Robert Lowery

Photo by Heather

Continued from Part I

I read to become an expert in an area that is not focused on my teaching ministry. I doubt if there is another New Testament professor who has read all of the lyrics penned by Bob Dylan or the biographies and critical analyses of his poetry. (Check out Stephen H. Webb’s excellent study, Dylan Redeemed: From Highway 61 to Saved!)

I read big and small . . . I do not know how many times I have read Parker Palmer’s small jewel, Let Your Life Speak. I am currently working my way through Leland Ryken’s Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, just beginning the entries under letter "D"!

I read personally and professionally. Years ago when I became a professor, I made a commitment that I would never, ever, God-willing and health-permitting, allow myself to become stale, to stop reading. I have seen that happen to many professors and preachers and others. Even when I read in an area where I have read tens of thousands of pages, and even when perhaps 80% of it I already know, there is still that 20% and there are still new ways that I can learn how to present the material that I have taught countless times.

Yet I must not neglect this truth: I read for fun, for the sheer pleasure of escaping into another era, another place, another world (sometimes not of this world). I read not for seminary lecture or for sermon preparation but to be moved, to cry, to cheer, to learn an area, to giggle. . .

I read deeply and lightly. I have learned to read at least one to two incredibly difficult books a year. But I also read Garrison Keillor.

I read locally and globally. I read books (including commentaries and other theological writings) by people not from my heritage or country. I read novels by Eastern Europeans. I read books recommended in top ten lists.

I do not do speed reading. I usually read slowly. But the more I have read, the faster I have been able to read. Contradictory, you say? It isn’t to me.

I love the thrill of reading . . . of buying a new book, going to used bookstores and bookstores selling new books. . . . It is like the first day of grade school–the new pencils, the pad of paper, a ruler, a compass (What is that you ask? Watch the History Channel sometime!), erasers . . . To crack open a box of crayons and then pour them out and marvel at all of the colors. . . . I love the adventure of entering a bookstore to visit my favorite sections–biography, new novels, music, poetry, westerns, short stories, photography . . . I love to ask people "What have you been reading lately?" and jot down their responses on a napkin or a slip of paper or on my Pocket PC. . . . I love the chase . . . the escape . . .

Some final thoughts . . . I read because the Truth and truths set me free. . . . I read because I cannot do anything less. . . . I cannot not read. I read because then I live and preach and teach and equip others out of the overflow. I cannot begin to recount the times when preaching or teaching or in a conversation or in writing a chapter or an article, something I have read pops into my mind and I make use of it.

I read because we must be a people of books, especially of The Book. My mother wrote in my first preaching Bible the following words:

My Dear Son, It is my prayer that you will always follow the teachings of this book. May it always remind you that through the years he is the greatest and the most educated person who ever lived, and yet his teachings were simple enough that everyone could understand them. My son, use your wisdom to win others to him. May God grant you the power to continue to serve him all your life. An education is very important but most important is the education of others for Christ. Let your education be a tool for Christ and not a tool for man. December 26, 1969

In the midst of reading millions of words and pages, I must remember this:

Woe am I if I know the words without knowing the Word.

For more on Dr. Lowery’s reading habits, see the previously-posted Reflections on My Bible Reading Habits.

Tags: books, reading, recommendations

When you make changes to a web site, it’s the little things that often get overlooked.  Except sometimes little things are big things.  Like comments.

Some of you may have noticed that the posts on the main blog page no longer feature a comments link.  And you may wondered whether you could still add or read comments to Dr. Bob’s posts.  In fact, yes, you can.

Click on the title for any post, and you’ll be taken to a page that features just that post.  Scroll down and you’ll be able to see comments that others have made as well as a form to enter your own comment.

Sorry for any confusion that the changes have caused.  As always, thanks for visiting rlowery.com.

Photo by Mor (bcnbits)

God likes books. . . He is a compulsive writer, and he wants us to be compulsive readers!

Jesus liked books; he even asked a group of scholars on one occasion: "Have you not read?" (Matt. 19:4). As a child growing up in first century Galilee, Jesus would have learned how to read (Yes, Jesus did not enter this world fully equipped to read! See Luke 2:52.) As he attended school at the synagogue, the rabbis would have used Leviticus as a first grade primer, so to speak. Why Leviticus? Because of its two themes: Our God is a holy God and he calls us to be a holy people. Another reason is its repetition of vocabulary.

Paul liked books. One of my favorite verses is his request of Timothy recorded in II Tim. 4:13 — "When you come, bring . . . my scrolls, especially the parchments."

