The Holbein Moment

On Good Friday 2003, I happened to find myself at the Cathedral of the Advent listening to this sermon delivered by a familiar and beloved face. This was my first exposure to Paul Zahl. At the end of the sermon, a prayer was given invoking God Almighty to bring us to the Holbein moment. What did he mean by that? What is the Holbein moment?

The name of the painting above is The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb, by Hans Holbein the Younger. It is a terrifying depiction of death, woundedness, and rigor mortis which also serves as a metaphor for spiritual death, rebellion, defeat, and impasse. Take a good look at the painting from head to toe. Notice the lifeless mouth somewhat agape, the purple wounds, and the sagging flesh all in one chilling moment. This is God.

Now some people might be greatly offended by my posting of this painting and the graphic way I describe it. Some are even wondering about my mental health. I must remind those people of a movie they have recently seen. Probably with their children. It might have even been with a children's or youth group from church. Of course, this would be The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. What did you think about the dead, humiliated Aslan lying on the Stone Table in a lifeless heap, closely resembling the Holbein painting? The image of the dead lion was so wrenching that I could not find its picture on the internet. I had to use the picture right before his death.

What is C.S. Lewis saying in this depiction? What is Holbein saying in his depiction? What did Paul Zahl mean by "the Holbein moment?" It is the moment of understanding, as Paul said in his sermon.

Ephesians 2:1-3 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

We are wrathful sons of disobedience. We worship the world even as it devours and assimilates us like the Borg on Star Trek (stab at comic relief). The Source of Life and Rest is an enemy to us as we attempt to manifest self-deification.

Take another look at the Holbein painting. Look at it again from head to toe. Notice again the horror of death. This Man got up. The horror of death was defeated. Death was defeated. Remember the return of Aslan? Remember the change from lifeless heap to glorified victor? How about the risen Christ at the end of The Passion of the Christ? What did they have to endure? Do we skip over this?

Here's to the hope that you have come to the Holbein moment. If not, here's to the hope that you get there as soon as possible. When you do, gaze at the Holbein painting. Take in all of the medicine. Then, know that He got up. He got up so that you could get up through Him. He got up so that He could make you alive.

Ephesians 2:4-8 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God

Opinion Journal

This from the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal:

A similar take comes from one Henry M. Bowles III in the Daily Northwestern, a student newspaper:

Protesting military recruiters on campus, so long as they ban open gays from joining, is admirable. But there's a more permanent reason to keep the military away from our brightest students. Young males are easily manipulated during the period of their lives when they exist outside the female domain, after the mother and before the wife. They are above all eager to demonstrate masculinity. With its promises of order, fraternity and cohesion, the military taps into this angst.

A real tragedy occurs when a young man, susceptible to the military's appeal and nonetheless intelligent and creative, signs up to become cannon fodder. He'll probably leave the military alive, but he'll have been irreversibly molded, less inclined to dissent. Less intelligent people are better equipped for most military positions, and have far less to lose.


(Is there a category for effeminate gnosticism? This is truly sad. - DOB)

How to Pick a Preacher

Funny stuff. I've been catching this sort of flack ever since I came to seminary :-)

How to Pick a Preacher

"Dear Joe, Lately I’ve wanted to become a better Christian (like you) and decided that I needed to go back to church. Shopping around for a church isn’t exactly easy, though. I know I shouldn’t choose a church based solely on the preacher but if the preacher isn’t good then I find it difficult to stay interested. How do you judge whether the preacher is any good?
P.R.

Dear P.R., For my next career (i.e., after I get fired from my current job) I’m considering going into the ministry. Not only do I think it is my calling in life (well, maybe) but it appears to be the perfect job. Being a pastor would allow me to combine my three biggest passions: telling people how they should live, avoiding manual labor, and eating.

Preachers lead a cushy, well-fed existence. Basically all they do is talk, then eat. That seems to be the standard format for a life as a minister. Put in an hour of work on Sunday…then get invited to lunch. Visit with the sick people in the hospital…then eat their Jello when they nod off. Grab a deacon and drop by some unsuspecting parishioners house during dinnertime…and then, well, you get the idea. Then, after a long day of talking and gorging, you can go soak your feet in the baptistery. What more could you ask for in a career?"

Read the whole thing here.

Russia

Here is an article about Moscow's efforts to get the homeless and drunks off the streets during their winter.

You know, the Russian outlook on life has never changed so far as I can tell. You can read all of the great Russian literature, look over to present-day Russia and see no discernable difference other than the obvious technological improvements.

From what I can tell, the Russian psyche is one that has consistently been under attack and oppressed by various entities and, as a result, is profoundly sad and cynical. It is very ironic that they theologically reject the doctrine of total depravity.

My prayers are with the Russian people this winter.

