Day 3b: Copenhagen to Stockholm

I bid goodbye to compartment-mates at the Copenhagen Central Station and they wish me the best for my long journey.

There is a lift down to the Left Luggage facility at the Meatpacking District end of train station. Payment by coins and you get a large plastic token in return.

The City Night Line was delayed by an hour so i have only a little time to spare before the train to Stockholm at 1629h. Just time enough to revisit old haunts:

Paté Paté in Kødbyen. Delicious food for a stomach that hasn’t had a proper warm sit-down meal in more than a week. Free wifi. Cheerful obliging waitstaff. Plugs in walls. Clean toilets.

Democratic Coffee in Københavns Hovedbibliotek. Drop Coffee. La Marzocco.

Paludan Bog & Cafe. No, not that bog. A visually lovely book and coffee/tea/repast pairing.

bicycles! bicycles! bicycles! bicycles hanging by walls, bicycles posing in front of shops, bicycles casually leaning.

The Danes love their hot dogs and apparently voted DØP the organic hot dog vendor at the foot of the Round Tower as the best in the business.

To save time, I get a picnic for the train from Andersen Bakery opposite København H instead, and a large bottle of Cocio chocolate milk to go along. “Best hot dog in Copenhagen!” says the man beside me approvingly.

Day 2b – 3a: Amsterdam to Copenhagen

Amsterdam Centraal Station. The relevant board says the 1901 City Night Line sleeper CNL40457 leaves from this platform, but appears to be going only to Prahn. These two Germans explain that sometime during the night, the train will divide – one part to Prahn, one to Berlin, and one to Copenhagen. One of them is a deadringer for the Girl-With-A-Dragon-Tattoo. They offer me a “goouummy”.

The train attendant explains that although there are six-beds in my compartment, a maximum of 4 will be used at a time. My bed is on the top and must be accessed using the ladder from under one of the bottom bunks. i make my bed with the bedsheet provided, and toss on the pillow and blanket. There is ventilation, temperature control, the option of florescent or dimmed lighting, curtains, and a lock for the door. There is a also friendly atmosphere and time is easily spent bantering with the two English boys in the next compartment. The train attendant offers to get my mobile charged in one of the washrooms and locks it in for safety.

At Emmerich, just on the German side of the Netherlands-German border, serious German policemen board the train. They open every loo door and finding one of the washrooms locked, unlock it with their keys. I hurry down the corridor, only to have a torch shone in my face:
“Is this your phone?”
“Why have you locked it in the washroom?”
Two compartments down from me, i hear them ask someone for his passport. He and his baggage are taken off the train. The English boys stand on the platform watching and banter about the reasons for this.

Two guys join me in the compartment in Germany. One is Danish but lives in the United States. The other is a German who works in Copenhagen.
“Why do you have an American accent?” I ask the first.
“Why do you have an English accent?” he counters.
The German speaks of Danish politics and how he dislikes a politician who is trying to keep “foreigners” out.

Along the corridor, we hear rumours that this is the last CityNightLine sleeper from Amsterdam to Copenhagen. All around Europe, the tracks are falling silent at night.

From the architecture, we could tell we were now in Denmark.

*Earworm for the journey: Stuart Townend’s Singing Hallelujah from his The Paths of Grace album.

Day 2a: Hoek van Holland to Amsterdam

Jolted awake by a member of the crew pounding on the door: “Time to go! Time to go!”

Hurriedly pack and wash, and take an elevator to deck 9 where there is a gangway to the Hoek van Holland terminal. Immigration takes one look at my burgeoning bergen and asks for evidence that i will be leaving the Schengen Area at some specific date in the future.

“So where are you going?”
“Amsterdam.”
“And where are you going after that?”
“Copenhagen.”
“Ok…and where are you going after that?”
“Stockholm, then Riga, then…”
“Are you saying you are travelling the whole of Europe in a few days?”
“Yes.”

On the track outside the Hoek van Holland ferry terminal, i meet a nice Malaysian couple attempting to get to Amsterdam as well. The trick is to get the train to Schiedum Centraal (“Sprinter Rotterdam Centraal”) and then take a connecting train from Platform 5 to Amsterdam Centraal. Love the double-decker concept.

Left Luggage in Amsterdam Centraal Station is operated by credit card. Credit cardless types ask fellow travellers to pay for them and then refund them in cash. Because of a flaw in the process, it is important to check the locker number on the printed barcoded receipt – a German family accidentally pay for my locker.

