The Gatepost

A Letter of Life, Longing, and Literature

2006-12-18T05:57:00.000-08:00

By Sam Koenen

Dear Annie,

The term is finally over and I’m up to my elbows in freshman essays. Very few freshman these days have any original ideas; most of their imaginations are nothing more than shriveled-up beans. Not entirely their fault though; few of them had good parents like yours to teach them to read and delight in good books—books that are red beef and strong beer for the soul.

Your question about the forest in Midsummer Night’s Dream merits a bit of discussion because the answer gets at something close to the heart of life and literature. You’ve always been good about humoring your talkative uncle. Perhaps you’ll indulge him once again?

You are certainly correct about how Shakespeare uses forests in his plays. Many interesting things happen there: disappointed lovers join good-natured outlaw bands, fairies cavort, witches prophesy, and Bottom both loses his head and becomes the beloved of the Fairy Queen. Anything can happen in the forests of Shakespeare’s plays, because the Bard is in a long line of British writers who inherited both the Anglo-Saxon suspicion toward nature and the Middle English romantic delight in a life lived in the woods (remember Robin Hood?). So, for Shakespeare and other writers, the forest (or nature in general) is a place where odd things can be expected to occur. The forest holds both great danger and great delight, often together in the same objects.

Many writers (usually British) explain these odd, unusual happenings by saying that one has somehow wandered into Faery. I know you and I have talked about Faery before, but it won’t do you any harm to hear about it again (especially since it tends to make you very excited). As you know, Faery is a land all its own; its inhabitants are unique (elves, fairies, trolls, talking trees and animals, etc.); and above all, it is a place of intensely powerful desire that nearly overwhelms the one who experiences it. C. S. Lewis explained this desire as a type of longing that he called sehnsucht. For Lewis, sehnsucht is caused by well-known objects like a flower, a mountain, or a meal with friends; but the longing itself is for something far greater than the object that motivated it. In fact, the longing is so intense we fear that nothing in our experience would possibly be able to satisfy it. This leads to something very interesting—and very important: the longing itself becomes pleasant. Lewis explains by saying that the quality of the experience “is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.”

Do you see the problem here? A common flower can produce a type of longing that is more desirable than any other satisfaction in Creation. But how? How can a simple flower cause something that is greater than not only itself but greater than anything in Creation?

Quite the conundrum. But before I answer these questions, I want you to think about when you’ve experienced this sehnsucht that Lewis is talking about. I know you’ve felt it in Narnia, as your parents and your aunt did. Also in Hobbiton and Lothlorien? Something about the agrarian simplicity of the hobbits causes in me an ache of longing, the same longing I feel after reading about beautiful and dangerous Galadriel. I suspect you’ve felt sehnsucht when reading Wind in the Willows, especially the chapter about the Dawn Piper. In fact, most places that I’ve experienced sehnsucht is through literature. But because I’ve experienced it so intensely there, I’ve felt it in ordinary life as well: a holiday meal, your baby cousin’s smiling face, picnics on warm summer evenings, talking with a favorite niece about books and stories over deep cups of cocoa. Can you think of other experiences with sehnsucht?

Other writers have discussed this very concept. Hilaire Belloc, Chesterton’s famous friend, says we feel sehnsucht when we have a glimpse of the “Unknown Country.” In books and in landscapes Belloc often sees things that create an intense longing for something very familiar but perhaps never really experienced. His Unknown Country is Spenser’s Faery, Lewis’s Perelandra, Tolkien’s Lothlorien, Tennysons’s “horns of Elfland,” and Hamlet’s “Undiscovered Country.” All of these authors have tried to describe the same place, a land of great beauty and loveliness—a land that can satisfy the most possessing sehnsucht.

This brings us to the answer of our question: how can a flower, a book, or a meal create a longing so much more intense than itself. Our mutual friend, C. S. Lewis, answered it this way: “The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our past—are good images of what we really desire; but…they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.” To be more explicit, my dear Annie, these things that cause such an intense longing in us are quite simply—quite gloriously—signs of Christ and His kingdom breaking through into this present age. They are evidence that the King is on the move, that the Curse is losing its grip on the world. Every day the Lord of Glory pierces a million holes into the smothering fabric of the Curse—it cannot hold. Glory is inevitably, unmistakably breaking through to His victorious enthronement on this earth.

So what does this mean for you and me? I think there are two lessons for us. First, we should delight in the good things the Lord has given us. Although fallen, both Creation and man can point toward the age to come. This means, of course, that both man and Creation have value, and the work of the Church (and therefore of every Christian, including you) is to work alongside Christ to lift the Curse from Creation and man—to see the Father’s will done on earth just as it is in heaven.

