The Plowman

What’s the world coming to? Vandalizing vandalism, the depths of debauchery. What’s next?

Ivy-leaved Cyclamen, Cyclamen hedrerifolium is a treat for me this time of year, when few other plants are blooming. The foliage, which is remarkable in its own right, dissapears when spring turns hot.

The Blossoms begin sparingly in October, and then the foliage returns in November. At this time the inverted blossoms, looking earthward with petals pointing backward to the sky, begin to appear more abundantly. They will continue to bloom well into the new year.

Once the flower has been pollinated, the petals fade and fall, and the flower stem begins to curl up so that the “fruit” containing the developing seeds will be in contact with the soil when the seed pod dries and opens in about a month.

What can we do with this for a Christian application? Well, as pretty and neat as the Hardy Cyclamen is Christians should not follow its example. We should keep our faces turned upward, toward the Father above, and we should seek to scatter our seeds just a bit farther afield.

Don’t forget to look at all of the great pics over at the Friday Photo Group. Have a great weekend. This Sunday, worship our great God and Savior with all your heart, mind, and soul.

I just received my weekly dose of The White Horse Inn, where the “usual cast of characters were discussing Romans 14 and 15. “The Romans Revolution” has been the topic all this year. If you haven’t heard it you need to go back and catch it. It has been a wonderful survey of the book of Romans.

The topic this week was on The Weaker Brother, and, among other things, Michael Horton cited some interesting statistics comparing the per-capita instances of alcoholism among various religious groups. Jews, Episcopalians ,Catholics, Lutherans, and Presbyterians have the lowest instances of alcoholism, which all happen to view alcohol as a gift from God. Now for those who view alcohol as a sin: Baptists, Methodists, and Mormons came in with the highest per capita instances of alcoholism. Interesting.

The basic thrust of the discussion on the White Horse Inn was that the “weaker brother” who insists that everyone else practice his weakness is really an inverted Pharisee. At one point the discussion got around to the “encyclical” that “we” passed this year at Greensboro. You’ve got to hear it to realize how silly we really look to just about everybody.

There are two totally different kinds of trees commonly called Chestnut. In the genus Castanea are several species that produce edible nuts. Pictured below is a nut, still in the husk, of Castanea mollissima x dentata, a hybrid between Chinese Chestnut and American Chestnut.

In a totally separate genus, Aesculus, is a number of tree species that go by the common name Horse-chestnut, whose nuts are anything but edible. Also known as Red Buckeye, pictured below is a couple of seeds, still in the husk of Aesculus pavia.

While still in their husks, still hanging on the tree, each kind of Chestnut is easily distinguished from the other, but once they have left their context of origin, you have to be very careful. One must look very closely to tell the two apart. It is very important to do so, as eating the wrong nut could do great harm.
That is the beauty of the binomial naming system of genus and species, invented by Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). Names mean something, and they mean the same thing today that they did a couple of hundred years ago, and they will still mean the same thing a hundred years hince, if the Lord tarries.
Wouldn’t it be nice if words held that precise quality in church matters for more than a decade, words like evangelical, fundamentalist, and Calvinism. We think we have a cute device that makes it all work, namely by adding prefixes such as pre-, post-, and hyper-. If the label doesn’t fit any more, because the object has changed, you just adjust the label; post-evangelical, for instance. Surely there is a better way. Like when something changes, you call it something else. It is kind of like sufixing every policical scandal in the last thirty years with -gate. Somebody give me some aspirin, my head hurts.
Check out all of the really fine photos at the Friday Photo Group.

When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenburg, Germany on this day in 1517, it probably wouldn’t have amounted to very much if it were not for his students. Still considered a marvel for its day, the 95 Theses were translated by Luther’s students into the German language and distributed to every hamlet in the country within a couple of weeks. That is what set the forrest on fire. Thanks to Luther even we Baptists are not crossing ourselves and saying the Ave Maria today. Be warned, if you don’t think so, you may be a Landmarker, regardless what Dr. Moore says.
Every year at this time I love to pull up a copy of the 95 in Latin. I’m very rusty, but I still love to try to piece them together. Many, even in the reformed tradition, don’t know much about the contents of Luther’s 95. Guess what? The five sola‘s aren’t in there. Neither are the five points of Calvinism. It’s mostly about the authority and sufficiency of Scripture alone. Hmm, sounds just like the problems we’re having in the SBC right now. Thanks to Project Wittenberg, Here’s Luther’s 95 Theses in Latin:

