Plea for Weekly Communion Examined

A new website, the Reformed Liturgical Institute gives a link to a paper encouraging weekly communion. It deserves a response.

Rev. Daniel Hyde is the author and his plea is divided into exegetical, theological, historical, and practical reasons for going to Weekly Communion. I shall deal with the first two in this post.

His exegetical reasons revolve almost exclusively around Acts 2:42. "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, an in breaking of bread, and in prayers." Rev. Hyde argues that this shows the early church gathered to do these four things during their worship. But is Acts 2:42 talking about worship? Is breaking of the bread the Lord’s Supper? Luke 24:35 uses the same phrase, "breaking of bread" to describe Jesus in the home of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus was known to them during the breaking of bread. This is how the disciples related it to Peter and the others. Luke 24:30 specifically tells us that Jesus sat "at meat" with them then broke bread and revealed himself. The addition of the phrase "at meat" makes it fairly plain Luke is talking about a regular meal, not worship and not the Lord’s Supper. Another problem for making the phrase breaking bread to be a synonym for the Lord’s Supper is just four verse later in Acts. Although Rev. Hyde mentions Acts 2:46 where "breaking bread" is done ‘daily’, his paper still argues for weekly rather than daily communion. Why the difference? It is not explained. He also does not deal with the implications of partaking the Supper in one another’s home without elder supervision, which is how every church practices it today. Acts 2:46 also includes the idea of "eat their meat with gladness", which indicates regular meals rather than the Lord’s Supper. Why then is one verse speaking of worship and the other speaking of just eating at another’s house?

Rev. Hyde does move along to deal quickly with I Corinthians 11, but does not specifically single out verse 20 where we see the actual phrase the "Lord’s Supper". The act is named specifically, which leads one to wonder why the euphemism of "breaking bread" if the proper title is used as proven by I Corinthians. Why would Luke, a companion of Paul, use a euphemism when Paul never uses the euphemism, instead calls it by name?

His theological reasons also leave much to be desired. He does give quite a few theological reasons, and I shall deal with them in the order he provides.
First, the sacraments are the gifts of God for the people of God. And as His gifts to us we need to take advantage of them as much as possible as we live in "this present evil age"
This is a stretch at best. I agree the Supper is a gift, but does that mean we must use them as much as possible? Was not Passover a gift to the Israelites, but they did not celebrate it weekly. The Day of Atonement came but once a year as well, yet it was gift. Baptism too is a gift, but it is to be administered only once in your entire life. If the Supper is a gift to be used as often as possible, then why not partake daily? Why limit it to weekly? Daily makes a consistent fit with Acts 2:46. He has not supported the idea that a gift must be used often or weekly to be used rightly. In fact, there is ample biblical evidence that sometimes overuse is a bad thing. Take the Bronze Serpent of Moses. It was a gift to be used when bitten by a snake, yet it was overused, and its meaning lost. It had to be smashed because what was given as a gift had become perverted. A lesson not dealt with by Rev. Hyde.
Second, they are an accommodation from our Father to us. This is the meaning of "mindful." As David says in Psalm 103, "For He knows our frame, He remembers that we are dust." This is true, but not an argument for weekly communion. The same is true for his third and fourth points.

He then goes into a discussion of the application of the blessing, and he makes the following dangerous statement. We are not Pietists nor are we Zwinglians, we are Reformed. Therefore the Lord’s Supper is not a matter of my working, my receiving, my believing, my preparing, my coming, but of God’s action, His work in us through these means. Notice what Rev. Hyde has said, the blessing of God comes through the means of the Supper even if you do not believe. If this is true what blessings do those unbelievers receive when they partake of the Supper, and what is Paul talking about in I Corinithians 11:29 when he warns of unworthy eating receiving, not a blessing, but damnation? These questions Rev. Hyde ignores.