This first lesson teaches us not to despise any man or any part of Creation. As your father has taught you, Christ Jesus will not only save man from his sin; He will also complete man’s work to rule and subdue the earth by lifting the Curse that enslaves it. Both of these glorious tasks He will accomplish on that glorious day when the coming age fully breaks through—when we see Christ as He really is.

The second lesson is equally important. In Lewis’s quote above, he also gives a warning about loving books and music in the wrong way: they “are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers.” The things of this middle earth are good indeed, but they are gifts. We are to delight in them as gifts, but not to the point that we forget about the One who gave them. He gave books and music and many other sehnsucht-evoking things so that we would learn what joy and delight are, and so that we would learn Who is most joyous and most delightful. Even when a book doesn’t cause the ultimate desire of sehnsucht, we still learn about the Lord of life, who is so gracious that He gives us pleasant things simply to give us joy.

Well, niece Annie, I’ve gone on long enough and have more than answered your question. Thank you once again for humoring your wordy old uncle. If you want to read more about sehnsucht, try Lewis’s “Weight of Glory” and the first part of his Surprised by Joy. Give your parents my love, and take your brothers and sisters to Faery Land every once in a while.

With great affection,
Your loving uncle

Nietzsche’s Just Critique of Christianity

2006-04-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

By Gregg Valeriano

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is often perceived as the great enemy of Christianity. Indeed, he is (in)famous for his statement that “God is dead.” Yet the rebuttals that contemporary Christians have proclaimed on t-shirts and bumper stickers such as: “Nietzsche: God is dead; God: Nietzsche is dead!” only serve to substantiate Nietzsche’s critique. For Nietzsche argued that one of the motivations for being a Christian is the joy of watching others get what they have coming. Is this not the motivating factor of these t-shirts and bumper stickers? Score one for our German nemesis, I am afraid.

There is another main criticism of Nietzsche’s, to which the Church has fallen prey, which I will address in this essay. Nietzsche thinks that at the heart of Christianity is a hatred toward life, toward the material, the body, the desires; in short, toward this entire world. In his Twilight of the Idols he states:

“The church fights passion by cutting it out, in every sense; its practice, its “therapy” is castration. It never asks, “How does one spiritualize, beautify, deify, desire?”—its discipline has always emphasized eradication (eradication of sensuality, pride, the ambition to rule, covetousness, vengefulness).—But ripping out the passions by the root means ripping life out by the root; the practice of the Church is an enemy of life…”

This is a dense quote. How should Christians, the Church, react to these charges? The Church should plead guilty -- but in two ways. First, the teachings of the Church, contrary to its actions sometimes, do not seek to deify desire and certainly is against the passions of pride, ambition to rule, covetousness and vengefulness. Nietzsche is wrong to see these things as good, even if they are part of so-called life. Here we are guilty in the eyes of Nietzsche because there is a fundamental disagreement between the Church and Nietzsche. So be it.

Yet how are we to view Nietzsche’s critique of the church’s practice of castrating passions, its failure to beautify desires and of being the enemy of life? Indeed, Nietzsche depicts Christianity as denying this material and bodily world in favor of another, spiritual world. At the heart of Christianity, Nietzsche avers, is a dualism of worlds. This world is a vale of tears to be passed through and our bodies are prison houses to be escaped. Our real home lies in some heavenly, spiritual, disembodied realm. And this is one of the motives for Nietzsche’s claim that God is dead. For Nietzsche thought the God of Christianity, as one scholar put it, serves as the negation and indictment of our life and world. Therefore, the God of Christianity must die if we want to affirm this world.

Yet once again, if Nietzsche were alive today he would find ample evidence to substantiate his criticism of Christianity. This otherworldly mentality is evinced in statements like “this world is not my home”; on bumper stickers that state: “in case of rapture this car will be unmanned”; we see it on Christian kitsch such as table plates that state: “Home grown but Heaven bound.” As further anecdotal evidence, I cannot count how many conversations I have had with people who think that heaven is some purely spiritual world -- devoid of bodies, materiality, and this earth. Score another point for the German atheist.

Insofar as it has denigrated this physical and material world in its teachings and actions, the Church renders itself complicit in Nietzsche’s atheism. In fact, it is this otherworldly Christianity that Nietzsche was reared in as a child and permeated his German context as an adult. Yet when the Church has done this, it has misrepresented the teachings of Scripture. Thus, Nietzsche’s criticisms rest on a misrepresentation of Christianity, but a misrepresentation offered to him by the Church herself. Unfortunately, the Church has succumbed to this otherworldly mentality too often.

The temptation for the church to vilify the physical and bodily world came early in its history. This temptation came in the form of Gnosticism. Gnosticism held to a dualism between the physical and the spiritual. Gnostics saw the physical as ontologically evil (that is, inherently evil) and the spiritual was ontologically good. Within this overall dualism there are the dualisms of body/spirit, flesh/mind, earth/heaven, passions/rationality -- the former being evil and the latter being good. In fact, the Reformed theologian Michael Horton states that Paul confronted this Gnostic dualism, in primitive form, in his letters to the Corinthians and Colossians, and John in his first letter.