“Disputatio pro Declaratione Virtutis Indulgentiarum.”
Martin Luther

Amore et studio elucidande veritatis hec subscripta disputabuntur
Wittenberge, Presidente R. P. Martino Lutther, Artium et S. Theologie
Magistro eiusdemque ibidem lectore Ordinario. Quare petit, ut qui non
possunt verbis presentes nobiscum disceptare agant id literis absentes. In
nomine domini nostri Hiesu Christi. Amen.

1. Dominus et magister noster Iesus Christus dicendo `Penitentiam agite
&c.’ omnem vitam fidelium penitentiam esse voluit.

2. Quod verbum de penitentia sacramentali (id est confessionis et
satisfactionis, que sacerdotum ministerio celebratur) non potest
intelligi.

3. Non tamen solam intendit interiorem, immo interior nulla est, nisi
foris operetur varias carnis mortificationes.

4. Manet itaque pena, donec manet odium sui (id est penitentia vera
intus), scilicet usque ad introitum regni celorum.

5. Papa non vult nec potest ullas penas remittere preter eas, quas
arbitrio vel suo vel canonum imposuit.

6. Papa non potest remittere ullam culpam nisi declarando, et
approbando remissam a deo Aut certe remittendo casus reservatos sibi,
quibus contemptis culpa prorsus remaneret.

7. Nulli prorus remittit deus culpam, quin simul eum subiiciat
humiliatum in omnibus sacerdoti suo vicario.

8. Canones penitentiales solum viventibus sunt impositi nihilque
morituris secundum eosdem debet imponi.

9. Inde bene nobis facit spiritus sanctus in papa excipiendo in suis
decretis semper articulum mortis et necessitatis.

10. Indocte et male faciunt sacerdotes ii, qui morituris penitentias
canonicas in purgatorium reservant.

11. Zizania illa de mutanda pena Canonica in penam purgatorii videntur
certe dormientibus episcopis seminata.

12. Olim pene canonice non post, sed ante absolutionem imponebantur
tanquam tentamenta vere contritionis.

13. Morituri per mortem omnia solvunt et legibus canonum mortui iam
sunt, habentes iure earum relaxationem.

14. Imperfecta sanitas seu charitas morituri necessario secum fert
magnum timorem, tantoque maiorem, quanto minor fuerit ipsa.

15. Hic timor et horror satis est se solo (ut alia taceam) facere penam
purgatorii, cum sit proximus desperationis horrori.

16. Videntur infernus, purgaturium, celum differre, sicut desperatio,
prope desperatio, securitas differunt.

17. Necessarium videtur animabus in purgatorio sicut minni horrorem ita
augeri charitatem.

18. Nec probatum videtur ullis aut rationibus aut scripturis, quod sint
extra statum meriti seu augende charitatis.

19. Nec hoc probatum esse videtur, quod sint de sua beatitudine certe
et secure, saltem omnes, licet nos certissimi simus.

20. Igitur papa per remissionem plenariam omnium penarum non
simpliciter omnium intelligit, sed a seipso tantummodo impositarum.

21. Errant itaque indulgentiarum predicatores ii, qui dicunt per pape
indulgentias hominem ab omni pena solvi et salvari.

22. Quin nullam remittit animabus in purgatorio, quam in hac vita
debuissent secundum Canones solvere.

23. Si remissio ulla omnium omnino penarum potest alicui dari, certum
est eam non nisi perfectissimis, i.e. paucissimis, dari.

24. Falli ob id necesse est maiorem partem populi per indifferentem
illam et magnificam pene solute promissionem.

25. Qualem potestatem habet papa in purgatorium generaliter, talem
habet quilibet Episcopus et Curatus in sua diocesi et parochia
specialiter.

1. [26] Optime facit papa, quod non potestate clavis (quam nullam
habet) sed per modum suffragii dat animabus remissionem.

2. [27] Hominem predicant, qui statim ut iactus nummus in cistam
tinnierit evolare dicunt animam.