Even the apostle John refers to the importance of books — See Rev. 5:4 and 10:9-10. He refers to one of the most important books that will ever be read, someday by God himself (Rev. 20:11ff.; see also Rev. 3:5, a not-so-subtle-threat that one’s name can be removed from that book of life!) The book of Revelation is to be read, not sealed up (Rev. 22:10). The verse links up with Rev. 1:3 where there is the assumption that the book will be read aloud and obeyed.

I like books. No–I love books! "So many books, so little time," I read on a sweatshirt in a bookstore one day. How true! It is easy for me to say "Amen" to a statement by the eighteenth century English critic, Holbrook Johnson: "Books are food, libraries of so many dishes of meat, served out for several palates. . . . We eat them from love or necessity, as other foods, but most from love."

I read out of necessity. I also read out of love for truth and grace. God’s books balance grace and truth, always.

It started with my little read reading book entitled We Look and See by William S. Gray, et al. I was graduated from red to blue to yellow to green. I loved the adventures of Dick, Jane, Baby, Spot, Puff, Tim, and a cast of other characters.

I truly believe that reading is fun and that reading is fundamental for my growth as a Christian.

I am often asked related questions: How do I read? What and whom do I read? When do I find time to read?

Let me ramble. . .

I read constantly and persistently. I am addicted to reading. If I am waiting in a restaurant and my companion is late, I will read anything I can get my eyes on. If I am waiting in someone’s kitchen or living room, I will read what is tacked to the side of the refrigerator or what is on the coffee table. If I am waiting in line at Wal Mart, I will scan the news magazines (without picking them up!) . . . Just the other day I was in the local pharmacy waiting for a prescription to be filled, and I found myself reading medicine labels . . . If I am waiting at a railroad crossing, if I don’t have a book or magazine in the car, I will read the graffiti on the sides of the rail cards . . .

I read at least a book a week, while having around ten to twelve books going at the same time. Why? Because if I am not interested in one subject (a book on photography, perhaps), perhaps I am interested in another (the latest novel by John Grisham or Daniel Silva).   I can only recall starting one book in the last thirty years and not finishing it. I persist, even if a volume may take me over a year to complete.

I read critically and freely. I am not afraid to take on new authors or subjects. Mortimer Adler’s book, How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading has had an incredible impact on m y life. It challenged me to stretch myself, to be moved out of my comfort zone by reading new authors and exploring new subjects. I am not afraid to evaluate what I read. Just because a book has been published doesn’t mean that it is good or even true or accurate. You don’t simply embrace all that is read but you engage. Engagement is a prerequisite for embracement or rejection. Engage before you embrace or exclude.

I want to give a word of caution. I believe there is too much Christian "lite" reading by Christian readers. I would rather read a book by Henri Nouwen than a book by John Maxwell or even George Barna. To me, there is a theological depth, a Biblical undergirding found in Nouwen that is not found in a Maxwell or a Barna. I would rather read Eugene Peterson’s Reversed Thunder: The Praying Imagination of St. John a thousand times than one page from The Left Behind series. If the Lord tarries, a hundred years from now, Peterson will still be read when no one, absolutely no one, will be reading Jenkins and LaHaye!

I read widely and narrowly. I am almost, almost, convinced that it is a sin to read only "sacred" or "Christian" literature. Years ago I was taught that "All truth is God’s truth"–no matter who says it , no matter where it is found, no matter when it was written. Novels, for example, mirror our culture, our times. Theology is found in more than just theology books! Read the latest Stephen King novel and you surely are struck with the notion that the man is searching for something to give perspective to the evil and the good at work in our world.

I read at least one book each year in each of the areas that our seminary offers majors in–Bible, Theology, History, Counseling, World Mission, Education, Worship, etc. In reading so widely I find that connecting points, bridges, networking–whatever metaphor you want to use–takes place. One area informs another area.

Of course, I read narrowly. I am a specialist in the area of New Testament studies, and yet I read in the Old Testament more and more because I cannot undertand the former without a knowledge of the latter.

More in Part II

For more on Dr. Lowery’s reading habits, see the previously-posted Reflections on My Bible Reading Habits.

Tags: books, reading, recommendations

Oh, what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
I’m a-goin’ back out ‘fore the rain starts a-fallin’
I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner’s face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start singin’
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.

The story is that Bob Dylan wrote "A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall" during the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October-November, 1962. I remember the event fairly well. A military confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba loomed because Nikita Kruschev had ordered the USSR’s military to place surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles in Cuba, supposedly for defensive reasons. Specifically, I remember the night that President John F. Kennedy spoke to the nation, October 22. My parents, sister, brothers, and I sat in front of the black and white television and heard the President announce that should any missiles be launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere, our country would view it as an attack by the Soviet Union and that there would be swift retaliatory action. Seldom did I go to bed feeling afraid, but that night it did, despite my mother leading our family in prayer. I believe those events are the closest the world ever came to nuclear war.