Rev. Hyde then makes another astounding statement. He claims the Supper is the "clearest way the promises of God are given to us." Wait, are the sacraments more clear than preaching? Rev. Hyde thinks so. The preaching of the Word is not the clearest manifestation of the Gospel, then. Note that well. Instead, it is the administration of the sacraments through the hands of ministers that most clearly gives us the Gospel. For his support he cites no Scripture, but only a quote from Calvin and one from Beza where they speak of the Word not appealing to our senses while the sacraments do. No one denies the Supper appeals to different senses than the preached word, but does that make it more clear because it is more physical? That is not what we see Paul saying in II Timothy 4. Instead Paul commands preaching of the Word. In Romans 10:14 says ‘how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard?’ Paul is not talking about the Supper, he is talking about preaching. Jesus does not even mention the Lord Supper in the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19). If the Supper is the clearest way to present the promises of God, why is it left out? Why do we believe that the Supper should never be separated from the Word if we think the Supper so clear by itself? Would not the Supper then become the high point of worship, and not the preached word, if the Supper is indeed the clearest explanation of the gospel? Yes, yes it does, and Rev. Hyde agrees. For his last point is the point so often made by James Jordan that the Supper is a covenant renewal ceremony. Jordan and Hyde, on account of his echoing Jordan, believe that true worship and covenant renewal has not taken place without partaking of the Supper. Thus we see the weekly communion tied into the redefinition of worship so that it is God renewing his covenant with us, and one must have the sacrificial meal in order to seal it. Rev. Hyde does not explain why God must renew his covenant of grace with us, or what happens to those who do not take the Supper weekly since God has left the covenant unrenewed for them. Yet, these questions shed light on a few of the problems of this redefinition of worship as a covenant renewal. Why does the covenant of grace need to be renewed? Why renew it weekly? What is the new character of the Supper since it is now essential to remaining in the covenant, or at least essential to God renewing his covenant with you? This questions are important questions because one gets the sense that weekly communion redefines many other doctrines, at least weekly communion as argued for by Rev. Hyde.

Anti-war debates

I have just been driving in my car and listening to Rush Limbaugh. The last several times I have listened to Mr. Limbaugh, he has been complaining that the country is not unified about the war in Iraq. A few days ago it was lauding the fact that 9 out of 10 Israelis support the action against Hezbollah/Lebanon. Today he was criticizing William Buckley, who criticized the Iraq war and President Bush. Of course Mr. Limbaugh also blasted Democrats for their anti-war views.
I have to say all of this whining about unity has always bothered me. There is a saying that politics ends at the country’s edge or at the oceans. That is nice and idealistic, but very, very untrue. War is really just politics, and is at least often motivated by political ideology, and thus separating it from political differences is impossible. In fact, with the sole exception of WWII, it has never happened in America. The American Revolution had its share of Tories (British sympathizers). The War of 1812 was not supported by any of the New England States, which were actually in the midst of demanding concessions from the government when the war ended. The Mexican American War was wildly unpopular with Whigs, and Northerners because they (probably rightly) suspected the motivation was to expand slavery. The Civil War was unpopular in the North, and there were still plenty of Unionist left in the South, especially the boarder states. They had their own political party in 1860 including men like Sam Houston and John Bell. Don’t forget that Kentucky refused to help either side, showing the unpopularity of the war. The Spanish American War was also opposed by many as a fabrication of American Imperialism. World War I was also not very popular. In fact, President Woodrow Wilson was re-elected as an anti-war candidate. His campaign slogan was “He kept us out of war.” Korea was not a wildly accepted conflict/war either, and Vietnam needs no discussion. Desert Storm did not last long enough for anyone to really oppose it. Only WWII had bi-partisan support from every section of the country. In fact, only one person voted against declaring war on Japan. It happened to be the first female elected to Congress, Jeannette Rankin. She hid in the coat room after her vote, and she had also voted against WWI.
So with this long history of opposing wars, why do men like Rush Limbaugh get so worked up when Democrats come out with an anti-war platform? America has only one experienced such support for a war, and we are still here and still fine. In fact, such opposition to war is healthy in my opinion. The debate needs to happen, which is exactly what the founding fathers thought as well. That is why the power to declare war is placed in the Senate. The only problem with Iraq is that this debate is taking place now, rather than prior to sending troops. It is taking place now because the Senate passes stupid things like ‘the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution’ and whatever the name for the resolution this time. The Senate has grown cowardly in their duties. The job of the Senate is to debate war, prior to its occurance. The President and the Senate let us down by by-passing it this time. I think we would all be in a better place if we would stop wishing for unity, and started airing our differences in the prescribed manner. Differences are not meant to be ignored, they are meant to be debated. That is the beauty of our American system.

