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On Monday Bert and I were stranded in the Houston airport for several hours. I spent my time wandering through the shops and he caught up on his reading for seminary classes. At one point I saw him chuckling--not the typical reaction for a run-of-the-mill seminary textbook. From the book _Divorce and Remarriage in the Church_, he read to me the following from a marriage service authorized by the bishop of Salisbury 1085:
"One vow has changed: in the earliest English marriage services the bride's vows included a promise to 'be bonny and buxom in bed and at board.'"
The book then clarifies that 'bonny' and 'buxom' had different meanings then.
'bonny' - from the French for good 'bon'
buxom - from an old German word meaning pliant or obedient.
board - the table where food was served
bed - nighttime
So in the end is meant: "behave properly and obediently through night and day."
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Church and "Christian" Music
"Christian" has quotation marks in the title, becuase I am positive music cannot "be a Christian." Nevertheless I am trying to communicate to the culture so I use the term. Of course, neither can a bookstore or a book or a T-shirt.
While visiting in Texas, I am reading a borrowed copy of "An Arrow Pointing to Heaven." I was a young adult when the first mainstream Christian radio stations appeared on the scene. I remeber how happy people were and how much better they thought they could worship God. I wondered what they would ever do if some dictator shut down all the stations. Something in the book struck a chord with me:
"He [Rich] was afraid that many people listened to his music as a means of spiritual growth, when in fact he believed his music to be simply entertainment. He would become very discouraged that people knew more lines from his songs than they did from the Scriptures" p. 32-33.
I pass this same principle on to Christian books. Although I wrote one, I would be saddened if people only got their spiritual nourishment, from my book. Someone recently gave me two books to read on prophecy. One was titled something like, "That They May All Prophecy." When people give me books I usually give them at least a cursory reading. These books did not need to be written. Anyone who opens the Bible and reads and reads and reads will learn what prophecy is. There is not a thing we need to know about relationship with God that is not in the Bible. I pray God rescues us from a steady diet of spiritual pablum.
I am aware that many of you do not believe in women preachers. To you I offer my sincere apologies.
While visiting in Texas, I am reading a borrowed copy of "An Arrow Pointing to Heaven." I was a young adult when the first mainstream Christian radio stations appeared on the scene. I remeber how happy people were and how much better they thought they could worship God. I wondered what they would ever do if some dictator shut down all the stations. Something in the book struck a chord with me:
"He [Rich] was afraid that many people listened to his music as a means of spiritual growth, when in fact he believed his music to be simply entertainment. He would become very discouraged that people knew more lines from his songs than they did from the Scriptures" p. 32-33.
I pass this same principle on to Christian books. Although I wrote one, I would be saddened if people only got their spiritual nourishment, from my book. Someone recently gave me two books to read on prophecy. One was titled something like, "That They May All Prophecy." When people give me books I usually give them at least a cursory reading. These books did not need to be written. Anyone who opens the Bible and reads and reads and reads will learn what prophecy is. There is not a thing we need to know about relationship with God that is not in the Bible. I pray God rescues us from a steady diet of spiritual pablum.
I am aware that many of you do not believe in women preachers. To you I offer my sincere apologies.
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