Trueman: Everyone has a creed

In the introduction to The Creedal Imperative (Crossway, 2012), Carl R. Trueman makes the point that everyone has a creed, including those who deny them:

I do want to make the point here that Christians are not divided between those who have creeds and those who do not; rather, they are divided between those who have public creeds and confessions that are written down and exist as public documents, subject to scrutiny, evaluation, and critique, and those who have private creeds and confessions that are often improvised, unwritten, and thus not open to public scrutiny, not susceptible to evaluation and, crucially and ironically, not, therefore, subject to testing by Scripture to see whether they are true (p. 15).

JTR

Keach Conference Follow Up: Trueman Book Notes

As usual, the Keach Conference gave us much to ponder. Here are two quick follow ups on books mentioned by Dr. Trueman.

 

 

 

First, he had very high praise for a book written by a former feminist-lesbian college English professor who became a Christian and is now married to a Presbyterian minister. The book is The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Crown & Covenant, 2012) by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield.  You can also read Trueman's review of the book, titled Much Better than the Daily Mail.

 

 

 

Second, in the Q & A Trueman discussed his most recent book, The Creedal Imperative (Crossway, September 2012).  For those interested, this book is the focus of last Friday's (September 28) Reformed Forum podcast.

Carl Trueman on "The Creedal Imperative"

Carl Trueman will be speaking at the 2012 Keach Conference in Charlottesville this weekend.  Here's a video of him discussing his most recent book, The Creedal Imperative (Crossway, September 2012):

 

The Vision (5/31/12): O come, let us worship and bow down

Image:  Smokin' Joe Frazier

In last Sundays’ message on Psalm 95 we meditated on the attitude we should have in worship knowing that we are coming “before his presence” (v. 2).  Psalm 95 summons worshippers to bow down before Jehovah and to kneel before him (v. 6).  The physical posture of humility reflects an inner, spiritual quality of humility.  This psalm teaches us that we are to approach the Lord’s presence with lowliness.

In this regard, I noted an anecdote told by theologian Carl Trueman of Westminster Seminary.  Trueman tells of how as a boy he had grown up as an enthusiastic boxing fan.  When he first moved to Philadelphia from England, he was excited about the possibility of meeting Philadelphia resident and boxing legend Joe Frazier.  He tried to email Frazier to set up a meeting but never heard back.  Then one day he went to his local YMCA to exercise, and who was there but Smokin’ Joe Frazier.  Trueman wrote of their encounter in a blog post:

So, what does the sad non-entity say when suddenly in the presence of greatness, of the man who probably had the most lethal left-hook of his generation. The answer? `Yo, Joe, how ya doin'?' ? No. More like `Sir, it's an honour to meet you, sir, Mr Frazier, sir.' Faced with the awesome presence of the former world champ, I responded with stammering, barely coherent awe as I shook his hand and paid internal homage.

Trueman goes on to make the point that if he could be filled with awe in the presence of Frazier, a mere man, how much more should we be filled with awe in the presence of our Maker.   When we meet with God it is not trivial matter.  It is no casual matter.  We are in the presence of our King!  “O come, let us worship and bow down…..”

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

"Don't give me God without his humanity."

I recently read the reprint of Carl R. Trueman’s Reformation: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (Christian Focus, 2000, 2011). At one point, Trueman describes Luther’s “theology of the cross,” including these comments on the Incarnation:

[Luther] had a saying: Don’t give me God without giving me his humanity. The point was simple: it is in the incarnation, in the flesh of Christ, that God both is, and shows himself to be, gracious towards us. Luther rejoiced in the fact that he did not worship a God who was far away, a despot, an abstract and anonymous philosophical principle. No—he worshipped a God who had come close, so close that he even clothed himself in human flesh; a God who was so merciful that he was prepared to welcome sinners into his presence as if they had never sinned; a God who was so loving that he happily freed men and women from all manner of physical and spiritual bondage so that they might know true life; and a God who was so strong that he was prepared to make himself nothing and die that terrible death on the cross in order that human beings should never have to die (p. 47).

Reformed Forum on the 400th Anniversary of the KJV

I am a fan of the Reformed Forum broadcast.  In late November, they did an episode with Carl Trueman on the 400th anniversary of the KJV.  It covers a lot of the same ground as Trueman's Westminster Library talk on this topic, but it is still worth hearing.

I do question the repeated charge that James was a "homosexual."  This seems to be anachronistic.  I am not claiming that James was a saint, but I am guessing there has probably been a "modern" misreading of signs of friendship and affection between James and his courtiers.  My guess is that this has been gleefully promoted by those who have wanted to take the shine off the KJV.  I would like to see a historian trace the roots of this charge, including when it first surfaced.  My guess is that it is relatively recent.  As Trueman acknowledges, James was, after all, quite happily married.

I appreciate Trueman's appreciation of the KJV, but he also exhibits some of the annoying schizophrenic tendencies of contemporary evangelicals when discussing this classic Reformation translation (cf. Leland Ryken's The Legacy of the KJB).  On one hand, he praises its unequalled majesty, but on the other he claims it is outdated and archaic.  Why is the KJV so appropriate to read at weddings, funerals, and formal occasions, but not as a regular part of Lord's Day worship or in private devotion?  Is there an occasion where reverence is more vital than in ordinary Lord's Day worship?  For those who celebrate Christmas liturgically, for example, I feel sorry for churches that will abandon the KJV rendering of Luke 2 which describes the shepherds as being "sore afraid" (KJV v. 9) for the pedestrian renderings of modern versions which describe those same shepherds as being "filled with fear" (ESV v. 9).  The examples, of course, could be multiplied.

The discussion also failed to touch on the central issue of text.  The KJV (like all the vernacular translations of the Reformation era) is based on the traditional text (MT of OT and TR of NT), while the modern translations (except for the NKJV) follow the modern critical text.  I'd love to see this overlooked topic addressed on the Reformed Forum.

JTR 

Sermon of the Week: Carl Trueman on the 400th Anniversary of the KJV

Daniel H. sent me a link to the October 19, 2011 lecture by Dr.Carl Trueman at the Westminster Seminary Library on the 400th anniversay of the KJV.  The lecture is titled, Throwing the Book at his Enemies:  King James I and his Bible.  You can listen to the message here.

Trueman gives a vivid overview of the historical circumstances leading to the KJV.  He praises, in particular, the literary majesty of the KJV Bible, though he also makes clear that his preference is for modern translations in pulpit use.  He does not address issues related to the traditional text upon which the KJV was based.  In his sketch of James he relays an interesting physical description of the king from Charles Dickens and also passes on as likely the common modern (anachronistic?) suggestion that James was a homosexual.  I hope to address this in a later post.  Anyway, the lecture is worth a listen.  Good to see the 400th anniversary milestone marked in some way in a Reformed, evangelical seminary.

JTR