good idea. The Burmese python introduced into the Florida Everglades created more problems than it solved. Intentional or not, release of the python into the national park has endangered indigenous and endangered species. There are always consequences to our actions.

The Macquarie Island Ecosystem is a classic example of unintended consequences. Shipping cargo to the islands in the early 19^th century brought rats residing on transports. So cats were brought in to solve the rat problem. Soon the cats overpopulated the islands. Toxins were then used to exterminate cats. Miss Cellania explains:

With the cats gone, those 10,000 rabbits who were immune to the Myxoma virus began to multiply again. The Tasmanian government came to the conclusion that all non-native species had to be eradicated at the same time. That would be the only way to restore the nature preserve to its intended use for the original sea animals. The current eradication program began in 2010. But even that has its problems. The poison bait used to eliminate invasive mammals is working its way through the ecosystem. Just last year, we learned of the death of thousands of seabirds that ate the carcasses of the poisoned mammals.

Introduction of a predator into a certain ecosystem which eliminated the immediate problem created many more. Aliens take many forms and have multiple consequences. We might have the best of intentions but our actions may cost us more than the original price.

How can we be sure not to pay for something we did not want? What is the best way to operate in life if the future is unseen? What can we do to limit and lessen “getting too big for our britches”? We need to remember that we are finite, fallen creatures living in a fragile creation. We need to understand that Universal Laws govern creation, whether we have a God-centered view of life or not. We should strive to preserve the thinking of the past, to ignite reformation in the present, and to anticipate the possible impact of our decisions for the future.

Futuristic thinking was the concern of Frederic Bastiat. His essay “What is Seen and What is Not Seen” ends with a quote from Francois Rene de Chateaubriand. Chateaubriand was a French ambassador living in the mid-19^th century who served after Napoleon fell from power. What Chateaubriand says about history in Memoirs from Beyond the Tomb can be applied to all of life.

There are two consequences in history: one immediate and instantaneously recognized; the other distant and unperceived at first. These consequences often contradict each other; the former come from our short-run wisdom, the latter from long-run wisdom. The providential event appears after the human event. Behind men rises God. Deny as much as you wish the Supreme Wisdom, do not believe in its action, dispute over words, call what the common man calls Providence “the force of circumstances” or “reason”; but look at the end of an accomplished fact, and you will see that it has always produced the opposite of what was expected when it has not been founded from the first on morality and justice.

May our search for morality and justice begin with Righteousness. May our perception of doing what’s right be tempered, aware of possible unintended consequences. And may we understand that unintended consequences will be overcome by The Outcome of The One to come, Jesus (Revelation 19).

Dr. Mark Eckel believes in the tension of “the ideal and the real.” God’s laws are intended to limit and lessen the consequences of human behavior. God’s laws are compromised only because of human sin. God never compromises His own perfection, nor lowers His standard. He does, however, lower Himself, stooping to our level so as to save us from ourselves in The Person and Work of Jesus (Romans 5).

Making Ethical Choices: The S.P.U.D. Test

January 22, 2023January 1, 2021 by Mark Eckel

It happens to every teacher:

my materials for a class did not come on time.

I explained to the students that I would make adjustments to the course schedule. We would use other methods than the backordered computer disks from the educational company for the next week or two. One young college student interjected, “Dr. Eckel, just give me the CD and I’ll make copies for everyone.”

I turned to the board and wrote one word: “ethics.” Looking back at the class I asked how they might respond if someone took their property without paying for it. “But when it comes to electronic data, it’s so easy to reproduce, and . . .” is as much as the young man got out of his mouth. “Does that matter,” was my serious reply, “If property belongs to another, no matter in what form it is transmitted, isn’t stealing, stealing?” My freshmen students, new to a Christian college, did not believe copying CDs without paying for them was a problem. I had my work cut out for me.

Is stealing wrong? How do we know? By what standard will we assess the question? Where is the measure found? In essence, “Who says?” I should do this or that? Genesis begins by answering that query. Based on the first seven installments in the Genesis series I would like to offer a four-fold standard for wisely addressing ethical issues from a Christian point of view.[1] I call it “The S.P.U.D. Test.”

ONE: Is the belief sensible to what is? Is it prudent and logical? Or is the worldview based on emotion, experience, or the desire of the moment? Is the thinking true to life or do you respond, “Oh, come on!”?

TWO: Is the belief practical and workable in everyday life? Can people live this way? Or when applied to reality is the worldview useless and unbeneficial?

THREE: Is the belief universal—for all people in all places at all times? Does the worldview produce a helpful impact for people today and throughout history? Or are people hurt by the ethics of the viewpoint?

FOUR: Is the belief dependable and consistent? Are the ideas based on a changeless set of standards? Or are they based on the whim of human decision?

