Whilin' Away the Hours

You may call me Lady Barb
For years I've had an interest in my family genealogy. I suppose it stared in the mid 60s when The Monkees rocked my 13 year old world. The guy in the green wool hat and I shared a rather uncommon last name! My family also lived in the same city as Monkee mother Bette. This meant that squeaky-voiced little girls called our home day and night asking if Michael were home. One day, Michael's mother called, not to ask if Michael were home but to apologize for the harassment our last name had surely engendered and this "status" earned me a small claim to fame in junior high school. I wondered if Michael and I were related and I learned that yes, in the distant past, we shared a common ancestry.

I was recently able to directly trace my father's line beginning with my father (our surname has several variants beginning 1644) to James Naesmyth in late 1400s Scotland. We were landed gentry however, much to my dismay, I discovered that not only am I a lowlander [horrors!] but that my forefathers may have burned Presbyterians at the stake. It seems that the loyalties of the Naesmyths were divided between the Episcopacy and the Covenanters. I haven't been able to determine which side my ancestor, Thomas Naesmyth, took but his father and grandfather were loyal to Mary and James VI.

This is the family coat of arms. The motto, Non arte sed marte, means "Not by art but by war" and there is a fairly well documented account of how the Blazon came into being.

I am descended from the New Jersey branch which arrived in Monmouth around 1700. I've been able to trace my mother's family, also Scots, to 1678 Surry VA.

I would love to go to Scotland one day. And now I know the region to visit, where to find the old homestead, Posso Castle, and where to pay my respects. Pretty cool for a lowlander.

Weekends are boring
at least in the blogosphere. So, to make your weekend exciting, here is a little game.

Can you find the man's head?

If you can find the Man's Head within 3 seconds, your right brain is
more developed than normal people.

If you can find the Man's Head within 1 minute, your right brain is
developed normally.

If you can find the Man's Head within 1-3 minutes, your right brain is
slow in reacting, you should eat more meat protein.

If you can find the Man's Head in 3 minutes or more, your right brain is
a disaster... extremely slow in reacting, the only suggestion is please
watch cartoons to help normally develop your right brain.

YOU CAN HELP!
Action Packs for Iraq is a program sponsored by Voice of the Martyrs by which we may do more than say "be warmed, be filled."

"Iraqi Christians have been devastated by war and more than two decades of tyrannical rule by Saddam Hussein. A minority of less than three percent, this small Christian community is one of the oldest in the Middle East. Our brothers and sisters in this war-torn region are crying out for help."

VOM will send you a zippered bag and instructions for items to pack for shipment to Iraqi Christians. Winter is coming and warm coats for children and adults are needed as well as other items. You are allowed to include a note but you must follow strict guidelines for the sake of the safety of the recipients. VOM will be distributing a Gospel storybook with each Action Pack. The site has a PDF file for church bulletin inserts so you can help spread the word.

What does it mean to be justified?
To be justified is to be pardoned of all sin (any want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God, i.e. acts against the law of God by omission or commission) and to be counted as righteous. What does it mean to be righteous? To answer that question, I look to the Westminster Shorter Catechism Project, an excellent resource for catechism research. Since Adam did not "earn" righteousness but was created righteous and holy, Adam's created state is where I looked for an answer.
Thomas Vincent:
"Q. 6. What righteousness had man at first in his will?
A. Man had at first in his will a disposition, accompanied with an executive power, to every thing which was right, and to give that which was both due to God and also to man, had there been any man besides himself."
Alexander Whyte:
"righteousness—In etymology and in fact, righteousness means rectitude, obedience. Righteousness is a relation, a relation of conformity in all respects to the law under which any one is made subject. And accordingly the text teaches that man was created in the most perfect conformity to the moral law, under which as a creature of God be was for ever to live. Measured immediately on his creation by that divine law, man was pronounced by His Maker and Lawgiver and Judge "very good." It is in this sense that our divines speak of Adam's "natural justification."

Righteousness is perfect conformity to God's moral law and sin is any lack of conformity to God's moral law. If a sinner's sin is pardoned then the sinner's lack of conformity to God's law is taken away and he is reckoned to be in conformity to God's law. So, where is the need for a positive increase in righteousness? In fact, how does one increase that which is perfect? How is it that, for justification, we need something more than being declared free of "any want of conformity to God's law" i.e. declared to be in perfect conformity to God's law? What am I missing? It seems to me that Adam's test was to withstand temptation so as to avoid a fall into a deficit of righteousness, not to increase an already perfect righteousness.*

*Before I continue, I am not discounting Christ's active obedience as part of the equation of salvation. We are united to the victorious, resurrected Christ therefore, in union with Him, we are not simply put back into Adam's mutable condition, we are glorified in Christ. Christ's active obedience, His consecration of Himself to the Father, His sanctification if you will, was to the death and it's reward was His glorification.

