tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87353885691783590012024-02-15T20:37:57.952-08:00::Colored Opinions::Irregular European Blogger exploring the impact of migrants on democratic development both at home & abroadUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-58340865330464949392023-12-24T00:25:00.000-08:002023-12-24T00:25:27.794-08:00 Bruisende Verkiezingen in CongoHoe gemakkelijk word je door social media meegezogen in de waan van de dag. In Nederland is dat tegenwoordig vooral de oorlog van Israël tegen Hamas in Gaza, en de overwinning van Wilders en de duiding daarvan door sociaal geograaf Josse de Voogd.<div><br /></div><div>Het loont daarom moeite om kritisch de journalistieke duiding van de presidentsverkiezingen die op 20 december in Congo plaatsvonden, bij langs te lopen. Daarbij pretendeer ik geenszins alles te kunnen overzien, of alles te hebben gezien. Internet heeft bovendien de vervelende eigenschap dat hoe langer je wacht, hoe lastiger het wordt om in te schatten wat de meest invloedrijke artikelen zijn geweest.</div><div><br /></div><div>De vraag die we ons mogen stellen is natuurlijk hoe je zo'n verkiezing gaat beschrijven? In welke context plaatsen we de verkiezingen van Congo? Welke impact zullen deze verkiezingen hebben op de toekomst van het land? </div><div><br /></div><div>Wil je de verkiezingen op een evenwichtige manier kunnen beschrijven, zul je op de hoogte moeten zijn van de geschiedenis, die wat mij betreft goed samen te vatten is met de gevleugelde woorden die de diplomaat Roger Meece in 2010 uitspraak over de situatie in Congo van dat moment:</div><div><br /></div><div>"All is not lost, the challenges are not too great to confront, we are not facing imminent failure"</div><div><br /></div><div>Toen Jessica Taieb vroeg om de verkiezingen in één woord te beschrijven, viel mij dan ook onmiddellijk het woord 'Effervescence' te binnen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Voorafgaand aan de verkiezingen was er ongetwijfeld enige spanning bij de gewone burger op straat over het verloop. Hoe zou het gaan?</div><div><br /></div><div>Het viel uiteindelijk heel erg mee. Natuurlijk waren er incidenten, Congo is een enorm land, maar over de hele linie verliep de logistieke operatie, gezien de enorme uitdagingen, goed. </div><div><br /></div><div>De Congolese burger is in grote getale opgekomen om zijn stem te laten horen. De President krijgt, zoals door meedere peilingen vooraf voorspeld, veruit de meeste stemmen. De stemming van de diaspora in zowel Zuid-Afrika, Amerika als meerdere Europese landen laat alvast massieve steun voor de zittende president zien. Wat verklaart deze massieve steun?</div><div><br /></div><div>President Tshisekedi heeft de transitie, die Kabila en zijn entourage op een zijspoor zette, in goede banen geleid door een positieve en verzoenende toon te treffen. Een boodschap die weerklank vindt bij de bevolking. De peilingen en de uitslag bevestigen dit beeld.</div><div><br /></div><div>De Congolese burger heeft in deze verkiezingen haar steun uitgesproken voor de constructieve aanpak van de zittende president.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dit mandaat betekent tegelijkertijd ook dat President Tshisekedi binnen zijn coalitie, de Union Sacrée, zijn visie met minder schroom zal doen gelden. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-14085173713725855652023-12-06T12:39:00.000-08:002023-12-06T12:39:58.938-08:00Knowledge Derived from Experience<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">'but we must always maintain the contrast between knowledge bred from experience and the knowledge derived from teaching' - John Calvin (Ezekiel lecture 33)</span></p><p><br /></p><p>What interests me in Calvin's commentary is how he uses the writings of the New Testament or, to be more specific, the Apostle Paul as a tool to read Ezekiel.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-4892890122285975412023-05-10T10:16:00.006-07:002023-05-11T10:54:19.389-07:00Jasper Danckaerts, Charles Rochefort en AmerikaJasper Danckaerts werd geboren in Vlissingen, de stad waar Charles de Rochefort in de Waalse kerk een aantal jaren later predikant zou worden. Een stad ook, die een sterke band had met koloniën in Amerika. En dan hebben we het niet alleen over het deel van Queens dat genoemd is naar de stad Vlissingen.<div><br /></div><div>Maar dan hebben we het over een hele reeks eilanden in de Carraïben en over Suriname. </div><div><br /></div><div>Charles Rochefort diie oorspronkelijk uit La Rochelle in Frankrijk komt, via deze Carraïbische eilanden in Vlissingen belanden. Later, als hij door de gemeente in Rotterdam beroepen is, een boek uitgeven de geschiedenis van Amerika. Een bijzonder boek.</div><div><br /></div><div><span face=""gill sans nova medium", "lucida grande", "lucida sans unicode", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 19px;">The </span><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "gill sans nova medium", "lucida grande", "lucida sans unicode", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px;">Histoire Naturelle et Morale des Iles Antilles de l’Amerique</em></div><div><br /></div><div>Jasper Danckaerts was deel van de gemeenschap van Labadisten in Wiewerd die naar Amerika gereisd zijn, zowel Noord Amerika als Suriname, overigens. In Suriname zal hij Francis Borland tegenkomen, de Presbyteriaanse predikant die later rond 1700 betrokken zal zijn bij de Darien Scheme. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tussen Charles Rochefort en Jasper Danckaerts zie ik tenminste drie lijnen lopen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Charles Rochefort was binnen de Waalse kerk een verbindende figuur. Het is pas na de dood van de Rochefort dat Labadie uit dit kerkverband gezet is. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>Charles de Rochefort (1604-1683)<b><a href="https://irp.cdn-website.com/8c4bda01/files/uploaded/142%20Mandeville%20en%20De%20Rochefort.pdf"> appears in later life to have been a family friend of the </a></b></div><div><b><a href="https://irp.cdn-website.com/8c4bda01/files/uploaded/142%20Mandeville%20en%20De%20Rochefort.pdf">Mandevilles in Rotterdam.</a></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Vervolgens beheerde de Rochefort, als deputaat zending een fonds, waar één van de predikanten die gelieerd waren aan Jean de Labadie een beroep op deed. Dat fonds, in 1668 gecreëerd, zo schrijft L.L. Joosse in zijn boek "Geloof in de Nieuwe Wereld" op bladzijde 334, kwam voort uit de erfenis van Nicolas de Mouche, Seigneur de la Colombière advocaat en parlementslid te Parijs. Het doel was voor de verkondiging van het evangelie in Amerika. Het doel was specifiek gericht op de verkondiging van het evangelie aan de ''barbaren' in hun eigen taal. <b><a href="https://hal.science/hal-01598006/document">In dat zelfde jaar 1668 ondersteunt de Rochefort het project van Pierre du Lignon om het evangelie in Amerika te verkondigen</a></b>:</div><div><br /></div><div>Rochefort
est également l’un des premiers soutiens de la vocation missionnaire du labadiste
Pierre Du Lignon (ca 1630-1681). Le 30 octobre 1668, il cosigne une lettre
dans laquelle il fait l’éloge du disciple de Labadie et appuie sa vocation pour aller
porter la parole de Dieu aux “barbares aveugles d’Amérique".</div><div><br /></div><div>In 1669 wordt Labadie echter uit het kerkverband gezet, en Pierre Du Lignon volgt hem daarin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Een mogelijk derde link is dat Jasper Danckaerts opgroeide in Vlissingen toen Charles Rochefort daar predikant was. Het is heel wel mogelijk dat hij het boek van Charles de Rochefort kende voordat hij zijn reis maakte en dat hij juist daarom zijn journaal schreef.</div><div><br /></div><div>De reis van Jasper Danckaerts naar Amerika in 1678/1679 en later naar Suriname staan in nauw verband met de mislukte poging om Pierre Du Lignon als zendeling naar Amerika uit te zenden. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><b><a href="https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/charles-de-rochefort">Linda Hall vermoedt</a> </b></i>dat Charles de Rochefort zijn <i>Histoire naturelle et morale des iles Antilles de l'Amerique</i> vooral geschreven had om andere Hugenoten ervan te overtuigen naar de Caraïben te emigreren. Het beschreef de eilanden en de inboorlingen in gloedvolle bewoordingen, om de Antillen een aantrekkelijke bestemming te laten lijken voor protestanten in een Frankrijk dat hen niet wilde en nauwelijks tolereerde.</div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-74857455164497791682023-01-06T01:00:00.005-08:002023-01-06T01:00:59.976-08:00Summarizing Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians<p> Praise be
to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>the Father of Compassion and the God of all comfort., who comforts us in
all our troubles, so<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that we can comfort
those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For just as
the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also <b><i>through Christ</i></b>
our comfort overflows.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And I hope
that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that
you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in <b><i>the day of the Lord
Jesus.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Not that we
lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, <b>b<i>ecause it is
by faith you stand firm.</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I had
confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. For I wrote you out
of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you
but to let you know the depth of my love for you. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But thanks
be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us
spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. <b><i>For we are to
god the aroma of Christ</i></b> among those who are being saved and those who are
perishing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And who is
equal to such a task?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Such
confidence as this is ours <b><i>through Christ before God.<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He has
enabled us to be ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Therefore,
since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And we, who
with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into
his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the
Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And even if
our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The God of this
age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they cannot see <b><i>the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All this is
for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may
cause thanksgiving to overflow the toe glory of God. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Therefore
we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are
being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving
for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on
what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is
unseen is eternal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We have a
building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile
we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling since when we are
clothed, we will not be found naked.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Therefore
we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we
are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What we are
is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I tell you,
now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We have
spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and openend wide our hearts to you. We are
not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us.
