From Silence to Song - Peter Leithart

Peter Leithart in 2003 published his wonderful book, From Silence To Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution, which exegetically and theologically demonstrates the importance of David’s tabernacle worship on Mount Zion, both to Old Covenant and New Covenant worship. While I am not convinced of Leithart’s entire thesis (i.e. I think his arguement that weekly worship before David did not involve singing is an arugement from silence, and seems unlikely to me considering the fact that we have songs given to us previous David that were sung in a worship context), Leithart’s work is unique and groundbreaking in terms of its discription of the importance of Davidic worship prophetically.This book is must reading for all serious students of the Bible and its teaching on music in the church.

Last week an article was published by Leithart in First Things, How the Church Lost Her Soundscape, about contemporary Christian worship music. He introduced his subject by saying,  “I am not assessing the quality, theology, or sincerity of contemporary worship music. I merely observe the fact, and offer a preliminary interrogation of its cultural sources and effects. What ideas, standards, and forces shape liturgical music? And, what does the church’s musical culture say about the church and its future?”

” Culture is a gift from the old to the young, and the younger generation’s grateful reception is a sign of honor for fathers. Cultural transmission has been thrown into reverse, also in the church.”

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It amazes me how God chooses to bless some businesses with such phenomenal success in such a short time. He uses these companies to enrich the world, and especially His people, with goods and services that they people may not otherwise be able to have. Amazon.com is providing so many things for so many people at such good prices that I feel it worth taking a moment to acknowledge God’s goodness to His people through this means. I know this seems a bit strange. But think about it – Isn’t it good and proper to be thankful at all times for how God blesses us? I have no idea if the founders and leaders of Amazon.com are Christians – but all blessings that come to us are from the hand of God.

This visually represents the tremendous growth and reach of Amazon.com in their short 17 years.

I still like to order books, more often than not, from my favorite local Christian book store (brick and mortar & online), Exodus Books so that I can be a blessing to my friends. I would encourage everyone to check them out by clicking their link to the right in the side bar. They are wonderful people and are providing an excellent service to the Christian and homeschool community.

For all you other “Biblio-Wonks” out there – Here is a fun tool provided by SF Signalfor seeing the recommendations of NPR’s listeners of the top ranked science fiction and fantasy books of all time. Fun Hint: When you click on the pictures below it will take you to the site – then enlarge the picture again on the site and follow the flowcharts to various recommendations.

FLOWCHART: Navigating NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

They also have an even more interactive version:

An Interactive Guide to NPR's List of Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

[As an added bonus - These guys also have a Flowchart to help you decide Which SciFi Series Should You Watch on NetFlix.]

SciFi Series of Netflix Flowchart

Some of my favorite Fantasy and SciFi authors (in no particular order):

Orson Scott Card

Stephen R. Lawhead

Isaac Asimov

Ray Bradbury

Gene Wolfe

C.S. Lewis

J.R.R. Tolkien

Cordwainer Smith

J.K. Rowling

Frank Herbert

{My Goodreads shelf for Fantasy & SciFi}

The Hobbit - There And Back Again

Literary Structure: For some, it is the key to understanding all things literary (especially in ancient literature). For some others, it is a useful curiosity. For other still, it is a worthless enterprise that is much ado about nothing. For me – I guess I find myself vacillating between all three. Although we cannot know for sure, it may be that authors (including biblical writers) actually do use literary structures to help them communicate their message. In which case, identifying these structures is very useful in understanding their intended meaning. It may also be that since structure is part of God’s creation, and therefore inescapable, writers my just write in such a way that their works have a structure that they are not fully conscious of. Identifying these unintentional structures can gives us a richer understanding of the text we are looking at. And still, it is possible that literary critics and students are so predisposed to find structures that they impose on the text structures that then become a distraction from a free reading of text. For this reason, I think it good to think a little about such things, allowing ourselves to be open to a wide varieties of ways of looking at the text – on its own terms.

I recently came across the following offering of such a structure. Whether Tolkien wrote the Hobbit (a favorite of mine – especially the scene with Smaug) with any self-conscious structure in mind – this is an interesting theological reflection on the book. Notice the center as a sacramental turning point in the book. Certainly the subtitle (“There And Back Again”) invites us to think of the story with two complimentary bookends, with a story that connects the two. Whether this is to you a useful curiosity or worthless waste of time, maybe it’s worth the time to think a little deeper about the story. Enjoy!

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In recent years there has been a renewed interest in biblical and historical liturgical studies in Reformed circles. From a symposium sponsored by The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship James K.A. Smith gave this excellent presentation of a biblical motivation for worship.

Smith is the author of a recent book called Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (Cultural Liturgies) that comes highly recommended to me, and is on my reading list.