3. [28] Certum est, nummo in cistam tinniente augeri questum et
avariciam posse: suffragium autem ecclesie est in arbitrio dei solius.

4. [29] Quis scit, si omnes anime in purgatorio velint redimi, sicut de
s. Severino et Paschali factum narratur.

5. [30] Nullus securus est de veritate sue contritionis, multominus de
consecutione plenarie remissionis.

6. [31] Quam rarus est vere penitens, tam rarus est vere indulgentias
redimens, i. e. rarissimus.

7. [32] Damnabuntur ineternum cum suis magistris, qui per literas
veniarum securos sese credunt de sua salute.

8. [33] Cavendi sunt nimis, qui dicunt venias illas Pape donum esse
illud dei inestimabile, quo reconciliatur homo deo.

9. [34] Gratie enim ille veniales tantum respiciunt penas
satisfactionis sacramentalis ab homine constitutas.

10. [35] Non christiana predicant, qui docent, quod redempturis animas
vel confessionalia non sit necessaria contritio.

11. [36] Quilibet christianus vere compunctus habet remissionem
plenariam a pena et culpa etiam sine literis veniarum sibi debitam.

12. [37] Quilibet versus christianus, sive vivus sive mortuus, habet
participationem omnium bonorum Christi et Ecclesie etiam sine literis
veniarum a deo sibi datam.

13. [38] Remissio tamen et participatio Pape nullo modo est
contemnenda, quia (ut dixi) est declaratio remissionis divine.

14. [39] Difficillimum est etiam doctissimis Theologis simul extollere
veniarum largitatem et contritionis veritatem coram populo.

15. [40] Contritionis veritas penas querit et amat, Veniarum autem
largitas relaxat et odisse facit, saltem occasione.

16. [41] Caute sunt venie apostolice predicande, ne populus false
intelligat eas preferri ceteris bonis operibus charitatis.

17. [42] Docendi sunt christiani, quod Pape mens non est, redemptionem
veniarum ulla ex parte comparandam esse operibus misericordie.

18. [43] Docendi sunt christiani, quod dans pauperi aut mutuans egenti
melius facit quam si venias redimereet.

19. [44] Quia per opus charitatis crescit charitas et fit homo melior,
sed per venias non fit melior sed tantummodo a pena liberior.

20. [45] Docendi sunt christiani, quod, qui videt egenum et neglecto eo
dat pro veniis, non idulgentias Pape sed indignationem dei sibi vendicat.

21. [46] Docendi sunt christiani, quod nisi superfluis abundent
necessaria tenentur domui sue retinere et nequaquam propter venias
effundere.

22. [47] Docendi sunt christiani, quod redemptio veniarum est libera,
non precepta.

23. [48] Docendi sunt christiani, quod Papa sicut magis eget ita magis
optat in veniis dandis pro se devotam orationem quam promptam pecuniam.

24. [49] Docendi sunt christiani, quod venie Pape sunt utiles, si non
in cas confidant, Sed nocentissime, si timorem dei per eas amittant.

25. [50] Docendi sunt christiani, quod si Papa nosset exactiones
venialium predicatorum, mallet Basilicam s. Petri in cineres ire quam
edificari cute, carne et ossibus ovium suarum.

1. [51] Docendi sunt christiani, quod Papa sicut debet ita vellet,
etiam vendita (si opus sit) Basilicam s. Petri, de suis pecuniis dare
illis, a quorum plurimis quidam concionatores veniarum pecuniam eliciunt.

2. [52] Vana est fiducia salutis per literas veniarum, etiam si
Commissarius, immo Papa ipse suam animam pro illis impigneraret.

3. [53] Hostes Christi et Pape sunt ii, qui propter venias predicandas
verbum dei in aliis ecclesiis penitus silere iubent.

4. [54] Iniuria fit verbo dei, dum in eodem sermone equale vel longius
tempus impenditur veniis quam illi.

5. [55] Mens Pape necessario est, quod, si venie (quod minimum est) una
campana, unis pompis et ceremoniis celebrantur, Euangelium (quod maximum
est) centum campanis, centum pompis, centum ceremoniis predicetur.

6. [56] Thesauri ecclesie, unde Pape dat indulgentias, neque satis
nominati sunt neque cogniti apud populum Christi.