Rev. Meyers and Development

Jeffrey Meyers has a post about Sola Scriptura in which he has hit the nail on the head, at least concerning the main point of contention, in my point of view. I believe the central tenant of any of these controversies, whether it is New Perspectives on Paul, Padeocommunion, or the Federal Vision, is Theological Development. Rev. Meyers states,

the reason so much of this is resonating with people is because the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century confessions and catechisms are no longer sufficient guides for the modern church.

Rev. Meyers outright admits that the Reformation Confessions are not good guides for modern believers, that the 21st century Christian is lost without a sufficient guide if he follows the 17th or 16th century creeds. (By "lost," I mean theologically, not eternally.) Let us look at an example of this theological lostness that results from dependence on old, outdated creeds:

The chapter [in the WCF] on the covenant, for example, is filled with problems. So much progress has been made in the last century on the biblical theology of the covenants. There are still things to be learned from the Bible, which necessitates updating and correcting our theological formulations.

Here is the assertion that we cannot miss. The new views on covenant theology are "progress." The reason we should abandon the Reformation creeds is we have progressed beyond them. New insights from new ideas about epistemology or new theories about Judaism or new outlooks on the world from our modern technology have made the old 16th century mindset a problem. The point is clear. John Calvin, Wolfgang Capito, Peter Vermigli, and Ulrich Zwingli did not understand the covenant rightly because they did not know enough. Part of the Bible was closed to them because they had not progressed sufficiently. Or maybe the world had not developed enough, and the Reformers were victims of the times. Either way, Meyers’ point is that the Bible is going to hold new truths for every generation, and usually it will hold new truths that were considered errors in previous generations. This view of history is fundamentally Hegelian and evolutionary: truth develops, progresses, or unfolds as history moves along. In Rev. Meyers’ worldview, we can stand on the shoulders of those who came before, but we can never stand with them.

This, I believe, is the main point of contention. This is why Bishop Wright is so popular, as well as Norman Shepherd and anyone else that comes up with a new view of things. We should be debating whether or not the new views of covenant are a progress/evolution or a devolution. Is it possible that a 1st century Jew could read the gospel of John and discover the same truth that a 21st century Christian could discover, are they differing truths or even tangential truths because the world they lived in was different? Do we believe God’s truth is the same to any and every generation, or do we believe it unfolds a little more for each successive generation?

Fault lines?

Guy Waters has a new book out about the Federal Vision. I have not yet read it because of the wonder of government run postal service. My tax money at work. Anyway, there are quite a few critiques out there to be read. Doug Wilson is blogging his way through the book, and his posts are very well done. Peter Leithart has a discussion about Rev. Waters views his books. Mark Horne also some related thoughts up on his page. It seems Rev. Waters is not friendly to the Federal Vision in his book, and I wonder if there is an avenue for a single pastor to bring other pastors up on charges if they lie in different presbyteries? Being unfamiliar with the ins and outs of PCA polity, I do not know the answer, but if Rev. Waters is charging men in his own denomination of heresy in print, he ought to do it in the church courts as well. Study Committee reports do not count. If there is no way for men in differing presbyteries to bring charges on one another, then there ought to be.

But that is a matter for another day. I want to specifically look at the opening of Joel Garver’s essay on Guy Waters. Rev. Garver writes about the current controversy:

These issues are not in themselves new, involving instead topics of perennial Reformed discussion such as the nature and practice of the Christian sacraments, the relationship between biblical and systematic theologies, the precise contours of a scripturally rooted covenant theology, how best to explain the free offer of the Gospel, how we pastorally apply a Calvinistic understanding of election, how we interconnect various aspects of soteriology, and so on. Any student of the history of reformational dogmatics will quickly recognize these as the dog-eared pages of past conversation and contention.

He then adds a few sentences later:

More often than not, I suspect (and shifting metaphors again), the discussion has had the effect of unearthing and shaking up the tradition’s existing fault lines that had lain dormant in the wake of liberalism’s assault upon orthodoxy, the hegemony of modernity and its assumptions, and the dominance of one particular variety of evangelical piety.