Matthew Henry on one of my favorite passages of Scripture, Ro. 5, here deals with vss. 9 and 10:
1. Justification and reconciliation are the first and primary fruit of the death of Christ: We are justified by his blood (Rom_5:9), reconciled by his death, Rom_5:10. Sin is pardoned, the sinner accepted as righteous, the quarrel taken up, the enmity slain, an end made of iniquity, and an everlasting righteousness brought in. This is done, that is, Christ has done all that was requisite on his part to be done in order hereunto, and, immediately upon our believing, we are actually put into a state of justification and reconciliation. Justified by his blood. Our justification is ascribed to the blood of Christ because without blood there is no remission Heb_9:22. The blood is the life, and that must go to make atonement. In all the propitiatory sacrifices, the sprinkling of the blood was of the essence of the sacrifice. It was the blood that made an atonement for the soul, Lev_17:11.
2. Hence results salvation from wrath: Saved from wrath (Rom_5:9), saved by his life, Rom_5:10 When that which hinders our salvation is taken away, the salvation must needs follow. Nay, the argument holds very strongly; if God justified and reconciled us when we were enemies, and put himself to so much charge to do it, much more will he save us when we are justified and reconciled. He that has done the greater, which is of enemies to make us friends, will certainly the less, which is when we are friends to use us friendly and to be kind to us. And therefore the apostle, once and again, speaks of it with a much more. He that hath digged so deep to lay the foundation will no doubt build upon that foundation. - We shall be saved from wrath, from hell and damnation. It is the wrath of God that is the fire of hell; the wrath to come, so it is called, 1Th_1:10. The final justification and absolution of believers at the great day, together with the fitting and preparing of them for it, are the salvation from wrath here spoken of; it is the perfecting of the work of grace. - Reconciled by his death, saved by his life. His life here spoken of is not to be understood of his life in the flesh, but his life in heaven, that life which ensued after his death. Compare Rom_14:9. He was dead, and is alive, Rev_1:18. We are reconciled by Christ humbled, we are saved by Christ exalted. The dying Jesus laid the foundation, in satisfying for sin, and slaying the enmity, and so making us salvable; thus is the partition-wall broken down, atonement made, and the attainder reversed; but it is the living Jesus that perfects the work: he lives to make intercession, Heb_7:25. It is Christ, in his exaltation, that by his word and Spirit effectually calls, and changes, and reconciles us to God, is our Advocate with the Father, and so completes and consummates our salvation. Compare Rom_4:25 and Rom_8:34. Christ dying was the testator, who bequeathed us the legacy; but Christ living is the executor, who pays it. Now the arguing is very strong. He that puts himself to the charge of purchasing our salvation will not decline the trouble of applying it.

Be Thou My Vision
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Questions for Dawn
1. You're 17 years old, it's a summer evening and you've got a car. What are you going to do?
2. If you could magically achieve a PhD, what would be your area of expertise and why?
3. Tell us the story of your first meeting/date with Jason.
4. If you were an archaeologist, where would you dig and why?
5. Convince me that college football is an enjoyable sport.

The Supper
Check out Tim's September 21st 2003, 9:55am entry on communion and also Alastair's review of NT Wright's The Meal Jesus Gave Us: Understanding Holy Communion .

You know, the sin of the Corinthians ...that they were gorging themselves & becoming drunk when they assembled for the Lord's supper... could hardly have found an occasion if the Corinthians had been Presbyterian, so solemn & isolated in focus are we. They seem to have taken what must have originally been a corporate, joyful feast and turned it into debauchery. But, must we Presbyterians so over-correct their error by robbing it of it's essential fellowship and joy?

Interview questions for Valerie
1. You are in the 3rd grade. Your brothers are out for the day but you must stay at home. How will you pass the time?

2. In all of your travels, which trip did you most enjoy and why?

3. If you could magically adapt your voice and ability to any style of music, what piece would you most like to sing?

4. Which one and why?
Gauguin or Renoir?
Early morning or late at night?
Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia?
Luxury automoblie or sports car?
Contrasting colors or complimentary colors?

