It is called The Scotch-Irish: A Social History, by James G. Leyburn. I picked up during a recent vacation in Tennessee at one of the state’s excellent historical sites. (To my chagrin, I see I could have gotten it on Amazon for $6 less.)

I am a sucker for historical sites and for historical books that you find there. My kids make fun of me… (this time, one of my sons said, “Oh boy, get ready for more Civil War illustrations!”)

This particular book traces the American immigrants who became known in America as the Scotch-Irish from their time in Scotland to their first emigration to Ireland (Ulster) and from there to America. I am just finishing the description of life in Scotland prior to the great exodus.

The story is fascinating (OK, so I’m a nerd). Leyburn was a prominent sociology professor at Washington & Lee University. Their library is named after him. I don’t know if he professed to be a Christian or not, but the book seems to be written from a secular perspective. That’s what makes it’s comments on preaching and the Scottish Reformation so interesting.

The Scottish people before the reformation (1300s-1500s) lived in a Medieval society, dominated by feudal social structures. Their homes were poor, their living was barely subsistence, they used inefficient farming methods and implements, and had virtually no education. The lack of education extends from the poorest to the lairds and lords, the nobility of the land, such as it was. The culture was violent, much of the time was spent in wars with the English (or raiding their farms) or fighting one another. The church of the day was corrupt, offering no guidance to the moral or spiritual life of the people. As I read about it, the picture I have in my mind is little better than the mud huts of Africa (without the warm temperatures).

The Scottish Reformation, led by John Knox, brought about a dramatic change. Leyburn says that it is claimed that from effects of the Reformation “Scotland emerged within the span of a single generation from barbarism to civilization.”¹ Why did this happen?

Whereas in England the Reform had been chiefly the work of the sovereign and the court party, in Scotland it immediately won the people to its ideals. ²

These ideals were communicated to the people in the sermons of the Presbyterian preachers. These men replaced the corrupt priests throughout the land, emphasized learning, and taught the people through their long sermons. The sermon was the centerpiece of Kirk worship. Even though the people listening to the sermons were at first mostly illiterate, they were not unintelligent and it was the preaching of these men that stirred a renaissance of learning in Scotland. (It was the ambition of the Kirk that schools should exist in every village.)

This zeal for learning, especially its democratic aspect, now became another characteristic of the Lowlander. What the new order makes clear is that the Scot had, as he must long have had, a fine, active mind — one that had been waiting only for stimulation. The Presbyterian Church, having discarded much ritual, laid its great emphasis on the sermon. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that the sermon provided the necessary stimulus to the mind and was therefore a main cause of the new national respect for education.

To the modern man in a hurry it seems incredible that people were willing to make long journeys to devote practically a whole day to a series of sermons each of which might last for two or three hours. What these people found in the parish kirk, quite aside from the satisfaction of their religious yearnings, was for the first time in their lives an appeal made directly to their minds. That a man could not yet read did not mean that he could not grasp the point of a theological issue; unlettered as he was, he could see what was at stake and he could argue it with acumen. Theology was not a finespun argument about irrelevancies; it was a burning question about a man’s relation to God. One’s immortal soul depended on it. These were the days before journalism, the diffusion of literature,  and the ‘mass media’ of communication. To give one whole day out of seven to the topic that interested him most meant that one would continue to think and talk about it during the other days as well. The pulpit was a person’s one source of mental excitement, and a man delighted in his new experience. Centuries of illiteracy had not dulled the shrewdness of the mind, and a man delighted in his new experience. The sermon and what it did to a man proved to be an oasis in a desert.³

Isn’t that an incredible description? Leyburn mildly criticizes the Scottish Reformation for going too far and being too severe (and perhaps they were in some ways). But the picture he paints is of an entire people completely turned around, largely through the power of preaching alone.

Interestingly, he notes that the Council of Trent advised the priests of the Counter Reformation (Catholic) “to avoid ‘the more difficult and subtler questions, which do not tend to edification’ of ordinary folk.”⁴

I thought this was a striking description. It makes me think that what we need is not simpler preaching, easier for our people to take, but longer and more complicated preaching (not obtuse and dull), that feeds meat to our people.