Finally, Amsterdam, the city built on stilts!

Canals, canals, canals!

Then, there is looking the wrong way. Not recognising tram tracks. Almost being run over by a tram. Almost being run over by a tram, then immediately almost being run over by several bicycles.

Bicycles. Dutch-style bicycles, of course. Dutch-style bicycles with wooden fruit crates, or with baby carriers. Riding bicycles with a brolly in one hand.

cheese for tourists, sausages for tourists, flower market for tourists, dressing up for tourists

paintings of canal houses, porcelain miniature canal houses, postcards of canal houses, Oud Delft pottery that look like bad copies of Ming vases

art work that i badly want for my loo.

Pipe Museum. P.G.C. Hajenins’ mix-your-own baccy. Weed. Coffeeshops. Weed-growing starter kits in the flower market. Spacecakes. Locals insisting that weed is for tourists. Weedsauce for your fries.

Manneken Pis frites. Eating hot crisp fat frites in the steady drizzle.

Lanskroon – “the best stroopwafel in Amsterdam”. Their cat comes straight up to me and starts nuzzling incessantly.

Sweet Cup Cafe. Microroastery. Giesen roaster. Chefke the Bassett waiting for the last member of his pack. Indie-coffeeshops as third places for communities and staging posts for travellers. Specialists. “You don’t want to smell my Kenyan? Don’t you like my coffee?”. Providing counselling for aeropress angst. “We only do single origin coffees. Those people who blend are trying to hide bad coffee or making the price lower.”

Chocolate milk and a ham-and-cheese croissant and some hagelslag chocolate sprinkles for a picnic for the train. From Albert Heijn after i draw a blank at HEMA.

Day 1 of London to Singapore Over the Surface of the Planet Earth

Who knows the minds of men? Not the men themselves, obviously.

At 1900h on a Thursday in October, i find myself in a flat in Bermondsey, the Shard framed in my bedroom window. Inside the room, a bergen is stuffed full of tokens of my life in London, and i am rushing to catch the 1932 Abellio Greater Anglia from London Liverpool Street to Harwich International.

Somehow, i will be travelling from London to Singapore, without getting on an aeroplane, over sea and land, by ferries and trains.

But first, i stop to hoover the room for Ben who will be moving in on Saturday.

This is the contents of the bergen:

i am incredibly thankful that Bus 47 arrives 2 minutes after i scramble to Jamaica Road, and surprisingly for that time of the evening, we encounter no traffic jams.

A few minutes to spare, my bergen and i locate a seat each on the 1932. Finally resting a little after the mad sweaty rush of the day, i find my mobile contains photos of people in the church office waving and shouting goodbye and farewell texts from my RML group and other friends.

My nose starts to bleed.

People in the twin seats facing us stare embarrassed at their newspapers.

At Harwich International, we turn left up an escalator and a disorderly queue forms. There’s an x-ray machine and plainclothes police. We collect our room cards and trundle up the gangway to the Stena Line. Quite a number are using the Rail & Sail Dutchflyer Service from London to Amsterdam.

There’s a telly and free wifi, a towel and bedlinen with short dark hairs of the previous user. The bathroom is spacious enough and the shower dispenses hot water with good pressure. After a good half hour of listening to people wandering past my cabin speculating on where their own might be (“the numbers are ascending here…”), i leave to chat with several Filipino crew before tiredness drives me to a hot shower and a dreamless sleep.

Homeward Bound

“Don’t go home,” she said quietly, away from listening ears,”We don’t want you to go home.”

“We would very much like it if you could possibly stay,” said the Rector, my blushing face spotlit by the glare of assembled eyes.

Over the last few months, those first kind remarks became several, a refrain, a chorus, a torrent, said in different situations and various ways – some surely mere pleasantry, and some more polite than others – the latter involving allusions to church furniture (not a compliment at the best of times and certainly not when the church building has been around since the Vikings terrorised the island!).

“But what makes you think I am going home?” I did not, at any point, say as I hurried on to another topic in embarrassment. London is as much “home” as Singapore. Because…what is home?

A fantasy of the orphan; a mirage in the eyes of the wanderer; a daydream of the alien.

What is home? The sure promise of a faithful God; a place to be rightly yearned for; the blissful rest still to come.