One would do well to trace the difficulties that Gnosticism has posed for the church throughout her history. The one great heresy the church has not been able to completely expunge is the heresy of Gnosticism, in its many variations and incarnations (!). Gnosticism still plagues the Church.

Yet, a truly biblical perspective reveals not a Gnostic dualism of worlds but this world amidst two ages. Again, Horton states that this two-age understanding is not concerned with two worlds or realms, but with two ages, one inferior to the other not for any necessary reasons but for situational or ethical ones.

These two ages are the present age and the age to come. This present age is marked by rebellion against God’s reign. The age to come is marked by God’s triumph over sin, death, and evil. However, it is important to note that these two-ages are commingled yet at the same time separate. Theologians call this period in which we live the “already and the not yet.”
How is it that God’s reign is already but not yet? On the one hand, God the Father has established his kingdom in the person and work of his Son, in his life, death and resurrection. We know the battle is won. Christus Victor! Yet we also know that sin, death, and evil still have a foothold in this world. It is not until the return of Christ that God will finally abolish all sin, death, and evil. The kingdom of God arrived in the person and work of Christ but will not be fully established until his return. Our existence is marked by the dualism of the already but not yet.

Yet what is the redemptive nature of this age to come? Will the age to come annihilate this present age, including creation? No. A reading of Romans 8 (as well as other biblical passages) reveals that creation groans for redemption. It awaits the full redemptive effects of the resurrection of Christ, his victory over sin, evil and death. Michael Horton puts it well when he writes:

"It is clear in Paul’s writings . . . [That] the resurrection of Jesus Christ has begun to make all things new—not simply to return creation to a pristine origin, but to take a redeemed people and a redeemed creation into a newness that has continuity with the past but is clearly different from anything in the past."

Thus from a biblical perspective this world is not something to despise nor does it have some second-rate status to an otherworldly realm in which our ultimate destiny lies. Rather, this world is part of God’s redemptive plan. Hence, we, like creation itself, await with eager expectation the redemption of this world and the full fruits of Christ’s resurrection.

It is difficult to know if Nietzsche would have been so vehemently against Christianity if he truly understood Scriptures’ teaching concerning this world. In either case, may we ourselves recover this rich biblical truth and lend no aid to future Nietzschean despisers of Christianity.

Soul Food 5.2

2006-04-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

Cranberry Chicken (serves 4)
Note: This recipe is as simple as it gets while still being delicious. It’s very easy to double for company or leftovers.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 packet onion soup mix
1 8-oz bottle of French, Russian, or Catalina dressing )
1 can whole-berry cranberry sauce

· Mix all ingredients except chicken in bowl.
· Pour over chicken in baking pan.
· Marinate all day or overnight.
· Bake in pan at 350 for 1 hour or until chicken is done.
· Serve over white rice.

Fruit Fool (serves 8, light dessert)
Note: You can do this with almost any fruit, especially berries. We’ve had the best luck using blueberries or strawberries.

2 pints fresh berries, picked over and washed
1 cup sugar (can be cut in half)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups heavy cream, chilled

· Combine one pint of the berries, the sugar, and the lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth and pour into bowl.
· Whip the heavy cream with an electric mixer until it holds stiff peaks. Fold the fruit puree into the cream with a rubber spatula, being careful not to deflate the cream. Spoon the fool into individual dessert bowls and sprinkle with the remaining berries. Refrigerate uncovered for up to a day.

A Liturgy of Remembering

2006-04-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

By Brian Schultz

Remembering faithfully has always been a constant theme in scripture. Again and again throughout the Old Testament God commands His people to “remember”: remember the slavery I have saved you from, remember the victories I have won for you, remember the covenant I have made with you and with your fathers. When we fail to remember faithfully, we begin echoing the Israelites’ wilderness complaint: “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (Num. 11:5-6). When we forget or refuse to remember and celebrate the salvation and blessings that God has given us, we will soon begin forsaking the Bread of Heaven for the instant pleasure of bread that can never satisfy.

Remembering faithfully must be done by remembering with faith. The Pharisees knew all the stories of Scripture, so why didn’t they understand when God stood before them in flesh and blood? Because they did not view these stories through the eyes of faith, they were not anticipating the coming Messiah. Remembering faithfully requires us to have a deep knowledge of history and a biblical perspective of it. In the Old Testament, God instituted a weekly Sabbath and many annual feasts and holidays to help his people remember faithfully. Each issue of the Gatepost will now include a list of calendar events like the ones below to help give us a knowledge of some of our history, and to help us remember more faithfully the salvation and victories we have through Christ Jesus our Lord.