As a fair exchange – I speak as to my children – open wide your hearts also.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Let us
strive for perfection out of reverence for God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Make room
for us in your hearts. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But just as
you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete
earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel in this grace of
giving.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For you
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I thank
God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Therefore,
show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so
that all the churches can see it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">So I
thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the
arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a
generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Remember this:
Whoever sows sparingly will also reep sparingly, and whoever sows generously
will also reep generously. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">You will be
made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and
through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Because of
the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the
obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for
your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And in
their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing
grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For even if
I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you
up rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We however,
will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field
God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you. We are not going too
far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did
get as far as you with the gospel of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Our hope is
that,as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly
expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Besides
everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Examine
yourselves to see whether you are in the faith, test yourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We are glad
whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This is why
I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be
harsh in my use of authority – the authority the Lord gave me for building you
up, not for tearing you down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Finally,
brothers, goodbye. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind,
live in peace.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-9246527239783803422021-07-17T07:13:00.001-07:002021-07-17T07:13:52.182-07:00De Rivier in het Boek Ezechiël<p> In de vorige twee blogposts over <b><a href="http://coloredopinions.blogspot.com/2021/07/zandlopermodel.html">het zandlopermodel</a></b> en over de impliciete <b><a href="http://coloredopinions.blogspot.com/2021/07/lamentations-mourning-and-woe.html">link tussen de klaagliederen waar Ezechiël naar verwijst en het boek dat voorafgaat aan Ezechiël</a> </b>heb ik de focus gelegd op de manier waarop de ervaring van ballingschap volop tot zijn recht komt in het boek van deze profeet. Daarmee lijkt Ezechiël veel op Daniel. Want ook daar zie je een directe correlatie tussen zijn traumatische ervaring en zijn visioenen. Het doet denken aan de manier waarop Joan Miro zijn Carnaval des Harlequins schilderde. </p><p>Dat een rivier straks terugkeert in het boek Ezechiël, eerst als klein stroompje uit de Tempel, maar allengs aanzwellende tot een kolkende watermassa, is intrigerend. Een structurerend element van dit boek.</p><p>De aarzelde balling die nog nauwelijks een teen in de rivier de Kebar durft te steken, krijgt straks een visioen (hoofdstuk 43) waarbij hij eerst tot aan de enkels, tot de kniëen, tot aan de heupen, totdat het zo diep was dat je er in kon zwemmen. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-31294130717020672792021-07-10T00:23:00.002-07:002021-07-10T00:36:36.396-07:00Zandlopermodel<b><a href="http://coloredopinions.blogspot.com/2021/07/lamentations-mourning-and-woe.html">Onwillekeurig brengt mijn vorige blogpost</a></b> mij tot nadenken over het zandlopermodel van Henk de Jong. En dan doel ik specifiek in de eerste plaats op wat hij schrijft op bladzijde 15 van het boek 'van oud naar nieuw':<div><blockquote>Op zichzelf genomen en dus los van het Nieuwe loopt het Oude Testament uit op een impasse, niet aan Gods maar aan mensenkant.</blockquote><p>Het zandlopermodel suggereert echter ook dat het Oude Testament vernauwt naar Christus, <b><a href="https://www.academia.edu/12128903/De_leesbril_van_Henk_de_Jong_Overwegingen_bij_het_zandlopermodel_in_Jan_Bouma_et_al_eds_Verrassend_vertrouwd_Een_halve_eeuw_verkondiging_en_theologie_van_Henk_de_Jong_Franeker_Van_Wijnen_2009_102_116">en dat het bredere perspectief van de wereld pas vanaf Pinksteren weer in beeld komt. </a></b></p><p>In zijn commentaar op Ezechiël 1:4 schrijft Calvijn dat de profeet in de beschrijving van zijn visioen de helft van zijn beelden ontleend aan de tempel, en de andere helft aan de wereld om ons heen. De vier cherubim verwijzen naar de vier hoeken van de wereld en benadrukken dat God de hele wereld bestuurt. De vier wielen wijzen op deze constant veranderende wereld. De ogen wijzen er op dat God echter alles bestuurt en dat niets per toeval gebeurd. In de bespreking van de betekenis van de regenboog die Ezechiël ziet, komt hij hier op terug en borduurt hij hier op voort.</p><p>Juist in de ballingschap wint God's voorzienigheid aan betekenis, zo lijkt Calvijn te benadrukken. Niet slechts de tempel bepaalt meer de identiteit van het volk Israël, maar het geloof in Hem die niet alleen de wereld gemaakt heeft, maar deze bestuurt. De verbreding, waar naar verwezen wordt in het zandlopermodel, begint niet pas bij de wederkomst van Christus. De troost waar zondag 1. van de (Heidelbergse) Catechismus van spreekt wordt dan ook tevens gekleurd door God's handelende en sturende voorzienigheid. Ik moet denken aan een andere uitspraak van Henk de Jong, namelijk dat de kerk niet alleen 'een huis om in te wonen' is, maar ook 'een weg om op te gaan'.</p><p>Calvijn komt via de bespreking van dit spanningsveld tussen tempel en voorzienigheid uiteindelijk uit bij zijn overtuiging dat beide als doel hebben onze ogen te openen voor enerzijds onze blindheid, onwetendheid en traagheid. En van daaruit wil de profeet Ezechiël ons richten op de dagelijkse overdenking van de heerlijkheid van de drieenige God in het evangelie, zo schrijft Calvijn. Tegelijkertijd waarschuwt hij voor roekeloze nieuwsgierigheid.</p><p>Wellicht biedt juist Calvijn's focus op het werk van de Vader, de Zoon en de Heilige Geest een handvat om het enthousiasme en de coherentie van de toespraak van Stefanus in Handelingen 7 te duiden.</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-2571234734488307052021-07-09T00:27:00.004-07:002021-07-09T01:22:43.181-07:00Lamentations, Mourning and Woe<p> The 10th verse of the second chapter of the book of Ezekiel intrigues me. The implicit reference to the lamentable situation of the exiles on the river Kebal and the book of lamentations that immediately precedes Ezekiel is fascinating.</p><p>What do commentaries say about this link?</p><p>A related question is whether Psalm 137, which creates a similar contextual patchwork, <b><a href="https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/8480/does-psalm-137-refer-to-the-babylonian-captivity-when-ezekiel-was-alive">was written at about the same time as the books of Lamentations and Ezekiel. </a></b></p><p>These implicit allusions and links between different books can be found across the Bible. It reminds of how the book of Judges actually prepares the terrain for the book of Ruth and Samuel.</p><p>The specific way in which lamentations is introduced in the book of Ezekiel reminds me of my <b><a href="http://coloredopinions.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-unity-of-book-of-daniel.html">previous blogpost on the unity of the book of Daniel.</a></b></p><p>The reality of exile actually integrates into his vision, just like Daniel's experience of being in the lion's den is transformed into a terrifying dream later on.</p><p>The reason Calvin' chose to write his last commentary on the book of Ezekiel is no doubt because it reminded him of his own experience and it fits perfectly his own theological framework.</p><p>The exiled communities of protestants that fled from France and the Netherlands in the 16th century certainly might have felt in some degree a similarity to prophets like Ezekiel and Daniel.</p><p>It is therefore not surprising that Calvin chose a commentary on Ezekiel to address these exiles. A book that enables him to connect his dogmatics to his exegesis, yes. But, more importantly, a commentary that addresses the temptation to see God as somehow endebted to us, because we gave everything up to follow Him, as these exiled believers might have reasoned in the 16th century.</p><p>Therefore, Calvin ends this commentary on Ezekiel <b><a href="https://www.ccel.org/ccel/c/calvin/calcom23/cache/calcom23.pdf">with this message to these exiles:</a></b></p><p></p><blockquote><p>For ourselves, then, let. us learn that we cannot otherwise worship God with acceptance
unless we adopt whatever pleases him as pertaining to our salvation. For if we wish to come
to a debtor and creditor account, or to consider that he is in the slightest degree indebted
to us, we in this way diminish his glory, and as far as is in our power we despoil ourselves
of that inestimable privilege which the Prophet now commends. Hence let us desire to ac knowledge God in this way, since he treats us with amazing clemency and pity for his own name, and not according to our sins.</p></blockquote><p>Daniel is sometimes proposed as an example of faithfullness in a post-christian western context. To the extent that Daniel experiences the allienation of exile and hostility in exile, the attraction of this line of thinking might be explainable. And yet, it ignores the second half of the book, where we actually feel the trauma of Daniel and he makes us participants in his vision of the Son of Man. </p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-4849204394411589662021-06-27T13:09:00.004-07:002021-06-27T13:21:06.556-07:00The Puritans<p><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;">Cotton Matther in his piece on a Blessed Union, <b><a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/A50114.0001.001/1:4?rgn=div1;view=fulltext">writes in 1692</a></b>:</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;">It must be an </span><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;">Holy</span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;"> Union; our </span><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;">Ʋnity</span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;"> with men must be no further than will stand with </span><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;">Purity.</span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;"> We must not Renounce </span><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;">Truth</span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;"> for </span><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;">Pea<span class="gap" style="color: #cc6600;">•</span>e,</span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;"> nor so have </span><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;">Peace with one another,</span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;"> as to have no </span><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;">S<span class="gap" style="color: #cc6600;">•</span>lt in our selve</span></p><p><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;">And (page 61):</span></p><p><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Again, Our </span><span class="rend-italic">Churches</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> are some of them furnished, with </span><span class="rend-italic">Elders,</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> whose whole </span><span class="rend-italic">Office</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> tis [God help 'em to Do it </span><span class="rend-italic">Well</span><span style="font-style: normal;">] To </span><span class="rend-italic">Watch over the Conversation of the Church-Members with Authority.</span></span></p><p><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;"><br /></span></p><p><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;">(page 69):</span></p><p><span class="rend-italic" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="font-style: normal;">That when men Profess the </span><span class="rend-italic">Faith</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> of the Gospel, or their consent unto the </span><span class="rend-italic">Covenant of Grace,</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> and overthrow not that Profession by a <b>Scandalous Conversation</b>, they are to be Look'd upon, as belonging to the </span><span class="rend-italic">Visible Catholick Church</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> of our Lord; they are to be treated as </span><span class="rend-italic">Christians;</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> to call them or count them </span><span class="rend-italic">Heathen,</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> is to do them a Grievous Iniury.</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-6878045970566279812021-05-30T04:38:00.000-07:002021-05-30T04:38:00.667-07:00Calvin, Exegesis and Dogma<p><span style="font-family: "Open sans", "lucida sans", "lucida sans regular", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In an address to the students at Princeton Seminary, Ashbel Green once insisted that:</span></p><p>"<span style="font-family: "Open sans", "lucida sans", "lucida sans regular", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">in true philosophy we are to abandon all hypotheses, and simply to take facts as we find them … so that no passage should be interpreted by any previous philosophical dogma, but simply and solely by a sound exegesis of language"</span></p><p>Of course I don't know if this is in fact a balanced rendition of his views on how to go about Biblical interpretation.</p><p>I do believe a sound heuristic when studying a Bible passage can only emerge if one has a sound dogmatic background. </p><p>In Calvin's commentary on the book of Ezekiel one can clearly see that this helps him navigate through the book. </p><p>Knowledge of dogmatics and pastorale focus make it an interesting read.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-21957268449066485152021-05-29T01:17:00.006-07:002021-05-29T01:29:25.036-07:00Stuntmen in Congo<div><b><a href="https://www.tf1.fr/tf1/sept-a-huit/videos/migingo-le-rocher-de-lenfer-du-lac-victoria-au-kenya-51109090.html">A documentary about life on a boat on the Congo river during a 32 day trip from Kinshasa to Kisangani</a></b> has been, in my view, the highlight of journalism about this huge country in recent weeks.</div><div><br /></div>Events in DRC Congo cascaded in a rapid succession over the last few weeks. Interviews with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and President Félix Tshisekedi in France. President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Rwanda. An agreement was signed between Uganda and the DRC. <div><br /></div><div>In the meantime the government of the DRC decided to replace the governors of Nord-Kivu and Ituri and declare a state of emergency in both states. The goal is obviously to finally restore state authority and root out armed groups, in particular the ADF and FDLR. The military governor of Kivu was installed May 10th.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just about a week later, on 22th of May, the Nyiragongo volcano near Goma erupted. This also put the spotlight on the border region between Congo and Rwanda. Vivid images of the eruption and earthquakes cascaded across the news. In that context it becomes hard to resist the temptation to describe these events in biblical metaphores like<b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/a-volcano-erupted-in-eastern-congo-2021-5?international=true&r=US&IR=T"> "apocalyptic scenes"</a></b> and <b><a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/congo-nyiragongo-volcano">"pandemonious exodus"</a>.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>As fascinating as all this is, is there a relationship with longterm security and stability of the Congo and the Great Lakes region in general? Hard to say. What comes to my mind is the words of Churchill to <b><i>never waste a good crisis.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>To some the outburst of the Nyiragongo will once again confirm the ineffectiveness of Congo's institutions. An opportunity to blame the national government and to feed cynicism. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://www.tf1.fr/tf1/sept-a-huit/videos/un-voyage-a-haut-risque-sur-le-fleuve-congo-31626836.html">A recent documentary about a trip on the Congo river</a></b> tells us a more nuanced story of the fragility and opportunity in this huge country. With a knowing wink, a lady on the boat summarized it best:</div><div><blockquote><b>"Nous sommes des cascadaires" </b></blockquote></div><div>(12:58, we are stuntmen)</div><div><br /></div><div>The documentary reflects the capricious spectrum of reactions to the uncertainty of thefragile common human existence.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-83185647963082294112021-05-18T07:45:00.001-07:002021-05-18T07:45:01.475-07:00God so tempers his grace that the faithful always need incentives<p> <span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 20px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Good works in his servants so that they accomplish nothing except as they are ruled by his Spirit; but at the same time they need his teachign, so that exhortations are never useless. Profane persons think taht there would be no need for teaching and that all exhortations would be frivolous, if, when God leads us by his Spirit, he not only begins but also continues and completes his work. But Scripture shows that these two fit together perfectly; God confirms us by his Spirit and renders us invincibile, but in the meantime he fills us with power through his exhortations and causes them to flourish among us and the be effective.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; white-space: pre-wrap;">So we see that God governs his own from within, and yet adds his teaching as the instrument of his Spirit" - John Calvin in commentary on Ezekiel page 83</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-74922453749826260332021-05-14T01:19:00.001-07:002021-05-14T01:19:21.921-07:00The God of Glory<p> God, he says, redeemed the Church with his own blood: if this were so, we ought to understand that God of glory who was from eternity and whom Moses and the Prophets celebrate. Now therefore, we understand how Christ appeared as to person in human form, and yet the whole Deity appeared.</p><p>Calvin in his commentary on Ezekiel 1:26</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-5031592080235734762021-04-25T04:51:00.000-07:002021-04-25T04:51:22.485-07:00Healthy Distrust and the End of History <p> "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance" - Edmund Burke </p><p>Distrust between citizen and government, and distrust between government and citizen is healthy! This conclusion has been maturing with me for much longer. </p><p>Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, we in the Netherlands lived with the feeling that the Netherlands was finished. The Dutchman felt like the last person in Fukuyama's famous book. This image of a country that was finished was reinforced by the Purple Government that the Netherlands had at the end of the 1990s. The Netherlands was a pioneering country in terms of liberal achievements.</p><p>The arrival of the 'maladjusted' foreigner in this raked-over country was from that time onwards increasingly experienced as the fly in this liberal soup. The uninvited guest who disturbs the party. The most famous expressions of this irritation we found with Pim Fortuyn, Jan-Peter Balkenende and Paul Scheffer in his famous essay on the multicultural drama. Each, of course, with his own accents.</p><p>Under the pressure of this narrative and the electoral successes of parties that problematized migration and the migrant, the consensus arose in politics, in the judiciary and in the media that you had to distrust migrants, especially Muslim migrants. The benefits affair cannot be seen in isolation from this. In a recent interview Alex Brenninkmeijer, Ombudsman between 2005 and 2014, said the following about it:</p><p></p><blockquote>You would almost wish for a group photo of all the parents and children affected, then you would suddenly see what happened. Then you see that it is a racist approach. In the Netherlands you are not allowed to use the word 'racism'. But Prime Minister Rutte spoke at one point about systemic racism, there is this. That is extremely serious.'</blockquote><p></p><p>Reflecting on the cabinet crisis that has engulfed the Netherlands for a week now, I finally come to the conclusion that adjusting mutual expectations between government and citizen is a more realistic goal for the informer of a new cabinet than restoring citizens' trust in the government.</p><p>Of course it is crucial that citizens respect the government. I fully agree with the line of thought of Abraham Lincoln in his famous Lyceum Address of 1837. At the same time, that does not mean that citizens should trust the government. Vigilance is called for, even now!</p><p>However, the reflex in The Hague remains, as so often, to think that they can just restore the trust between citizens and government. That seems to me to be dangerous self-assertion. Unfortunately, the reality is that the deep wounds inflicted by the benefits affair can no longer be healed by the government. Honesty about this would do the information round and formation good!</p><p>That especially migrants are the child of the bill in the benefits affair is not surprising. The citizens of the Netherlands also have a responsibility here! We must also face up to that. 'Democracy in its pure form cannot last long, nor can it be carried far in governmental bodies', John Witherspoon, one of the architects of the American Republic, once rightly said. It seems to me, therefore, that an important second conclusion to draw from the benefits affair is that healthy distrust on the part of government towards its citizens is essential to a functioning state.</p><p>The urgency to adjust the mutual expectations between government and citizens, by the way, already formed the background of my incisive advice in 2017 to focus on border work in the migration and integration debate. The Netherlands is not finished and if we want to continue to build a healthy constitutional democracy together, vigilance is still required! Especially now!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-5695630739269424912021-04-12T00:48:00.003-07:002021-04-13T04:44:03.057-07:00Mine Eyes have seen the GloryThe words spoken by Stephen, as recorded in Acts 7:55 and 56 continue to intrigue me. How should we understand the meaning of him seeing the glory of God and Jesus, standing on the right side of God.<div><br /></div><div>The phrase pronounced in 7:56 cannot but immediately remind us of both Daniel 7 and Ezekiel 1, but the preceding verse which records that he lifted his eyes towards the heavens and saw the glory are so powerful.</div><div><br /></div><div>These words suddenly<b><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=mine+eyes+have+seen+the+glory&sxsrf=ALeKk03YbjdZ5DbYdlRSSwk6ODGV2gvMGg%3A1618211538032&source=hp&ei=0fJzYNjjO8vekgWh7oPoAg&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYHQA4v6SInHkU15SzIkw99KXYg2q6lRw&oq=mine+eyes+have+seen+the+glory&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBAgjECcyAgguMgcIABCHAhAUMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCC4yAggAMgIIADoFCC4QkQI6BQgAEJECOggIABCxAxCDAToFCAAQsQM6BAguEEM6BAgAEEM6BwguELEDEEM6EAguELEDEIMBEMcBEKMCEEM6CAguELEDEIMBOgoILhCxAxCDARBDOg0ILhCHAhDHARCvARAUOgUILhDLAToFCAAQywE6BwguEAoQywE6CwguEMcBEK8BEMsBOgcILhCHAhAUOggILhDHARCvAVDMBVi5H2DyIWgAcAB4AIABZogB7A-SAQQyOC4xmAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwiYkJLfk_jvAhVLr6QKHSH3AC0Q4dUDCAc&uact=5"> reminded me of the Battle Hymn of the Republic</a></b>:</div><blockquote><div><div>Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord</div><div>He is trapling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored</div><div>He have loosed the faiteful lightening of his terrible swift sword</div><div>His truth is marching on</div></div></blockquote><p>The fact that he sees the Son of Man standing, adds to the resemblance.</p><p>Joy-Elizabeth Lawrence also <b><a href="https://www.reformedworship.org/blog/battle-hymn">points out that Martin Luther King's last speech before he was assassinated, included a reference to this hymn of the Republic with these words</a></b>:</p><p><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c3b3b; font-size: 14px;"></span></p><blockquote>So, I’m happy tonight, I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!”</blockquote><p> Martin Luther King's Mountain Top speech might actually help in getting a grip on the dynamics at work in Stephen's speech. King's speech is called the Mountain Top speech because in it says that he has been to the top of the mountain and has seen the Promised Land. </p><p>With a little help of Joy-Elizabeth Lawrence and Martin Luther King's interpretation, I tend to see Stephen's speech as visionary. While we tend to focus on the anger of his audience and his harsh condemnation of 'the fathers', Stephen seems to be rooted much more firmly in O.T. prophesy then we tend to give him credit for.</p><p>He doesn't just make things up when he goes along. He quotes Amos, Isaiah, and strongly alludes to Ezekiel and Daniel at the beginning and end of his speech.</p><p>Maybe it would be worth while to reread the entire speech with a 'Second Temple Judaism' framework in mind. </p><p>How do Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph and Moses function in a 'Second Temple Judaism' framewok?</p><p>In 1976 Hsieh, Hsiu-Hsiung wrote his dissertation<b><a href="https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.652658#:~:text=In%20his%20prophetic%20message%20of,the%20restoration%20of%20national%20life."> on the message of hope in the book of Ezekie</a></b>l at the University of Edinburgh.</p><p>The Apocalyptic books of the Old Testament are and should be much more central to how we read and interpret the New Testament.</p><p>The commentary that is probably worth while reading with the above in mind is <b><a href="https://www.ccel.org/ccel/c/calvin/calcom22/cache/calcom22.pdf">John Calvin's unfinished commentary on Ezekiel. </a></b></p><p>All, <b><a href="http://coloredopinions.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-unity-of-book-of-daniel.html">while keeping in mind what I wrote in a previous blogpost on Daniel</a></b>:</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">The idea that Daniel's dream in chapter 7 builds on the story of Daniel in the Lion's den in chapter 6. It is as if the fear which he had when he was in the lion's den translates in these ferioucious imagines of awful creatures.</span></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p></p><div><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-25611859651692409232021-04-11T14:56:00.004-07:002021-04-11T14:56:30.028-07:00Ezekiel and the New Testament<p>The way Ezekiel and Daniel function in the New Testament intrigues me.<b><a href="https://brill.com/view/book/9789004383845/BP000009.xml"> I like the approach in the article quoted below:</a></b></p><p><br /></p><p>Studies of an earlier day looked to the world of Hellenism, with its cults, myths, and philosophies, to understand the thought of the Fourth Evangelist.7However, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran had revealed that John was more closely aligned with Judaism as similarities in language and thought between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Fourth Gospel came to light.<span style="background-color: white; color: transparent; font-family: serif; font-size: 18.3333px; white-space: pre;">t.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-9246742482511800892021-03-27T23:43:00.000-07:002021-03-27T23:43:27.304-07:00Danger of an Unconverted Ministry"The most likely method to stock the church with a faithful ministry, in the present state of things, the public academies being so much corrupted and abused generally, is to encourage private schools or seminiaries of learning, which are under the care of skilful and experience Christians, into which thos only should be admitted, who, upon a strict examination have, in the judgment of charity, the plain evidences of experimental religion."<br />
<br />
A noteworthy quote from a famous sermon by William Tennent taken from page 154 of <b><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=1do7AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA152&lpg=PA152&dq=danger+of+an+unconverted+ministry+constitutional+history&source=bl&ots=rsEVpqU2fB&sig=ACfU3U1M9PyBLF0gHNzgozMhxfqxCLp7aQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjplsCsh6zmAhXQ-6QKHVLuCmQQ6AEwAXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=danger%20of%20an%20unconverted%20ministry%20constitutional%20history&f=false">the Constitutional History of the Presbyterian Church</a></b><br />
<b></b><br />
Although Charles Hodge does try hard to do justice to William Tennent, Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, I do get the feeling that the enthusiastic and experimental element of the great awakening is sometimes too easily rejected in this historical overview. Hodge does points to positive aspects in the Great Awakening, but this experimental aspect doesn't get much positive attention in this book sofar.<br />
<br />
Through the above quote by William Tennent shines a man with a mission, a vision and a strategy. My first inclination is to read this sermon in light of the founding of the College of New Jersey.<br />
<br />
If we read Tennent's sermon that way, a clear link between the founding of the College and the reunion of the Old Side and New Side becomes obvious.<br />
<br />
The new side understood what the goal of the presbyterian project in America had been from its inception in 1707, the old side merely wanted to copy existing institutions in New England and Europe.<br />
<br />
The New Side clearly won this war, <b><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=BQpN_G2h4TEC&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=founding+of+princeton+and+the+reunion+of+1758&source=bl&ots=SzFMGRGvcs&sig=ACfU3U1eEw-KpxSSIb4dU9-fJX6ADCxIPA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiWsuDGk6zmAhXE26QKHVTPCQ8Q6AEwBHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=founding%20of%20princeton%20and%20the%20reunion%20of%201758&f=false">as is obvious from the socalled 'compromise' of 1758</a></b>:<br />
<b><br /></b>
"Finally in 1758, after a long sequence of negotiations, the two synods agreed to meet simultaneously in Philadelphia, where on 29 May 1758, following several conciliatory sermons, both sides adopted the Plan of Union hammered out by representatives of the two parties. Thus was born the Synod of New York and Philadelphia. The compromise settlement endorsed the Awakening as a work of God, while acknowledging revival excesses; it allowed some lattitude in the acceptance of the Wesminster standards; and it affirmed that the powers ordination lay with the presbyteries."<br />
<b><br /></b>
In my perception Charles Hodge sounds too much like an armchair expert when he writes on page 162:<br />
<br />
"There can be no doubt, therefore, that Mr. Tennent's unhappy violence was one of the principle causes of that entire alienation of feeling, which soon resulted in an open rupture."<br />
<br />
The whole idea behind the founding of the Presbyterian church in 1707 does not fit with the open hostility towards the great awakening among Old Side Presbyterians.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">The flipside of the coin is also mentioned in th<span style="background-color: white;">is<span style="display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> second volume of this Constitutional History of the Presbyterian Church. Charles Hodge's book is actually a very curious book. Hodge argues in it that the great awakening actually had the most profound impact in Presbyterian churches. He links it to Samuel Davies's preaching in Virginia, contrasts it too the decline in New England and emphasizes that before the awakening the Presbyterian Church had labored under great disadvantages. Its members were scattered here and there, in the midst of other denominations. Its congregations were widely separated, and, owing to the scattered residences of the people often very feeble; and, moreoever, not unfrequently composed of discordant materials, Irish, Scotch, German, French and English. (page71)</span></span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="color: red;"></span><br />
<br />
Charles Hodge ends Chapter V with the following exhortation on page 252:<br />
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"that it is better to suffer wrong than to have recourse to illegal methods of redress; that violence is no proper remedy for disorder, and that <b><i>adherence to the constitution</i></b>, is not only the most Christian, but also the most effectual means of resistance against the disturbers of the peace and order of the church."<br />
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Charles Hodge ends Chatper VI with the following conclusion on page 341:<br />
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This noble declaration is for our church, what <b>the declaration of independence</b> is for our country. It is a promulgation of first principles; a setting forht of our faith, order and religion, as an answer to those who question us. It is the foundation fo our ecclesiastical compact<br />
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The link between mission and education is illustrated at multiple junctions in Hodge's book. The missionary work of Samuel Davies in Virginia is placed in this context.<br />