7. [57] Temporales certe non esse patet, quod non tam facile eos
profundunt, sed tantummodo colligunt multi concionatorum.

8. [58] Nec sunt merita Christi et sanctorum, quia hec semper sine Papa
operantur gratiam hominis interioris et crucem, mortem infernumque
exterioris.

9. [59] Thesauros ecclesie s. Laurentius dixit esse pauperes ecclesie,
sed locutus est usu vocabuli suo tempore.

10. [60] Sine temeritate dicimus claves ecclesie (merito Christi
donatas) esse thesaurum istum.

11. [61] Clarum est enim, quod ad remissionem penarum et casuum sola
sufficit potestas Pape.

12. [62] Verus thesaurus ecclesie est sacrosanctum euangelium glorie et
gratie dei.

13. [63] Hic autem est merito odiosissimus, quia ex primis facit
novissimos.

14. [64] Thesaurus autem indulgentiarum merito est gratissimus, quia ex
novissimis facit primos.

15. [65] Igitur thesauri Euangelici rhetia sunt, quibus olim
piscabantur viros divitiarum.

16. [66] Thesauri indulgentiarum rhetia sunt, quibus nunc piscantur
divitias virorum.

17. [67] Indulgentie, quas concionatores vociferantur maximas gratias,
intelliguntur vere tales quoad questum promovendum.

18. [68] Sunt tamen re vera minime ad gratiam dei et crucis pietatem
comparate.

19. [69] Tenentur Episcopi et Curati veniarum apostolicarum
Commissarios cum omni reverentia admittere.

20. [70] Sed magis tenentur omnibus oculis intendere, omnibus auribus
advertere, ne pro commissione Pape sua illi somnia predicent.

21. [71] Contra veniarum apostolicarum veritatem qui loquitur, sit ille
anathema et maledictus.

22. [72] Qui vero, contra libidinem ac licentiam verborum Concionatoris
veniarum curam agit, sit ille benedictus.

23. [73] Sicut Papa iuste fulminat eos, qui in fraudem negocii veniarum
quacunque arte machinantur,

24. [74] Multomagnis fulminare intendit eos, qui per veniarum pretextum
in fraudem sancte charitatis et veritatis machinantur,

25. [75] Opinari venias papales tantas esse, ut solvere possint
hominem, etiam si quis per impossibile dei genitricem violasset, Est
insanire.

1. [76] Dicimus contra, quod venie papales nec minimum venialium
peccatorum tollere possint quo ad culpam.

2. [77] Quod dicitur, nec si s. Petrus modo Papa esset maiores gratias
donare posset, est blasphemia in sanctum Petrum et Papam.

3. [78] Dicimus contra, quod etiam iste et quilibet papa maiores habet,
scilicet Euangelium, virtutes, gratias, curationum &c. ut 1. Co. XII.

4. [79] Dicere, Crucem armis papalibus insigniter erectam cruci Christi
equivalere, blasphemia est.

5. [80] Rationem reddent Episcopi, Curati et Theologi, Qui tales
sermones in populum licere sinunt.

6. [81] Facit hec licentiosa veniarum predicatio, ut nec reverentiam
Pape facile sit etiam doctis viris redimere a calumniis aut certe argutis
questionibus laicorm.

7. [82] Scilicet. Cur Papa non evacuat purgatorium propter sanctissimam
charitatem et summam animarum necessitatem ut causam omnium iustissimam,
Si infinitas animas redimit propter pecuniam funestissimam ad structuram
Basilice ut causam levissimam?

8. [83] Item. Cur permanent exequie et anniversaria defunctorum et non
reddit aut recipi permittit beneficia pro illis instituta, cum iam sit
iniuria pro redemptis orare?

9. [84] Item. Que illa nova pietas Dei et Pape, quod impio et inimico
propter pecuniam concedunt animam piam et amicam dei redimere, Et tamen
propter necessitatem ipsius met pie et dilecte anime non redimunt eam
gratuita charitate?

10. [85] Item. Cur Canones penitentiales re ipsa et non usu iam diu in
semet abrogati et mortui adhuc tamen pecuniis redimuntur per concessionem
indulgentiarum tanquam vivacissimi?