And so all we who live in faith are not yet home; we are homeward bound.

¹³ These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13-16)

Hummable Hymns

Have really enjoyed how many hymns (modern or from ages past) we’ve had in the Evening Service at the Local Church. The university students are not complaining – good tunes, good meaty lyrics, what’s not to like? Feeds the earworms too so the truth gets sung to you for a few days after – more bang for your buck!

Generally good stuff to be had from Stuart Townend and Sovereign Grace Music. Some good scores at Songs For Today with good clear-thinking blog posts as a little bonus.

The Lord’s my Shepherd I’ll not want
He makes me lie in pastures green
He leads me by the still still waters
His goodness restores my soul

And I will trust in you alone
And I will trust in you alone
For your endless mercy follows me
Your goodness will lead me home

He guides my ways in righteousness
and he anionts my head with oil
and my cup it overflows with joy
I feast on his pure delight

And I will trust in you alone
And I will trust in you alone
For your endless mercy follows me
Your goodness will lead me home

And though I walk the darkest path,
I will not fear the evil one
For you are with me and your rod and staff
Are the comfort I need to know

And I will trust in you alone
And I will trust in you alone
For your endless mercy follows me
Your goodness will lead me home

Stuart Townend
© 1996 Kingsway’s Thankyou Music

 

The Lord is gracious and compassionate
Slow to anger and rich in love
The Lord is gracious and compassionate
Slow to anger and rich in love

And the Lord is good to all
He has compassion in all that he has made

As far as the east is from the west
Thats how far he has removed our
transgressions from us (repeat)

Praise the Lord, oh my soul
Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord, oh my soul
Praise the Lord

Graham Ord
© 1998 Vineyard Songs (UK/EIRE)

A debtor to mercy alone,
of covenant-mercy I sing;
nor fear, with your righteousness on,
my person and offering to bring:
the terrors of law and of God
with me can have nothing to do;
my Saviour’s obedience and blood
hide all my transgressions from view.

The work which his goodness began,
the arm of his strength will complete;
his promise is “Yes” and “Amen”,
and never was forfeited yet:
things future, nor things that are now,
nor all things below or above,
can make him his purpose forgo,
or sever my soul from his love.

Eternity will not erase
my name from the palms of his hands;
in marks of indelible grace
impressed on his heart it remains:
yes, I to the end shall endure,
as sure as the promise is given;
more happy, but not more secure
the glorified spirits in heaven.
Augustus Montague Toplady, David. E. Evans (“Trewen” – this is the best approximation I could find of it)

 

How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
what more can he say than to you he has said,
you, who to Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;
in poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
at home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
as days may demand, shall your strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed,
for I am your God and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen and help you, and cause you to stand
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through fiery trials your pathways shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be your supply;
the flame shall not hurt you; I only design
your dross to consume, and your gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I cannot desert to his foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavour to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

Richard Keen, Richard Simpkin
© Simpo’s tune – songsfortoday.com
See this rockin’ tune. Or listen to it with electronica craziness at emumusic.

Stewardship of Money and Living in London on a Student Budget

It’s that time of the year when sunny days get colder and the student hordes throng the streets of London. I’ve had a good time meeting the first arrivals, urging them to make the most of their few years abroad.

It’ll be a sad thing if all they had to show at the end of their degree was, erm, a degree, selfies in front of tourist attractions, signed menus from Michelin restaurants, and a life partner to eat in said restaurants with. There’s much more to life, boys and girls! Away from the usual societal crutches of home, this is the perfect opportunity to think carefully and independently about life – to investigate properly what truth is and so set valid life goals according to that truth. After thorough investigation, Christian claims, as set out in the Bible, seemed overwhelmingly true:

1. the deadly problem we all face is that we are all under the wrath of God for failing to acknowledge him;
2. nothing we can ever do or say will be able to turn away God’s wrath on the Last Day;
3. but God sent his Son Jesus to save us from this – if we trust that what God promised is true – ie. that Jesus’ death is sufficient to save us from the consequences of our sin.

Because this is such an important thing for this life and the next, I would highly recommend everyone to research this for themselves. A Christianity Explored course is a great place to start! And London universities are well served by good churches like St. Helen’s Bishopsgate and Euston Church.