APRIL
April 9 - PALM SUNDAY
Palm Sunday is a Church holiday that celebrates the
triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Traditionally, palm branches are handed out to used in worship as a sign of victory and triumph. The branches remind us of those laid down with cloaks by the crowds who met Jesus along the road to Jerusalem shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” These cries are full of loaded terms that proclaim Jesus to be the Messiah, the True King, and God Himself. The people who met Jesus on the road understood the significance of the event because they saw through eyes of faith what the prophets had taught in the stories of Scripture. Palm Sunday always marks the beginning of Holy Week, in which we celebrate each day of the week leading up to the Resurrection as it is laid out in all of the Gospels.

April 9, 1945 A.D.
German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is hanged by the Gestapo for his involvement in plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler. His last words: “This is the end – for me, the beginning of life.”

April 13 - MAUNDY THURSDAY
Maundy Thursday is also a Church holiday celebrated during Holy Week. This day celebrates Christ’s institution of the Lord’s Supper, the second of our two sacraments. Foot-washing is also a traditional practice that is carried out by pastors and church leaders for their congregation, or possibly even by husbands for their wives. John, in his gospel, seems to go out of his way to mention the betrayal, death, and resurrection that is now imminently before Jesus as He begins a course of actions that will ultimately show them “the full extent of His love.” The first of these actions is the washing of the disciples’ feet. The second is the offering of His body and blood through the bread and wine of the Passover meal made new.

April 13, 1742 A.D.
The premiere of Messiah, one of Handel’s greatest works, is performed in Dublin’s Fishamble Street Musick Hall.

April 14 - GOOD FRIDAY
Good Friday marks the day that we remember the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. It is a solemn day, but one in which we take hope, knowing that at the cross Christ took upon Himself our sins, “to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Up to this point, Christ had perfectly lived out the roles of a Prophet, Priest, and King, and today we celebrate his role as our perfect Sacrifice.

April 15, 1729 A.D.
The one and only performance of St. Matthew Passion is conducted by Johann Bach at a Good Friday Vespers service in Leipzig, Germany. The performance was so powerful that even the pagan philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche commented, “One who has completely forgotten Christianity truly hears it here as gospel.”

April 16 - EASTER (RESURRECTION DAY)
Easter, or Resurrection Day, marks the climax of Holy Week. We lift up our hearts with joy at the sight of the empty tomb, and we cry out “He has risen! He has risen, indeed!” This day celebrates Christ’s victory over death, His reunion to the Father, His established rule over everything in Heaven and on Earth, and ultimately the salvation of the world! In light of our salvation, Easter is the most important day of the entire year, and is often celebrated by sunrise worship services, the gathering of families, the singing of hymns and Psalms, and in many churches the grandest congregational feasts of the entire year.

April 17, 1937 A.D.
Missionaries to the Wallamo tribe in Ethiopia are driven out by Mussolini’s troops. The missionaries left 48 converts from this devil-worshiping tribe and returned 6 years later to find 18,000 total converts despite heavy persecution.

April 30, 304 A.D.
Roman Emperor, Diocletian, issues his fourth and final edict demanding that all Roman citizens must worship the Roman gods. Disobedience to this edict was punishable by death and brought with it the execution of many Christians throughout the Roman Empire.

MAY
May 2, 373 A.D.
Athanasius dies. This “Father of Orthodoxy” played a key role in the Council of Nicea and their victory over Arianism, a heresy that denied the divinity of Christ, dies.

May 3, 1861 A.D.
A bill to install chaplains in the Confederate armies is approved and later leads to the establishment of chaplains throughout American armies and the conversions of over 250,000 soldiers during and after the Civil War.

May 5, 1925 A.D.
John Scopes of Dayton, Tennessee is arrested for teaching evolution in his classroom, an event that “led to public mockery of fundamentalist Christians, driving them into a more self-contained subculture.”

May 14 - MOTHER’S DAY
Mother’s Day is a secular holiday that has been adopted by the Church to celebrate and give thanks for the blessing of Mothers. Because mothers play such a large role in the raising up of our covenant children and the care of their families, they ultimately play a key role in the health and well-being of the Church, as well as having a greater impact on our culture than any other group within the Church.

May 20, 325 A.D.
The first Ecumenical Council of Nicea gathers under the leadership of Emperor Constantine in an effort to deliberate the rise of Arianism.

May 21, 1536 A.D.
The General Assembly of Geneva, Switzerland officially leaves the Catholic Church to join the Reformation.

May 22, 1789 A.D.
The first American Presbyterian General assembly convenes in Philadelphia.

May 25 - ASCENSION DAY
Ascension Day is set exactly forty days after Easter and marks the ascension of Jesus into heaven as recorded in the first chapter of Acts. This day celebrates Christ’s return to the throne room of heaven where He sits to this day, seated at the right hand of God the Father carrying out his roles as Lord over all Creation and as our great High Priest.