5. When did you leave home, circumstances and experiences?

Interview questions for Kelly
1. Who was your favorite neighbor as a child and why?

2. Are there any stories, traditions, or objects that have been handed down through generations of your family?

3. If you could change one thing about our federal government, what would you change and why?

4. Which one and why?
Beatrix Potter or A.A. Milne?
Breakfast or dinner?
Jackson or Lee?
Mountains or beach?
Chopin or Mozart?

5. How has your parenting style changed over the years?

Two more blogs
One, of course, is View from Peniel. The other is 40 Bicycles, the site of a new blogger named Alastair. He jumps in with both feet as he writes an excellent critique of Doug Wilson's views on the New Perspective. Just to be fair, I discovered Alastair's blog on Just Mark but I've seen him around a good bit here & there.

The Interview
Questions by Rev. John Owen Butler

1. If you were to make a long-distance trip of at least 5 hours' duration, what CDs would you take?
I might answer this question differently any given day. But today my answer is car music is sing along music. Not that I can sing, mind you, but I don't let an incidental such as that slow me down-not in church and not in the car. (I draw the line at singing a Capella in the shower- too painful even for me. I confess that I used to sing Be Thou My Vision a Capella as I walked my dog alone late at night. But, I digress...) There are lots of CDs that I love that I will leave at home for that reason. Today, I'm going to pack:
Fernando Ortega, This Bright Hour
Emmylou Harris, Spyboy... wait, no. Red Dirt Girl
Pink Floyd, Delicate Sound of Thunder
Toad the Wet Sprocket, Fear
Little Feat, Waiting For Columbus

2. Which and Why?
Jimi or Stevie Ray?
Jimi of course! To be honest, at this later stage in life, I enjoy Stevie Ray more but Jimi was first. Not only did he forever change the way the electric guitar was played, he was the flagship of an age for which I mysteriously retain some wistfulness.

Blue Mountain or Ethiopian Fancy?
You show no mercy sir! I'm going to answer this as though someone were standing before me offering each but I could choose only one. I've tried several Ethiopians which I enjoyed. Ethiopia Yergacheffe is wonderful but quite pungent. The other variety of Ethiopian I tried escapes me for the moment. On the other hand, the only Blue Mountain I've sampled was probably old & stale so I would choose the Blue Mountain. BTW, it's Kenyan as I type.

Jordan or Leithart?
Merciless and cruel you are! Since I want to read Against Christianity sometime soon, I'll choose Leithart. I'm a relative late-comer to both Jordan and Leithart so I have a lot of catching up to do. It wasn't until I got my first computer nearly 4 years ago (!?! I know, I know) that I learned there was a world beyond R.C. Sproul and J.I. Packer. OK, I'm really exaggerating but you get what I mean, right?

Abbie Hoffman or Bobby Seale?
Abbie, nut case that he was. Bobby, in my mind, represents the Black Panthers more than the Chicago 7 (8 if one includes Bobby which by rights one should) and the Black Panthers were violent. True, the 1968 Democratic Convention was violent but it was the pigs that started it, man...
MR. WEINGLASS: Will you please identify yourself for the record?
THE WITNESS: My name is Abbie. I am an orphan of America.
MR. SCHULTZ: Your Honor, may the record show it is the defendant Hoffman who has taken the stand?
THE COURT: Oh, yes. It may so indicate. . . .
MR. WEINGLASS: Where do you reside?
THE WITNESS: I live in Woodstock Nation.
MR. WEINGLASS: Will you tell the Court and jury where it is?
THE WITNESS: Yes. It is a nation of alienated young people. We carry it around with us as a state of mind in the same way as the Sioux Indians carried the Sioux nation around with them. It is a nation dedicated to cooperation versus competition, to the idea that people should have better means of exchange than property or money, that there should be some other basis for human interaction. It is a nation dedicated to--
THE COURT: Just where it is, that is all....

"Ohio" by the Pretenders or "Ohio" by CSNY?
CSNY. I like the Pretenders and CSNY but the story in CSNY's Ohio is utterly heartbreaking because these 33 years later it seems like the lives of the Kent State students, and the lives of many thousands of others, were lost or ruined for nothing.

3. What was your favorite early '60s TV cartoon and why?
Rocky & Bullwinkle! It certainly wasn't the best animation but the humor & wit was amazing. Even as a young kid, I recognized that there were themes being explored that went way beyond "I twaught I taa a puddy-cat!" I think it was "Fractured Fairy Tales" that set me up to be a Monty Python fan.

