StephenBarkley.com

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Few things are more fun for a teenage boy than sneaking into the girl’s cabins at camp. I remember indulging in a little covert operation once with a friend of mine. We had dodged security and made our way in to the so-called holy of holies. After hanging out for a while, we heard the sound of footsteps closing in. I frantically slid underneath the bottom of the bunk bed on one side of the cabin. My friend was slightly larger than I, so he kicked a girl out of her bed. She hid underneath it, while he climbed in and quickly threw the covers over his head. The door opened quickly, accompanied by a flashlight and a voice:

“Is everything alright in there?”

As the flashlight started checking the bunk beds, I was sure we were going to be found out. Everyone was holding their breath, on the verge of giggling.

Fortunately, we escaped that time. I suppose this is sort of a confession.

My point in revealing that deep-dark secret is this: what will you be found doing when the flashlight hits you? Read more

• Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession © 2008
• Alfred A. Knopf
• 245 pages

What does it take for an atheist who authored the famous Vampire novels to return to the faith of her childhood—and to live out that faith in her publishing commitments? Nothing but the love of Jesus.

This book will move you. There’s an honest simplicity to it that many spiritual works lack. In her words:

If this path to God is an illusion, then the story is worthless. If the path is real, then we have something here that may matter to you as well as to me.

Here’s my response to Dr Jim West’s idea.  Simple and purdy.

It’s nowhere near as freakin’ cool as Scotteriology, though. Maybe I should slip in a pic of of Charlie the Unicorn behind one of those trees.

While reading God’s Rivals: Why Has God Allowed Different Religions?, I came across a breathtaking quote about Christ by Irenaeus (Proof of the Apostolic Preaching). You’ll want to read this one slowly.

He is Himself the Word of God Almighty, Who in His invisible form pervades us universally in the whole world, and encompasses both its length and breadth and height and depth—for by God’s Word everything is disposed and administered—the Son of God was cruficifed in these, imprinted in the form of a cross on the universe.

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There are two verses in the New Testament that just drive me crazy when people misinterpret them. The second one is part our text today. Here they are:

Do not worry about . . . what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say. (Luke 12:11-12 NRSV)

You do not need anyone to  teach you. . . . his anointing teaches you about all things. (1 John 2:27 NRSV)

These verses have been used to excuse exegetical sloth many times. I’ve heard of preachers who don’t prepare at all—they just walk up to the pulpit and engage in small talk until they feel moved to speak on something.

That’s clearly not the intent of these verses. If it were true, the irony would be unbearable: John would be teaching his people that they don’t need anyone to teach them!

These two verses teach different things, although they have been twisted into a unity. The first text from Luke says that God will give his followers divine wisdom to know what to say when they’re being persecuted. It’s certainly not an excuse to avoid studying scripture. The second verse is the subject of this devotion. Read more

• God’s Rivals: Why Has God Allowed Different Religions? Insights from the Bible and the Early Church © 2007
• InterVarsity Press
• 181 pages

This book promised more than it delivered. McDermott never gets around to suggesting an answer to the question of why God allowed different religions.

He starts with a chapter on “The Scandal of Particularity”, which only heightened my desire to delve into this conundrum. Why does God only speak to some people and cultures? Is the rest of his creation doomed to hell because of it?

Over all, the book is interesting and easy to read. The highlight of the book are the chapters on Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement, and Origen. McDermott’s knack for story-telling makes these old church fathers come alive. It’s good to learn their views on the question as well.

Unfortunately, when you get to the last chapter, all you’ll find is a summary of the preceding ones.

Here’s another gem from Stories With Intent regarding the Good Samaritan:

The fear of works righteousness is far too exaggerated in most churches. Would that there were an equal fear of being found inactive!

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We’re approaching Christmas. Picture Jesus, the newborn infant, lying in a manger. Now answer these questions:

• Did the newborn Jesus cry like any other newborn or was he supernaturally peaceful?
• Would the newborn Jesus be recognizable as something different from the rest of humanity by a stranger, or would he look just like any other crying baby?
• Hebrews tells us that the world was created and is sustained through Jesus. In his infant mind, was he holding and spinning the galaxies around in space, or do you think he only cared about pooping, eating, and sleeping?

How you answer those questions reveals a lot about your Christology. The ancient church discerned that Jesus was fully God and fully man. That’s fine in the abstract, but difficult to figure out in reality. Read more

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo © 2005
• Translation by Reg Keeland © 2008
• Knopf
• 465 pages

I bought this because I felt like reading something different. I don’t often read murder mysteries, but Barnes & Noble had a stack of these books at the front of the store alongside a very persuasive write-up.

The book was so compelling, I read the last half of it in four hours straight, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The characters are all quite flawed, which gives them a harsh realistic quality. The last few paragraphs made me grieve at the pain fallen humanity can cause by its own selfishness. (I’m not sure that this was Larsson’s intent—it was likely my Christocentric worldview coming into play.)

This book is not for the faint of heart, but if you’re looking for somthing to keep you awake at night this will do the trick.

Here’s another beautiful line from my Bultmann Commentary on the Letters of John:

For to love God and to be loved by him are a unity: the former is grounded in the latter.