Dave offers this good comment in his post (linked above):

Preaching was so central to the Lord’s earthly mission that He could turn away from needy people and say, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for” (Mark 1:38).

~~~

By the way, I am only a third of the way through this book, but I think I can highly recommend it if you have any interest in understanding people and how past ways of living and thinking affect the present. I have a particular interest in the Scots and the Scotch-Irish. My Grandmother emigrated to Canada from a little town outside Belfast and my Grandfather’s people came to Canada 150 years ago from a lonely rock off the west coast of Scotland. The people this book describes are my ancestors.

1. p. 56.
2. Ibid, emphasis in original.
3. pp. 72-73, bold emphasis mine.
4. p. 73, footnote.

Apparently labels matter (or mattered) to some.

Readers should note that such publications often support liberal views on Biblical dates and tend to minimize the miraculous. Nevertheless, if read with discernment, such resources can provide valuable background material for studying and teaching the Bible.

A sample is offered where you can read the Ezra-Nehemiah section and see what is offered in this set.

There are some promotional videos available. The first is a more serious look at the set:

And the second takes a light-hearted approach:

You can find out more at The Ancient Bible.com.

Alas, I find out too late for Christmas! And, alas, the price is out of my reach just now!

In any case, it looks like this resource is one to put on the Wish List for sure.

He delights in our serving him, not because he is the better for it, but because we shall be.

Huh… so he doesn’t delight in himself for his own glory? Who’d a thunk it?

This book, subtitled Finding God’s healing for depression, anxiety, & other troubling emotions, is written by two women who are certified by NANC, the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors. This is the organization whose philosophy and literature we tend to recommend and attempt to follow in the area of counseling. It is opposed to integrating secular psychology with the Bible in counseling.

Elyse Fitzpatrick is a counselor of women and a writer of numerous books on counseling, one of which our ladies have studied, Idols of the Heart.

Laura Hendrickson is a medical doctor who formerly practiced psychiatry but is now a Biblical counselor. She struggled with depression herself, but found peace in Christ. She had a brother who also struggled with depression, but ended his own life because he would not turn to God.

The book is very helpful and one I would highly recommend to anyone, although I should mention one ‘caveat’ at the start. This book is written by women for women… some guys might find that a bit disconcerting. I would advise our men to read this book anyway for the following reasons:

• You will be helped in understanding some things your wife might experience because she is a woman.
• Men can experience many of the same emotional/psychological problems as women. The approach of this book is biblical, the science of the book is universally applicable, and the philosophy of this book is one that both men and women need to adopt.
• And finally: You’re a man, you can take it.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part is designed to help the reader understand what is going on when someone is suffering from ‘inner pain’ that is sometimes called depression or anxiety, or some other equally disturbing problems related to the inner man. This part has four chapters.

The first two chapters are excellent. In chapter 1, the authors address the question, “What’s wrong with me?” There is a huge debate in the world of counseling about what exactly is wrong when people experience inner turmoil.

Materialists believe that people are just chemical compounds and all problems are related to the physical body. If your feelings are bad, something is wrong with your body in some way. It is probably a ‘brain problem’ since the brain is the organ with which we think.
The Bible teaches that people are body and soul. It attributes many problems of inner turmoil to problems in the spirit. If your feelings are bad, they are often products of ‘thought-habits’ — ways you have gotten used to thinking, attitudes you have been in the habit of keeping, unbiblical desires you have delighted in fulfilling, and so on. It is possible that someone may cope with difficult outward circumstances for some time, but suddenly, ‘out of the blue’, find that years of faulty thinking produces overwhelming feelings of depression, anxiety, or other mental and spiritual turmoil that seem utterly defeating.

