Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 11 August, 2010
Author John Steinbeck described his 1952 novel East of Eden as his magnum opus. He said: "I think everything else I have written has been, in a sense, practice for this." The novel is an extended expansion-discussion on the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. The central character is Adam, his sons are Caleb and Aron. 
One of the most striking passages of dialogue is an exchange between Adam, his neighbour Samuel and Adam’s Chinese housekeeper, Lee. Lee has poured many hours into studying Genesis 4 and is intrigued by the contrast in different Bible versions’ translation of 4:7. He observes that according to the King James Version, God says to Cain, “thou shalt rule over him (sin),” while the American Standard Version has “do thou rule over him (sin).” To Lee’s mind, the former is a promise that Cain will defeat sin, the latter is a command for Cain to defeat sin.
Which is right? Lee wonders, will we triumph over sin, or are we simply commanded to triumph over sin with no assurance that we actually will?
Lee’s conclusion is this:
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 27 July, 2010
Of Man’s first disobedience, and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful seat.
John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost was published in 10 volumes in 1667. These opening five lines capture both the depths of the tragedy of Eden - brought death into the world, and all our woe, and also the hope of a new Adam who will save us from the sinfulness we have inherited from the first Adam - till one greater Man Restore us.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 16 July, 2010
- “How are you going?”
- “Busy!”
That’s an answer I seem to be giving more and more often. Perhaps you find yourself answering that way too. Life is busy. If we took a survey in our own church community, we’d find that many individuals and families find themselves constantly pulled in lots of different directions. I remember one parent telling me they had four separate engagements for their two children on one week night!
We have more “time-saving” devices than ever before in human history and yet we feel busier than ever! It seems to me that our busyness is not an efficiency problem but something deeper. What do we make of God’s description of his own work and rest in Genesis 2?
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 2 June, 2010
A number of people have asked for suggestions for further reading on the If I Were God... 
topics.
Here are a few books from great authors that may be helpful. I'll post some dealing with the questions surrounding pleasure next week.
Books dealing with the problem of pain and suffering:
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 10 October, 2009
I subscribe to a small handful of journals. Among them (and at pretty much opposite ends of the journal spectrum) are Philosophy and The Briefing. In recent weeks I've had to renew my subscription to both of these and I've experienced that annual, to-ing and fro-ing about whether or not to sign up for another 12 months.
My wondering about renewals stems not from questions about the value of these journals, but just about the time available to read them. Every now and then I discover 2 or 3 journals still in their plastic wrap sitting on my desk awaiting opening, let alone reading! As I write, there are 2 unopened in my office and one more arrived in the post yesterday. I opened that one first!
Philosophy is the journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and is published by the Cambridge University Press. For someone like me who studied maths and sciences, much of Philosophy is hard going, not to mention a frustrating experience of worldview collisions. Where do you begin when the title of the article is "Is There Anything It Is Like To Be a Bat?"? (For interest, I think the article is about consciousness and qualitative measures of experience.) It's good stretching of my mind, even if I often don't agree. I renewed my subscription.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 27 April, 2009
Worldliness; Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World, edited by C J Mahaney, has been sitting on my desk for a few weeks. I decided that since it's a collection from a number of authors, I'd take it chapter by chapter, rather than review the whole thing. Chapter 1, Is This Verse In Your Bible, by C J Mahaney establishes the premise for the entire book:
"Today, the greatest challenge facing American (read "Western") evangelicals is not persecution from the world, but seduction by the world."
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 30 March, 2009
This is not a book review, as much as a notice of intended reviewing! 
Voddie Baucham's new book What He Must Be: if he wants to marry my daughter doesn't seem to be available in Australia yet since it was only published 3 weeks ago. With the poor state of the Australian dollar I'm reluctant to buy too many books online at the moment, so I'm keeping it to the bare necessities from Amazon, B & N, ChristianBook.com & Monergism Books!
Anyway, being that I'm a father of a daughter, the title of this book grabbed my attention instantly. (OK, so Heidi is only 3, but I like to be prepared!). I've listened to a talk by Vodide Baucham about this topic (in fact, with this same title) and his assessment of what's wrong with much of how relationships are established today is very sharp. He doesn't shy away from pointing out the dangers and pitfalls in common relationship patterns and behaviours, likening the exclusive intimate relationships between teenagers and young adults to going shopping without any money - "either you're going to leave frustrated or take something that doesn't belong to you!" I'm pretty sure I'm going to like the book!
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 21 March, 2009
My copy of Ancient-Future Time was given to me by Lyndon Sulzberger, Rector of Christ Church, North Adelaide. I think Lyndon was politely trying to suggest my education in matters such as the ecclesiastical calendar is somewhat lacking!
Robert E. Webber (who died in 2007) was Emeritus Professor of Theology at Wheaton College and seems to have been motivated in his writing by the conviction that contemporary Evangelicalism is impoverished due to its insufficient rooting in early Christian traditions. Indeed, it was this conviction that led him to take part in issuing "The Chicago Call" in 1977 stating that evangelicals had lost touch with church's liturgical roots. Here he seeks to take Christian spirituality back to its origins in Jewish spirituality which he feels will enrich the life of the modern Christian; "For the Jew to commemorate the past is not merely to recall it as a past event but to commemorate it in such a way that it gives the present new meaning."
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 17 February, 2009
If we are actually speaking truth ... why isn't anyone listening? 
I've been reading Branding Faith by Phil Cooke. To some in the church, the idea of branding is anathema, but I suspect this is mostly due to misunderstanding the concept. Branding is part of the reality within the church exists. Cooke quotes a study which found that one in four babies, speaks a brand name as their first word! This study, by British Market Research Bureau is also quoted in a slightly alarming 2003 article in the SMH.
At the heart of the challenge laid out in the book is Cooke's distillation of the definition of marketing: The art of surrounding a product, organisation or person with a powerful and compelling story. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a powerful and compelling story, we don't need to find it, or create it, just tell it! The task seems to me to be local churches finding answers to the question, "how do we tell the powerful and compelling story of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our communities? "If we replace the word "brand" in our thinking with "image" or "reputation" the application of branding for the church seems a lot closer to home. Branding Faith sets about answering the question, how does the church engage a media-driven world for the gospel?
