More on Books and Publishing – “TableTalk” Interview with A.Fisher (4)

Also for our Mondays in March we have been taking a look at this special “interview” article which appears in this month’s Tabletalk. Allan Fisher has led a fascinating life in the publishing industry (including Baker Books in Grand Rapids, MI), and I have found his thoughts on books and publishing to be very insightful and instructive.

I have quoted a few Q&As from this interview in the last two weeks, and today I bring this feature to a close by referencing a few more Q&As, this time dealing with the digital explosion of book publishing. To read the entire interview, visit the link above.

TT: How have the Internet and companies such as Amazon.com changed the publishing world?

AF: Amazon has captured an unprecedented share of the retail book market, making it the largest customer for nearly all publishers—including Christian companies. Amazon has accomplished this by making the purchase of books so convenient, whether print books or e-books. For one sales channel to become so dominant, however, leaves publishers more than a little vulnerable. The Internet represents publishers’ best hope of generating interest in their new and forthcoming publications. It also enables Christian chain and independent stores to reach out to their customers less expensively than before.

TT: What are some benefits and drawbacks regarding the shift to electronic books that we are seeing in our day?

AF: Electronic books (e-books) are perfect for people on lengthy business trips or vacations who want to take along a wide range of reading without weighing down their luggage. For “disposable books” such as mass-market paperbacks and popular fiction, e-books also work well. As a replacement for some kinds of reference works, they’ve proven themselves. When it comes to longform nonfiction, however, e-book technology cannot, on balance, match the technology of printed books. When poring over a book with multiple elements (notes, figures, diagrams, charts, appendices, bibliographies, professionally prepared indexes, and so forth), I’d choose a printed book every time.

TT: Do you believe e-books will ever replace traditional books?

AF: No. The technology of the printed book is just too good to be replaced completely by e-book technology. For large reference works that benefit from periodic updates and for disposable books, the e-book format may replace print. But for serious nonfiction, the technology of the printed book is superior, making it much easier to find one’s way around in the work, notate passages, and so forth. In addition, tablets are now replacing dedicated e-readers. While tablets function as well as the latter for reading e-books, they also place at the user’s fingertips several attractive options: the Internet, e-mail, e-games, Skyping, and more. While an e-reader can be compared to a bookstore and book reading room, an iPad can be compared to a variety store with a video-games area, a TVdepartment, a stationery department, a branch post office, a telecommunications center, and, in the back, a book department. In such a variety store, how much attention will books receive?

“Semper Reformanda” – The Reformation Isn’t Over – James White

The Reformation Isn’t Over by James White | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org.

On the last Sunday of March I finished reading the final articles of this month’s Tabletalk, including this fine one by Dr.James R.White. Since the March issue carried a Reformation theme (“John Knox & the Scottish Reformation” – see my previous Monday posts this month), it was fitting to have such a piece pointing us to the ongoing need of reformation in the church today, especially in the battle against Rome.

I pull a few paragraphs from the end of White’s article here, encouraging you as always to read the rest at the Ligonier link above.

Should the Reformation continue to hold a place of importance in the church that faces such immense opposition as that coming from radical, gospel-hating secularism? Wouldn’t a united front, free from partisan bickering, help the cause of Christ? The answer has to be, “Of course the Reformation remains important, and, in fact, its work must continue in our day, and into the future as well.”

The reason is not hard to see, even if it seems hidden to many in our day. Wonderfully nebulous catchphrases like “the cause of Christ” often hide the truth: the cause of Christ is the glorification of the triune God through the redemption of a particular people through the cross-work of Jesus Christ, which is a rather Puritan way of saying, “The cause of Christ is the gospel.” Each of the emphases of the Reformation, summed up in the solas, is focused upon protecting the integrity and identity of the gospel itself. Without the inspiration, authority, harmony, and sufficiency of Scripture, we do not know the gospel (sola Scriptura). Without the freedom of grace and the fullness of the provision of the work of Christ, we have no saving message (sola fide). And so on.