May 26, 1521 A.D.
The teachings of Martin Luther are condemned by the Edict of Worms, and Luther is soon kidnaped by friends to keep him from being killed.

May 29, 1874 A.D.
The great Catholic author G.K. Chesterton is born in London, England.

Soul Food 5.1

2006-03-02T08:51:00.000-08:00

by Sam Koenen

Here are two more recipes to feed your bodies and strengthen your souls.

Spaghetti and Winter Tomato Sauce (serves 4-6)
3 pints (2 lbs.) cherry tomatoes, halved pole to pole
¼ cup olive oil
Table salt
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons sugar, or to taste
3 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
¼ cup drained capers
1 lb. spaghetti
¼ cup chopped kalamata olives
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted (on cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 5 minutes)
2 ounces grated Romano cheese (1 cup)

· Adjust oven rack to middle; heat oven to 350 degrees. When hot, toast the pine nuts.
· In medium bowl, gently toss tomatoes with oil, ½ teaspoon salt, pepper flakes, black pepper, sugar, garlic, and capers.
· Spread in even layer on rimmed baking sheet and roast until tomato skins are slightly shriveled (35-40 min.). Remove tomatoes from oven and cool 5-10 minutes.
· While tomatoes cook, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Just before removing tomatoes from oven, stir 1 Tablespoon salt and pasta into boiling water and cook until done.
· Drain pasta and return to pot. Using rubber spatula, scrape tomato mixture into pot on top of pasta. Add olives and oregano; toss to combine. Serve immediately, sprinkling with pine nuts and cheese.

Egg-Fried Rice (serves 4, light main course)
Note: This is a quick, easy, and very tasty dish. We keep the ingredients on hand so we can make a fast and filling dinner when time is sparse. Be sure you don’t use freshly cooked rice; it is far too moist to work in this recipe. Leftover takeout rice is excellent.

1 Tablespoon peanut oil
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
4 cups cold unsalted steamed white rice
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup thinly sliced scallion greens (3-4 scallions)
1-2 teaspoon sesame oil

· Heat wok over high heat until a drop of water vaporizes instantly upon contact. Add peanut oil, swirling to coat evenly. Heat until hot and just smoking.
· Add eggs, tilting wok and swirling eggs to form thin layer. Cook 30 seconds.
· Add salt and rice by handfuls, scattering it over the eggs. Stir fry until hot (2-3 min.), breaking up the eggs and letting them rest a few seconds between stirs.
· Add scallion greens and sesame oil (to taste) and stir fry until combined well.

Tis an ill cook that cannot lick his fingers.
—Romeo and Juliet, IV.ii.6.

Lectionary: Daily Bible Readings for March

2006-03-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

by Sam Koenen

As you continue to read your way through your Bible, remember that the Lord does not love you any less if you are not consistent in your reading and prayer. Nor does He love you any more if you are consistent. Bible reading and prayer are means of grace, ways the Lord uses to strengthen and encourage you. If you have fallen behind in the lectionary, don’t be discouraged. Skipping over what you’ve missed so you can get back on track is perfectly understandable. Remember again, the goal is consistency. May the Lord continue to bless you as you open His word.

March Reading
1: Numbers 25-27; Mark 8
2: Numbers 28-29; Mark 9:1-29
3: Numbers 30-31; Mark 9:30-50
4: Numbers 32-33; Mark 10:1-31
5: Numbers 34-36; Mark 10:32-52
6: Deuteronomy 1-2; Mark 11:1-19
7: Deuteronomy 3-4; Mark11:20-33
8: Deuteronomy 5-7; Mark 12:1-27
9: Deuteronomy 8-10; Mark 12:28-44
10: Deuteronomy 11-13; Mark 13:1-13
11: Deuteronomy 14-16; Mark 13:14-37
12: Deuteronomy 17-19; Mark 14:1-25
13: Deuteronomy 20-22; Mark 14:26-50
14: Deuteronomy 23-25; Mark 14:51-72
15: Deuteronomy 26-27; Mark 15:1-26
16: Deuteronomy 28; 15:27-47
17: Deuteronomy 29-30; Mark 16
18: Deuteronomy 31-32; Luke 1:1-23
19: Deuteronomy 33-34; Luke 1:24-56
20: Joshua 1-3; Luke 1:57-80
21: Joshua 4-6; Luke 2:1-24
22: Joshua 7-8; Luke 2:25-52
23: Joshua 9-10; Luke 3
24: Joshua 11-13; Luke 4:1-32
25: Joshua 14-15; Luke 4:33-44
26: Joshua 16-18; Luke 5:1-16
27: Joshua 19-20; Luke 5:17-39
28: Joshua 21-22; Luke 6:1-26
29: Joshua 23-24; Luke 6:27-49
30: Judges 1-2; Luke 7:1-30
31: Judges 3-5; Luke 7:31-50