11. [86] Item. Cur Papa, cuius opes hodie sunt opulentissimis Crassis
crassiores, non de suis pecuniis magis quam pauperum fidelium struit unam
tantummodo Basilicam sancti Petri?

12. [87] Item. Quid remittit aut participat Papa iis, qui per
contritionem perfectam ius habent plenarie remissionis et participationis?

13. [88] Item. Quid adderetur ecclesie boni maioris, Si Papa, sicut
semel facit, ita centies in die cuilibet fidelium has remissiones et
participationes tribueret?

14. [89] Ex quo Papa salutem querit animarum per venias magis quam
pecunias, Cur suspendit literas et venias iam olim concessas, cum sint
eque efficaces?

15. [90] Hec scrupulosissima laicorum argumenta sola potestate
compescere nec reddita ratione diluere, Est ecclesiam et Papam hostibus
ridendos exponere et infelices christianos facere.

16. [91] Si ergo venie secundum spiritum et mentem Pape predicarentur,
facile illa omnia solverentur, immo non essent.

17. [92] Valeant itaque omnes illi prophete, qui dicunt populo Christi
`Pax pax,’ et non est pax.

18. [93] Bene agant omnes illi prophete, qui dicunt populo Christi
`Crux crux,’ et non est crux.

19. [94] Exhortandi sunt Christiani, ut caput suum Christum per penas,
mortes infernosque sequi studeant,

20. [95] Ac sic magis per multas tribulationes intrare celum quam per
securitatem pacis confidant.

M.D.Xvii.

Looking back on my posts, I realize I haven’t posted anything “Sunday school” since late August. Back then we were going through The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, and I was posting some semblance of what I was teaching in class each week. In an attempt to begin again posting weekly what we are doing in class now, I thought I would write a (not so) brief catch-you-up-with-what-we-are-doing type of post.

We had gotten to article 14, and were having very good and profitable class dicussion when a couple of things occurred: The new class year started, and my computer did a hard crash. I thought I was safely backing up all of my data, but due to a misunderstanding of the way my back-up software worked, I had not. I finished out the class year with hand-written notes.

When the new class year started in Sept. we lost about four seniors, so I stopped the BFM lessons with article 14: The Christian and the Social Order. Actually we wrapped the last four articles all into one lesson, explaining that the first part of the document lays out what we believe, and that the latter articles define how we act in the world as a result of what we believe. In the future I plan to go through the BF&M 2000, article by article, about every other year. With a new group I wanted to start with something fresh, but I didn’t have the material I was looking for, so we looked at church music for about six weeks. This was something I was wanting to do anyway. It was a very informal Q & A format where we talked mostly about the contents of lyrics, but also about music style. We talked a bit about preferring one another in love by understanding that the older folks liked a certian style of music too. We touched on how the communion of saints touched on singing music from every age. We covered the contrasting categories of objective/subjective, God-centered/man-centered, and then we disucssed the concepts of trinitarian hymns and psalter-style hymns. We had alot of fun discussing music in general as well as the music we sang the previous Sunday morning. I would send them into the morning service with 3×5 cards and have them critique the music service for the presence or absence of what we had been discussing during the class. I am convinced that these exercises have improved their understanding of worship in music. You should never underestimate kids. They are bright, you just need to give them something so they can show you just how bright they are. If you are teaching youth in Sunday school, I would heartily recommend you spend some time going over these concepts in music. It will improve their understanding and practice of worship in church.

We are currently in our third week looking at The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis, trying to glean a better understanding of the nature of sin, temptation, and man. One reason I waited to begin the class, was that I was trying to save a buck or two, gathering up used copies hither and yon. The general lot of kids seem to be interested, and several of them are quite active in Q & A. The best part is no parents have cornered me yet wanting to know why I’m teaching their child about demons. My plan is to read one letter each week and then draw out lessons from them, and then ask questions to try to draw the students into the process.

As always, anybody with suggestions or questions, please drop me a comment. I need all the help I can get.

I forgot to include a couple of juicy quotes from the message I highlighted in my previous post. After you read these, you will have to listen the audio, just to find out how these quotes fit into the message.

• “She can be as plain as a mud fence.”
• “Neither one of us had the gift of tongues.”

You have a great week end, and when you get to church on Sunday, worship God with all that is within you.