This chapter does a good job of proving Biblically that the inner man (the soul, the spirit, the heart) is responsible for much of how you feel. It is true that the body can affect your feelings, or even make your feelings worse. But if you try to deal with your feelings without dealing with your heart, you will fail in trying to overcome inner turmoil.

The second chapter addresses the question, “Will Medicine Help my Pain?” The chapter shows how psychiatric medicines work and discusses some serious problems with their use. The major problems of these medications are: “Poop Out”, Tail Chasing, and Dependence. “Poop Out” means that the effect of medications can and often do wear off – they lose their effectiveness. “Tail Chasing” means that sometimes side effects are mistaken for new problems and new drugs are prescribed with new side effects which then call for still newer drugs with other side effects and on and on it goes. “Dependence” means that individuals can become so dependent on the drugs they are taking that they have a hard time getting off them or reducing dosage.

In spite of these dangers, the authors of this book are not against all use of psychiatric medicine. However, they are very cautious about its use and recommend dealing with heart issues first. They offer hope that the heart can change if we are faithful to follow Biblical guidelines for thinking and behaving.

The third and fourth chapters are intended to address the problem of suffering in a more general way. These chapters do offer some benefit in understanding suffering, but there is a problem with the underlying theology of the authors which seems to this reviewer to be at times ‘cold comfort’ for someone in suffering. The concept that God’s primary objective in creation is getting more glory for himself is faulty. At best, it is poorly expressed and at worst, it diminishes the great attractiveness of a loving God who completely deals with human sin and its consequences without regard to any cost to Himself. This objection is relatively minor for the value of the book as a whole and should not put off anyone from reading the book.

In Part Two, the authors address four areas of inner turmoil more specifically and then conclude with a chapter directing the individual to learn to live and think for the glory of God. This section of the book is very helpful.

The four subjects addressed are:

1. Depression
2. Anxiety
3. Out-of-Control Moods
4. Cognitive-Perceptual Problems (Dementia, Schizophrenia, Psychosis, Head Injury, etc.)

Physical problems may be especially evident in the area of Cognitive-Perceptual problems. Physical problems can be related to the other areas as well. However, one thing that we must learn is that regardless of our physical problems, we are each individually responsible for our heart attitude and our behavioural responses.

The last chapter of the book deals with how you go about changing heart problems. Whether you have any of the inner turmoil mentioned in this book, this chapter is excellent on teaching how to deal with putting off the old man with its habits and lusts and putting on the new man to walk in the light of the Lord. Everyone can benefit from this chapter alone.

The book deals briefly with each of the subjects it covers. As such, it can’t be seen as a comprehensive look at any one of the problems it mentions. However some of its brevity is handled very well by some helpful Appendices to the main book.

The first appendix is a very good, balanced presentation of the Gospel. It is referred to throughout the book. It is the first key to spiritual change. Unless you are born again, you cannot deal successfully with your spiritual struggles.

The second appendix is entitled “Understanding Medicine Dependence, Withdrawal, and Side Effects.” Further help about specific types of medicine reinforces some of the statements made earlier in the book.

The third appendix directs you on how to talk to your doctor about any medication you may already be on.

The last appendix provides a bibliography of other helpful books on the specific topics mentioned. The books recommended are all helpful and many will provide more depth for specific problems.

The also book contains many helpful charts and diagrams that illustrate the concepts the authors are discussing. They are very valuable.

One last comment: this book commits the sin of endnotes! Endnotes put information that should be in footnotes at the end of the book. A pox on endnotes! May they be erased from the possibilities in the publisher’s arsenal!

Having said that, be sure to check the endnotes. With only one exception, they provide excellent additional help on the points they are supporting.