It would be far safer, no doubt, to live in a fool’s paradise and close one’s eyes to what is going on in the world today, just as it is safer to remain in secure dugouts rather than to go over the top in some great attack. We save our souls, perhaps, by such tactics, but the Lord’s enemies remain in possession of the field. It is a great battle, indeed, this intellectual battle of today; deadly perils await every man who engages in that conflict; but it is the Lord’s battle, and He is a great Captain in the fight.
—J. Gresham Machen

Intellectual slothfulness is but a quick remedy for unbelief; the true remedy is consecration of intellectual powers to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.
—J. Gresham Machen

The Taming of the Shrew: Shakespeare’s Guide to Good Husbandry

2006-03-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

by Sam Koenen

One of Shakespeare’s earliest and most popular plays, The Taming of the Shrew continues to attract and delight its audiences. This play tells the story of the audacious and flamboyant Petruchio who comes to Padua to wed richly. He soon discovers and fixes his sights on the violent and vicious Katherina, a woman with a sharp tongue and a very wealthy father. The witty interplay of these two and their strange, but delightfully growing love is the source of this play’s perennial popularity. Kate and Petruchio are so charming that one famous Shakespearean critic exclaimed that they “rather clearly are going to be the happiest married couple in Shakespeare.”[1]

While Katherina and Petruchio are the superstars of this play, they also have been the subject of much critical kerfuffle in the last century. Petruchio’s method of taming his shrewish bride smacks of abuse to many of the modern-minded. We must remember, however, that Petruchio is a character in a play that serves as a lamp to guide us to a deeper, more truthful understanding of the world. Although Petruchio’s unorthodox methods might not be worthy of detailed emulation, his principles of husbandry are sound and most admirable. In short, The Taming of the Shrew reveals Shakespeare’s understanding of what makes for good husbands, good wives, and good marriage.

Petruchio’s strategy of wooing is to “out-Kate Kate,”[2] to out-shrew the shrew, and thereby hold up a mirror to teach Katherina how truly deplorable her behavior is. So, when Kate’s horse slips in the mud, Petruchio blames and beats his servant; when the priest drops his book, Petruchio boxes the priest’s ears, stamps his feet, and swears. Petruchio’s habit of beating his servants eventually causes Katherina to begin defending them, imploring her husband to show mercy and compassion—virtues she scorned a short time before.

Petruchio’s tactics are not limited to swearing and stamping his feet. It is not enough for Katherina merely to see what she really is; she must also know what she can become. Through his words Petruchio creates a new world for Katherina, a world where she can be kind, fair, and virtuous—a world where she is “the prettiest Kate in Christendom” (II.i.187). Petruchio never refers to Katherina by her birth name; he always calls her Kate. And the more Kate rails, the more he praises her gentle spirit. When she frowns, he says she smiles like the dawning sun. If she be mute, he commends her fair eloquence. In all of this wacky courtship, Petruchio continually offers Kate a world where she can be made anew. By placing this world in opposition to the one she already knows and dislikes, Petruchio makes his world an imminently desirable and irresistible choice.

Peter Leithart[3] points out that Petruchio uses the methods and language of a falconer training a wild bird. This is important because it shows that Petruchio is not merely grinding Kate’s will to powder. Rather, he is training her to become more powerful, more precise, more controlled—to become what she was intended to be. There is important imagery here: Kate cannot come to the table, to the pillow, or to the changing room until she bends her knee to her husband’s authority, just as the falcon cannot eat or fly with all its strength and skill until it heeds its master’s voice. Similarly, men and women can come to the Lord’s Table only when they bow their knee and head in fealty to the Lord of Hosts.

Throughout the play Shakespeare contrasts Petruchio’s method and program of courtship—his
husbandry—with another suitor, Lucentio, who is pursuing Katherina’s sister, Bianca. Where Petruchio’s husbandry is marked by discipline and a desire to see Kate change inwardly, Lucentio’s courtship is devoid of even truth to some extent. He is concerned only with winning Bianca’s favor and not at all with changing her character and behavior (though he certainly should be).

Petruchio’s strategy of husbandry uses words to create a world into which the loved ones must enter, where they must conform to the authoritative word and use the names and labels given to them. Motivated by true and hardy love, such a model uses discipline to encourage loved ones to conform—not blind submissiveness, but a conformity that allows the loved ones to become what they were intended to be. The world of Petruchio is zany and unpredictable, but it gives Kate the merciful disciplines of pruning, nurturing, and shaping that transform her into Petruchio’s ideal bride—a sumptuous combination of falcon-like wit and beauty.