The Reformation fought a battle that each and every generation is called to fight simply because each and every generation is made up of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam, and hence there will always be those who seek to detract from the singular glory of God in the gospel through the addition of man’s authority, man’s merit, man’s sovereignty. Is this not the meaning of semper reformanda, the church always reforming, always seeking to hear more clearly, walk more closely, to her Lord?

With the ebb and flow of human history, the forces arrayed against the church and her Lord and the particular front upon which the battle rages hottest will change. Rome’s theology has evolved and her arguments have been modified, but the issues remain very much what they were when Luther and Eck battled at Leipzig, only modified and complicated. God’s kingship, man’s depravity and enslavement to sin, and the insatiable desire of sinners to control the grace of God will always be present. And today, the sufficiency, clarity, and authority of Scripture are at the forefront, just as they were then. The need for the Reformation will end when the church no longer faces foes inside and out who seek to distort her purpose, her mission, her message, and her authority. Till then,semper reformanda.

Psalm 40 – Psalter #109, “Personal Devotion to God” – The PR Psalm Choir

Psalm 40 – Psalter 109 Personal Devotion to God – YouTube.

Psalm 40 is part of those Scriptures that our Lord came to fulfill (See my previous post.). And it specifically describes the willful submission of Jesus Christ to the will of God in coming into the world to save those given Him by the Father.

#109 in our Psalter is a versification of this part of Psalm 40 , and the Protestant Reformed Psalm Choir has performed and recorded this number. Josh Hoekstra, the director, has made this video (and many others on the PR Psalm Choir channel – be sure to check them out!) with the Psalm Choir’s rendition of #109.

I post it today too for our spiritual reflection on our Lord’s suffering.

If you are interested in obtaining CDs of the Psalm Choir, I encourage you to visit this store and/or its website.

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross (3)

As we noted here the last two Sundays, for the Lord’s Days  leading up to Good Friday and Easter (April 18 and 20 this year) we plan to do a series of meditations centered on the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. For my own devotional reading during this special season of reflection I purchased the little book Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter, a wonderful collection of sermons and writings edited by Nancy Guthrie (Crossway, 2009).

Today we begin quoting from chapter six of this book, which contains a sermon by Dr.J. Ligon Duncan III, titled “Betrayed, Denied, Deserted”. It is based on Matthew 26:47-56, the account of Jesus’ arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Listen to how Duncan emphasizes the sovereignty of God in this part of our Lord’s suffering:

But again I must stress that his actions (Peter’s, in drawing his sword to defend Jesus against the mob led by Judas -cjt) were completely ignorant and uncomprehending. Jesus will say twice in this passage that he had to be arrested in order that the Scriptures would be fulfilled. Jesus was conscious that God’s plan was being worked out and nobody, not Peter, not Judas, not the mob, nor anyone else was going to keep that plan from being fulfilled.

…In this statement (about Jesus being able to ask the Father for twelve legions of angels to defend him, if he needed to be delivered – cjt), Jesus is stressing that he is not going to the cross because God lacks the power to stop it. Not does Jesus lack the ability to ask of God to spare him. Instead, Jesus is going to the cross because he has chosen to go to the cross. He is not a passive victim. He is the prime actor and has chosen to go to the cross. Jesus goes to the cross because of his desire to fulfill the word of God.

J.C.Ryle explains this beautifully, ‘We see in these words (about the Scripture being fulfilled -cjt) the secret of His voluntary submission to His foes. He came on purpose to fulfill the types and promises of the Old Testament Scriptures, and by fulfilling them to provide salvation for the world. He came intentionally to be the true Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb. He came to be the Scape-goat on whom the iniquities of the people were to be laid. His heart was set on accomplishing this great work. It could not be done without the “hiding of his power” for a time. To do it he became a willing sufferer. He was taken, tried, condemned, and crucified entirely of His own free will.’