While the important stuff gets sorted, there are also daily necessities to consider. (Ah but, really, who ultimately provides us with money to buy food with, enables food to grow as they should, regulates the seasons, gives us breath?) As a student at a Bible course, living off my own savings, I had to be careful about spending, but also not let frugality be an idol; to be so able to work the budget as still to be generously hospitable about housing and feeding people. We usually think that “good stewardship” of God-given money consists merely of avoiding conspicuous consumption, but miserliness too fails to properly invest God’s money for his work.

Food
Because the United Kingdom produces its own food and local food is more likely to be less expensive, it is best to eat the season.

Street markets are your best bet for fresh food. I don’t mean the organic hipster places but the “ethnic” sort in East London – for example, along Whitechapel or in Shadwell. Vegetables are usually sold by the bowl – £1 for whatever is in the bowl. And I have managed to bargain for more to be stuffed in the same bowl…

Check London Farmers Markets for more English/continental produce. Although basics are on the whole more expensive, this is for you if you care about provenance. And there are some bargains at closing time or on things that don’t usually figure in the modern London kitchen – like duck hearts, other offal, pork bones for ramen bases. Even the more posh farmers’ markets are worth checking out: I’ve gotten good bags of pesticide-free fruit and vegetables for £1 each at the Marylebone Farmers’ Market and chicken carcasses for stock (but with enough flesh left on it for a meal for one or two) for 25p each at Borough Market.

It’s also worth being a regular at your local butcher and fishmonger who may throw in stuff for free once they get to know you.

Foraging has saved me a bundle on fruit and herbs. But obviously you need to be sure not to poison yourself, especially with the mushrooms. Check out recipes and advice at Forage London.

If you really need to use a supermarket, you can compare prices at mysupermarket.co.uk. There isn’t a particularly generally cheap(er) mainstream supermarket: Tesco and Sainsbury’s might sell different goods more cheaply. Lidl, Aldi, and ASDA, although not known to be upmarket, have own-brand products that stand up to more expensive own-brands: like olive oil and charcuterie. Check for Great Taste Awards as well. There are also treasures in Lidl’s wine bins (eg. Bordeaux second growths).

Waitrose does really deep discounts on well-kept but expiring food. I usually snap these up for the freezer – good for lazy evenings and unexpected guests. It’s also worth signing up to be a Waitrose member for free coffee (espresso, cappuccino, latte) and tea daily, additional discounts, and a free well-written magazine every month.
The other great thing about Waitrose is that it applies original bulk-buy discounts to stickered items. In this instance, Waitrose technically paid me £0.11 to buy 18 sausages off them!

Marks & Spencer stores tend to clear out their bakery sections at a good yellow-stickered discount about 6.00 p.m. (store-dependent) every day so you can get proper bread/pastry your dinner/breakfast there. The city center stores are also good for discounts on dairy items like milk and cheese.

Approved Food has a bit of a niche selling food near or past its best before date at good reductions.

Coffee
Brewing your own probably gives you a better cup and saves you loads off Costa lattes. Worth checking out online coffee companies for promotional discounts – eg. Pact Coffee delivers your first order for only £1.

Clothes
By the fact that everyone can tell me a mile away by my clothes, it is clear that I don’t really have much experience in this area. But for fig leaves that don’t look too cheap, TK Maxx has good stuff. There are loads of charity shops around. Also look out for clothes swaps.

For camping/hiking/walking clothes, footwear, and accessories, try the Army Surplus Store

Hair Cuts
Get them free by being a real live model for hairdressing students or juniors. Have a look at this Time Out article for details.

Cookware, homeware and home electricals
Check first if anyone has anything to give away on London Freecycle or Gumtree or a whole list of alternatives on the Guardian Green Living Blog or on the London Re-use Network. Otherwise, compare prices at:
Robert Dyas
Argos
Lakeland
Poundland, 99p shop, 98p shop…

Reuse, Reuse, Reuse
Reuse jars as cups and for storage. Reuse can and coffee cups as pen and pencil holders. Reuse fruit crates for shelves. Reuse wine cases for bookshelves.

Transportation
Cycling around London is free, though you’ll need to acquire a bicycle and an all-important bicycle lock.

Bicycles
Freecycle, Gumtree, . Or ReCycling and other sites listed on Bike Hub. Cycle training, if you live in Tower Hamlets, is free.

You’ll want to keep your ride in good shape, so pop down to the free bicycle maintenance workshops.

Trains
The Man on Seat 61 has good advice about this.