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on page 294 we read that in 1753 the trustees of the college petitioned the synod to send two of their number to Great Britain to solicit benefactions on its behalf.<br />
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On page 295 we read: Of the sums received by Messrs Tennent and Davies, there were 307 pound sterling given for the educatino of indigent young men for the minstry, the interest only of which was to be used; and the further sum of 50, the principal wsa<br />
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On page 491 Hodge quotes from a long letter to the churches(1775) from the presbyterian churches "Secondly, be careful to maintain the union which at present subsists through all the colonies. Nothing can be more manifest than that the success of every measure depends on its being inviolably preserved; and, therefore, we hope you will leave nothing undone which can promote that end. In particular, as the continental congress, now sitting at Philadelphia, consists of delegates chosen in the ost free and unbiassed manner, by the body of the people, let them not only be treated with respect, and encouraged in their difficutl service; not only let your prayers be offered up to God for his direction in their proceedings, but adhere firmly to their resolutions; and let it be seen that they are able to bring out the whole strenght of this vast country to carry them into execution. We would also advise for the same purppose, that a spirit of candour, charity, and mutual esteem be preserved and promoted towards those of different religious denominations. Persons of probity and principle of every profession, should be united together as servants of the same Master; and the experience of our happy concord hitherto in a state of liberty, should engage all to unite in support of the common interest; for there is no eample in history in which civil liberty was destroyed, and the rights of conscience preserved entire."<br />
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"We conclude with our most earnest prayer, that the God of heaven may bless you in your temporal and spiritual concerns, and that the present unnatural dispute may be speedily terminated by an equitable and lasting settlement on constitutional principles."<br />
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<b><br /></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-31948290601491472732021-03-07T04:39:00.007-08:002021-03-07T04:56:17.417-08:00The Progressive Era and the Republican Party<p>What I find hard to understand, and have found hard to grasp for a very long time without cracking the actual problem, is the fact that Republicans usual call themselves conservatives, but have in fact roots in the progressive era. </p><p>The current <b><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/america-christian-nation-religious-right/">debate on christian nationalism and the role of religion in American politics </a></b>and whether America is a Christian nation all link to this conversation.</p><p>One quote that sums up the problem sketched above is the one I found in a 2014 article about <b><a href="https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3834&context=jssw">The First Faith-Based Movement: The Religious Roots of Social Progressivism in America (1880-1912) in Hist essivism in America (1880-1912) in Historical P orical Perspective:</a></b></p><p></p><blockquote>“the Christian Soldiers at the Bull Moose convention wrote a platform. If anyone wants a background for the New Deal, let him read that platform from preamble to benediction"</blockquote><p>One name that stands out in this article is Jane Addams, someone I mentioned in<b><a href="http://coloredopinions.blogspot.com/2014/11/abraham-kuyper-en-amerika.html?q=kuyper"> a blogpost about Abraham Kuyper </a></b></p><p>It reminds me of the fact that the GOP actually nominated Abraham Lincoln and not Salmon P. Chase in 1860, who clearly represented a slightly different faction of the coalition that eventually defeated the confederate South in a civil war Lincoln had tried to avoid.</p><p>The strength of politicians like Francis Preston Blair, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan has been that they were able to tap into the progressive undercurrent while not being absorbed by it.</p><p>The tragedy of American compassion</p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-76498640844298091822021-02-20T23:37:00.004-08:002021-02-21T00:56:46.913-08:00Humanize <p> I attended a conference in Antwerp a few years past, it focused on the significance of the changes in our business environment due to the emergence of social media.</p><p>One of the speakers argued that people-centric organizations have a better chance of succeeding in a social world.</p><p>Is this true, or, to rephrase it more accurately, to what extent is this true?</p><p>A book that I am reading right now by Trees van Montfoort argues that western christianity has focused too much on man and man's centrality in creation.</p><p>The discussion raging in America about the centrality of the 'white male' in the church looks at it from a third angle.</p><p>Combining all these different threads that are part of today's conversation, online and offline, into one sounds to me like an obvious approach.</p><p>Or, to adopt reasoning from Cynthia Montgomery's book The Strategist, if we want to achieve a 'winning strategy' we need to exercice and reevaluate continuously.</p><p>It reminds me of a previous <b><a href="http://coloredopinions.blogspot.com/2020/03/verheft-uw-harten-tot-gods-rechterstoel.html?q=hemelse">blogpost I wrote about the practical nature of Calvin's institutes. </a></b></p><p>The Bible isn't a story, but a conversation, God's conversation with himself and his creation.</p><p>An influential dutch pastor of the late 19th and early 20th century, Ds. J.C. Sikkel, wrote in his last lecture "De Woman and the Great future" that one who truely lives spiritually has to suffer much in this world while the Woo of the Apocalypse goes through him. </p><p>The feminin metaphore that puts spirituallity in direction relationship to our connection to the dynamic events in the wider world points intuitively in the right direction for how to understand what humanizing really could mean.</p><p>It is the pain and trauma the prophet Daniel feels in chapter 7 and Ezekiel in chapter 1 that translates not just their traumatic experience as exiled Jews, but connects it to world events, but also to God's Providence.</p><p>Intuitively <b><a href="https://www.academia.edu/9257392/Theologie_en_etnografie">an article by Hans Schaeffer on theology and etnography</a></b> seems to resonate within the framework evocated above. The etnographic approach seems to describe an endeavour of humble listening to a conversation that has taken place and still is taking place:</p><p></p><blockquote>Theologically shaped empirical research in particular can take seriously the discrepancies between the lofty words of a confession or vision document and the reality of a congregation and look for ways to move forward in this</blockquote><p>The use of the term 'improvisation in Schaeffer's article to describe what matters in the church is noteworthy:</p><p></p><p></p><blockquote>A Christian improvises when he surrenders himself with his whole existence, his body and mind, to the gospeland allows himself to be carried along, not as an instrument, but as a 'medium' - As someone whoseexistence is mediated by the gospel</blockquote><p></p><p>Beyond the question of antropocentricity, theocentricity and whether it leaves room for all of God's creation in this conversation, what intrigues me as well is whether there is time, what is the good time and what should the rythm and pace be?</p><p>Space and time, improvisation and creativity. Intuitively is the room for failure in all of this? That is a question that dawns on me most whithin this conversation when we listen in awe to perfectly balanced statements on courage and beauty.</p><p>Is there room for fear, for pain, for our own weaknesses, our own misery? And it is there and then that I again realize how much comfort it gives to listen to the words of John Witherspoon's sermon in which all our passions are acknowledged, but where at the same time God's Providence dominates. In the end it is He, our Lord, who makes space for us and who decides the right times and timing.</p><p>As Jesus said to Jesus and the other disciples (Acts 1:7), 'It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority'</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-44791682630842483172021-02-01T15:15:00.025-08:002021-02-07T06:06:06.054-08:00The Unity of the Book of Daniel<p>The idea that Daniel's dream in chapter 7 builds on the story of Daniel in the Lion's den in chapter 6. It is as if the fear which he had when he was in the lion's den translates in these ferioucious imagines of awful creatures.</p><p>An exciting possibility worth exploring.</p><p>Spinoza <b><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23614786?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3A3efab251ccc49909282f55e28ba4d055&seq=3#page_scan_tab_contents">postulated for example a different author for the last 5 chapters of the book (7-12)</a></b>.</p><p>Linking the two chapters reminds me of my blog post <b><a href="http://coloredopinions.blogspot.com/2019/11/surrealism-and-revelation.html">Surrealism and Revelation</a></b> in which I quoted Joan Miro:</p><p></p><blockquote>'How did I come up with my drawings and my ideas for painting? Well, I came home at night to my Parisian studio in Rue Blomet, I went to bed and sometimes I didn't have dinner. I saw things and I wrote them down in a notebook. I saw shapes on the ceiling ...'</blockquote><p>Once the idea of linking chapter 6 and 7 got to me, I searched for articles that went in similar directions. <b><a href="https://www.eupsycho.com/index.php/TM/article/view/95">And I indeed found one article, by Stewart Gabel</a></b>, that comes really close to my feeling about the book of Daniel. It is the introduction of the article that attracted me to it:</p><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p></p><p>"The Book of Daniel often is considered a combination of two separate works, a series of diaspora tales in the first six chapters, and an apocalypse in the last six chapters. This paper argues that the Book of Daniel can be read as a meaningful whole when understood from psychological perspectives that portray the psychological and spiritual reactions of the Jewish people to their experiences of trauma, exile and loss that occurred over several centuries."</p><p></p><p></p></blockquote><p>The phrase "a meaningful whole" reminds me of what J.C. Sikkel wrote in 1906:</p><p></p><blockquote>"A hermeneutical work, based on Reformed principles, seeks to do justice to Holy Scripture in its explanation as the Word of God in its unity"</blockquote><p>The traumatic experience referred to in the article by Stewart Gabel, and which he sees as the connection between the first six, and last seven chapters of the book of Daniel, remind me of Sikkel's curious statement in <b><a href="http://coloredopinions.blogspot.com/2019/11/surrealism-and-revelation.html">his last lecture on the book of Revelations</a></b>:</p><p><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"></i></p><blockquote><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">"He who truly lives spiritually, is sensitive to the natural human and to the highest human - he had to and must suffer a lot in our time. For through such a human being goes the woe, in which all human life on earth moans and groans</i><span face=""Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">".</span> </blockquote><p></p><p></p><div> Once this traumatic experience is taken into account, I wanted to see whether there is any way to interpret similar books in similar fashion. The book that comes closest is Ezekiel, intuitively speaking. Both in time and in genre it reminds of the book of Daniel.</div><div><br /></div><div>With this intuitive idea in mind, I first looked for direct connections and I came across the fact that a Daniel was mentioned three times in the book Ezekiel. Allthough many commentators outright dismiss the thought that this is the Daniel of the book of Daniel. More importantly though is the fact that Ezekiel and Daniel were pretty much contemporaries.</div><div><br /></div><div>And after some searching I came across this very interesting article, <b><a href="http://www.ataasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Scripture-Interprets-Itself_Daewoong-Kim.pdf">Scripture Interprets Itself: Literary Allusions in Daniel 7 to Ezekiel 1</a></b> by Daewoong Kim (Chongshin Theological Seminary)</div><div><br /></div><div>Obviously, considering the importance of chapter 7 in the entire book of Daniel, this could be a very valuable way of rereading both books in connection and with a clear focus.</div><div><br /></div><div>After reading a few lines in the first chapter of Ezekiel, what immediately struck me is how<b><a href="https://biblehub.com/niv/acts/7.htm"> the end of Stephen's speech in Acts 7 resonates with both Ezekiel 1 and Daniel 7:13</a></b>:</div><div><blockquote>But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God</blockquote><p><b><a href="https://biblehub.com/niv/ezekiel/1.htm">Ezekiel starts his book as follows</a></b>: </p><p></p><blockquote>In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.</blockquote><p>As argued above, Daniel's vision in Acts 7 with horrific monsters comes after a traumatic experience in the lion's den. A link between your experience and your dreams isn't such a farfetched idea in my opinion. </p><p>In case of Ezekiel 1 I would also argue strongly in favor of reading it in context of the preceding chapter of the book of Lamentations which ends with the following sentences:</p><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p></p><p>You, Lord, reign forever;</p><p></p><p>your throne endures from generation to generation.</p><p>Why do you always forget us?</p><p>Why do you forsake us so long?</p><p>Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;</p><p>renew our days as of old</p><p>unless you have utterly rejected us</p><p>and are angry with us beyond measure</p></blockquote><p></p><p></p><p>This reminds me of <b><a href="http://coloredopinions.blogspot.com/2020/03/verheft-uw-harten-tot-gods-rechterstoel.html">a previous blogpost on Calvin's Institutions book III chapter 12</a></b> which has the following title:</p><p></p></div><div></div><div><blockquote> That we should lift up our hearts to God's judgment seat, that we may be convinced with earnestness of undeserved justification.</blockquote></div><div>I suspect one of the secrets of the enduring strength of Calvin's Institutes to be the fact that he succeeds in weaving a tapestry with biblical references from across the Bible into his narrative. That gives the Institutes a realistic feel to it. And, because these first few words in Ezekiel reminded me of Calvin's argument in book III chapter 12, I turned to the see whether there were any references to Ezekiel in this chapter. And indeed there is at least one reference in paragraph 3 to Ezekiel 36: 22, 32.</div><div><br /></div><div> William G. Fowler & Michael Strickland claim in their book <b><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=0JByDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false">The Influence of Ezekiel in the Fourth Gospel </a></b>published in 2018 that their study 'provides evidence that Ezekiel left a definite mark on the presentation of Jesus that is found in John's Gospel and that this influence is at points, invaluable for interpreting what is found there.'</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div>'With the discovery, translation and publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a radical shift in opinion about the intellectual home of the Fourth Gospel took place. The Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrated that the language of the fourth Gospel fit comfortably within the realm of first-century Palestine and there was no need to relegate it to a second century, Hellenistic environment.'</div></div><div><br /></div><div>In their book they point to Kristeva's affirmation 'Any text is constructed as a mosaic of quotations; any text is the absorption and transformation of another'</div><div><br /></div><div>Since we are looking at the intertextual dialogue between Ezekiel, <b>let us also include the book of Acts</b>.</div><div><b><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.15699/jbl.1354.2016.3138?seq=1">Acts 9:1–9, 22:6–11, 26:12–18: Paul and Ezekiel</a></b></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div>John Owen <b><a href="https://ccel.org/ccel/owen/sermons/sermons.ii.vii.v.html">does have a good sermon on Ezekiel </a></b></div><div><br /></div><div>The advantage of the kingdom of Christ in the shaking of the kingdoms of the world. On a sidenote, the sermon reminds a lot of a sermon by Klaas Schilder on Hebrews.</div><div><br /></div><div>On Ezekiel, Calvin writes in chapter 8 of book 1:</div><div><blockquote>'I say nothing of the agreement between Jeremiah and
