Author: Fred Sanders
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Simple Faith, meet Theology
Jesus died for me. Anyone who believes this simple sentence has entered the sphere of Christian faith, and has learned the one thing that God is concerned to teach his human creatures, in order to bring them into his school for all further lessons. “Jesus died for me” is knowledge that can be grasped by…
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May God Curse Your Studies!
I’m beginning my fifth trip through Calvin’s Institutes this semester, which is my third trip with a group of students. I am always amazed at the power of Calvin’s writing, which is designed to bring the reader into direct confrontation with God. From the opening page, Calvin aims to make the reader conscious that theology…
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When in Doubt, MEMORIZE
Here is the third and final excerpt from Jane Redmont’s 1999 book When in Doubt, Sing: Prayer in Daily Life. This excerpt includes some brief remarks I made about memorizing Scripture as a form of prayer. There are many other reasons to memorize Scripture: for information, to have key doctrines ready for quick recall, etc.…
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When in Doubt, PRAISE
Thoughts on praise and thankfulness, taken from my contribution to Jane Redmont’s 1999 book When in Doubt, Sing: Prayer in Daily Life. This excerpt (pages 188-190) is from the chapter entitled “Daring to Raise the Alleluia Song.” “Everything I know about praise and joyful prayer goes back to the very beginning of my Christian life,”…
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Tournament Joust
It’s the Blue Knight vs. the Yellow Knight in a jousting match. Normally the victor is determined by whose lance breaks into splinters, signifying that they have struck a mighty blow against their opponent’s breastplate or shield. But in this case, the blue knight has managed a direct hit on the yellow knight’s own lance,…
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Three Unions
Soon I would like to introduce and recommend the unduly neglected Adolph Saphir (1831-1891), but for now I’ll just quote him. Here is the voice of evangelical Christianity from a little over 125 years ago: clear, passionate, artful, scriptural, doctrinal, and comprehensive. If you know anybody who can still talk like this (or grow a…
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When in Doubt, LOOK
“I’ve made a very conscious effort to train myself in the visual tradition of the church. I’m stocking my head with the symbols that Christian artists have used to portray the mystery visually.” Jane Redmont is the author of When in Doubt, Sing: Prayer in Everyday Life (HarperCollins, 1999), a readable and wide-ranging exploration of…
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The Scum, and the Dregs
There are some people whose lives incline you to listen seriously to whatever they say. Samuel M. Zwemer (1867-1952) was such a person and lived such a life. So his little book, Taking Hold of God: Studies on the Nature, Need, and Power of Prayer (Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 1936), had my attention simply due…
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J.P. Getty, meet C. S. Lewis
In his 1965 book How to Be Rich: The Success Secrets of a Billionaire Businessman, J. Paul Getty (1892-1976) tells the story of how he quit smoking. On a vacation in France, he woke up at two A.M. in his hotel room, craving a cigarette. Finding none in his pack, none in his jacket, none…
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Altered Photo Scandal at Middlebrow
The editorial staff at Middlebrow regrets to inform our readers that a picture published here recently does not meet our own high journalistic standards. We are issuing a retraction and correction of that image and are currently investigating our policies for accepting images from freelance contributors. The image in question was provided by our freelance…
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Worldliness
“Worldliness is an immense number of allowable details issuing in an unallowable end.” — Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863), Self-Deceit: A Comedy On Lies, A Way Of Overcoming Them