These are fascinating comments that could produce many different threads of discussion. One could argue his point about Reformed theology has long fought the battles he listed. It is a common argument that often involves defining ‘Reformed’. Was Luther ‘Reformed’? Do we consider men like Schaff and Nevin ‘Reformed’? One could also take the tact of arguing that Thomas Boston’s arguments about the Free Offer of the Gospel are not that same as the Federal Vision’s arguments. Or even asking the question of whether or not Biblical Theology pre-dates Vos in the late 19th century? Or one could discuss whether or not his list of discussions are really the heart issue or issues involved in the Federal Vision debate. I seem to remember justification being discussed quite a bit in the books that I have read, yet it fails to make his list. Unless that is what he means to convey when "interconnecting various aspects of soteriology". All worthy discussions.

However, I would like to get feedback on the idea of dormant fault lines running through the tradition, in this case presbyterianism or even the PCA specifically. It was said at the inception of the PCA that it would be a schismatical movement (obviously this was said by someone who did not join the PCA). While it is still a relatively young denomination it has yet to have a major schism. More than can be said for the beginning of the OPC. Is this Federal Vision shake up simply the ending of the honeymoon period of the PCA and the fault lines are showing of an inherently schismatic movement? Or is the ‘Truly Reformed’ camp more correct when they argue that the ‘Joining and Receiving’ of the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod created the fault lines? I suppose in short my question is ‘do you agree with Rev. Garver that the PCA, Presbyterianism, or the Reformed tradition in general has fault lines that run just underneath the surface?’

History Lesson for the Mercersburg Revival

As each denomination works through the Federal Vision issue, I think it useful to step back as see where the RCUS failed to deal with it in its more original form, Mercersburg Theology. I do believe that Federal Vision is really nothing more than a revival of the Mercersburg System, and in that respect the RCUS could have done the world a favor in the mid 19th century. The failure for the ‘Old Reformed’, as the opponents of Mercersburg where then called, was twofold.

First, the top down structure that grew in the RCUS. This really began with the creation of the seminary itself, and the accompanying rule that forbid any other place of education. It gave the seminary great power, and with it all of the seminaries proponents. As Mercersburg Theology grew and spread it seldom actually made its way to disciplinary or judicial action. This is because the machinery of a top down denomination was controlled by the proponents of the Mercersburg Vision. Philip Schaff was only put on trial once for his beliefs, and that time the trial was about to be declared out of order, but Schaff waived his rights in order to have the trail. He was declared not guilty, but more proof was found the next year, and the Philadelphia Classis renewed its charges. This time Schaff did not waive his right to have the Board of Visitors of the Seminary investigate the charges before any trail would take place. And while the Board of Visitors did give him a verbal slap, and made him promise to not teach such doctrines in the Seminary, no judicial action was ever taken. After that the Board of Visitors simply refused to hear any more complaints, and with the Board of Visitors rejecting complaints, no trial could take place. Within a few years large scale debates about Liturgy would take place that had John Nevin in print rejecting the theology behind a pulpit based liturgy, and no charges were filled. Why? Because the denomination was controlled the Mercersburg men. They did not have to have a majority to run the denomination, they only had to have control of the machinery, which they did. The Presidents were always Mercersburg men, the Board of Visitors was always Mercersburg Men, the mission boards, you name it, they controlled it. A lesson well worth remembering. In a top heavy denomination, like the PCA for example, it only takes a few key positions to be held, and it no longer matters who has the majority of churches, members, delegates. It is always unimportant.

Second, the Old Reformed types often quit rather than fight, especially in the early stages. For example, in 1822, only two years after the vote for a seminary had been answered in the affirmative, a group of ministers broke off to form the Free German Synod. These ministers may have been able to turn the tide, or at least significantly change the impact of the seminary that would eventually produce the Mercersburg Theology. By the time this group rejoined the RCUS, it was far too late. The early antagonists of the Nevin and Schaff also deserted when they appeared to be stopped. Joseph Berg, the one who brought Philip Schaff up on charges, ended up leaving to join the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1853, just as the Liturgy wars were heating up, the North Carolina Classis withdrew from Synod specifically because of the “heresies of Mercersburg”. Losing an entire Classis of ‘Old Reformed’ men hindered the ‘Old Reformed’ cause in the fight that ensued. The Civil War took away more Southerners, who generally opposed the Mercersburg movement.

In the end, the Mercersburg Theology won the day. They controlled the key positions in a top heavy denomination, such as the seminary, the President, and other various posts like missions, and publications. They also succeeded in discouraging political and theological battles, which eased their path to victory. These are lessons that every denomination should remember, not just as it examines the Federal Vision, but as it examines any controversial issue it faces.