Ezekiel, who, living so far apart, and yet prophesying at the same time, harmonise as completely in all they say as if they had mutually dictated the words to one another. What shall
I say of Daniel? Did not he deliver prophecies embracing a future period of almost six
hundred years, as if he had been writing of past events generally known?'</blockquote></div><div>A reference to Ezekiel in the first chapter of book I of Calvin's institutes comes to mind as well while pondering on how we should understand its significance in reformed theology. Calvin weaves his narrative with a tapestry of biblical quotations right from the start. One of these quotations interest me here in relation to the books of Ezekiel and Daniel. It is the quotation of Genesis 18:27 </div><div><blockquote>'for we see Abraham the readier to acknowledge himself but dust and ashes the nearer he approaches to behold the glory of the Lord'</blockquote></div><div>This reminds of course very much of <b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%201&version=NIV">the concluding words of Ezekiel 1, vs 28</a></b>(which is mentioned as reference in the first chapter 1 of the Institutions):</div><div></div><blockquote><div>'This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking'</div></blockquote><p>Daryl D. Schmidt writes in his chapter Rhetorical Influences and Genre of Jesus & the Heritage of Israel:</p><p></p><blockquote><p> 'the use of the Septuagintal portraiture is not limited to the opening of Luke's Gospel. In the final recounting of Paul's "conversion" in Acts 26:16-18, the commission's charge is directly reminiscent of the commissionings of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The use of Septuagintal language to portray Paul's Gentile mission is part of a stylistic strategy that contributes to the sense of divine direction in the narrative.'</p><p></p></blockquote><p>The mosaic of crossreferences and intertextual allusions underpins the coherence of the book of Acts. It would therefore, in my view, be an attractive proposition to not limit this reference to the book of Ezechiel to merely Paul's own conversion story, as he recalls and tells it in Acts 26. Instead I would argue in favor of a more broader intertextual impact on the entire book. </p><p>And maybe we should reread Stephen's entire speech with this patchwork, this mosaic of intertextual allusions in mind to grasp the way it resonated with those present at the time when he 'looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." and said "Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God'</p><p>Stephen</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-82112543711457466732021-01-30T03:30:00.002-08:002021-01-30T03:30:12.931-08:00The Constitutional History by Charles Hodge<p>Charles Hodge writes in the introduction of the first volume of his Constitutional history of the Presbyterian Church:</p><p>"Sometimes during the past summer, the Rev. dr. Hoge, of Ohio, wrote to one of his friends in Philadelphia, stating that a work was greatly needed, which should give a distinct account of the character of the present controversies in our church." - Charles Hodge, Princeton 1839</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>An article about James Hoge can be found <b><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23325319?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3A83afc356170bde9a3704294ee89c87df&seq=4#page_scan_tab_contents">here</a></b></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-66819101641206830032020-07-11T04:52:00.003-07:002020-07-11T05:01:52.255-07:00Evangelicals , Trump and The Trump AdministrationIn recent weeks, since the death of George Floyd, we have seen the reemergence of the exasperated question asked by some why in the world <i>white</i> evangelicals still massively support Donald Trump.<br />
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This question, as we know, isn´t new. It has been a constant refrain since the emergence of Donald Trump as serious contender and winner of the 2016 GOP primaries and Presidential Elections.</div>
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Several prominent cabinetmembers, advisors and Republican politicians are evangelicals. For example Mike Huckabee, Richard Grenell, Mike Pompeo and Mike Pence.</div>
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Trump´s election win came as a surprise to many, including myself, but when we look at how the influence and visibility of the subgroups of the Republican coalition has shifted since he took office, might shed light on the solid support Trump still has among evangelical voters.</div>
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Let´s recall how George W. Bush succeeded in winning over the republican base by <b><a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/conservative-compassionate/">branding himself as ´compassionate conservative´ evangelical.</a> </b>The Presidency of George W. Bush will however be remembered, not for his compassionate conservatism, but for his ´war on terror´ launched after the attacks on the twin towers in New York on 9 september 2001, <b><a href="https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/war-on-terror-timeline">in a speech just 11 days latter</a></b>. And his <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btkJhAM7hZw">Axis of Evil State of the Union speech</a></b> in which he declared North Korea, Iran and Iraq ennemies of the United States.</div>
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Was there criticism and were there nuanced reactions to 9/11 from within the evangelical community, yes? But for years professional journalists and the loudest voices among evangelicals eagerly lashed on to the narrative of western superiority and decided to turn Islam into a problem that needed to be endlessly ´debated´. It would be a valuable exercise for historians to unearth how it was possible for evangelical leaders to ignore the uneasiness and diversity of evangelical response to the 9/11 terror attacks for years. Anne Graham Lotze said in 2016 for example <b><a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/billy-grahams-daughter-9-11/">'God allows bad things to happen' like the September 11 attacks 'to show us that we need Him.'</a> </b>Not exactly a comment that betrays strong support for the mindset behind the ´war on terror´.</div>
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In my perception there was huge unease with the way the Republican elite actually sidelined evangelicals during the presidency of George W. Bush. Dubya threw evangelicals a few bones, but in general gave them nothing. He sowed division among evangelicals and gave them a bad name in the process.</div>
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Under the radar this dynamic translated into grassroot energy hat eventually spoiled over into the 2008 elections. Jim Demint, Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee all rose to prominence on this groundswell of discontinent and anger. <b><a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18821021">In his victory speech on supertuesday 2008</a></b> Mike Huckabee eloquently translated this energy into a biblical metaphore:</div>
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"Sometimes," the former Arkansas governor told his supporters, "one small smooth stone is even more effective than a whole lot of armor."</blockquote>
Fast forward to analyzing the Trump phenomenon and the Trump administration, it is clear that we would do ourselves a disservice when ignoring the specific context in which he emerged as a viable primary candidate and the eventual winner of the 2016 Presidential election.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?327045-5/presidential-candidate-donald-trump-family-leadership-summit#">When Donald Trump attacked John McCain early in the primaries, at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames Iowa</a></b>, media pundits and analysts immediately believed it would end his campaign. But if you study Trump´s argument in that short video, it becomes clear he is talking straight to those who have felt used and ignored by the Republican establishment for years. The group of people who have felt excluded, and were effectively excluded from the conversation included segments of the evangelical world that felt misrepresented during the George W. Bush years. <b><a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a9097268/sarah-huckabee-sanders-white-house-deputy-press-secretary/">In 2016 Donald Trump chose Sarah Huckabee as senior campaign advisor after Mike Huckabee dropped out</a></b>, for a reason.<br />
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Trump has consistently focused his 2015/2016 campaign and presidency on isolating China and Iran. The strike on Iran General Qasem Soleimani January 3d 2020 hammered home the point that Donald Trump, unlike Barack Obama´s, isn´t simply satisfied with slightly recalibrating the ´war on terror´ launched by George W. Bush in 2001. By taking out Qasem Soleimani, Donald Trump has sent a clear message to the foreign policy establishment within the United States, but also in Europe and elsewhere across the glob, that America is building alliances beyond our traditional NATO alies.<br />
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Since 2016 we have seen how the Trump administration manoeuvred strategically, with allies like Senegal, to isolate Joseph Kabila, who desperately tried to hang on to power in DRC Congo. It was therefore not surprising that Senegal was one of the founding parties of the international alliance for freedom of religion in 2020, with Mike Pompeo present. We all remember how Angola´s current president Lourenço signed a memorandum of understanding at the Pentagon in 2017 as minister of defense. We should also mention the speech of DRC´s new president Félix Tshisekedi, an evangelical, at AIPAC this year.<br />
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Hostility towards evangelicals has been a refrain among European and American liberal elites for as long as I have lived. And I´m sure everyone can give a great example of some wacky statement, some evangelical hotshot or hillbilly once made somewhere recently or way bac. But will it help us understand the intriguing dynamics and role of the evangelical electorate in current American politics.<br />
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Liberal elites within both parties were able to mostly sideline evangelicals during the presidencies of Bush and Obama, precisely with help of the ´war on terror´ narrative and the discussions about Islam that followed in its slipstream. The backlash against the establishment has been reconfigurating the GOP coalition for some time now. It is within this context that we have seen Mike Pompeo rise to prominence.<br />
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The COVID19 crisis has had an accelerating effect on dynamics within the GOP coalition. The tensions on issues of race and racism that followed after the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, have an inevitable impact on this process as well. It is in this context that the concentration camps in Xijiang of the muslim Uyghur minority has suddenly risen to the top of the agenda of U.S. foreign policy.<br />
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In hindsight George Floyd´s death in the midst of the COVID19 crisis might seem the buttefly effect that sparked the storm against China´s persecution of its muslim minority. If we look more closely it betrays the internal powerstruggle within the Republican coalition and its leadership´s effort to keep the coalition together and broaden this coalition. In other words, the backlash against Trump in the aftermath of George Floyd´s death paved the way for a foreign policy in which persecution of muslims by China will remain at the top of the Agenda.<br />
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It will delegitimize China and Iran´s foreign policy and the propaganda that goes along with it. Propaganda about America being an imperialist neocolonial scheme. It will help Mike Pompeo expand the international alliance for religious freedom. And it also speaks to those segments of the evangelical republican base that has felt left out of the discussions concerning immigration, Islam and foreign policy since George W. Bush started his ill conceived ´war on terror´.<br />
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Expanding U.S. alliances beyond its traditional European focus will isolate Iran and China, and channels back into the #BlackLivesMatter discussion at home as well. It repositions the #BlackLivesMatter into the worldwide discussion. African countries matter when it comes to isolating China, Iran and the lies they peddle to justify their tyrannical failed political systems.<br />
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Finally, the effort to expand U.S. alliances and take on the false narrative about America as a supposed racist neocolonial conspiracy hostile to Islam helps formulate a pragmatic response to those citizens, including evangelicals, who think Trump´s words pander to a racist underbelly of American society.<br />
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The current state of the world provides surprising opportunities for evangelical politicians to expand their reach within the Republican coalition. To advocate for policies that de-emphasize western superiority and emphasize policies that support religious freedom across the world. Pragmatic aapproaches that will help build bridges at home and abroad. Between people´s of different continents and backgrounds. With humility, acknowledging both our common humanity and our own failures.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-19402520149299173422020-06-22T15:02:00.000-07:002020-06-22T15:02:07.583-07:00Does White Supremacy Affect U.S. Africa Policy?Peter Pham, <b><a href="https://twitter.com/DrJPPham/status/1274502569830879232">the former Special Envoy to the Great lakes region, recently said</a></b>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
As a refugee from communist tyranny whose family made a new home in the great #USA forty-five years ago, I'm proud of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's message for #WorldRefugeeDay reaffirming America's commitment to the millions of displaced people around the globe. @StatePRM</blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Etienne Mashuli is also a refugee who studied in the United States, but sees the problems of the Great Lakes region from a very different perspetive. </span><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="https://fr.africanews.com/2020/06/02/affaire-george-floyd-manifestations-a-nairobi/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=AfricanewsFR&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1591114388">At a protest in front of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya June 2d 2020, he </a></b></span><b style="color: #14171a; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://fr.africanews.com/2020/06/02/affaire-george-floyd-manifestations-a-nairobi/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=AfricanewsFR&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1591114388">said</a><a href="https://fr.africanews.com/2020/06/02/affaire-george-floyd-manifestations-a-nairobi/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=AfricanewsFR&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1591114388">:</a></b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #14171a; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif;"> "What is important is to understand that there is a clear link between white suprematism and the problems, especially police brutality and dictatorships, that are going on across Africa. Most of the dictatorships that make our lives brutal and unbearable are financed by US taxpayers' money. We are here to express our solidarity with the American people, but also to say that white supremacy affects us as well",</span></span></blockquote>
The suspicion and accusation that racist bias impacts western foreign policy towards Africa has been around since decolonization. Mobutu´s minister of information<b> </b>Sakombi Inongo, <b><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=0h8FAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=sakombi+inongo+propaganda&source=bl&ots=DzR2FfveIU&sig=ACfU3U3nLf0l7GSnYjuowl3p25i2c5aL3w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj52auphpbqAhWJLewKHZcIDwgQ6AEwBHoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=sakombi%20inongo%20propaganda&f=false">for example</a></b>, expressed regret that the general thrust of the tidbits by Le Monde´s reporter should be ¨to give the impression that we Zairians, perhaps because we are Negroes of AFrica, are unable to assume control of our own affairs.<br />
<br />
At the end of the cold war Mobutu decided to propagate the idea of western ingratitude. Combined with the fact that Paul Kagame trained at Fort Leavenworth Kansas as an Ugandan officer, before replacing Fred Rwigyema as leader of the RPF in 1990, this led some to believe it was in fact the United States who decided to switch its support from Mobutu to Museveni and Kagame. It might be true that the U.S. did not sanction Uganda for letting the RPF attack Rwanda from its territory, but to conclude on that basis that the U.S. were deliberately planning regime change in Rwanda and Congo is pure conjecture.<br />