Leisure Activities
It helps to live in areas that the government thinks need a leg up. In Tower Hamlets, for example, there is free tennis and relatively cheap admission to swimming pools.

For theatre, opera, concerts, check out the TKTS website for discounts, or (if appropriate) hunt for student standby tickets or platform seats.

Lots more tips at moneysavingexpert.com.

Summer Camp, More Goodbyes

Mid-goodbye-hug, I was bundled into a moving car and whisked to the rail station by the coast, where a train was about to depart for London. I yearned to linger and prolong 11 days of magnificent gospel partnership…but there was a Glaswegian-Norwegian wedding to witness and celebrate.
If the same team would have me, I would fly any where in the world to work with them. They were a fantastic mix of commitment to God and his word, godliness, Protestant work ethic, absolute craziness, humility, creative problem-solving, ruthlessness in dealing with sin, patience, sportsmanship, prayerfulness, servant-(arm-down-a-blocked-loo)-leadership. And all this in the extraordinary context of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (authentic gospel ministry looks weak and so brings glory to God alone), which we were studying for the week.

After the wedding, a week of last meals with good friends and neighbours. I never thought I’d be the one at the door, sending off people going to do work amongst the Chinese in some other bit of London, amongst the posh people in the West Country, amongst the prosperity-gospel-deluded in Africa, amongst the youth in Australia…

How do you say goodbye? Would that we could squeeze all that love and respect, and all those memories of fierce arguments and of sitting around in companionable silence, all the serious conversations and nonsensical banter, all the snuggling comfortingly in similar weaknesses and navigating our differences, into a small locket and carry that, warming our hearts, for the rest of our lives.

But we can’t. So we eat, and drink, and chat, and take selfies, and wash-up, then someone says,”Sorry, but I need to go. Otherwise, no one gets a sermon on Sunday”. And we part, and life goes on, because there is so much more to be done, and God will give us other partners for the work and companions for the journey. Until we meet again in the new creation.

Our not-very-smashed version of Massimo Bottura’s Oops I Dropped The Lemon Tart.

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye.

We said goodbye to the first of our neighbours in the same way our neighbourly relationship has always been conducted – over a shared meal, laughter, much banter. He will carry a suitcase of meagre possessions to a wet, windswept land and there speak the good news.

He is thin man not given to grand schemes. His hugs are strong and his handshakes, firm.

globe artichoke with lemon butter dip

grilled corn with paprika, fromage frais and parmigiano reggiano

parsnip chips with parmigiano reggiano

homemade cherry ripple ice-cream

We lingered over the table till it was late.

See you later, we said. See you in the new creation.

Epping Forest Blackberry Tart

We wandered around Epping Forest for a whole afternoon, sweeping out the cobwebs from the corners of our lives. It was good to be out in the sunshine and the breeze, amongst the rustling of leaves and tall hot grass and chirping birds. We laughed and talked, stopping only enough to pick and eat early wild blackberries* till our fingers were covered with layers of sticky sweetness and our appetites were satiated.

Then flinging ourselves under the shade of spreading trees, we abandoned the fight against gravity and succumbed to the drowsy summer heat.

When we got home in the evening and were clean and refreshed from cold showers, I made us a “rustic tart” from the abundance of ripe fruit.

“To companionship! To Christ! To He who controls all things!”.

We ate together.

Soon the coddling warmth of summer will cool to autumn, and then the darkness of winter will not be far behind.

*not against Epping Forest by-laws, although people have interpreted foraging for wild mushrooms as contravening the same

Clarity in Epistemology, Theories of Truth, Precision in Communication, Facets of Reality, and More Photos of Food

In between the innumerable barbecues (the English sort requiring shielding with brollies from the London rain) and having people round for dinner, have been pondering the necessity of clarity in thinking about things and precision in communication. (The Tutor first raised it when we were chatting a few months ago about the setting up of apprenticeship schemes in churches. Female Tutor thought this was one of my (very few) strengths, i am not so certain as most of this blog demonstrates… Was also talking about this with Online Bookshopkeeper and wife last month.)

Clarity in Epistemology

Possibility of Clarity
But before we even consider the subject, the question should surely be whether there is even the possibility of epistemological clarity*, both for the unbeliever with his unregenerated mind and for the believer living in this fallen world?