America and the World Cup

There is always a lot of hope after the World Cup that Soccer will catch on in America, and it never does. It will not this time either in case you are wondering. The highest rating of the World Cup was about the same as Friday Night Smackdown of the World Wrestling Entertainment. Hardly an encouraging note, but it was up from four years ago. There are always lots of theories why the world’s most popular game is a big dud in America. Rush Limbaugh thinks it is a political plot by the Left to make us more like the rest of the world. Possibly the motive of some, but hardly the real reason soccer is as popular as paint drying in America. Not that many Americans care about politics (see our voter turn out) and even less think about politics why they watch their sports. The real reasons are simply, and I can boil it down to two.

Reason 1: Scoring is non-existent. The reason that scoring is non-existent is because no one wants to score. The goals are huge, yet many games end zero to zero or one to one, as did the World Cup Final. Just watch a shoot out, and you can see that a goalie has no chance to stop a shot. None. He completely guesses every time, and half the time when he guesses right, he still cannot stop it. Why do they not score like that during the game. Lack of trying is the only reason I can come up with. They too often go backward on the ‘pitch’ or field in order to try and go forward, but the minute they go forward they turn it over. After the turnover the other team almost immediately starts going backward just so the defense can set up and take the ball back. It seems obvious that they do not have a real plan about how to get the ball on goal. Most goals seem accidental, and I really believe that most teams play for the penalty kick shoot out. Americans have a real trouble accepting this sort of game. See Hockey as another example.

Reason 2: The players are wimps and bad actors. Every time someone gets tripped or bumps another player going for the ball, they fall over and fling themselves about as if they were having some sort of spasm. A player that gets kicked in his shin guard will fall to the ground with a yell and hold his shin as if his foot was amputated before anesthesia was administered. It is a common site to see a player hauled off the field on a stretcher and then return the next time the ball goes out of bounds. It is so ingrained in the sport that the announcers do not even pretend that the player on the stretcher with the medical staff is hurt. Supposedly a player taking a dive or wasting time gets a yellow card, but I saw several players roll on the ground without being hit at all, and get free kicks for it rather than a yellow card. Even the Italian who took the controversial head butt flopped around as if he had been hit by a Mack Truck. Americans hate a games based on being a wimp. We cannot stand it when players flop in the NBA, and we really cannot stand seeing it happen every two minutes in a soccer game. I do not believe it a coincidence that the two teams that flop the least (the USA and England) did not win, and are the two countries most willing to stand up in the face of adversity in the real world. Thus, I also believe it strangely fitting that the two counties most known for falling over and wailing at the first sign of trouble in the real world, France and Italy, are the two countries that made the World Cup final.

Americans love soccer as a child’s sport. It is nice for children because they can run around and expend a lot of energy. But, as they grow into manhood, it is appropriate for them to choose a manly sport. Sadly for the rest of the world, this leaves soccer out of the equation.

General Assembly Roundup

The General Assemblies of the PCA and the OPC recently met, and I would like to make a few comments. However, my information is second hand, so feel free to correct me if anything is off.

First, I want to congratulate Rev. Dr. Dominic Aquila for his election as the Moderator of the PCA General Assembly. Dr. Aquila is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, from which I graduated, and he is deserving of the post. The JollyBlogger says that there was not as much "heat" in the discussions this year at the Assembly, and I have little doubt that Dr. Aqulia as the moderator had a great deal to with the civility of the discussions.