<br />
Personally I don´t find it a very convincing theory, for the simple reason that it ignores the dynamics unleashed by the Rwandan genocide and the huge influx of Rwandans and Rwandan militia into the DRC in the aftermath of that genocide. In the end it was an african coalition that toppled Mobutu. Everybody remembers the picture of Mandela with Mobutu and Kabila on a boat in the Congo river.<br />
<br />
While the Rwandan patriotic front decided to form a revolutionary army with recruits from across the great lakes region, the Congolese opposition organized itself as well. Vital Kamerhe, Tshisekedi´s former chief of staff, reminded us this week of <b><a href="https://www.jeuneafrique.com/1001340/politique/deces-de-pierre-lumbi-en-rdc-hommage-unanime-de-la-classe-politique-au-stratege/">the role of Senator Pierre Lumbi in the peacefull march of 1992</a>:</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
le rôle important qu’il avait joué dans l’organisation de la marche des chrétiens du 16 février 1992, et dans le déblocage de la Conférence nationale souveraine</blockquote>
Congolese civil society <a href="https://www.accord.org.za/ajcr-issues/role-civil-society-conflict-resolution-democratic-republic-congo-1998-2006/" style="font-weight: bold;">played a key role in the peace negotations from 2002-2003 and in the transitional institutions from 2003-2006</a><b> </b>as well. While the Congolese civil society played a key role in the transition towards constitutional democracy, the international community had to manage the competing interests and security interests of the multiple actors involved in the ongoing war. Most importantly, the interests of Rwanda and Uganda and Kabila. At the same time the inability of the world to act against genocide played an important role in keeping Rwanda on the agenda in the western world for years. In the meantime a Rwandan hutu rebel group was still active in the DRC. It isn´t hard to understand how in this context both Joseph Kabila in Congo, and Paul Kagame in Rwanda consolidated their power. Both transitioned from rebel leaders to Presidents.<br />
<br />
The combined pressure of the international community united the DRC and led to elections in 2006. Rebel groups were integrated and the m23 rebel group, which received support from Rwanda, was eventually defeated through combined diplomatic pressure. The U.S. was heavily involved in this process, but certainly wasn´t the only actor. Several African states, diplomats and armies were involved.<br />
<br />
While the defeat of the M23 should have meant the end of the FDLR as well, since they were no longer under imminent threat from Rwanda in Congo, the Rwandan opposition instead started to argue in favor of dialogue between FDLR and the Rwandan government. A miscalculation that brings to light the sharp contrast with the way Congo´s civil society impacted events in the DRC since 1992. Instead of participating peacefully in the democratic process and encouraging peaceful means for change, the Rwandan opposition demonstrated once again that it believed only in the barrel of the gun and its false theory of unconditional western support for Kagame.<br />
<br />
There is not a shred of evidence that U.S. foreign policy towards the Great Lakes region is based on racist prejudices. The focus has always been on a transition towards constitutional democracy. Of course, nothing is perfect, and the U.S. is working with ALL parties involved, but the simplistic idea that support for the RPF regime in Rwanda has been rooted in ¨white supremacy¨ finds no basis in fact.<br />
<br />
If Rwandan opponents of the Kagame regime were really interested in democratic change across the Great Lakes region, they would have condemned the effort by Nkurunziza and his entourage to derail the transition in 2015. Instead they have looked for EVERY excuse to justify what the regime in Burundi did.<br />
<br />
Either you want constitutional democracy across the Great Lakes region, or you don´t. But you can´t complain about not having free and fair elections in Rwanda, but in Burundi you completely turn around and claim all criticism is western interference in african matters. Or, which is another possibility, you think that the fact the U.S. is involved in African politics is in itself a sign of white supremacy.<br />
<br />
These accusations of white supremacy sound hollow from those who desperately defended the Nkurunziza regime when it cracked down on the opposition both within the ruling CNDDFDD and beyond. Resulting in Massive scale human rights violations and 500.000 refugees.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-38619388701738280552020-04-19T03:40:00.001-07:002020-04-20T01:02:30.522-07:00For Moses of old time hath in every city With this peculiar phrase the Apostle James ends the meeting that had to decide on the question whether believers from the heathen should be circumsized (<b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+15%3A21&version=KJV">Acts 15:21 KJV</a></b>):<br />
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.</blockquote>
<div>
Note first of all that this specific reference to <b><i>¨Moses¨ </i></b>does not reappear in the letter sent back to the church in Antioch(<b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+15%3A23-29&version=NIV">Acts 15:23-29)</a></b>:</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The apostles and elders, your brothers, </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Greetings. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Farewell.</blockquote>
Secondly, the reference to Moses by James should be understood as a direct response to the question put before the gathering, summarized in Acts 15:1:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
There are many commentaries written on Acts 15, and I am well aware of the fact that it is always prudent to take into account the history of Biblical interpretation.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
However, after rereading the book of Acts with the specific focus on the birth of the church of both Jews and Gentiles, I am convinced we should be very carefull what we read into this peculiar phrasing used by James. We should not jump to conclusions. The context of the meeting in Jerusalem is carefully summarized by Luke in Acts 14:27. We read there that when Paul and Barnabas arrived in Antioch (<b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+4%3A1-21&version=NIV">Acts 14:27)</a></b>:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.</blockquote>
The reference by James to Moses(<b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+15%3A21&version=KJV">Acts 15:21)</a></b> seems to refer to the pentateuch, because Moses is <b><i>´read´</i></b>. This reminds me on the one hand of the defense of Stephen in chapter 7 of Acts. A defense that focuses in large part on the books of Moses in response to the accusations (<b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+6%3A13-14&version=NIV">chapter 6:13,14)</a></b>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.</blockquote>
I refuse to believe that James, to keep the peace, accepts the narrow interpretation of Moses as legislative framework from which a few moral admoniations should be extracted and maintained. That would fly in the face of Stephen´s entire speech. It would reduce the outcome of the gathering in Acts 15 to a cheap compromise. Several commentators do seem to suggest this though. To keep the peace we throw a few breadcrums to those who complain about Gentile converts.<br />
<br />
An alternative reading that I find attractive, would be to conclude from the statement by James that he argues that Gentiles have in many cities listened to Moses wherever his books are read in the synagogues. To make my proposal perfectly clear, let me rephrase James argument:<br />
<br />
For Moses of old time hath in every city people that gather to preach him, while he is being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. These people were not just Jews, but also Gentiles. So let´s not pretend this is something new that Gentiles gather to listen to the Word of God.<br />
<br />
If you interpret it this way, his argument would sound very similar to <b><a href="http://coloredopinions.blogspot.com/2011/02/shlomo-sand-george-sorels-best-student.html">the central argument made by Shlomo Sand in his book The Invention of the Jewish People</a></b>. He writes in his book that the jewish religion had started to spread across the world several hundred years before Christ.<br />
<br />
James simply argues to not make a bigger deal out of this new development than it really is. While commentaries don´t seem much of a help here, this interpretation of the argument made by James finds ample support in Acts 13:14-50, Acts 14:1,2 and Acts 17:1,4, Acts 18:4 <b><a href="https://messiahforall.wordpress.com/2015/08/22/were-gentiles-excluded-from-entering-the-synagogue/">as Marcus Ampe helpfully summarizes</a>. </b>Acts 14:1,2 succinctly summarizes it:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed</blockquote>
In his 2017 book <b>From Law to Logos: Reading St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians </b><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=MbI7DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=did+Paul%27s+argument+in+Galatians+flow+out+of+the+Jerusalem+Council%27s+decision,+or+did+it+come+before+the+Jerusalem+Council+and+possibly+help+shape+that+very+decision?&source=bl&ots=m5yk02Vr0C&sig=ACfU3U3f2y53WU5wYlQK_QZOAhQERwavCA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjP-t-1uvToAhVH2KQKHUOjBFgQ6AEwAHoECA0QKQ#v=onepage&q=did%20Paul's%20argument%20in%20Galatians%20flow%20out%20of%20the%20Jerusalem%20Council's%20decision%2C%20or%20did%20it%20come%20before%20the%20Jerusalem%20Council%20and%20possibly%20help%20shape%20that%20very%20decision%3F&f=false">John R. Jordan asks this related question:</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
did Paul's argument in Galatians flow out of the Jerusalem Council's decision, or did it come before the Jerusalem Council and possibly help shape that very decision? </blockquote>
James quotes from the prophet Amos in his speech (Acts 15:19), the same book Stephen quoted from at the end of his lengthy speech (Acts 7:42-43). Is this mere accidental, I doubt it. <b><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1560549?read-now=1&seq=6#page_scan_tab_contents">Earl Richard explores the creative use of Amos in the book of Acts.</a> </b>In 2012 J. Paul Tanner published <a href="https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/55/55-1/JETS_55-1_65-85_Tanner.pdf" style="font-weight: bold;">a paper on James´s quotation of Amos 9 to settle the Jerusalem Council debate in Acts 15.</a> It certainly is worthwhile to reread the entire 9th chapter of Amos, which makes up the gest of James´ argument at this meeting in Jerusalem. J. Paul Tanner writes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
That Amos 9:12b mentioned Gentiles who had God´s name called on them (which all three - the MT, LXX, and NT- specified) was really his main concern.<br />
In his[James] mind, the OT prophets clearly foretold that God´s salvation would be extende to Gentiles, and now (in retrospect) it was becoming more and more obvious how this all tied together.<br />
Thus the complete fulfillment of the promises in Amos 9:11-15 extend over a lengthy time, beginning with the resurrection/ascension of Christ and extending into the millennium.</blockquote>
I agree with this emphasis on a progressive fufillment of Old Testament prophesies, but I would argue against claiming that the inclusion of Gentiles in the Church started with the resurrection/ascension of Christ. If, as I contend, James argues that Gentiles have been attending the reading of Moses at synagogues for ages, this would much better explain why it ends the debate there and then. While it has the merit of being an irrefutable fact from everyday experience. With this closing statement James invites the gathered Church leaders to consider themselves to be the continuation of mainstream Judaism.<br />
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Beyond these rhetorical considerations, I would also argue that the strength of both Stephen´s speech and this closing argument by James rests on what<b><a href="https://www.biblestudytools.com/history/calvin-institutes-christianity/book2/chapter-10.html"> Calvin treats in Chapter X of Book II of the Institutes under the title The resemblance of the Old and the New Testament.</a> </b>Calvin himself <b><a href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/calvin/acts/15.htm">offers this interpretation of the passage</a></b>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But James had a far other meaning; to wit, he teaches that it cannot be that ceremonies can be abolished so quickly, as it were, at the first dash; because the Jews had now a long time been acquainted with the doctrine of the law, and Moses had his preachers; therefore, it stood them upon to redeem concord for a short thee, until such time as the liberty gotten by Christ might, by little and little, appear more plainly. This is that which is said in the common proverb, That it was meet that the old ceremonies should be buried with some honor. Those who are skillful in the Greek tongue shall know that that last member, When he is read every Sabbath-day in the synagogues, was by me changed not without cause, for avoiding of doubtfulness.</blockquote>
The proverb Calvin refers to in this passage ´the old ceremonies had to be buried with some honor´<b><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=9bRDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=the+old+ceremonies+should+be+buried+with+some+honor.&source=bl&ots=xFza0VgcNN&sig=ACfU3U2W7UTli-ij2nyFBEH53bPreFw0Lw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjsh_m26vToAhXFMewKHbS2BZMQ6AEwCnoECAgQNQ#v=onepage&q=the%20old%20ceremonies%20should%20be%20buried%20with%20some%20honor.&f=false"> is apparently taken from Augustine.</a></b><br />
<br />
After reading through a few commentaries on Acts 15:21, it is quite clear that many commentators see the mention of Moses by James as a direct reference to rituals, traditions, customs and laws. <b><a href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/acts/15-21.htm">Lets just take the example</a></b>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Acts 15:21. ἐκ γενεῶν ἀρχαίων: pointing back to the first days when the Diaspora had first spread to any considerable extent in heathen lands: see on Acts 15:7. The exact phrase (ἀπὸ) γενεῶν ἀρχ. occurs in Psalms of Solomon, Acts 18:14—from the generations of old the lights of heaven have not departed from their path. For the custom referred to here, see Schürer, Jewish People, div. ii., vol. ii., p. 55, E.T. The words seem closely connected in sense with the preceding in this way, viz., that the Gentile proselytes could long ago in the synagogues have been acquainted week by week with the spirit and enactments of the Mosaic law, and they would thus be the more easily inclined to take upon themselves the few elementary precepts laid down in the decree of the Jerusalem Church, so as to avoid any serious cause of offence to their Jewish-Christian brethren.</blockquote>
I don´t believe there to be any support in Acts 15 to reduce Moses to a preacher of certain customs or laws. To the contrary. James reference to Moses should be read within the framework and thrust of the entire book of Acts and specifically in the context of the preceding speeches by Peter and Stephen in the first seven chapters of this book. Stephen´s entire speech defines the meaning of ´Moses´. The fact that James quotes Amos, just like Stephen, is not accidental.<br />
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However, I also point to this specific commentary, because it does join my interpretation in acknowledging that Gentiles attended synogague gatherings long before Pentecost.<br />
<br />
I get the feeling that James, both with his quote from Amos, and in his reference to Moses being preached in synagogues from old, aims to dismantle the accusations leveled against Stephen in Acts 6:14<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.</span></blockquote>
James seems to suggest that the preaching of the Word to Jews and Gentiles isn´t such a new thing. I<b><a href="https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/westminster-preaching-preparation-hearing">t reminds me of Perkins</a> </b>and his emphasis on the preaching of the Word as central to church governance. And of <b><a href="http://www.epcew.org.uk/the-directory-for-the-publick-worship-of-god-links#preachingoftheword">the chapter on the Preaching of the Word </a></b>in The Directory for the Publick Worship of God, approved by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1645.<br />
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After thinking through this argument once more, it made me curious to see if the letter by James contains any indications that support my interpretation. And in fact it does, while he addresses his letter <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1&version=NIV"><b>´To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations´</b>. </a> This immediately reminds of <b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Amos+9&version=NIV">Amos 9:9</a></b>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
