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I Swam Outside Every Day in September

I swam outside every day in September. For the most part, this wasn’t inconvenient. I have an 18 foot pool in my backyard. It was traveling that made it a challenge.

On September 8, I left Sevierville to travel to Indian Boundary campground in the Cherokee National Forest. No problem there. I swam in one of the most beautiful lakes in one of the most beautiful settings I have ever experienced (the picture above is of that lake).

I was able to swim at Indian Boundary before I left on Thursday, and then I stayed that night in Cleveland, TN. The next day, I traveled to my parents’ home in NC. I met my Dad at a lake where we often walk together so I could swim afterwards. One problem: no swimming allowed. Now, some people might have jumped in anyway, but I tend to be a rule follower so I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

It turns out that there was a beach a half hour north of where my parents lived. We decided to go there. As we went down the road to the beach, we came to a checkpoint and a fence with a sign that said Dominion Energy. There may be a beach somewhere on that peninsula, but I have no idea how to get there. Continue reading “I Swam Outside Every Day in September”

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In the Bible, Anxiety Is the Occasion of Sin

In the Bible, anxiety is the occasion for sin. Anxiety is not in itself sin, but it is the occasion that tempts us to sin. Thus, there is nothing wrong with seeing a threat, difficulty, or challenge. The question is, what do we do with it?

I believe that this is a true analysis of sin in our life based on several considerations. I was surprised, though, at how explicit this is in the Bible as I reviewed its various stories of sin. Here are just a few examples that demonstrate the connection between anxiety and sin. Continue reading “In the Bible, Anxiety Is the Occasion of Sin”

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Justification and Sanctification: God’s Gifts to Faith

The goal of grace is to re-engage humanity in service to the glory of God and the life of the human community. To do this, the human pride that seeks to make ourselves or our nations the center of the universe must be shattered. This requires a humble acceptance of God’s verdict and our sinfulness and a reception of His offer of security, love, and forgiveness. This acceptance frees us from the burden of anxiety and so releases us for the adventure of love.

Here we consider this same event from God’s perspective. God offers power and grace, sanctification and justification, as the solution to human pride and misery. From God’s standpoint, the gifts given to faith are justification and sanctification. This is grace shown to man and power working in man. It is forgiveness and transformation, a new status and a new character. God forgives, and He transforms. For Niebuhr, it is important to see that God does both, and that these are two distinct gifts.

Justification
When someone believes in Christ, they achieve a perfect righteousness. However, this righteousness is not theirs internally. It is only theirs by imputation. “The Christ who is apprehended by faith, i.e., to whom the soul is obedient in principle, ‘imputes’ his righteousness to it. It is not an actual possession except ‘by faith’” (The Nature & Destiny of Man, 2.103). “Impute” means to consider, to think, to reckon. God counts the righteousness of Christ as ours, so that God sees us as if we had never sinned nor been a sinner, indeed, as if we had accomplished what Christ Himself did. Continue reading “Justification and Sanctification: God’s Gifts to Faith”

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Cicero: Clear Your Head So You Can Serve the Community

We do not exist for ourselves. We are made to serve the community. Serving the community is not always easy. The community does not always appreciate such service, but we should be willing to bear all sorts of hardships and all sorts of toil to serve the community. For, “justice is the single virtue which is mistress and queen of all virtues” (Cicero, On Obligations, 93). This is the opinion of Cicero, as he describes it in his book On Obligations or On Duties.

The key to understanding our obligations is to understand that we are not just an isolated individual. We are created for community and for service to the community:

I have often made the point earlier, but it must be repeated again and again: there is a bond of fellowship which in its widest sense exists between all members of the entire human race, an inner link between those of the same nation, and a still closer connection between those of the same state (107).

We are made for each other. Our destiny is not an individual one. It is to use our resources in service of those around us. As Cicero says, the interest of the individual is the interest of the community and vice versa. Continue reading “Cicero: Clear Your Head So You Can Serve the Community”

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10 Quotes Illustrating the Virtue of Beowulf

It’s hard to translate a poem from one language to another. The power of the poem is in the sounds and connections of the language in which it was written. I’ve read quite a few translated poems over the past couple of years. Some capture the power of the original, many do not, even though they convey its general meaning. Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf is one translation that is a wonderful poem in its own right. It feels and sounds like you would expect an epic Medieval poem to sound. I have cited examples in the quotes below.

Before I give the quotes, just a brief note about the story. You may find it interesting that it was J.R.R. Tolkien who brought this story to the attention of modern critics as a great work of art. He did his own translation with notes (I have not read it). The connections between Tolkien’s work and Beowulf are obvious and clear in the story.

The story makes you feel like you are in the midst of battle and sitting at the bench of the mead hall. Beowulf is a beautiful work of art that also gives a sense of how Anglo-Saxons might have viewed the world in the first part of the Middle Ages. It’s well worth a read. I would recommend reading it out loud to hear the sounds that Heaney has put into his poem. You will feel the poem more, if you can hear it as well as read it. It’s also understandable enough that young children can probably follow along (as yet untested hypothesis). If you are into olde English, you can get the bilingual edition with the olde English on one side and the modern on the other.

I have divided the quotes into three sections. The first set is the description of the monsters. The second set is the description of fate and providence that brings men into conflict with the monsters. The third set is the proper response that men must show to being placed in such a fate. These quotes illustrate the main lesson of the book and its poetry.

The Terror of the Monster
“Then out of the night came the shadow-stalker, stealthy and swift . . .” (47).

“The hero observed that swamp-thing from hell, the tarn-hag in all her horrible strength…” (105).

“The dragon began to belch out flames and burn bright homesteads; there was a hot glow that scared everyone, for the vile sky-winger would leave nothing alive in his wake” (157).

The Power of Fate
“Fate goes ever as fate must” (31).

“First and foremost, let the Almighty Father be thanked for this sight. I suffered a long harrowing by Grendel. But the heavenly Shepherd can work His Wonders always and everywhere” (63).

“Past and present, God’s will prevails. Hence, understanding is always best and a prudent mind. Whoever remains for long here in this earthly life will enjoy and endure more than enough” (71).

The Call to Virtue
“Behaviour that’s admired is the path to power among people everywhere” (5).

“Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning. For every one of us, living in this world means waiting for our end. Let whoever can win glory before death. When a warrior is gone, that will be his best and only bulwark” (97).

“Thus Beowulf bore himself with valour; he was formidable in battle yet behaved with honour and took no advantage; never cut down a comrade who was drunk, kept his temper and, warrior that he was, watched and controlled his God-sent strength and his outstanding natural powers” (149).

“They said that of all the kings upon the earth he was the man most gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win fame” (213).

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