Second, I think the PCA made a mistake by creating a study committee on the Federal Vision, New Perspectives on Paul, and Norman Shepherd’s views, commonly called Shepherdism. The vote to create a study committee overturned the majority opinion of the Bills and Overtures committee. One reason I believe this is wrong is the same reason I objected to the Mississippi Valley Report a few years ago: the scope is too broad. As a result, the report will either take years to complete or be too shallow. The RCUS handled it well, in my obviously biased opinion, by breaking each group into its own study committee. The majority opinion of the PCA Overtures Committee, which was overturned by the General Assembly, stated that the creation of a study committee would interfere with ongoing Standing Judicial Committee (SJC) cases. This is clearly a most important point. To what extent are the rulings of study committees binding? If the committee were to find that the Federal Vision is heresy, no Federal Visionists would be automatically removed from office; charges would still have to be brought before the SJC. Would the SJC even be bound to deliver a verdict that conforms to the Study Committee? If it were to take several years for the committee to report back, what happens to the trials pending? When I read Acts 15, I see the church coming together in a court to decide things, not creating non-binding study committees. Not to mention the nightmare of deciding who serves on the committee. Do you appoint a Federal Vision proponent to serve on the committee? If so, then how many? If not, then how do you answer the cries of foul that will most certainly appear? I would bet this committee comes back with a minority report, and then what happens? Study committees work well for deciding the biblical approach to denominational pension plans or for determining the biblical position concerning women in the military. However, the investigation of possible heresy charges is absolutely not the business of a study committee. This is why we have church courts. This debate will end up in the church courts anyway, so why bother with the committee? This is why I favor judicial process instead of study committees. It should be noted that I am in a minority on the web. JollyBlogger favors the study committee approach, and so does Rev. Polski. Rev. Polski has a great post on the PCA GA that reports how the Assembly decided to allow a minister to teach his exception to the Westminster Confession to his congregation without notifying his congregation that his teaching is out of accord with the WCF. This makes one wonder what the point of declaring an exception to the WCF is in the first place, but then I do come from a strict subscription church.

Third, I am also disappointed with the report brought back by the OPC study committee on the Federal Vision, even though it entails a negative assessment. This report itself has other detractors, and will merit an upcoming post. For now I want to note that the report was not adopted, instead it was commended to the churches for study. Now what exactly that means is up for discussion, and therein lies my problem with it. The Assembly, by neither recommending it nor voting it down, failed to clearly approve or disapprove of it. So, then, what is the will of the Assembly on this matter? I believe "straddling the fence" is the best phraseology. A similar discussion is taking place in conservative PCUSA churches over the new names for the Trinity report. The PCUSA decided neither to approve nor to adopt, but rather to commend for study, the idea that the Trinity could now properly be called, "fountain, well-spring, and river" or other manmade non-masculine names, and even a few feminine ones like "Mother, child, life-giving womb." It is the perfect way to satisfy both sides: by not taking one at all.

All in all, this General Assembly season has to be regarded as a giant victory for the Federal Vision movement (yes, I believe there is a movement, but if you would rather call it an impetus, that is fine). The RCUS failed to do anything by recommitting their report for another year, the PCA failed to allow the judicial process to take its course, the OPC failed to adopt its report critical of the Federal Vision, and the Christian Reformed Church passed paedocommunion.

General Assembly Round-Up

The General Assemblies of the PCA and the OPC recently met, and I would like to make a few comments. However, my information is second hand, so feel free to correct me if anything is off.

First, I want to congratulate Rev. Dr. Dominic Aquila for his election as the Moderator of the PCA General Assembly. Dr. Aquila is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, from which I graduated, and he is deserving of the post. The JollyBlogger says that there was not as much "heat" in the discussions this year at the Assembly, and I have little doubt that Dr. Aqulia as the moderator had a great deal to with the civility of the discussions.

Second, I think the PCA made a mistake by creating a study committee on the Federal Vision, New Perspectives on Paul, and Norman Shepherd’s views, commonly called Shepherdism. The vote to create a study committee overturned the majority opinion of the Bills and Overtures committee. One reason I believe this is wrong is the same reason I objected to the Mississippi Valley Report a few years ago: the scope is too broad. As a result, the report will either take years to complete or be too shallow. The RCUS handled it well, in my obviously biased opinion, by breaking each group into its own study committee. The majority opinion of the PCA Overtures Committee, which was overturned by the General Assembly, stated that the creation of a study committee would interfere with ongoing Standing Judicial Committee (SJC) cases. This is clearly a most important point. To what extent are the rulings of study committees binding? If the committee were to find that the Federal Vision is heresy, no Federal Visionists would be automatically removed from office; charges would still have to be brought before the SJC. Would the SJC even be bound to deliver a verdict that conforms to the Study Committee? If it were to take several years for the committee to report back, what happens to the trials pending? When I read Acts 15, I see the church coming together in a court to decide things, not creating non-binding study committees. Not to mention the nightmare of deciding who serves on the committee. Do you appoint a Federal Vision proponent to serve on the committee? If so, then how many? If not, then how do you answer the cries of foul that will most certainly appear? I would bet this committee comes back with a minority report, and then what happens? Study committees work well for deciding the biblical approach to denominational pension plans or for determining the biblical position concerning women in the military. However, the investigation of possible heresy charges is absolutely not the business of a study committee. This is why we have church courts. This debate will end up in the church courts anyway, so why bother with the committee? This is why I favor judicial process instead of study committees. It should be noted that I am in a minority on the web. JollyBlogger favors the study committee approach, and so does Rev. Polski. Rev. Polski has a great post on the PCA GA that reports how the Assembly decided to allow a minister to teach his exception to the Westminster Confession to his congregation without notifying his congregation that his teaching is out of accord with the WCF. This makes one wonder what the point of declaring an exception to the WCF is in the first place, but then I do come from a strict subscription church.