and I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations</blockquote>
<b><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=HdPYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA173&lpg=PA173&dq=joel+marcus+twelve+tribes&source=bl&ots=YU9Cmd_KQc&sig=ACfU3U1X0kVWuKtzGOeWYIOw12Zj2PC7MQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjot9nkmvboAhUBuaQKHXZdBVMQ6AEwAnoECAsQKQ#v=onepage&q=joel%20marcus%20twelve%20tribes&f=false">Bauckham notes</a></b>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If we read the catholic epistles in the order which at an early date came to be the accepted canonical order, with James in first place and Peter immediately following, then we read first a letter addressed only to Jewish Christians as the twelve tribes in the Diaspora and then a letter apparently addressed only to Gentil Christians as ´exiles of the diaspora´, to whome defining descriptions of Israel as God´s people are applied. One effect is to portray the inclusion of Gentiles in the eschatological people </blockquote>
Joel Marcus, in his dissertation, <b><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=HdPYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA173&lpg=PA173&dq=joel+marcus+twelve+tribes&source=bl&ots=YU9Cmd_KQc&sig=ACfU3U1X0kVWuKtzGOeWYIOw12Zj2PC7MQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjot9nkmvboAhUBuaQKHXZdBVMQ6AEwAnoECAsQKQ#v=onepage&q=joel%20marcus%20twelve%20tribes&f=false">cites precedents in Second Temple sources that associate the Ten Tribes with gentile proselytes (significantly Ezekiel 37:15-28 and Romans 11:25-37).</a> </b><br />
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´Early Christianity first spread in those areas where there was a Jewish presence. That is, it spreads in Egypt, it spreads in Syria, it spreads in Asia Minor, it spreads in Greece and Italy. These are precisely areas where we know there were Jewish communities, there were Jewish synagogues and there were Jews in number scattered throughout all these areas´<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">, </span></span><b><a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/portrait/diaspora.html">writes Shaye I.D. Cohen.</a></b> ´There's a famous utterance by Strabo, a Greek geographer of the late first century, B.C., who says that you can't go anywhere in the civilized world without encountering a Jew.´<br />
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James clearly had this entire diaspora in mind when he raises his voice to conclude the debate in Acts 15.<br />
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This context also explains why Paul absolutely wanted to return to Jerusalem at some point. Galatian 2 remains key in this context: ´<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.´</blockquote>
Jerusalem remained an important city within the network of synagogues across the diaspora. And when he reached Jerusalem, he immediately visited James and all the elders. The issue discussed in Acts 15 returns with full force and triggers the arrest of Paul in Jerusalem.<br />
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My conclusion is that the references to Isaiah 40:6-8 by both James(James 1:9-11) and Peter (1 Peter 24,25) to the same audience confirm my interpretation of the reference to Moses by James in Acts 15:<br />
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“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;<br />
the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the <b>word of the Lord </b>endures forever.”<br />
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<b>And this is the word that was preached to you.</b><br />
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PS: This blogpost accidentally turned into a <i><b>Why Acts 15 led me to the Presbyterian Church </b></i>response to Joshua Charles´s argument in his blogpost <b><a href="https://www.joshuatcharles.com/blog/2019/5/26/becoming-catholic-12-why-acts-15-led-me-to-the-catholic-church">Why Acts 15 Led Me to the Catholic Church</a></b>.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-67280986565632566642020-04-13T02:36:00.001-07:002020-04-13T23:23:15.549-07:00The Trump Doctrine<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>¨Nationalism, not internationalism is the indispensable bulwark of American independence</b>.¨ - </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Michigan Senator Arthur Vandenberg (<b><a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b588427&view=1up&seq=8">Trail of a Tradition 1926</a></b>)</blockquote>
McCullough´s history of Harry Truman, which is quite a remarkable book on 20th century politics, inevitably triggers the reader to make his own mind up about the positive and negative sides to this presidency.<br />
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The success of Harry Truman´s Presidency was rooted in the bipartisan work he did, on the Truman Committee in the Senate, to support the war effort prior to him being thrust into the Presidency when FDR died April 12 1945. Without support in the Senate, Harry Truman would have failed like Woodrow Wilson after World War I. Without people like Republican Senator Vandenberg, Harry Truman would not have succeeded.<br />
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The conection Truman made between democracy at home and foreign policy is central to his success in my opinion. The emphasis which he placed on civilian authority over the use of the atomb bom reflects the Jacksonian flavor of his presidency as well. His visit to his hometown Kansas just after the 1945 San Francisco Conference and his close involvement in the decision to make Westminster College in Fulton Missourri the podium of a foreign policy speech by Churchill, illustrate this strong focus. Same goes for his decision to desegregate the US Army. Democracy and the struggle against communism go hand in hand.<br />
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Diplomat Philip Caryl Jessup, who played a major role in Truman´s administration, describes this post World War II era as an era of birth in his book<a href="https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2278&context=gjicl"> </a><b><a href="https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2278&context=gjicl">Birth of Nations.</a> </b>This metaphore helps to see the closely related debates on decolonization and recognition of Israel at that time. <b><a href="https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2278&context=gjicl">The infighting at the State Department and at the United Nations are somewhat interrelated and a blessing in disguise, suggests Sandy McCormack in this helpful review</a></b>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
´What Jessup has attempted is to give the reader an appreciation for the unseen bureaucrats who contributed substantially to foreign policy during the Truman Administration. His only criticism of the structure of the State Department is that the assignment of individual officers to certain countries tends to made them view their countries as clients, causing them to lose perspective and occasionally to over-exaggerate the importance of that country's affairs. This defect apparently proves to be a blessing in Jessup's mind, however, when he describes the bureaucratic infighting that ultimately produces informed decisions, taking into account views by advocates of every interested nation. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Jessup's predilection toward a decentralized State Department proves to beclosely related to his strong faith in the United Nations as a forum for reconciling international disputes. Perhaps the two ideas are joined ultimately by a sense of empathy with the full-time professional or by his own experiences at the United Nations.´</blockquote>
What struck me while reading about the birth of nations at this time, is the <b><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=4f7CYAowWygC&pg=PA3389&lpg=PA3389&dq=vandenberg+indonesia&source=bl&ots=R7hbumkXbc&sig=ACfU3U3mwATnKhU3bMCkvfp0x4S2RCcmJg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjts_H28OToAhWGLewKHSSeDskQ6AEwBXoECAsQLg#v=onepage&q=vandenberg%20indonesia&f=false">strong bipartisan support for Indonesian independence </a></b>and how the Marshall plan gradually helped convince the Dutch government that they had to end the war in Indonesia. Salient point in this context is the role of Michigan Senator <b><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=WDgBBzWQ2DAC&pg=PA419&lpg=PA419&dq=Vandenberg+Indonesia+compromise&source=bl&ots=jd4PUFDYbV&sig=ACfU3U2o_tR0sPWOeJp07-E5nRkJ-ng5jA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiyjOCI8uToAhXFGuwKHXXxCY4Q6AEwAHoECAsQKQ#v=onepage&q=Vandenberg%20Indonesia%20compromise&f=false">Arthur Vandenberg, of Dutch origin, as President of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in hammering out a compromise.</a></b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
´Arthur Vandenberg which was said to have been worked out with State Department approval. The essence of this compromise was that ECA aid to the Netherlands would be halted only if the Security Councilordered sanctions to be taken against the Dutch for their refusal to abide by the resolution.´</blockquote>
The debate over whether Truman´s administration could have avoided Mao´s takeover of China, which played a role in the election of Eisenhower, is touched on. While McCullough does not focus on the issue, in my mind he rejects the thesis, defended by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday in their biography of Mao, that the US could have avoided this scenario.<br />
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What McCullough does suggest is that Harry<b><a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/1950s-america/a/the-korean-war"> Truman did make a big mistake </a></b>when he let McArthur continue the war in South Korea <b><a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/truman-orders-u-s-forces-to-korea-2">beyond the 38th parallel.</a></b><br />
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Warren I. Cohen, as participant on the symposium <b>Rethinking the lost chance in China</b> reflects on the question <b><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24913404?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">Was there a ¨Lost Chance¨ in China?</a> ... </b>to avoid the later conflict between the United States and Mao´s Communists. He writes at the end of this essay from 1997 ¨Chinese communists would never trust American imperialists¨. This short characterization illustrates in a nutshell the weakness of China´s foreign policy today. In an era where Senator Arthur Vandenberg had to balance the interests of colonial powers like The Netherlands, England, Belgium, Portugal and France with the interests of countries like Indonesia, India, Kenya, Zaïre and Angola, the narrative of American Imperialism could get some traction in these colonies. Today we are however no longer in the era of the birth of nations.<br />
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<br />
Peter Joffre Nye describes in detail the relationship between the formation of NATO and the start of the South Korean war. He also makes an interesting observation about the role of <b><a href="https://www.neh.gov/article/korea-and-thirty-eighth-parallel">an indescrete comment by Secretary of State Dean Acheson:</a></b><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
´Michael J. Green of Georgetown University’s school of foreign service said in a telephone interview for this article that an indiscreet remark by U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson may have helped trigger the war.´</blockquote>
This might explain how the war started, it still doesn´t entirely explain why the U.S. foreign policy consensus wasn´t able to end the war in Korea at the 38th Parallel, which would be logical in the above context. Halting at the 38th Parallel would have been the best scenario in 1950 in South Korea, but Harry Truman went along with the plan to go beyond that. Most likely because the criticism from Republicans that Democrats were too weak on communism, got to him.<br />
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Was it the same desire to counter this criticism from Republicans that later drove Lyndon B. Johnson to war in Vietnam? What was the role of the State Department? What was the role of the Senate? Was that also the reason why Richard Nixon could withdraw troops from Vietnam? Heather Stur brings these questions together in her article <b><a href="https://www.fpri.org/article/2017/04/united-states-went-war-vietnam/">Why the US went to war in Vietnam</a></b>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
´American policymakers’ desires to prove that the U.S. was actually committed to stopping the spread of communism formed the ideological foundation of America’s approach to Vietnam over the course of four presidencies.´</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Much has been made of the foreign policy genius of Henry Kissinger, but maybe Richard Nixon deserves much more credit as foreign policy strategist. Just like Harry Truman deserves more credit for the implementation of the Marshall plan. <b><a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jun-01-oe-danner1-story.html">Comments by Henry Kissinger after 9/11 supporting the war in Iraq for sentimental reasons further support this view</a></b>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
´Henry Kissinger, a confidant of the president, when asked by Bush’s speechwriter why he had supported the Iraq war, responded: “Because Afghanistan was not enough.” The radical Islamists, he said, want to humiliate us. “And we need to humiliate them.”</blockquote>
This doesn´t sound like much like the pragmatism of Richard Nixon. George W. Bush does remind somewhat of Lyndon B. Johnson. Both seem to have caved to perceived pressure to do ´something´.<br />
It is therefore that Heather Stur´s characterization of Nixon´s foreign policy deserves a more thorough study:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
´Nixon was more pragmatic than idealistic in his foreign policy worldview. He believed that the U.S. should cast aside ideological differences in order to build alliances—as long as they were in America’s best interests.´</blockquote>
Is it possible that Richard Nixon might have been tapping into a bipartisan foreign policy consensus that existed at the end of World War II during the time when Arthur Vandenberg was President of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee? Hendrik Meijer´s Lecture on Arthur Vandenberg at the Richard Nixon Foundation might give us some clues. At 9:29 Hendrik Meijer says:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
¨Arthur Vandenberg wrote three books on his hero, Alexander Hamilton. And he called the first of them, <b><a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b588427&view=1up&seq=35">Trail of a tradition, tracing the story of American foreign policy</a></b>, had a subtitle he never backed away from: </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Nationalism, not internationalism is the indispensable bulwark of American independence</b>.¨</blockquote>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5aW8TQJnRCs" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.nixonfoundation.org/2019/07/ambassador-richard-grenell-remarks-50th-anniversary-nixon-doctrine/">Richard Grenell´s comments on the 50th Anniversary of the Nixon Doctrine </a></b>might also help us make our mind up about the possible relationship and coherence of U.S. foreign policy today. Are President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the State Department returning to a solid bipartisan foreign policy framework:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
´Until a few years ago, it had been several decades since the United States had placed the national interest at the core of its foreign policy. In an attempt to replicate Reagan’s moral victories without possessing his strategic insight, the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations learned too many wrong lessons from the end of the Cold War.´</blockquote>
Richard Grenell, while criticisizing Woodrow Wilson, reminds very much of Harry Truman´s reasoning on foreign policy and civilian oversight when he puts the American citizen at the heart of what he calls the Trump Doctrine on foreign polcy:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
´The first is that it is a pure expression of representative government. It places, above all else, the interests of the sovereign and self-determining American people.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
´Moving the world toward greater freedom and liberty is and always will be an important goal for the American people. But the Trump Doctrine forces policy makers to align our objectives with our capabilities—to match our goals with what is truly attainable in the world in which we live.´ </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The fourth reason this is a moral foreign policy is that, as Secretary Pompeo said recently, “America First” does not mean that America succeeds “at the expense of others.” It means we succeed “to the benefit of our people, and by extension, the nations that share our values and our strategic goals.”</blockquote>
