Luther's 95 Theses

When I was in grad school, I really wrecked my eyes from all of the required reading. So, I made an agreement with myself: I will only read serious stuff. Anything that I "read" for relaxation or enjoyment I'll consume in an audio format. 

I watch almost no TV. We don't have cable or satellite. We haven't been to a movie for years. In fact, I can't remember the last movie we've been to.

For relaxation, I consume a ton of popular fiction. I love Michael Connelly. Sadly, he only comes out with about a book a year. David Baldacci is okay and he's very prolific. I like some of Harlan Coben's stuff. I love Robert B. Parker, but he's been dead for ten years. Parker's family hired people to continue the Spenser, Jesse Stone and Sonny Randal series and some of those books are okay. Occasionally, I'll enjoy Lisa Scottoline, mostly because the novels are nearly always set in Philadelphia or eastern Pennsylvania. There was a time I nearly lived off of John Grisham novels, but for about the last 15 years, most of his stuff has essentially been sermons you'd expect to hear in a mainline liberal Protestant church, and, so, he irritates me more often than not. 

I've very rarely broken my rule not to actually read fiction. 

And, until now, I've never, ever broken my rule about reading serious stuff. 

However, I saw that my local library has Eric Metaxas' biography of Martin Luther on audio. So, I put it on hold in May. It just became available. It's 21 hours on audio, read by the author, which, usually, is a disaster, but Metasas reads well.

I didn't know how listening to something as serious as a book like this would go. The book is deep. I've, of course, been required to read a lot of books like this over my many years...and Metaxas is very deep. 

I'm about five or six hours into the book and he's already used a handful of words I don't know the meaning of.  But, it's an awesome book. Metaxas is an excellent historian. He concerns himself with things Evangelicals care about.

Anyway, to the point...

He, of course, addresses the 95 Theses and I've learned some things I didn't know. 

One is that by posting the document on the door of the church in Wittenberg, he was doing what scholars did to invite interested people to join in a debate. Nothing new there. 

What didn't I know? 

Not one person showed up for that debate.

If Luther had not sent a letter to his (corrupt?) archbishop, the 95 Theses would have gone nowhere. 

I learned one other significant fact from the book, and I learned it because this is an audio book. 

I've had the assignment of reading the 95 Theses in several courses I've taken. They're tedious. Every time I read them, I'd get to number 15 or 20 or so, and my mind would begin to drift. But, having to listen to them, one after another, made it much easier for me to pay attention and absorb their significance to the end of the list. 

One myth that some people accept is that the 95 Theses detail Luther's conviction that salvation is by faith, or that they have to do with Luther's foundational theological notions, sola scriptura, sola fidei and sola gratia. They don't. 

All of these things actually came later for Luther.

The 95 Theses are entirely about Luther's opposition to the sale of indulgences. 

What I learned, though, because I was listening an audio book, is how the ideas of grace and faith, especially, were becoming convictions for Luther. Several of his 95 arguments against the sale of indulgences were connected, particularly to the importance of faith. Interestingly, I recall only one Scripture reference in the text of the 95 Theses as Metaxas read them.

It was through the process of defending the 95 Theses that all of the theological principles which launched the Reformation emerged in his thinking. Within four years, Luther was proclaiming salvation by faith, grace, the authority of Scripture and, interestingly also, the bondage of the will.

I've obviously got a long way to go in the book. But, I know this one thing, and it's very much in my mind.

On the day that the Church of God formed in 1830, our founders called for "another great Reformation."

It was when that when we pursued something beyond what Luther started that we were being blessed. 

As a person of the Church of God, who yearns for our body to return to the faith and passions of our founders, this study of the beginnings of the Reformation includes reflection on how the Reformation failed.

Oh, that we could be like the people of the Church of God who walked in the blessing of the Spirit, even to the degree that we could live in pursuit of "another great Reformation!"

The Dopey Prophet

Yes, that's me. The way I figure, I might as well laugh about it, or, at least, make light of it. 

My back pain is, maybe, 80%? gone. The 20% that remains is more than enough. I may never entirely recover this time. 

I think I noted, in the last post, that my doctor gave me refills on my cyclobenzaprine prescription. He did. And, it helps.

But, the side effect of drowsiness dulls my brain waaay too much.

There's lots going on these days that I feel prophety about but I'm just not able to connect to the words to express it.

The best I can do right now, as followers of Jesus encounter the unique challenges of our time, is to say that we have an opportunity to repent of, and turn from, the fallen ways that are driving our spiritual decay and numerical decline. 

Behave as if the Middle Ages never happened. Think in terms of the New Testament plan. 

Be extreme in embracing the Word as your only rule of faith and practice. We have not done that since our Church of God days.

Be courageous and brutal in turning from institutional traditions. If you do that, shepherd sensitivities will be assaulted and there will be many crushed hearts. 

So, above all, practice the New Command of Jesus: "Love one another as I have loved you."

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Now, I'm going to proof read this three times. Hopefully, it will be sensical.

More Cyclobenzaprine

 I'm still struggling with the back pain. I finished six days of prednisone and it definitely helped. The side effects of the prednisone were not nearly as bothersome as I feared but I was still in considerable pain...too much pain. And, I also got to the end of the cyclobenzaprine. 

I messaged my doctor to ask if he thought I should continue taking the cyclobenzaprine. He responded simply, "Prescription sent with refills."

He gave me a prescription for 3 pills a day for 10 days with 5 refills. That's about 2 months worth in total.

The cyclobenzaprine makes me really, really drowsy, not as much as during the first few days, but still considerably. 

I'm so diminished that I didn't listen to the last Nick and Dan's Bible Study Podcast.

I will catch up some day, I promise. 

I did read the last eNews. I have some thoughts but I'm not able to express them just now.

Now, I'll go back over this post to do my best to make sure it's coherent. If not, blame the cyclobenzaprine. 

Prednisone

 A while back, I mentioned that I aggravated my dodgy back. I actually arranged a face to face appointment with my doctor. He prescribed cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxant which he promised would make me sleep a lot. 

Hence, I've been asleep for most of the last week and a half. (Cyclobenzaprine is an old drug with that powerful side effect of causing drowsiness.) I think that the doctor prescribed it BECAUSE of the side effect, so I wouldn't be doing much moving around, so I wouldn't irritate my back. 

Anyway, he also offered me a steroid (prednisone) to assist with the healing and I declined it because the last time I took  prednisone the side effects were horrible. 

We agreed that I could send him a message later on to request the prednisone if I needed it. After three days, the cyclobenzaprine had accomplished little other than promote about 16 hours of sleep a day so I asked for the prednisone. The side effects this time have not been bad. I don't know why.

I just finished the sixth and final day of my packet.

It has helped. I estimate that my recovery is about 75%. I don't know that I will ever fully recover. Bad backs run in the family. My brother retired at age 61 because his back simply was shot. 

I still have one day of the cyclobenzaprine prescription. I think I'll message the doctor and ask if he thinks I should do another round.

Evie's still struggling with her own recovery from her surgeries. She's still weak and lacks stamina and has had to carry a heavier load than she really can handle. She's been valiant, as always, never complaining, but she is worn out. 

Still, our lives are extremely simplified and I suspect that we'll be able to struggle through this...in time. 

Here's to hoping that this makes sense. With the drowsiness, typing a simple note like this one is a great challenge. 

Cyclobenzaprine

Don't expect to read much on this blog in the near future. 

About seven years ago, I was diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease, a condition many people my age struggle with, though I suspect that my case may be more severe than what is typical. 

There have been several times when, in doing something very everyday, I experienced back pain that made any movement painful.

A few days ago, I was sitting with less than ideal posture and I coughed and something twisted or pinched in my lower back.

Evie drove me, and I waddled into the doctor's office, the next day. He prescribed Cyclobenzaprine and offered me steroids and physical therapy. 

I accepted the Rx for Cyclobenzaprine  which is a muscle relaxant. The doctor told me that, after I take it, I'll want to sleep. 

He gave me 10 days worth. I'm starting my second day. My estimate is that I slept 15 hours? yesterday. 

But, my brain is really addled. In fact, if this post is unreadable, you'll understand. I am being careful to read and reread what I'm laying down...but who knows?

Yesterday, I tried listening to an audio book I'd gotten from the library online and had had on hold for more than a month. I gave up after 15 minutes because I couldn't make sense of it.

Evie's been wonderful through this. She's still low on stamina and, for the moment, between the drowsiness and the pain, I'm useless. 

"I was a stranger and you invited me in."

 This one will be hard to write. It will also probably be poor written. 

Evie and I are very serious about living righteously...about connecting walk with talk, belief and action. 

We look to the Word...particularly to the teachings and example of Jesus...particularly to the Sermon on the Mount and the Sheep and Goats teaching...for our marching orders.

(As an aside, speaking only for myself, it's my opinion that one reason that the Lord of all authority and power and grace and mercy and blessing is not blessing us,...or, a reason that our institutional body is in the midst of a generations long slide into spiritual decay and numerical decline is that we get righteousness wrong. 

Far too many of us think of "going to church" as an act of righteousness. According to what I see in the Word, gathering is a means for disciples to spur each other on to righteousness but it is not itself righteousness.)

Anyway, when Jesus defined righteousness in the Sheep and Goats teaching, He said, "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,..." and so on.

We believe that. We DO it. We figure that Jesus knew what righteousness is for people who follow Him.

Over the years, we've welcomed several people into our home. Some of those people were known to us beforehand. 

Some were, literally, complete strangers. 

A few years back, the company Evie was working for decided to take a bit of a risk and to hire a guy who was just getting out of prison. 

He was moving into the area and needed a place to live. After discussing it with Evie's employer, we learned that the guy had a shack up girlfriend and that she had a daughter in elementary school. 

Evie and I talked some, prayed some and allowed ourselves to be confronted by the gospel. We invited them...complete strangers...to live with us.

What an experience. 

Before they moved in, another stranger knocked on our door, unannounced and uninvited, saying that he's a probation officer and that, actually, we need to be approved by him for, their names and Steve, Jenny and Erin to be domiciled with us.

We invited him in. He had a long questionnaire to go through with us. The meeting was a tad amusing. It may be that he'd never met anyone like us. 

Apparently, normally he interviewed people who themselves had criminal records. A few questions into the conversation, he began to apologize for having to ask the questions or saying, "I know that the answer to this is, 'no,' but I have to ask it anyway..."

Obviously, we passed muster with the Probation Office.

Steve, Jenny and Erin moved in and lived with us, as I recall, for about a year before they were able to afford their own apartment. 

Jenny is sweet. She actually worked with me at the store as a part timer for a few months. Erin, her daughter, is a pretty serious extrovert. Many young extroverts just can't seem to SHUT UP, and she couldn't. She was a bit of a challenge, but her mom managed her compassionately. 

Steve was a nice guy and easy to live with. But, there was something underneath. He'd apparently made bad friends with whom he'd committed a very serious gun crime. Hence, his time in prison. And, while we only ever saw him sober, we could see that under the influence of drugs and alcohol, he might be capable of just about anything. 

When they moved out, it was nearby so we saw them, from time to time, especially when they shopped at the store. And, we were always comfortable with each other and friendly and usually sought each other out to take a few minutes to catch up with each other. 

After we moved here and I was forced not to work, we'd had no contact. Perhaps Evie and Jenny exchanged a few texts. 

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So, yesterday I was listening to local news on the radio and heard that a murder had taken place on Saturday night on the road that dissects the campus of the Home...less than a half mile from here...

...and that a guy with Steve's, very common, last name had been arrested for committing it.

I googled and, sure enough, I saw his mugshot. 

Our Steve is very obviously guilty of the murder.

I'm still trying to sort out the emotions.

We've been in contact with Jenny and made ourselves available to her.

As opportunity presents itself, we'll reach out to Steve. We may have an opportunity to do the, "I was in prison and you visited me," thing. 

But, wow.

Our Steve, a murderer. 

It will take a while for this to sink in. 

Living in our house!

It's amazing where life takes you when you follow Jesus. 

Netflix Finds

About a week ago I mentioned that I get Netflix at no additional cost with my cell plan and I asked for suggestions. 

I got nothing except that I was told Netflix stinks and to get Amazon, which I'm too cheap to do. 

I'm Pennsylvania Dutch and FREE is our favorite four letter word. 

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A joke from the store:

Q: What's the most dangerous place in the world?

A: The space between a Mennonite and a sale.

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So, I found a few things. I'll mention one now.

Later on, I'll probably mention another, MINDHUNTERS.

Last night I finished the last season of

BROADCHURCH. Broadchurch is the name of the town where the series is set. 

BROADCHURCH is very British. However, normally in British shows, the church and members of the clergy are presented in a very negative way. Jesus not so much. 

And, so, because I don't think much of institutionalized Christianity and even less of the clergy/laity error, that doesn't bother me. 

Anyway, in BROADCHURCH, there's a major character who is the local parish priest. His ministry is an abject failure but he himself is a person of character and integrity. 

One of the final scenes in the show has him preaching his last sermon before he leaves the town. 

And, it's straight from my soapbox. 

Let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing...

Good stuff.

Do I recommend the show? It's a 21st century whodunnit. Murder. Rape.

There's little, "they all lived happily ever after." Little repentance. 

But, entertaining. And, I'm supposing, it was popular over there.