…Notice too that Jesus does not just acquiesce to God’s sovereignty. He doesn’t just shrug his shoulders and say, ‘Well, I guess God has allowed this terrible thing to happen.’ We do that sometimes, but not Jesus. Jesus said, ‘God has caused and decreed this to happen. This is in accordance with his holy will, which he has established before the foundation of the world. I embrace it, because it is the will of my heavenly Father, and it is good. It may be horrendous for me, but I willingly embrace it, because it is good for his people, and I love his people. …Jesus reveled in the sovereignty of God, and he proclaims it even to the multitude of captors.

For this submission to the sovereign will of God on the part of our suffering Savior we must also give thanks. For by His godly will we are saved, even as we fell into sin and death of our own free will in the first garden (Eden, through Adam). And being saved by the gracious will of our mighty Savior, we are also given grace to submit to God’s will when we are called to suffer. May we have the humble spirit of our Lord and reveal His saving grace in our own afflictions, trusting in the same heavenly Father to deliver us.

Seminary Mourns a Loss in our “Family”: Mr. John Kalsbeek

Today we at the Seminary are also remembering and mourning the loss of a dear brother in Christ, Mr. John Kalsbeek. Yesterday afternoon (March 27, 2014) the Lord of glory called John home to glory after he declined in health due to many afflictions related to years of suffering rheumatoid arthritis. He spent his last days at Faith Hospice in Byron Center, MI, where he was kept comfortable through medication and especially the love and friendship of his wife, family, and church family (Faith PRC, and extended).

Mr.John Kalsbeek (middle left) with the 2006 graduating class from Hope PRCS

John was a godly husband and father, and for many years a well-loved Christian School teacher in the PRC, serving in our Christian schools from Redlands, CA to NW Iowa, to Grand Rapids, MI. He was also, along with his wife, the long-time janitors of our Seminary building, coming in twice a week to clean our facilities. Since my time here at seminary I noticed that while Judy did the detailed cleaning, John liked to do the vacuuming, something I thought had to be hard for him given his condition (gnarled hands and frail body). But, as with all his labors, John did it cheerfully and without complaint. Up until last semester John – ever the learner even as he was an educator! – audited a class here at Seminary.

John was a gifted man of God and had some unique hobbies for which we remember him also: exotic frogs and fish kept in a multitude of tanks lining his home office; an amazing cacti collector and grower – the plants line the window sills of Seminary as we write, since while he kept them outside in his yard in the summer, he brought them inside here in the winter; a gifted painter – as any visitor to his home discovered – his paintings filling the walls; and a book collector and reader. Just last Fall he asked me to come and browse his library to pick out some books he wanted to donate to the library and to the students. Such was the nature of this wonderful Christian man.

John also served many terms as a faithful elder in my home church, Faith PRC.  And because he loved covenant children and loved teaching, even after retiring he willingly gave his time to teaching catechism classes.

We will miss John tremendously, here at Seminary and in Faith congregation. We can and do rejoice in his going home to be with Jesus, delivered not just from his physical afflictions, but from his sin and the buffetings of Satan and the press of this wicked world. We prayed for this at the end, and the Lord answered in His time and way. We now pray for the comfort of his wife and family. May they experience the peace of their Savior as He speaks to them out of His Word the gospel of His triumph over death and the grave.

May John’s comforting confession also be theirs:

 

• Q. 1.  What is thy only comfort in life and death?
  A.  That I with body and soul,1 both in life and death, am not my own,2 but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ;3 who, with His precious blood,4 hath fully satisfied for all my sins,5 and delivered me from all the power of the devil; 6 and so preserves me7 that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head;8 yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation,9 and therefore, His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, 10 and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto Him.11

Here is the obituary for John as it appeared in the Grand Rapids Press. And these are the arrangements for visiting John’s wife and family and for his funeral:

Visitation at Mattysse Funeral Home in Grandville

Saturday 5-8 PM and Sunday 2-4 PM

Funeral at Faith PRC Monday 11:00 AM

 

How Sweet It Is! « Seeking Michigan

How Sweet It Is! « Seeking Michigan.