White Horse Inn Again

Why do men hate going to church? Because it's all about fuzzy-wuzzy feelings and singing about Jesus as if He is your girlfriend! If you don't believe me, look at your own congregation and count them! Listen to this for more.


(The movie to the left is the best Western ever made, by the way. Don't talk to me about Pale Rider, Tombstone, The Outlaw Josey Wales, or Open Range until you've seen it.)

New Rap Group for the Kiddies

Pyongyang, North Korea - The zaniest homicidal maniac in the world has started a new rap group named "Da Bomb." North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il has taken on the moniker " MC Jong Il." Behind him to the left is "DJ Freaky Scratch" and to the right is "Fiddy Won". " We realized we needed to make some Benjamins in order to relieve the temporary food shortage of our populace," said Kim. "We want to do our part."

Rick Warren Quote

"You see, it takes more than belief... it takes more than faith to please God."
- Rick Warren

Noooooo! Horrid, horrid, horrid! Horrid! I cannot follow the Law! That's the whole point!- DOB

"This grossest form of commingling Law and Gospel is the most grievous fault of rationalists. The essence of their religion is to teach men that they become different beings by putting away their vices and leading a virtuous life, while the Word of God teaches us that we must become different men first, and then we shall put away our particular sins and begin to exercise ourselves in good works. The doctrine which proposes to make men godly by their own works is the doctrine of pagans, Reformed Jews, and Turks."
- C.F.W Walther

Thank God for Reformation orthodoxy. - DOB

American Evangelicalism

I beg you to listen to this White Horse Inn episode.

Reposted Quote About Dostoevsky

"[Dostoevsky's] most dangerous characters are the strongest intellectually, and not only do I maintain that the mind and the will of Dostoevsky's characters are active solely for evil, but that, when urged and guided towards good, the virtue to which they attain is rotten with pride and leads to destruction. Dostoevsky's heroes inherit the Kingdom of God only by the denial of mind and will and the surrender of personality."


I'm beginning to think Dostoevsky and Luther were of one mind about human nature. The interesting thing is the difference in Eastern Orthodox and Lutheran anthropology. If Dostoevsky subscribed to the Orthodox doctrine of man, he did not believe in total depravity. I would like to explore his thinking on this matter. - DOB

Don Matzat Article

Here is a short Don Matzat (LCMS) article on the Lutheran understanding of predestination as compared to the Calvinist, Universalist, and Arminian understandings. Concise.... that's the ticket.

Ducks and Dogs Part Deux

Stardate 2006; First Retriever’s Log, Supplemental

Daddy and I rolled back out to Arkansas with his Daddy this past weekend. We rolled out in a truck, not a four-wheeled horse. Daddy was very embarrassed when I called it a horse on my last post. He is very sensitive about my proper understanding of the English language. Also rolling out were Rick Massengale, his son Jake, and Frazier Christie, one of Daddy’s fellow Adventers.

We went out Saturday morning to the same spot we hunted the week before. Anticipating a slow day, I brought a copy of George Eliot’s Scenes from Clerical Life to read. Daddy said I have to be fully integrated if I want to be a minister’s dog. He also said I had to let the boys out of the basement. I really don’t know what he meant, but I know how it feels to be let out of the basement.

Anyway, the action was fast and furious. Ducks were flying everywhere and the thundersticks were making their boom. When it was all over, I had retrieved close to twenty ducks and, boy, was I tired. That’s me in the picture posing with my fine work. Daddy was so proud; he lost a couple of buttons on his hunting jacket.

There was an amusing anecdote as well. If you remember from my last post, my cousin Ace and I don’t get along very well. Daddy’s cousin Johnny put a shock collar on Ace so we wouldn’t fight. Well, I can’t tell you how much fun I had with that. Ace was sweating like a lovesick boy meeting his girlfriend’s parents for the first time. You can imagine the scene; his necktie is too tight, the flowers he brought her mother are wilted, and he forgot to put on deodorant. I would just sidle up to him and growl. Ace would just stand there and nervously laugh like Daffy Duck stuck in some sort of predicament. After Daddy threatened to put Ace’s collar on me, I straightened up pretty fast, though.

It was a great time in Arkansas and I look forward to seeing all my friends back in Ambridge soon!

Weir sein bettler, hoc est verum,
Silas Browder
Yellow Labrador Extraordinaire

Walther Quote

"What constitutes a person a Christian is this believing knowledge, that he is, in the first place, a miserable, accursed sinner, who would be lost forever if Christ had not died for him; and that, in the second place, Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, has redeemed him, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won him from all sins, from death, and the power of the devil. A Christian must regard himself as a lost and condemned sinner, or all his talk about faith is vain and worthless."
- C.F.W. Walther
(The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel)