The Scriptorium Daily

Author: Fred Sanders

  • Oh Say What You See

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    Fred Sanders
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    National treasure Jacques Barzun with some good advice on “What Makes Writing Right.” Most people who coach you on writing better say things like “it’s not enough to express yourself; you have to think about your reader and strive to communicate.” Certainly there’s truth in that, and there’s even a kind of ethical demand on…

  • Martin Luther King, Jr: One Great Liberal Theologian

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    Fred Sanders
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    John Piper has the right idea about Martin Luther King Day: Don’t Waste It. In a timely memo, Piper exhorted all pastors and teachers who read his blog to “take note of the day and speak a word of exhortation to your people concerning their hearts in matters of race and ethnicity. … None of…

  • Anna Dennis: “Expert, Devoted, and Beloved”

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    Fred Sanders
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    Somebody recently asked me about The First Female Bible Professor at Biola, suggesting that the title must belong to a fairly recent hire. While I don’t have a comprehensive history of Bible teachers on Biola’s faculty, I do know a candidate for one of the first: Anna Dennis was recruited by R. A. Torrey in…

  • The Gospel of Gush (T. C. Horton)

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    Fred Sanders
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    The Gospel of Grace and the Gospel of Gush How wide is the distinction beween the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and that other gospel of which Paul speaks, and which is indeed no gospel. The real Gospel —the true Gospel— centers in “Jesus Christ ad Him crucified.” It has to do with lost…

  • Everything is Interesting

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    Fred Sanders
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    Richard M. Weaver, a distinguished educator most famous for his visionary books like Ideas Have Consequences, also wrote a humble handbook of English composition: A Rhetoric and Handbook. It covers everything a college freshman could need to know about writing: from spelling and punctuation to the structure of arguments and the tone of an author’s…

  • Simply Crammed and Crammed

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    Fred Sanders
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    In 1917, R. A. Torrey preached a sermon to his congregation the Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles. His text was Psalm 1, and the sermon had the promising title: THE SECRET OF BLESSEDNESS IN HEART, BEAUTY IN CHARACTER, FRUITFULNESS IN SERVICE, AND PROSPERITY IN EVERYTHING. But despite the “How To Succeed” tone…

  • Paul AND Timothy (commentary by Richard Sibbes)

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    Fred Sanders
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    Puritan Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) wrote a commentary on the first chapter of Second Corinthians. I would call it an expansive or leisurely commentary, running to over 500 pages on 23 verses of Scripture. At that rate, Sibbes has to squeeze some meaning out of little words like “and” in the salutation “Paul and Timothy.” –Amazingly,…

  • Frosty T. Snowman, deceased

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    Fred Sanders
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    Frosty Theophilus Snowman has melted away due to natural causes near The Village, just a few days after causing a major public disturbance. His exact age is unknown, but friends estimate that he was at least 57 years old. Frosty, remembered by friends as “a jolly, happy soul,” outlived his creators, Walter “Jack” Rollins, Gene…

  • Theologians Who Died in 2007

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    Fred Sanders
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    2007 saw the deaths of some major figures in contemporary theology and biblical studies. Here are the ones that I can remember. *T. F. Torrance (1913-2007). Time will tell exactly how high he ranks, but this Scottish theologian is somewhere near the top of the list of major twentieth century theologians. Torrance was a hard…

  • Scriptorium’s Greatest Hits for 2007

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    Fred Sanders
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    2007 has been a big year for The Scriptorium Daily. Intellectual celebrity J. P. Moreland and fellow professor Matt Jenson joined our team in April, and we have been posting at full power since then, adding our first podcasts and a very active “Noteworthy Links” section that provides three thought-provoking articles to click through to…

  • Christian Imagery

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    Fred Sanders
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    This is an article that appeared in the Christmas Day edition of the Orange County Register back in 2001. It was written by award-winning religion reporter Carol McGraw (now of the Colorado Springs Gazette) and featured a large illustration by the Register’s staff illustrator Lisa Mertins. It was a fun Christmas morning piece, and is…

  • The Day After Christmas

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    Fred Sanders
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    Here’s a song, here’s a gift for the day after Christmas When the presents have been opened And your spirit has crashed. When all the colored lights are turned off And the yule log is an ember And you’ve returned that crap to K-Mart And the tree is in the trash. You’ve got to hold…