One of the most common presuppositions in modern thinking is that the human mind and all it generates (theories in various sciences, humanities) should have the utmost claim to the authoritative interpretation of reality. But if Scripture is right**, human brain power cannot be the ultimate in the process of evaluation, because it is corrupted by sin:

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonouring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to dishonourable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know God’s decree that those who practise such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practise them. (Romans 1:18-32)

• If God has established objective reality (“truth”), and
• humans because of their refusal to acknowledge God as God by worshipping him or thanking him,
• have suppressed the truth about God, then
• they have become so corrupted in their thinking that they are unwilling and unable to know the truth and act accordingly.

This is why Jesus didn’t say that we just need to try a little harder to be good or to turn over a new leaf, but that we need to be born again to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3) – we need a whole new existence.

For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, ¹⁰ as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
¹¹     no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
¹² All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”
¹³ “Their throat is an open grave;
    they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
¹⁴     “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶     in their paths are ruin and misery,
¹⁷ and the way of peace they have not known.”
¹⁸     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:9b-18)

However, as human theories in the sciences and humanities attest, mankind has not been completely blinded to the truth. We have still been made in the image of God (though now flawed), have still been allowed to live in God’s world, and can still observe, dimly, consistencies in the way the world works and, with what we have termed as chemistry, physics, biology etc, have attempted to categorise and explain these consistencies and so predict the outcome of things.

The sad fact is that in our arrogance, we assume that this common grace, this cataracted view of reality should then be the basis on which we judge God. We are ignorant that we are like blind men feeling bits of an elephant.

Presuppositions
“How can you believe in God when science says otherwise?” is the usual question thrown about. But this challenge is founded on shaky presuppositions**.

Fundamental to all human thinking, whether in the sciences or in economics or philosophy is that which we call logic and reasoning. However even these are merely epistemological theories following the use of the human mind or human perceptual apparatus. While it is possible that the existence of synthetic a priori stuff or observable phenomena may point to the self-consistency of the Creator, our theories about them cannot limit him, since he alone has established reality and we are merely poor half-blind observers of it. Good try, Descartes, Kant et al.

Further, in logic theory, most science is based merely on inductive reasoning – that is, that its conclusions are merely possible or probable, given the truth of the premises. So its conclusions are actually a not-completely-adequate subset of a not-completely-authoritative theory. To base one’s evaluation of the truth on “what science says” is therefore quite erroneous.

Even further, the scientific method is only one of many ways that humans have come up with to acquire knowledge and analyse the truth. We do not consider the truth in a court of law or in a history book (or even in a newspaper) by requiring similar empirical or measurable evidence.

a forest of carrot and beetroot greens

Clarity
So then, clarity. There is a sense in which we can and should engage people’s minds in pointing them to the truth. Jesus, the prophets, and the apostles all used language and argument to communicate the truth.

Wonder how many apologetic strangleholds can be broken (humanly at least) by attending to, and interacting with, the other party’s theory of truth. Most of the time, the other party relies on some background in his thoughts but is not yet aware of (i) his truth presuppositions; and so (ii) the diverse methodologies proposed by humans for determining the different sorts of truths. For example, he may assume that all truth must be proved by the narrow epistemological method that pertains to proof of scientific hypotheses, and so neglect the whole school of historiography and historical method in determining the veracity of an account of an event in the past.

But ultimately of course, a change of mind that comes with re-birth, is the work of the Spirit, who is likened to the wind – it blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes (John 3:8).

grilled aubergine, tomatoes, with mozarella

Precision in Communication

There is a need for clear thinking in the minds of believers too in their theology and doctrine. (For further discussion.)

Additionally, since we should already be of the same mind, there should be precision in our communication with each other (as well as in apologetics of course). How many good-faith arguments (cf. bad-faith trolling) might have been nipped in the bud by parties:

• having clarity on the exact definition of terms used in the argument – most of the time i find i have been arguing at cross-purposes with someone because we’d neglected to first lay out the contents of the package we called “faith” or “gospel” or “God’s sovereignty” or “reading the Bible for ourselves”;
• not succumbing to the false bifurcation that so besets so many political rallies; humbly considering that differing views may be complementary rather than contradictory.