Sensibility maintains that standards are embedded in God’s world. The Chris Atkins film “Starsuckers” takes aim at celebrity journalism. Atkins believes that society’s obsession with fame — gaining it and being near it — has distorted everything from the way news is reported to our children’s aspirations. “It’s the same journalists who write about celebrity hairstyles who write about weapons of mass destruction.”[2] Does it make sense to subscribe to celebrities’ beliefs from global warming to health care simply because they are celebrities? Does “reality TV” do anything other than distract us from real life? Do talk show hosts carry any moral weight for human problems outside of their own voices? Sensibility teaches that “in the multitude of counselors there is safety”[3] when these counselors speak true Truth.

Practicality mandates that life should be intertwined with God’s Truth. Steven Pinker, an evolutionary biologist, admits that believing right and wrong is nothing more than an impersonal computer program which is hard to practice with his family when he gets home at night.[4] Pinker’s impracticality shows itself when he rejects God as the source of Truth, trusting instead in the goodness of human nature.[5] Leon Kass gets closer to workable ethics when he says “In this age in which everything is held to be permissible so long as it is freely done . . . repugnance may be the only voice left that speaks up to defend the central core of our humanity. Shallow are the souls that have forgotten how to shudder.”[6] Practicality teaches that Jesus’ comment “what comes out of a person makes him unclean”[7] gets to the Center of Truth.

Universality moves all humans because we are all made in God’s image. Why are all cultures obsessed by other-world creatures invading our world? What do haunted houses suggest about peoples’ beliefs in spirits and ghosts? Why is the movie Paranormal Activity sweeping the country as an instant cult-classic? Every supernatural thriller film, every scary Halloween costume, every ghost story is evidence of a world-wide belief that there is another world. Guillermo del Toro, creator of the bizarrely horrific Pan’s Labyrinth, believes fairy tales from every culture add to one’s “spiritual formation.”[8] Universality teaches that “we wrestle against . . . the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.”[9] Truth in this world comes from Another World.

Dependability motivates people toward God’s changelessness. When we watch an athletic contest all we ask of referees is to treat both teams equally. When students turn in essays all they ask is that teachers be consistent in their grading. When the public listens to a news broadcast all they ask is that all points of view are heard. When MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann refers to Michelle Malkin—a conservative commentator, a Christian, mother of two children—as a “mashed up bag of meat with lipstick,” hateful comments display that his point of view is unreliable.[10] Dependability teaches that we need “God who does not lie,”[11] an Immovable Standard Outside of ourselves.

It was 10 p.m., two hours before bass season opened. A young boy and his dad were practice-casting in anticipation of the next day. The lure flashed in the full moon light as the child learned under his father’s tutelage. Without warning, the next cast hooked a fish. Reeling it in, two generations gazed on a beautiful bass, the largest either had ever seen. “Can we keep it Dad?” came the plaintiff cry. The father lit a match and noted the time on his wristwatch. “No son. The season begins tomorrow.” The boy glanced around the lake. They were alone. “But, Dad! No one will know! The season begins in two hours! Please, can we keep it?!” The father’s insistence was resolute. Lowering the big bass into the lake the two watched as the animal swam away. Neither saw a fish that size ever again. But the boy now sees that same fish every time he is asked to cut corners, fudge numbers, or submit half-truths in his job as an architect.

Adhering to a standard outside of ourselves suggests a Heavenly origin. Right and wrong is a result of Genesis law: whether we obey fishing rules or property rights. The S.P.U.D. Test keeps our earthly eyes on Heaven.

Dr. Mark Eckel has been using the S.P.U.D. test for 30 years employing it with students everywhere. [Originally written and posted at WarpandWoof.org in October 2009.]

[1] See Genesis: Lost in the Forest, Part 5. https://warpandwoof.org/biblical-theological/lost-in-the-forest/

[2] Jill Lawless, “New Movie Takes Aims At Celebrity Journalism.” 27 October 09 retrieved from https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gSlGatp55XanTtYu0m-30MVUcfOQD9BJDON81

[3] Proverbs 11:14; 24:6.

[4] Discussed in some detail by Nancy Pearcey in The Total Truth (Crossway, 2004), pp. 107-09.

[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/magazine/13Psychology-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=print

[6] Leon Kass and James Q. Wilson. 1998. The Ethics of Human Cloning. (AEI Press): 19.

[7] Mark 7:21-23.

[8] https://movies.about.com/od/panslabyrinth/a/pansgt122206.htm

[9] Ephesians 6:12 (ESV).

[10] https://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2009/10/13/olbermann-without-fascistic-hatred-malkin-just-mashed-bag-meat-lipsti

[11] Titus 1:2; see the whole of chapter one which shows the difference between trustworthiness and liars.