For our archives feature this week we will depart from the PRC version and switch to a Michigan one. The Archives of Michigan published on its blog this past Tuesday (March 25, 2014) this old photo and description of maple syrup time in Michigan. Yes, with Spring finally here, the maple sap is flowing again – probably quite slowly, given our cold weather yet (We actually had a couple inches of snow this week and a low of  7 degrees (F) one morning!). But with promises of 50s and even 60 by Monday, the syrup should be flowing well.

What memories/stories do you have of maple syrup time where you live (in the north, I presume)? I recall taking our children to Blandford Nature Center in Grand Rapids to watch the process, and I recently saw a notice that they are still doing this. Fun times! And tasty syrup! Cracker Barrel blueberry pancakes with real butter and real maple syrup – now, that’s a good memory too! One that I think needs to be renewed 🙂

Below is a quote from the beginning of the “Seeking Michigan” post; catch the rest at the link above.

Maple Syrup and Weather

 Temperatures in Michigan are finally starting to warm up, which means that it’s time for maple syrup producers to get to work. You may not think about the weather when you put maple syrup on your pancakes, but maple syrup production is closely related to the transition from winter to spring. Freezing temperatures at night followed by warmer daytime temperatures cause maple sap to flow through the trees, so it can be harvested by inserting a spout. Once the weather becomes warm enough for the trees to blossom, the sap is no longer good for making syrup.

Calvinistic Cartoons: Give Kids 26 letters, not 2!

Calvinistic Cartoons: 26.

This is a great “cartoon” to start our weekend! When this “fell” in my email box this morning, it simply had to be our “Friday Fun” post for today. But I hope you catch its serious message.

Have a great Friday – and let your children be entertained (and educated!) by good books this weekend!

Building a 21st-century Bodleian – Oxford University

Building a 21st-century Bodleian – YouTube.

How does a world-renowned library with centuries-old holdings keep itself abreast of modern technologies and the demands of modern library users? The famous Bodleian Library at England’s Oxford University is leading the way, and it is exciting!

Here’s a video describing their efforts. Below is the brief introduction to it on YouTube and then the video itself. Prepare to be amazed!

Here is a fascinating behind-the-scenes insight into the inner workings of the University of Oxford’s Bodleian library and how its staff are working to prepare this ancient institution for future generations of readers with the forthcoming Weston Library.

Word Wednesday: “Woe is I – Verbal Abuse” – P.O’Conner

For this week’s “Word Wednesday” feature we are going to introduce a new book which will help us expand and improve on our vocabulary! Its title is Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English, and its author is Patricia O’Conner (Riverhead Books, New York, c.1996). My Thrift store copy (where else?!) is a first edition paperback, 1998. According to the link above, the book is now in an updated and expanded third edition. And, if you are interested in using this with children, a quick search shows there is even a “Junior” edition!

While this book is a light-hearted yet serious attempt to help us improve our use of English (I.e., grammar – hence, the sub-title for those of us who fear grammar!), it also includes a section on words – chapter five – with the catchy title “Verbal Abuse: Words on the Endangered List”. This is how O’Conner introduces this part of her book:

The give-and-take of language is something like warfare. A word bravely soldiers on for years, until one day it falls face-down in the trenches, its original meaning a casualty of misuse. Unique is a good example: a crisp and accurate word meaning ‘one of a kind,’ now frequently degraded to merely ‘unusual’.

Then there are what I call mixed doubles: pairs of words and phrases that are routinely confused, like affect and effect. Finally, there are the words that are mispronounced, misspelled, or so stretched out of shape that they aren’t even words anymore – like that imposter irregardless. Keep in mind, though, that today’s clumsy grotesquerie may be tomorrow’s bon mot (Yes, you better go look that one up, as I did! -cjt). The phrase live audience was a silly redundancy before sound and video recording came along.