In comparison, Lucentio’s husbandry creates very flat notes. In his world loved ones are pampered with comfort and choice; they may do and say whatever they choose. There is no discipline, and thus no conformity to the authoritative word or world. As a result, at the end of the play Lucentio finds himself married to a very beautiful pearl that is firmly embedded in a pig’s snout (Prov. 11:22). Bianca reveals herself as a shrew disguised as a kind maid—and thus the most dangerous kind of woman.

The main lovers have wooed, won, and wed; they now gather to feast together in celebration. At first, Petruchio is the center of attention, being praised for how excellently he tamed the untamable. In keeping with his husbandry, however, Petruchio quickly redirects the party’s attention to Kate, who now becomes an active, vivacious participant in the communal feast, winning the astonished praise of these who previously scorned her.

Like all good plays, this one ends, but it gives us something to take with us: a vision of proper husbandry. Lucentio’s free choice/no discipline model creates hypocrites, and is, in C. S. Lewis’s words, “a complicated form of hatred.”[4] True husbands and fathers discipline their loved ones in a godly way that leads to their edification and glorification. Following their Master’s example, good husbands create with all their words a world that motivates their loved ones to become more virtuous and more faithful. They use their authority not to achieve their own selfish ends but to glorify and protect all those under them. In so doing, good husbands become good shepherds and take part in making the prettiest Kates in Christendom—some of the noblest work in the Kingdom.

[1]Harold Bloom, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human (New York: Riverhead Books, 1998), p. 28.
[2]Richard Hosley, “Introduction: The Taming of the Shrew,” in The Complete Penguin Shakespeare (New York: Penguin Books, 1977), p. 80.
[3]The Brightest Heaven of Invention (Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 1996), p. 235-36. I am heavily indebted to Leithart’s comments on this play.
[4]The Four Loves (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1988), p. 8; cf. Proverbs 13:24.

Quotables: The Taming of the Shrew

Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks,
Shall win my love.
—Hortensio, IV.ii.41-42.

For ‘tis the mind that makes the body rich;
And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds
So honor peereth in the meanest habit.
—Petruchio, IV.iii.169-71.

What Does Christ Have to Do with Culture?

2006-03-02T08:37:00.000-08:00

by Gregg Valeriano

The Presbyterian theologian J. Gresham Machen once wrote that one of the greatest problems to agitate the Church is the relationship between Christianity and culture. Why this has agitated the church is a complex issue, but that it has can be demonstrated from even the slightest glance at the history of the church. The Church’s portrayal of the Gospel has been a mixed bag of fidelity and betrayal. The question I will address in this essay is this: how are we, Gallatin Valley Presbyterian Church, to view, relate to, engage, live and embody the Gospel, within the culture that we find ourselves, and do so in a manner characterized by fidelity rather than betrayal? While the issues here are complex, the following are some thoughts as to how to be faithful to the Gospel as a culturally located Reformed ecclesia (Church).

Before we proceed, an explanation of the terms Church and culture need to be stated. For the purposes of bringing home the practicality of this issue, I will mean by the Church the Reformed tradition in general and Gallatin Valley Presbyterian Church in particular.

The term culture is harder to define. But what I will mean by culture is the worldviews, beliefs, presuppositions, actions, products, and the mediums by which these are mediated, of a given community of people. This means that the Presbyterian Church in America lives in a distinctively American culture that is part of an overall Western culture that holds to, embodies and is shaped by certain distinctive (and not so distinctive) presuppositions, beliefs, actions, and mediating forms.

While there have been differing perspectives as to how the Church should relate to culture, the main perspective of the Reformed tradition has been the Christ Transforming Culture perspective. This perspective can be traced from John Calvin through the Dutch theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper to contemporary thinkers such as Francis Schaeffer and Al Wolters.
This Christ Transforming Culture perspective entails the idea that creation is inherently good (or ontologically or structurally good as theologians are apt to say[1]; cf., I Tim. 4:4). This means that creation and thus culture are not to be despised but celebrated and developed because they are part of God’s intent for the human race. God tells Adam and Eve that they are to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth (Gen. 1:27-28). According to Genesis, Adam and Eve are to develop a culture by working and caring for creation, finding creative ways for themselves and the fruit of their loins to live in harmony with creation. In short, they are to construct (i.e., by working and creating) a culture in accordance with God’s will. As sons and daughters of Adam and Eve we too are gifted in this way and have the responsibility to handle this gift properly. This is what Reformed theologians call the cultural mandate.

However, while this creation is structurally good, it is fallen as well. This means that the creative cultural acts of the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve will be fundamentally misguided, resulting in a culture that is not in harmony with the will of God. So, Reformed thinkers argue that while creation is structurally good, it is directionally fallen. That is, the pre-lapsarian, cultural acts of Adam and Eve were aimed toward the right telos—that is, aimed in the right direction, toward the right purpose. Yet because of the rebellion of Adam and Eve, our post-lapsarian[2] cultural acts are now misdirected, aimed at a different telos other than God’s will and glory.