Note that none of this suggests that reality is relativistic (in the sense that there is no objective reality, or that such objective reality cannot be determined). Rather, it wonders whether objective reality is so faceted and our human understanding so limited that the same thing needs to be described in several ways that are complementary and not contradictory to each other. We should not quarrel over the priority of one Scriptural facet over another, if Scripture itself does not prioritise one over the other.

compote of rhubarb and pear, shortbread crumble, fromage frais and heavy cream

*disregarding for the moment questions as to the absolute value of clarity
**how a fallen mind can establish this is a whole other discussion, Münchhausen et al

For own reference, currently reading:
Vern Sheridan Poythress’ Logic
Vern Sheridan Poythress’ Symphonic Theology

Kitchen Experiments and Hermeneutics

Now that School is finally over, have been using rainy days to consolidate and masticate on things. Naturally, this has required the presence of Activities of Minor Distraction – like cooking and baking, the products of which have been greatly appreciated in the innumerable socials that have mushroomed now that summer is really here.

Just like a sustained period of playing around with food gives even an amateur like me some sense of the flavours and textures of ingredients and an idea of how they might fit together, so the last two years of having to handle and teach the Bible daily have been very useful for getting a tiny feel of how God’s word in Scripture works.

So a re-look at my hermeneutics, with loads of chatting with great people in both the Local Church and wider family – not a major revamp but a tidying-up and ordering of material. Hermeneutics isn’t just the preserve of biblical scholars and pastors and teachers – it is essential to understand what God is saying in his word because God’s word is essential to the life of his people; every debate in Christian history would, at least in part, be concerned with hermeneutical issues.

smoked tuna on Poilâne sourdough bread

tenderstem asparagus, rocket leaves, broad beans, Pomo Dei Moro tomatoes, mozarella cheese on Poilâne sourdough bread

rump steak, candied radishes, rocket leaves, baby carrots

ox cheek with red wine and port sauce, on wasabi mash potato

Parking some transitional thoughts here for the moment (to be demonstrated at a later time: how each of these points should be backed up by Scripture):

1. Assumptions: (i) that the original text of the Bible is God’s word to humankind; (ii) that God has a message that he wanted communicated to its original hearers/readers (as the case may be) and also to his people thereafter; and (iii) that there is therefore a primary meaning to the text (that must be adhered to, precluding postmodern subjective personal “I like to think that this is saying” interpretation) and it is comprehensible to humans.
2. Original languages and translation issues. The first step in biblical hermeneutics would be to understand God’s word in its original languages – mainly Hebrew and Ancient Greek. This isn’t something that most of us can do, given that we do not have working knowledge of those languages. But if we are reading the Bible in another language, then we need to keep all the issues of translation (see Robert Stein on The History of the English Bible.) in mind as we exegete (one version of) the English Bible: for example, many words in one language may not have an equivalent in another language, so translators would have to make a decision how to render the meaning of the word without inserting it too awkwardly in the sentence. As a poor alternative, D.A. Carson suggests reading several good (query: good) versions in the destination language.
3. Comprehension skillz. The basic toolkit laid out in books like Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sach’s Dig Deeper (and its very imaginatively-named siblings) is useful, but the tools themselves need to be wielded with discernment and finesse in different passages and books of the Bible, without accidentally taking anyone’s eye out. Experience is needed to know which tools to use together and which ones might take precedent over another in each context. Then there are other more specialised instruments generally useful in comprehending any text, eg. understanding the use of rhetorical devices.
4. Logic and textual context. Beware errors of reasoning and inference (see Carson’s Exegetical Fallacies and Must I Learn to Interpret the Bible). Remember also that meaning is linked to context. Consider the concentric circles of context: immediate context (eg. in an epistle, its place in the argument), book context (how that particular human author uses language, themes), biblical theological context (eg. covenantal – words might be used differently in the two covenants), canonical context (“analogy of the faith” – Scripture is its own interpreter, because behind the whole of Scripture is one Author – see Michael S. Horton’s (am i the only one who feels compelled to scream “Horton hears a Who” everytime i see his surname?) Interpreting Scripture By Scripture). Beware “canon within a canon” (see Carson’s Biblical Interpretation and the Church).
5. Historical and cultural context. God has not given us a culturally or historically-neutral textbook. Beware erroneous generalisations. In relation to injunctions: (i) beware absolutising one-off commands; (ii) understand God’s rationale behind command – what God wants and so how to apply in different cultural context.
6. Beware presuppositions. Be aware of how your own historical, cultural, theological presuppositions are affecting your reading of the Bible.
7. Getting to Christ. In respect of point (4) on biblical theology and canonical context and point (6), consider (i) the Biblical evidence for Jesus Christ being the controlling factor in all exegesis; and (ii) what this actually means! Consider law and gospel, redemptive-historical, covenantal, typological, anti-type, kingdom of God (God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule), promise-fulfilment etc perspectives. See Graeme Goldsworthy’s Biblical Theology and Hermeneutics.
8. Remember that it is God’s word: therefore, any exegesis is done reverently, with a view to sitting under his word.
9. Reality check. Remember that we are fallen creatures – therefore our intellect is imperfect. Yet, remember also that we who are God’s children have God’s Spirit within us.