Third, I am also disappointed with the report brought back by the OPC study committee on the Federal Vision, even though it entails a negative assessment. This report itself has other detractors, and will merit an upcoming post. For now I want to note that the report was not adopted, instead it was commended to the churches for study. Now what exactly that means is up for discussion, and therein lies my problem with it. The Assembly, by neither recommending it nor voting it down, failed to clearly approve or disapprove of it. So, then, what is the will of the Assembly on this matter? I believe “straddling the fence” is the best phraseology. A similar discussion is taking place in conservative PCUSA churches over the new names for the Trinity report. The PCUSA decided neither to approve nor to adopt, but rather to commend for study, the idea that the Trinity could now properly be called, "fountain, well-spring, and river" or other manmade non-masculine names, and even a few feminine ones like "Mother, child, and life-giving womb." It is the perfect way to satisfy both sides: by not taking one at all.

All in all, this General Assembly season has to be regarded as a giant victory for the Federal Vision movement (yes, I believe there is a movement, but if you would rather call it an impetus, that is fine). The RCUS failed to do anything by recommitting their report for another year, the PCA failed to allow the judicial process to take its course, the OPC failed to adopt its report critical of the Federal Vision, and the Christian Reformed Church passed paedocommunion.

The Old Ball Game

In addition to my other distractions and hobbies, I enjoy baseball. There is nothing like baseball, it is a one of a kind sport that is uniquely American. In fact, I believe the two are so interlinked that stages in American history parallel stages in baseball history. For example, the Roaring Twenties correspond with the ‘Live Ball Era’ or ‘Babe Ruth Era’ in baseball. Baseball went from a hard-nosed game to a rollicking good time, just as the rest of America. But, that is for another discussion.

I just finished a great baseball book, The Old Ball Game by Frank Deford. This book is really a dual biography of John McGraw and Christy Mathewson. In fact the sub-title is: How John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, and the New York Giants Created Modern Baseball. If you do not know who John McGraw and Christy Mathewson are first, Shame on You! Second, Christy Mathewson is arguably the greatest pitcher ever. He is one of the first class of Hall-of-Fame inductees along with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Honus Wagner. Not even the all time leader in wins, Cy Young, made the Hall-of-Fame on the first ballot. John McGraw is arguably the greatest manager of all time, and he made the Hall-of-Fame on the second ballot. He was also a great player in his own right before the major leagues were really set in stone back in the 1890s.

The book is a good read with lots of good stories and quotes. It is an easy read that can be done quickly. Deford gets you not only a good look a baseball life, but gets you involved with the two men he highlights throughout his books. This book is a great look into the personal life of two different men. Mathewson is described as a ‘muscular Christian’. He was a rare honest man in a time when most baseball players were ruffians. McGraw for example was a great ruffian. Deford actually contrasts the old time ‘muscular Christian’ of Christy Mathewson with the modern ‘born again’ Christians, and comes down on the side of Mathewson. Aside from that theological point, it is a good baseball book. You can also learn disturbing facts about history of which I was unaware. For example, the United States used chemical weapons on its own soldiers during WWI. Mathewson and Ty Cobb were officers in a Chemical Weapon unit and their job was to train men how to get their gas masks on. The US government trained men by releasing the ‘real McCoy’ gas on their own troops. Officers had to put their masks on last. Of course one time young troops panicked and Cobb and Mathewson got a real deep lung full of poison gas. Cobb had a cough for a month, returned to baseball the next year and hit .385. Mathewson never shook his cough, had damaged lungs, caught tuberculosis, and never had a chance.