One of the distinctives of Reformed theology is that it sees creation, and thus culture, as part of God’s redemptive plan (cf. Romans 8:18-23, Col.1:15-20). Much of Christianity, from the New Testament church to present-day evangelical theology, sees creation and culture as something that God will abandon or destroy at the eschaton[3]. But Reformed thinkers see creation and culture as something that God will transform. Or to continue with the directional metaphor, God desires to set creation and culture back on track, heading in the right direction.

Bringing together the two notions of the goodness of creation and God’s desire to restore creation, Reformed thinkers have argued that one of the purposes of the Church is to bring a Christian perspective into all areas of culture in order to redeem or transform culture. Thus, Abraham Kuyper’s oft-quoted saying: “there is no inch of the universe over which God does not say ‘This is mine!’”

The Christ Transforming Culture perspective has a lot to offer when it comes to a Biblical view of how the Church should view and relate to culture. It takes seriously the overall narrative construct of creation, fall, and redemption that forms the basis of Scripture. It celebrates the goodness of creation and culture. It recognizes the falleness of creation. It also recognizes God’s desire to restore creation and culture by the death and resurrection of Christ through the ministry of the Church.

However, at the same time I must register a hesitation. The notion of the Church transforming culture can lead to a triumphalistic mentality that believes it will usher in the Kingdom of God. While God’s primary instrument of redemption is the Church, the Church will never have the full picture of what the Kingdom of God will look like. We see through a glass darkly until Christ returns and transforms our perspective. With this in mind we must eschew any triumphalism that sees the Church establishing the Kingdom of God.

Perhaps we should understand our relationship with culture not so much as transformation but as engagement. This isn’t to say that we should not seek to redeem culture—we should. A Christ Engaging Culture model will seek to do this, but will also remember that Christ blesses our efforts in His providential timing and only He brings complete redemption. Our task is to engage culture; God’s task is to redeem it.

But how should we engage culture? While the answer to this question is complicated, what is of primary importance is that we first seek to understand the culture we live in. The following are some very general suggestions of how we can do that:

1. Labor of Love
We must put in the hard work of understanding our cultural milieu. Have we taken the time to read articles, books, or essays that offer a succinct and accurate cultural analysis? While many of us do not have the luxury of reading hours on end, is it too much to ask of ourselves to read one book and some articles over the next few months, or over the year, to get a better understanding of the culture we live in?

2. Active Engagement not Passive Entertainment
Mediums such as television, movies, and music are the prime communicators of our culture. If we want to engage culture, then we must interact with these mediums on more than an entertainment level. While it is not wrong to be entertained in and of itself, if we want to understand the culture around us, then we need to be actively engaged when interacting with cultural mediums. We should attempt to understand the questions that are being asked, the message that is being communicated, the way these are being presented, from a Christian worldview in order to effectively engage our culture with the Gospel. Two salutary places to begin with points 1 and 2 are the web sites of Ransom Fellowship (www.ransomfellowship.org.) and L’Abri Fellowship (www.labri.org).

3. Humility not Pride
Do we rigorously question our own beliefs and presuppositions? We will always, to a significant degree, view Christianity through the lenses of the culture that we are in. This is both good and bad. With this in mind we must ask ourselves: have we taken on cultural beliefs, norms, and presuppositions that are contrary to a Christian worldview? Because we are so indelibly marked by culture, this is a question that must be persistently pursued.

4. Involvement not Separation
Perhaps the best way to engage culture is to be involved in it. One way to be involved is to develop friendships within our community, not for the sole purpose of making them Christians but to show them the love of Christ by being involved in their lives. There are several individuals in our Church who exemplify this.

5. Prayer and Worship
Worship is a two-way communication between God and His people. When we worship, we seek to put God at the center of our attention by praising Him, thanking Him, confessing our sins to Him and bringing our requests to Him. At the same time God promises to reveal Himself and His grace to us through the Word and the sacraments. It is through corporate worship that God meets us and reveals Himself to us in a most vivid and intimate way. If we fail to worship God corporately, then we will miss out the primary way that God wants to reveal Himself to us, show us what it means to be the body of Christ, and sustain us with His grace to do so.

[1]Ontology is the study of being or reality in its most fundamental form. So, in this sense creation is good in its most fundamental form. Or in other words, creation is good in its very being, albeit a goodness derived from God.
[2]Pre-lapsarian and post-lapsarian mean pre-fall and post-fall, respectively.
[3]The eschaton refers to the “last things”; in this context, specifically to the restoring of creation to its intended purpose

The Kingdom must be advanced not merely extensively, but also intensively. The Church must seek to conquer not merely every man for Christ, but also the whole of man.
—J. Gresham Machen