~~~

“In either case, our feelings aren’t dysfunctional or sick. Our feelings are doing just what they were designed by God to do. They’re showing us that we have a problem. To feel better, we need to fix the problem, not just make the pain go away.” [pp. 31-32]

“When we struggle with emotions, the only sure footing that we can find is in the Scripture. Ultimately it really doesn’t matter that our friends are encouraging us or that we’ve convinced ourselves that we are getting better. What really matters is that God is there, understanding, upholding, protecting, and pitying us.” [p. 75]

•    “God uses suffering to draw us to Him. …
•    “Through suffering we learn to be more grateful for the suffering of God’s perfect Son. …
•    “Suffering is meant, in part, to motivate us to seek to change. …
•    “Our pain works to reveal our own misconceptions and sins and to lead us to repentance and truth. …
•    “Suffering humbles and enables us to comfort others who are suffering. …” [pp. 110-111]

“Maybe you want to please God, but when it comes down to choosing between your convenience and God’s commands, you find that you don’t want to obey God badly enough to say no to your own desires. Or maybe your real goal is to become a nicer person so people will like you rather than to become more holy. If your desire is focused on you rather than God, then you will feel ashamed of your failure (What will people think?) rather than sorry before God for your sin. If you respond with shame rather than repentance, you will be tempted to despair over your failure rather than being strengthened in your resolve to please God  the next time around.” [p. 158]

“Unlike the ‘five easy steps’ and ‘magic cures’ that the media bombards us with every day, the Bible teaches us that sanctification is a lifelong process that involves setting aside the old self and putting on the new.” [p. 187]

This book, subtitled How Great Christians Struggled to Make Their Marriages Work, is one that my brother describes as being helpful for its cumulative effect rather than any one of the particular biographies it sketches for you.

In style, the book is very readable and is written for the general public. It is a collection of short biographies of 25 well-known Christians, focusing particularly on their marriages. At least, that is the stated objective of the book.

Some of the chapters contain very little information about the couple they are describing. I attribute this to the fact that in these cases there is likely very little known concerning the wife of the individual. For example, this is most evident in the sketch of John Bunyan, the author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, especially his first marriage. No one even knows the name of his first wife (although our author gives her one).

Several of the marriages highlighted in the book were exceedingly bad marriages. In one case, it is surprising that the couple is included at all. That would be Hannah Whitall Smith and her husband Robert Pearsall Smith. Hannah was a universalist – that means she believed that everyone would be saved. As such, it seems odd that she should be included as a “Great Christian”. She wrote a book called The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, but the book is a very bad book giving a distorted view of the Christian walk and the marriage of the Smith’s was anything but happy.

Nevertheless, it is true that there have been good and bad marriages among men and women who have been looked up to as great Christian leaders. It is instructive to us to look at them and to think of them as examples of marriages and married life.

If you have read any biographies of any of the individuals listed in the book, you will be a bit disappointed about the sketchiness of the stories. But as beginning looks, they are interesting, and as a collection with a focus on the marriages, I think they are helpful.
Occasionally the author will include a few quotations or summaries from the work of his subjects on the subject of marriage. Some of these are quite insightful. They will be noted below.

However, as I said, it is the cumulative effect that is most helpful. Let me sum up what I think you should take away from a reading of this book:

1. Every marriage is different – both women and men come to marriages with differing gifts, interests, and abilities.
2. Successful marriages manage to blend the strengths of the individuals into a working partnership.
3. Successful marriages overlook the faults of the spouses because of the value of the working partnership.
4. The most successful marriages follow God’s divinely revealed pattern in the Bible by both partners putting their energy into the husband’s calling from God. The wife enables her husband’s success while often having her own distinct style, personality, ministry, and activity for God as well.

   This does not look the same in every marriage, because every marriage is different.

Partnership is the main theme of this book. Without a full partnership, the problems of marriage are too much. The couples that succeed are the couples that fully commit themselves to one another, regardless of similarity or differences.