Speaking of technology, a computer spelling check is a wonderful resource – I don’t know what I’d do without mine – but don’t depend too much on it. For instance, my spell-check software tells me that restauranteur and judgement and straightlaced are spelled correctly, but I know better (But do you? -cjt). And it doesn’t care how I use affect and effect, as long as they’re spelled right.

And then O’Conner tells us what she is going to accomplish in this chapter:

Here are some of the most commonly mauled words and phrases, and tips on how to rescue them. Bloodied but unbowed, an abused word shouldn’t be given up for dead. Give it back its proper meaning, spelling, usage, and pronunciation, and it will live to fight another day (pp.81-82).

Looks like we are going to have some fun while we learn how to prevent verbal abuse in our own conversation and writing. We will stop here for today and pick up some of the specific words in the near future.

But for now your assignment is to find out what “bon mot” means and from what language (That shouldn’t be as hard – you do use “bon bon” now and then, right?). I found it in my desktop dictionary, and now I have learned a new word. How about you?

Human Words May Hurt, but God’s Word Counts

Back on March 4 I gave you another Carl Trueman quote, this time about how we all need to get tougher when it comes to being hurt by what people say and write about us. In the past week I read the next chapter in his book Fools Rush In Where Monkeys Fear to Tread (P&R, 2012), titled “Am I Bovvered?” (Now, there’s a great “Wednesday word”!), and here Trueman admits that, yes, sometimes people’s words do hurt us. And what should we do about that? Is what they say reality? How do I handle ridicule and scorn?

Interestingly, to find answers he turns to the theology of Martin Luther and the gospel of the Reformation, joining together justification by grace alone through faith alone with the preaching of the Word of God. And I thought that on this “Word Wednesday”, as we think about not only the meaning of words but also the power of words, these would be some good thoughts for  us.And perhaps, thinking on these things, we may also find our true consolation when we are truly hurt by what people say.

Here is Trueman:

This is yet again where I find that giant of Protestant theology, Martin Luther, to be a singularly useful source of personal help and pastoral insight.

…Central to Luther’s Reformation theology was his understanding of how words constitute reality. …In other words, reality – real reality – was exactly what God declared it to be.

And then, after pointing to two examples of this “real reality” of what God says (creation and the cross), Trueman takes us to the Reformation doctrine of justification:

Finally, this power of divine speaking culminates in justification. Luther understands that God does not find men and women righteous and then declare them to be so as some act of description of, or response to, an established state of affairs. Luther knows that God declares that which is drenched in sin, foul, obnoxious, and deserving of nothing but divine wrath – Luther, I say, knows that God declares this person to be righteous; and by the sheer power of the divine word, they then are righteous. This is no cosmic gas or mere legal fiction, as some have claimed; rather the divine word makes it so.

And now comes the application:

Others might tell me that I am a failure, an idiot, a clown, evil, incompetent, vicious, dangerous, pathetic, etc., and these words are not just descriptive: they have a certain power to make me these things, in the eyes of others and even in my own eyes, as self-doubt creeps in and the Devil whispers in my ear. But the greatness of Luther’s Protestantism lies in this: God speaks louder, and his Word is more powerful. You may call me a liar, and you speak truth, for I have lied; but if God declares me righteous, then my lies and your insult are not the final word, nor the most powerful word. I have peace in my soul because God’s Word is real reality.

Isn’t that precisely what we need to remember when others hurt us by their words? How simple, yet how profound!

And from that comes this further word of application from Trueman:

That’s why I need to read the Bible each day, to hear the Word preached each week, to come to God in prayer, and to hear words of grace from other brothers and sisters as I seek to speak the same to them. Only as God speaks his Word to me, and as I hear that Word in faith, is my reality transformed and do the insults of others, of my own sinful nature, and of the evil one himself, cease to constitute my reality. The words of my enemies, external and internal, might be powerful for a moment, like a firework exploding against the night sky; but the Word of the Lord is stronger, brighter, and lasts forever (pp.209-213).