My one criticism of this book is that it never really answers the sub-titles claim. How did McGraw and Mathewson create modern baseball? Was it because Mathewson was the game’s first larger then life star? Was it because McGraw and Mathewson built baseball in nations largest city, New York? Was it because during their time frame the game became a national pastime? These are possible answers, but noting is put forward as the answer. In fact, neither Mathewson nor McGraw really appear modern after reading the book. Mathewson was not a strike out pitcher, and his best pitch was the ‘fadeaway’ which was a ball that broke the opposite direction than the normal ‘curveball’. No one in modern baseball throw that pitch. No one can. McGraw was always a successful manager, but he was one that was quite resistant to change. After the first unofficial World Series was started by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1903, McGraw refused to participate in 1904. The American League and the National League signed papers to make the World Series official and mandatory in 1905, but McGraw’s team showed up to play with World Champions already stitched into their jerseys. McGraw also hated the changes that came with Babe Ruth, and spent the rest of his life extolling the virtues of people before Ruth as better hitters and better ballplayers. This leaves the question in a desperate need of an answer. How did McGraw and Mathewson create modern baseball? I personally suspect they did not, and maybe publishers who had never read the book made up the sub-title. In the end, despite the unanswered questions, the book is a good read.

To Be the Man

I am going to make a confession, one that will probably bring me great embarrassment, but one that I have to make anyway. I am a wrestling fan. Yes, I have fond memories of watching the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) with the Four Horsemen and the Nature Boy Ric Flair. I watched the greatest matches ever between Ricky the Dragon Steamboat and the Nature Boy Ric Flair. I watched in college as the Monday Night Wars made wrestling history. I still watch today from time to time, but sadly most wrestling shows have degenerated into quick five-minute matches sandwiched in-between blatant pornography. When I do watch, I watch the non-Vince McMahann owned TNA, which does not have the blatant pornography, and still has the old NWA belt. I miss the old NWA that focused so much on wrestling and crowd entertainment through actual wrestling matches.

I confess all of this to simply tell those other closet old-school wrestling fans out there that To Be the Man the autobiography of the Nature Boy Ric Flair is a good book to read. It is a fabulous glimpse into wrestling business and how it changed and evolved with the advent of cable, pay-per-view, and eventually the international domination of Vince and the WWE. For those of you up on wrestling biographies, To Be the Man does not quite have the same literary flow and quality of Mick Foley’s autobiography, Have a Nice Day, but it is a better book for a look into the wrestling industry. Mick Foley has great stories about crazy and bizarre matches because that is what he did. He was a hardcore legend, or as Ric Flair tells us, a “glorified stuntman”. Flair was a legend in his own time, and thus has a great look into the business of wrestling. Flair also has a lot more honest thoughts about other wrestlers spanning a great time frame since Ric is still wrestling at 55 years old. Mick Foley has more personal stories and life outside of wrestling, but one of Ric’s points is that for years he did not have a life outside of wrestling. He literally wrestled seven days a week, including every holiday, and twice on Saturday and twice on Sunday. The only days off Ric Flair took were days when he was on a plane traveling to wrestle in Japan. I suppose a life like that does not leave a lot of stories from home.

The other interesting thing about Ric Flair’s book is the honest look at life of people who are entertainers for a living. Ric Flair freely admit he tried steroids a couple of times. He drank like a fish, something he regrets, but he still drinks some. He shows you all of his friends who loved to party with the Nature Boy who were into cocaine and other recreational drugs. He talks of the deaths of several of his wrestling buddies, the suicide of several others, and the crazy cover-ups pulled by many in the business. That is not something that you see a lot of in Mick Foley’s book. Ric refuses to blame wrestling as a sport, but the individuals themselves for the large amount of drug use. However, I do think it interesting that people who work in cubicles all day do not have stories about all night crack binges, but those in the entertainment industry have plenty of such stories. You could probably count the number of CEOs who have died in their prime from too much parting with illegal drugs on one hand, but I can think of ten wrestlers without blinking, not to mention the numerous movie stars like Chris Farley who have passed away because of drugs. Not to mention the ones who check into Betty Ford on a regular basis. Baseball players too are becoming notorious for abusing drugs, and football stars are not far behind. It is hard not to say some kind of difference exists between the real world and the entertainment world with regards to drugs, drinking, and work.

To be the man you have to beat the man, and the man was always Ric Flair. So if you want to know more about The Man, you have to read the book by the The Man. Wooooooo!