Supposedly Dylan quickly wrote out the lyrics because he did not know if the world was going to come to an end. Clearly "a hard rain’s a-gonna fall" was a symbol, a reference to nuclear missiles dropping from the skies. If you read all five verses of the song, the images from weather abound: "a white ladder all covered with water . . . the sound of the thunder, it roared out a warnin’ . . . heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world . . . "

Many know that my favorite television channel is the Weather Channel. (I know that sounds pitiful, but it really isn’t! And it is not true that I ask my wife to record the channel when I am out of town so I can watch what I missed!)

Dylan was not the first poet-prophet to use weather to describe horrible scenarios. Before him was John the apostle, the receiver of the Revelation, and before him were the prophets of the Old Testament:

From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder… (Rev. 4:5)

Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. . . . From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible. (Rev. 16:18, 21)

The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked… (Ps. 77:17-18)

Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. …Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward the Sky so that h ail will fall all over Egypt–on men and animals and on Everything growing in the fields of Egypt.’ When Moses stretched out His staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning Flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. (Exod 9:18, 22-24)

As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites. (Joshua 10:11)

Weather is often a powerful actor in the Bible. The images associated with weather remind us of the power of God. Awesome, terror-inducing power are associated with thunder and lightning (see Jer. 10:13; 51:16); Ps. 18:14; 29:3-4). God’s ability to create and orchestrate weather is a sure sign of his power (Ps. 135:7; Nahum 1:3). And, of course, weather not only reminds us of the providence of God (Ps. 147:18), weather symbolizes divine judgment (Gen. 7:11-12; 8:2; 9:12-15).

Revelation does indeed remind us that someday a hard rain’s a-gonna fall. Are you ready?

Tags: bob dylan, hard rain, revelation, war

It was discovered earlier this week that the snippet of code that notifies registered visitors of new posts was causing problems after some changes to the site’s plumbing.  To solve the problem, that snippet had to be deactivated. (NOTE: This problem does not affect those who’ve already subscribed to e-mail updates through FeedBurner.)

What does this mean for me?

The site will no longer send update notifications to your registered e-mail address.

Wow, that stinks. Is there anything I can do to find out when Bob writes a new post without having to visit the site every day?

Actually, yes! Frankly, it’s even better than the "old" (and now defunct) method–and you can easily set it up in less than 60 seconds.

1. Scroll down to the bottom of any page on the site (including this one).
2. Look for the link that says "Subscribe by Email" on the right-hand side.  Click it.
3. On the page that opens, enter your e-mail address and the verification code shown.
4. You will receive a confirmation e-mail almost instantly (check your "spam" box if the message doesn’t show up). Click the link in that message and you will receive not only an update notice when Bob posts new content, but the entire post will be sent directly to you via e-mail.

Please accept my apologies for the extra hassle. Feel free to contact me if you have any problems with this procedure.

Thanks for your continued support of rlowery.com.

Reflections on Contemporary Approaches to Interpreting Prophecy

Photo by Chris J

The CNN.com headline of December 19, 2007 caught my attention: "Hitting the Road (Literally) with Some Faith." The reporter, Gary Tuchman, opened the piece with "A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness," a quotation from Isa. 35:8. He raised the question: ". . . Is it possible that this ‘highway’ mentioned . . . is actually Interstate 35 that runs through six U.S. states?" He observed that some Christians have faith that is indeed the case. He decided to do a story about a prayer campaign called "Light the Highway," in which Christians in six states (the states that Interstate 35 runs through) had completed 35 days of praying alongside the interstate.

What? He wrote "Some of the faithful believe that in order to fulfill the prophecy of I-35 being the ‘holy’ highway, it needs some intensive prayer first. One particular group of Dallas Christians prayed that "adult businesses along the corridor would ’see the light’ and perhaps close down." They also prayed for the safety and freedom from crime for people who lived along the interstate.

Who? Who started this was a preacher by the name of Cindy Jacobs who says that even though she can’t be sure that Interstate 35 is what is mentioned in the Bible, she says she received a revelation to start this campaign after "once again reading Isaiah, chapter 35."

So what? The way minister Jacobs handles Scripture reminds me of the way some handle the book of Revelation, seeing the U.S.S.R. (well, at least some did a few years ago!), Iraq, China, the USA in its "prophecies." Once again I am reminded of the G.K. Chesterton’s words: "Critics are madder than poets. . . . And though St. John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators." Or television prophecy experts (How many of their predictions came true in 2007 or will not come true in 2008) or authors of books whose volumes eventually end up in the close-out bins of Christian bookstore at the end of this year.

I am tempted to pray "Come, Lord Jesus" and deliver us from such Scripture-twisters.