A marriage partnership doesn’t mean that the wife moulds the husband into her image of what he should be or vice versa. What it means is that each individual takes what the other offers and works harmoniously with what has been given, denying self, in order to achieve a greater end.

~~~

A few thoughts on marriage from the pages of this book:

From Catherine Booth, aggressive woman preacher (!), wife of William Booth:

Four Rules of Married Life, p. 79

1. Never to have any secrets from my husband
2. Never to have two purses
3. Talk out differences of opinion to secure harmony and don’t pretend differences don’t exist
4. Never to argue in front of the children

From Martin Luther, his views of marriage, pp. 163-164.

“To get a wife is easy enough, but to love her with constancy is difficult … for the mere union of the flesh is not sufficient; there must be congeniality of tastes and character. And that congeniality does not come overnight.”

“Some marriages were motivated by mere lust but mere lust is felt even by fleas and lice. Love begins when we wish to serve others.”

“Of course, the Christian should love his wife. He is supposed to love his neighbour, and since his wife is his nearest neighbour, she should be his deepest love. And she should also be his dearest friend.”

“Nothing is more sweet than harmony in marriage, and nothing more distressing than dissension.”

From George Muller:

How Love Grows: by praying and working together, p. 245

1. Both of us, by God’s grace, had one object in life, and only one, to live for Christ
2. We had the blessing of having an abundance of work to do … By God’s grace we gave ourselves to it; and this abundance of work greatly tended to the increase of our happiness. … Our mornings never began with the uncertainty of how to spend the day, or what to do.
3. [As busy as we were, we] never allowed this to interfere with the care of our souls. Before we went to work, we had, as an habitual practice, our seasons for prayer and reading the Holy Scriptures.
4. Lastly, and most of all to be noticed, is this: we had for many years, whether twenty or thirty years of more I do not know, besides our seasons for private prayer and family prayer, also habitually our seasons for praying together.

Muller’s advice on finding a spouse, p. 247

1. Much waiting on God
2. A hearty purpose to be willing to be guided by Him
3. True godliness without a shadow of a doubt … should be the first and absolutely most needful qualification
4. Suitableness. An educated man should not marry an uneducated woman or vice versa.

From William Carey, p. 319:

Qualifications for missionaries: “It is absolutely necessary for the wives of missionaries to be as hearty in the work as their husbands.”

I thought I’d share the entire footnote with you as well. I’d encourage the preachers in the audience to steal it too. It is well worth preaching.

Here is Newell:

The reason God hates your trust in your ‘good works’ is, that you offer them to Him instead of resting on the all-glorious work of His Son for you at the cross.

Reflect:

• What it cost God to give Christ.
• What it cost Christ to put away sin — your sin, at the cross.
• What honor God has given Him ‘because of the suffering of death.’
• What plans for the future God has arranged through Christ having made peace by the blood of His cross, to reconcile ‘things upon the earth and things in the heavens, unto Himself.’

Now, when that uneasiness of conscience on account of which you keep doing ‘dead works,’ you neglect all God is, has done, and desires, for you, and substitute your own uncertain, fearful, trifling notions of ‘works that shall please God.’ You would make God come to your terms, instead of gladly accepting his great salvation and resting in the finished work of Christ.

It is ominously bold presumption, when God is calling all to behold His Lamb, to be found asking God to behold your goodness, your works! ¹

You are saved by works, but not your works! The Works of our Lord Jesus Christ are the saving works.

1. William R. Newell, Romans: verse by verse, p. 143, footnote.

This might be of interest to only a select few, but the various libraries that own sheets of Sinaiticus have cooperated to make the entire codex available.

You can see photographs of each page (or fragments of pages), jump from page to page by Bible reference, see a transcription of each page as well as a translation.

Regardless of your views of the textual issues, it is tremendous that this most important manuscript of the Bible is now available for anyone to see.

The first volume also reveals the mind of a totally lost man. His conversion comes at the end of the first set of letters, but one has to say that he exhibits the pride and malice of a lost man in all his educated sophistication through the years prior to his conversion.

I’ll not debate the quality of his conversion, certainly he uses terms unfamiliar to us. It is quite clear that a real change took place in his life and he left us with many valuable works as a result.

In one of his letters, he makes an interesting observation about the pleasure of anger.

The pleasure of anger — the gnawing attraction which makes one return again and again to its theme — lies, I believe, in the fact that one feels entirely righteous oneself only when one is angry.

 Then the other person is pure black, and you are pure white. But in real life sanity always returns to break the dream. In fiction you can put absolutely all the right, with no snags or reservations, on the side of the hero (with whom you identify yourself) and all the wrong on the side of the villain. You thus revel in unearned self-righteousness, which wd. be vicious even if it were earned.¹

In light of my message last Sunday afternoon, “How Crucifying the Flesh produces the Fruit of the Spirit,” I thought this an apt quote. Too bad I didn’t see it in time to include it in my message.

The quote is from a letter to his ‘first friend’, Arthur Greeves on January 17, 1931. Lewis’ moment of conscious faith in Christ as the Son of God came on Sept 28, 1931. His conversion is described as a growth of understanding and acceptance of truth, coming first as an acceptance that there is a God, culminating with faith in Christ as described. So though he has not yet expressed conscious faith in Christ, I think he displays growing spiritual insight at this point.

What makes anger so delightful? The other person is all wrong, all black, and you are all right, all white. In effect, you become God, and are justified in your judgement of whomever it is that you rage against. It’s righteous wrath, not just righteous indignation!

It is this lust which makes violent movies so attractive. The movie develops sympathy for the lead character who may be a totally reprehensible individual, then leads you into a campaign of rage against his enemies, who are totally ‘evil’ because they oppose the ‘pure white’ hero.

The only antidote to this is humility of mind, is it not? The fruit of the Spirit which only comes by repentance and faith (crucifying the flesh). We must confess our rage, our wrath, our clamour, our malice, our evil-speaking, and submit heart, soul, and mind to the judgement of the Spirit of God.

Perhaps in our fundamentalist wars we should take a break and think this one over.

1. The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Vol.1, Walter Hooper, ed., pp. 950-951.

The other day, he interviewed Al Mohler on the subject of the changing views of young evangelical types. I think the whole transcript is worth reading, but a few highlights follow:

HH: As you talk with two distinct cohorts, the leadership elites in the Evangelical, with whom you are in daily contact, and your students, what are the reactions in those two groups to the events of November?

AM: Well, I’ll tell you, the older Evangelical leadership is in danger right now of looking really old, and old not just in chronological terms, but more or less, kind of acting as if the game hasn’t changed, as if we’re not looking at a brand new cultural challenge, and a new political reality. And so I would say that the younger Evangelicals that I look at every single day, and they are so deeply committed, so convictional, they’re basically wondering if a lot of the older Evangelical leaders are really looking to the future, or are really just kind of living in the 80s while the 80s are long gone. So I think there’s a crucial credibility issue there.

Hmmm… sound familiar?

It seems that it isn’t just Fundamentalists who are having problems with their young people trusting them.

And how about this:

HH: Let me ask you about a pretty controversial proposition. I’m not sure if I believe it or not. Dispensationalism, in other words, End Times theory, for those who are not in this world. Do you think that’s sapped some of the energy and purposefulness out of the commitment of Christians to politics in the here and now?

AM: Well, I think it’s part of it. I don’t think that’s a ridiculous argument at all. I think if you are focuses on the fact that you are absolutely certain that the Lord’s going to be coming imminently, very soon, and that this age is going to come to a conclusion very soon, then you’re not going to give much to investment in building a culture for the future. And I really think that is a matter of Evangelical concern.

Interesting question, eh? Interesting response, too.

And this:

HH: Last question, Dr. Albert Mohler, and I know you have enormous influence on the younger age cohort, because I know who buys your books, and I’ve seen your students with you, et cetera. So take yourself out of this conversation. Who do young Evangelicals look to that you and I would be comfortable having them look to? Where are they getting their leadership cues from?

AM: Well, oddly enough, it’s pretty diffuse. In areas of their life, they’re going to read everything John Piper writes. They’re going to be out there really looking for the kind of cultural analysis that they might be getting from someone who you and I wouldn’t even know, simply because this is a peer-directed culture. They’re going to be saying are you reading this? Are you reading that? I’m not sure I can come up with a long list of names, because I’ll tell you, it’s not that there are so few, it’s that there are so many. This is a generation that reads a lot, absorbs a lot, thinks a lot, and I think it’s going to take some time before we really have a grasp on who all is influencing them in these ways.

This is right at the end of the interview. I think it is a most interesting question and a more interesting answer. It is most interesting that the young are widely influenced by

1. Peers
2. Diverse people of many persuasions
3. Mohler himself doesn’t quite have a handle on who all these influences are

And as a result he can’t really comment on "Who young Evangelicals look to that you and I would be comfortable having them look to." I read a quote elsewhere this evening that went like this:

"The most marked difference from this country today, nearly sixty years down the slope [from 1939], is the absence of authority."¹

In many subtle ways, this observation is true of all parts of society, including the church. Including the evangelical and the fundamentalist church.

The widespread influence of myriads of voices is thought to be, I think, somehow sophisticated, serious, and appropriate. I am afraid we have too many masters (Jas 3.1), and in so doing, we have none.

May our young people become mastered by the One teacher of the One Book.

1. Woody West, "Decline in Authority … Demise of Democracy" Insight (November 18, 1996): 48, quoted in David L. Larsen, The Company of the Preachers, vol. 2, p. 848.