The recent trip by Mike Pompeo to the Munich Security Conference, Senegal, Angola, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and Oman reflects this dynamic and pragmatic framework. The same can be said on the recent steps to build an <b><a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary-michael-r-pompeo-at-the-international-religious-freedom-alliance-dinner/">international alliance for religious freedom with founding members like Albania and Senegal</a></b>.<br />
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The 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers seduced American politicians to retreat into fantasyland about western values as the supposed basis of democracy across the world. John Kerry´s unhealthy loveaffair with France reflects this unhealthy focus on Europe as supposed cradle of civilization. This falsehood fueled the hostility towards immigrants and the debate on the challenge Islam supposedly poses to our free societies.<br />
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This Trump Doctrine, as sketched by Richard Grenell, might be an opportunity for the United States to return to the framework of Senator Arthur Vandenburg, Philip Jessup and Harry Truman. To build strong alliances across the WHOLE world, with respect for people of all faiths.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735388569178359001.post-13480031399374489072020-03-28T03:40:00.002-07:002020-03-29T02:34:17.819-07:00Verheft Uw Harten Tot Gods RechterstoelHoofdstuk 12 van Boek 3 van de institutie van Calvijn draagt als titel:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Dat wij onze harten tot Gods rechterstoel moeten verheffen, opdat wij met ernst overtuigd worden van de onverdiende rechtvaardigmaking.</b></blockquote>
Een wandeling naar een onbekende bestemming duurt qua beleving langer, dan wanneer je precies weet dat de afstand van het station naar je huis tien minuten duurt. Datzelfde ervaar je bij het lezen van een boek. Je moet er eerst ¨in komen¨ om zo te zeggen, en dan gaat de trein rijden.<br />
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Bij het lezen van de institutie van Calvijn speelt dat ook. Je kunt het boek vanaf bladzijde <span style="color: #333333; font-family: , "lucida sans unicode" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;">1</span></span> beginnen te lezen, en stug doorlezen en hopen dat je ¨er in komt¨. Niet eenvoudig en zelfs als het je lukt om door te lezen, blijft het lastig om de specifieke relevantie op elk moment te vatten.<br />
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Een andere manier waarop je de institutie van Calvijn kan lezen is via de Bijbeltekst verwijzingen. Je komt dan interessante applicaties tegen die, zo is mijn ervaring, veelal erg praktisch van aard zijn. De pragmatische schrijfstijl en redeneertrant van Calvijn is handig voor predikanten.<br />
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Je kunt ook kijken naar de manier waarop de Institutie opgebouwd is. Je begint dan niet per se bij het begin, maar bijvoorbeeld aan het einde. En je bestudeert de inhoudsopgave om te kijken of Calvijn bewust naar een bepaald doel toewerkt.<br />
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Niet voor niets citeert Calvijn het tweede vers van <b><a href="https://www.bible.com/nl/bible/328/psa.104">psalm 104</a></b> aan het begin van hoofdstuk V van Boek I <b>Dat de kennis Gods schittert in de bouw der wereld en in haar voortdurende besturing: </b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #616161; font-family: ArialMT, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Liberation Sans", FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 2em; padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -1em;">
<span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.104.1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Loof de </span><span class="nd" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Here</span></span><span class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">, mijn ziel.</span></span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.104.1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="nd" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Here</span></span><span class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">, mijn God, Gij zijt zeer groot,</span></span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.104.1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Gij hebt U met majesteit en luister bekleed.</span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.104.2" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="label" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin-right: 5px; padding: inherit;">2</span><span class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hij hult Zich in het licht als in een mantel,</span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.104.2" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hij spant de hemel uit als een tentkleed,</span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.104.3" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="label" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin-right: 5px; padding: inherit;">3</span><span class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hij zoldert zijn opperzalen in de wateren,</span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.104.3" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hij maakt de wolken tot zijn wagen,</span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.104.3" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hij wandelt op de vleugelen van de wind.</span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.104.4" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="label" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin-right: 5px; padding: inherit;">4</span><span class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hij maakt de winden tot zijn boden,</span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.104.4" style="box-sizing: border-box;">laaiend vuur tot zijn dienaren.</span></blockquote>
De voorzienigheid stuwt het eerste boek van de Institutie van Calvijn voort. In het laatste hoofdstuk van Boek 1, Hoofdstuk XVIII paragraaf 1 schrijft Calvijn daarover:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Dus wat ook de mensen doen, of Satan zelf, God houdt toch het roer in handen, om hun pogingen te wenden tot het uitvoeren van zijn oordelen.</blockquote>
Het beheerst ook zijn tweede boek. Als Calvijn in hoofdstuk 1,3 van Boek II de lezer uitnodigt om na te denken tot welk doel hij geschapen is en met geenszins te verachten gaven begiftigd is, opdat hij door dat nadenken opgewekt worde tot overpeinzing van die dienst van God en van <b><i>het toekomstige leven</i></b>, dan verwijst hij naar de kennis van God en de kennis van onszelf waar hij boek 1 mee begonnen is, en plaatst hij alles daarmee in het kader van de voorzienigheid waar boek 1 op uitloopt.<br />
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Dat deze <b><i><u>overdenking van het toekomstige leven</u></i></b> een belangrijke rol speelt in boek twee blijkt duidelijk uit <b><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=GBGNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=voorzienigheid+calvijn+instituties&source=bl&ots=ClHHnUvdMH&sig=ACfU3U18ombFnmyZdV8PV8P2lOfMPLpFHw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihhL66pLXoAhXE5KQKHZc9DysQ6AEwCnoECAwQAQ#v=onepage&q=voorzienigheid%20calvijn%20instituties&f=false">deze handige inhoudsopgave.</a> </b>Calvijn schrijft bijvoorbeeld in X,13:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Indien die heilige vaderen, wat in ieder geval buiten twijfel is, het gelukzalige leven uit Gods hand verwacht hebben, hebben zij gedacht aan en gezien op een andere gelukzaligheid dan die van het aardse leven.</blockquote>
En in paragraaf 14 van hoofdstuk X:<br />
<br />
Kortom het staat duidelijk vast, dat zij bij al die handelingen huns levens de gelukzaligheid <i><u><b>van het toekomstige leven</b></u></i> voor ogen gehad hebben.<br />
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In paragraaf 16 van hoofdstuk X:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
En men mag, wat hij (David) overal zingt van de voorspoed der gelovigen niet anders opvatten dan zo, dat het betrokken wordt op de openbaring der hemelse heerlijkheid.</blockquote>
In paragraaf 17 van hoofdstuk X:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Laat ons dus alleen reeds door die belijdenis van David leren, dat de oude vaderen onder het Oude Testament zeer goed hebben geweten hoe zelden of nooit God in deze werelde verwerkelijkt, wat Hij zijn dienaren belooft, en dat ze daarom hun gemoederen tot Gods heiligdom hebben opgeheven, waarin ze weggeborgen bezaten, wat in de schaduw van het tegenwoordige leven niet gezien wordt.</blockquote>
In paragraaf 18 van hoofdstuk X:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Die <b><i><u>overdenking</u></i></b>, welke de gelovigen gebruikten tot een troost in ellenden en een middel tot lijdzaamheid, ontstond hieruit: ....</blockquote>
In paragraaf 23 van hoofdstuk X:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Laat ons dus gerust vaststellen, wat ook door geen listen des duivels kan worden omver geworpen: dat het Oude Testament of verbond, dat de Here met het Israelitische volk gesloten heeft, niet beperkt was tot aardse zaken, maar de belofte inhield van het geestelijke en eeuwige leven, welks verwachting ingedrukt moet zijn in de harten van allen, die in de Waarheid met het verbond instemden.</blockquote>
In paragraaf 1 van hoofdstuk XI, waar Calvijn overstapt naar de behandeling van het onderscheid tussen het Oude en Nieuwe Testament:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Maar dat hij mij nadat de genade van het toekomstige leven door het Evangelie duidelijker en helderder geopenbaard is, die lagere wijze van <b style="font-style: italic; text-decoration-line: underline;">oefening</b>, welke hij bij de Israelieten aanwendde, achterwege laat en onze harten rechtstreeks richt tot de <b><i><u>overdenking van die genade.</u></i></b></blockquote>
In paragraaf 6 van Hoofdstuk XI van Boek II schrijft hij vervolgens:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Want in Hem (Christus) zijn alle schatten der wijsheid en des verstands ten toon gespreid (Col. 2:3), waardoor men bijna tot de verborgenheden des hemels doordringt.</blockquote>
Hoofdstuk IX van Boek III handelt <b>Over de overdenking van het toekomstige leven. </b>Onder de titel<b> <a href="http://www.dereformatie.nl/download/1928">‘Doe ons het hemelse betrachten’</a></b> vestigt ds. J.T. Oldenhuis onze aandacht juist op dit hoofdstuk. ´Deze overdenking (meditatio) behoort volgens Calvijn tot de kernzaken van het christelijke leven´, schrijft ook ds. A.J. Zoutendijk in de bijdrage <b><a href="https://www.kontekstueel.nl/component/content/article/35-algemene-artikelen/989-nr6-2013-genietende-pelgrims">¨Genietende Pelgrims¨.</a></b><br />
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In Hoofdstuk X van Boek III behandelt Calvijn de vraag <b>Hoe men het tegenwoordige leven en zijn hulpmiddelen gebruiken moet</b>. Hij schrijft:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Wij moeten dus maat houden, opdat wij ze met een zuiver geweten, hetzij tot noodzaak, hetzij tot genieting gebruiken. Die maat schrijft ons God in zijn Woord voor, wanneer Hij leert, dat het tegenwoordige leven voor de zijnen een zekere reis is, waardoor zij trekken naar het Hemelse Koninkrijk.</blockquote>
Even verder dit opmerkelijke zinnetje:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Want er zijn sommigen geweest, overigens goede en heilige mannen, die daar ze zagen, dat de onmatigheid en de zucht naar weelde door een ongebreidelde lust voortdurende de maat overschrijden, indien ze niet tamelijk streng gedwongen worden, en daar ze een zo verderfelijk kwaad begeerden te verbeteren, de mens toestonden (als de enige wijze van verbetering, die hun in de geest kwam) de lichamelijke goederen te gebruiken, voorzover de noodzaak het eiste. Zeker een vrome raad; maar zij waren rijkelijk streng. Want (en dat is gevaarlijk) zij hebben de conscientien gebonden met enger banden, dan waarmee Gods Woord ze bindt.</blockquote>
Van ¨Calvinistische¨ soberheid <i><b>op zich </b></i>moest Calvijn dus weinig hebben.<br />
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In paragraaf 4 van Hoofdstuk X van Boek III verwijst Calvijn nadrukkelijk naar het voorafgaande hoofdstuk IX wanneer hij schrijft:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Maar geen weg is zekerder of meer gebaand, dan die zich voor ons opent door de verachting van het tegenwoordige leven en de <b>overdenking van de hemelse onsterfelijkheid.</b></blockquote>
De titel van Hoofdstuk XII van Boek III, waar de titel van deze blogpost aan ontleend is, luidt:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Dat wij onze harten tot Gods rechterstoel moeten verheffen, opdat wij met ernst overtuigd worden van de onverdiende rechtvaardigmaking.</b></blockquote>
Aan het eind van paragraaf 7 van hoofdstuk XII citeert Calvijn Mattheus 9:13: ¨Ik ben niet gekomen om te roepen rechtvaardigen, maar zondaars.¨ En laat daar in paragraaf 8 direct op volgen ¨Indien we dus aan de roeping van Christus plaats willen geven, dan moeten wij verre van ons doen zowel alle aanmatiging als alle zorgeloosheid.¨ Dit vat hij in deze zelfde paragraaf 8 van Hoofdstuk XII zo samen:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Maar zulk een ongevoeligheid moet evenzeer afgeschud worden als elk vertrouwen op onszelf moet worden weggeworpen, opdat we onbelemmerd ons tot Christus mogen haasten, en opdat we, ledig en hongerig, met zijn goederen vervuld mogen worden. Want nooit zullen wij voldoende op Hem vertrouwen, tenzij wij geheel en al onszelf wantrouwen; nooit zullen wij in Hem voldoende onze harten opheffen, tenzij zij eerst ternedergeworpen zijn in onszelf; nooit zullen wij in Hem voldoende ons troosten, tenzij wij in onszelf mistroostig zijn. Wij zijn dus geschikt om de genade Gods aan te grijpen en te behouden, wanneer wij het vertrouwen op onszelf geheel en al weggeworpen hebben, en alleen vertrouwen op de gewisheid zijner goedheid, wanneer wij (zoals Augustinus zegt), onze eigen verdiensten vergeten en Christus´ gaven omhelzen, want wanneer Hij in ons verdiensten zocht, zouden wij tot zijn gaven niet komen. </blockquote>
Bij het woord<b> troost </b>dat hier door Calvijn gebruikt wordt, moet <i>ik</i> in dit verband onmiddellijk aan zondag 1 van de Heidelbergse Catechismus denken. Juist omdat <i>ook </i>de Catechismus deze troost van meet af aan plaatst binnen het kader van de voorzienigheid. Ik vermoed dat daardoor ook de Catechismus, net als de Institutie, zo praktisch aanvoelt. Ds. Ernst Leeftink gaf vorige week in <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNISYAtbupE">Kijk naar de vogels - kijk naar de bloemen</a></b> een goed voorbeeld van die typisch praktische insteek van Calvijn en de Catechismus.<br />
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Het is dan ook niet zonder reden dat Calvijn in boek I de bespreking van de voorzienigheid afsluit met Hoofdstuk XVII, het voorlaatste hoofdstuk van Boek I, dat als titel draagt: <b>Waarheen en op welk doel deze leer gericht moet worden, opdat er voor ons nut in gelegen zij. </b>De toelichting op Mattheus 10:29 e.v. in paragraaf 6 van dit hoofdstuk maakt duidelijk hoe Calvijn dit kader ziet:<br />
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Daarom, wanneer Christus verzekerd heeft (Mattheus 10:29 e.v.), dat zelfs niet het allergeringste musje op de aarde valt zonder de wil des Vaders, voegt Hij daaraan terstond toe, dat wij het er voor mogen houden, dat, naarmate wij meer waarde hebben dan de mussen, God ook met des te meer zorg voor ons zorgt, en die zorg strekt Hij zover uit, dat wij mogen vertrouwen, dat de haren van ons hoofd geteld zijn. Wat kunnen wij anders wensen, indien zelfs niet één haar van ons hoofd kan vallen tenzij met zijn wil? Ik spreek niet alleen van het menselijk geslacht; <b>maar omdat God zich de kerk tot woonplaats gekozen heeft, is het niet twijfelachtig, of Hij toont door bijzondere bewijzen zijn vaderlijke zorg in het besturen van haar.</b></blockquote>
Deze samenvatting lijkt als twee druppels water op de toelichting op dit Bijbelvers in Zondag 1. van de Heidelbergse Catechismus.<br />
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Wanneer Calvijn tenslotte in Boek IV gaat spreken over de uiterlijke hulpmiddelen door welke God ons tot de gemeenschap met Christus nodigt en in haar houdt, verwijst hij dan ook onmiddellijk naar de voorzienigheid:<br />
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Want aangezien wij, in de kerker onzes vleses ingesloten, nog niet tot de graad der engelen gekomen zijn, heeft God, zich aanpassend aan ons begrip, naar zijn wonderbare voorzienigheid ons de wijze voorgeschreven, waarop wij, die ver van Hem afgescheiden zijn, tot Hem zouden naderen. </blockquote>
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