 |
| Turner - Tintern Abbey |
FIVE years have past; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
With a soft inland murmur.--Once again
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
That on a wild secluded scene impress
Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
The landscape with the quiet of the sky.
Wordsworth, Lines Composed A Few Miles above Tintern AbbeyI attended a faculty meeting last night, enduring 230 minutes of tedium. The faculty at the same table were super-bright and great company. I kept wishing they were doing the talking up front. We discussed children's literature at the table.
Grammar was on the agenda, so the leader kept referring to grammar rules (which are derived from literature). When the question was asked, "How do we teach these rules?" I responded, "Rules do not teach grammar. The students need to read good literature, which will teach them grammar, vocabulary, and writing skills. Children's lit is great for that."
The children's lit teacher beamed while others recoiled in horror. "You can't make students read." I responded, "No one responds to reading or hearing grammar rules. I bring books to class and give them away. I have turned students into readers." Later, the children's lit teacher said to me, "There are are lots of studies showing the importance of reading, especially reading to children, in learning all those language skills." My mother read to us Jackson kids, and we earned 12 degrees among the four of us.
I went home from the meeting, thinking, "No wonder students are slack on reading. We have given up by default."
Theology - The Grammar of Faith
Paul L. Holmer, the sainted professor of philosophical theology at Yale, wrote, Theology, the Grammar of Faith.
He had a great story about a relative who knew all the grammar rules but was inept in grammar herself.
As readers know, grammar is derived from literature, not literature from grammar books. Every English, Latin, Greek, or Hebrew grammar textbook has been composed from studying the literature.
Most of the professional theologians, whether they are the MDivs of Mequon, or the PhD apostates of Harvard, are grammar textbook fanatics. They know all the rules, and they enforce them rigorously. Within their little circles, the rules must be followed.
Genuine Christian theology comes from reading the Scriptures, where the professor is the Holy Spirit, not a political appointee or a candidate for the Twelve Steps. That is why the Luther quotation from a few months ago has been read almost 8,000 times.
The over-paid theologians do not determine the grammar of faith, no matter how many rule-books they cite. The Holy Spirit trumps them all.
And we should not be ashamed that we are continuously learning. The Holy Spirit, through the Word and afflictions, opens our eyes to the treasures of the Gospel.
Several readers have written about the density of thought in Luther's Galatians Commentary. It is easy to mark every line. I can open the book at random, even though I have read it out loud before (every page to Mrs. I) and think - "That is so good. I have to remember that!"
The reasons for this phenomenon are:
Luther lived in the Word, dwelling on a verse or two, night and day.
Luther continuously learned, because he had to battle for every insight.
Luther saw the Scriptures as a whole, connecting all the truth of that one united Truth.
Luther never abandoned the principle of the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace.
 |
| Two facts emerge from Fuerbringer's books: 1. He constantly referred to Luther's works. 2. He never stopped his study of the Scriptures. |