afternoon tea from scratch – homemade scones with homemade strawberry jam

raspberry bakewell cake

deconstructed apple pie – apple confit, crushed Digestives, homemade caramel, whipped double cream, cinnamon dust

strawberry rosewater watermelon gluten-free cake

stacked strawberry cheesecake

John Frame, Doctrine of the Word of God

 

Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Dekalog

We were brainstorming films for movie night, and I thought that you could never go wrong with a Kieslowski. (This was proved erroneous by the averse reaction to someone’s independent choice of Decalogue I for film night on the Long Weekend Away.) His Dekalog television series is a masterful example of film-making and effective story-telling. It is also a good observation of how the complexity and breadth of the so-called Ten Commandments and how the utter fallenness of this world affects our obedience to the commandments.

The characters in all 10 films appear to live in the same drab apartment block neighbourhood. They are dressed in normal dull clothes, live in normal dull apartments, are balding and aging; normal people wrestling with these issues in everyday life. And then there is a man who appears in most of the films – he never gets involved, be is always observing.

Only slightly coherent blurbs below:

Dekalog I: “I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods before me.”

Computers, mathematics, logic cannot answer the questions of death and souls. They cannot reveal meaning and purpose and the dreams of loved ones. They can’t be trusted to predict the future. They are not God. The computer is a false god.

Dekalog II: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”

Powerless doctor is pushed to play God. He is Christian (see Dekalog VIII).

Dekalog III: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Sabbath equated with Christmas Eve (or Christmas?). The sacredness of Christmas eve (Christmas?) is understood universally – a day to be set aside for family, for going home. We think it a sacrilege that it should be spent with other people, elsewhere. Even though we understand that Christmas is the day we celebrate God-with-us, yet we do not rejoice in putting aside the Sabbath to spend time with God.

Dekalog IV: “Honour your father and mother.”

People are not one’s father and mother merely by blood. Rather, it is when a female chooses to honour a male as father, rather than merely a member of the opposite gender, does he truly become her father.

Dekalog V: “Thou shalt not kill.”

A prohibition against harming another. But who harms who? The law decides. But the law doesn’t adjudicate all wrongs. And don’t the enforcers of the law also harm the perpetrators? Jurisprudence, philosophy of sentencing. Who decides when taking a life is wrong in one scenario and right in another?

Dekalog VI: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

A teenager wants to possess (in a non-sexual manner) someone who isn’t his wife; an older lady has multiple sex partners without loving any of them. Adultery either way since adultery is lust for another person outside a marriage relationship.

Dekalog VII: “Thou shalt not steal.”

Who is stealing from whom in this film? Is attempting to possess what one should not legitimately have a right to, even if that thing isn’t property but a person, stealing? Is attempting to reclaim what rightfully belongs to you, stealing? But to whom does a child rightly belong – biological mother or functional and legal mother?

Dekalog VIII: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”

A web of lies. In 1943, a Catholic couple back out of an agreement to hide a Jewish girl, citing incompatibility with this commandment. In fact, they were lying – they backed out because someone had themselves given false testimony against the people who brought the girl in, saying that this was a sting operation by the Germans.

Dekalog IX: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife.”

Perhaps this commandment is less about coveting and more about being content with what one has – flawed and little as it may be (a beautiful voice, an impotent husband, a childless future).

Dekalog X: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s goods.”

“You can covet everything,” sings the younger brother at a metal concert,”because everything is yours.” Not so cool when he and his brother inherit valuable stamps that other people want. The brothers are obsessed with completing a final valuable collection that they give up their families and careers and one kidney – is stamp collecting a type of legitimised coveting? But all for naught – in the end, they lose everything to another’s avarice.