4. Where were you and what were you doing on the afternoon of November 22, 1963?
I was in Miss Kroupa's 4th grade class in Chicago. I wish I could remember how I heard the news but there must have been an announcement. It had been snowing that day and my mom was on her way out to buy me a pair of rubber boots when she heard (wow, she was 10 years younger than I am now in 1963). She stopped by my elementary school to see if we would be sent home but the school decided to remain in session. Everywhere people were crying, people on the streets were crying. I remember being glued to the TV for days and I think school was cancelled the day of the funeral. I remember watching the funeral procession on our black & white television. The riderless horse was heart wrenching. I wonder if there would be such emotion over a presidential assassination today?

5. How did you get into the world of bloggery?
It's all Valerie's fault! I started reading blogs because Valerie had a blog role. My decision to blog was very impulsive like many of my decisions are... I'd been involved in an online community for several years starting with the Renewing Your Mind forum sponsored by Ligonier - that's how I knew Valerie. When the RYM forum was rudely shut down, we migrated as a community to The Refugee Camp set up by...yep, Valerie! This was truly a refugee camp in that it was a temporary place for us to regroup and decide what to do. You see, we'd formed friendships that we were loath to give up. A certain "Pirate King" set up an ezboard for us called A Better Country as a permanent abode and so we immigrated there. That experience has proven to me that the denizens of forum communities and blogging communities form real, albeit odd, relationships. In real life, I've met 4 ezboarders and 13 bloggers, all but one of whom I would never have known otherwise.

John will be a tough act to follow but:

::If you would like to participate too, here are your instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions (not the same as you see here).
3. You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.::

Yeah, what he said.
CCL’s Position on Justification by Faith

Not what they said.
tom foolery

As Isabel pounds the east coast
We Ohioans were treated to a beautiful sunset undoubtedly facilitated by Isabel. The bands of clouds were iridescent pink, magenta, and orange layered over pristine cerulean and thaylo firmament as only the Creator can mix color. The clouds were moving in from the east...very unusual.

I promised a retraction
to Mr. Howard Douglas King from whom I received a very polite email regarding the error of my speculation concerning his views here. In the email, Mr. King told me he does not subscribe to the teachings of Herman Hoeksema. Therefore, I apologize, Mr. King, for potentially injuring your good name. My beliefs occasionally have been wrongly associated with certain heterodox characters so I'm acutely aware of how annoying such allegations can be.

I learned something about myself yesterday
Yesterday was my husband's birthday. (Happy birthday Clifford!) To celebrate, we drove to Lawrenceburg, Indiana and spent the night on the Ohio River at the riverboat Argosy Casino & Hotel. We keep odd hours because of my husband's employment so we arrived at the hotel at 10:30pm. After checking in and dropping off our things in our room, we wandered through the riverboat themed hotel and had dinner at The Chartroom. Then we hit the casino.

I've never been to Vegas and my closest brush with gambling has been penny ante poker. I was unprepared for the crowded casino. It was midnight and midweek! Before we arrived, I commented that we might be the only people there. Silly me. The noise was incredible, bells & chimes, cheers & shouts produced an oddly rhythmic cacophony which convinced me there must be a gambling subculture even in Ohio. It was something to behold! The hands of some seasoned denizens played the slots like those of a maestro conducting an orchestra. Others spoke to the machines as lovers or enemies. Some sat feeding the machine in a bemused trance-like state, hypnotized by the spinning wheels. There were groupings of gamblers around card tables and roulette wheels cheering and booing with a camaraderie similar to a sports bar during the big Ohio State vs Michigan game.

But, I discovered that I am not a gambler. It grieved me to watch my money disappear down the gullet of a one-armed bandit. Even though we gave ourselves an alloted amount of money to be considered spent on entertainment, I could not shake the feeling of being swindled. I suppose deeply ingrained attitudes don't vanish simply because one predetermines that they should be set aside in certain circumstances. I must be a quintessential Scot.

We won a little and lost a little more until about 3:30am when we called it quits and headed for our room. We'd watched a woman, a dedicated gambler who was wearing rubber gloves to keep her hands clean, playing one slot machine all night. The machine was paying off consistently. My husband determined to go back the following morning to play that machine during the hour that I showered & gathered up our things. In one hour he won back all that we'd lost so in the end we broke even. That brought some consolation to my Scots soul.

I don't regret the experience. I found the act of gambling to be rather boring to tell the truth. But, it was fun to see the riverboat and hotel, to people watch, and to be thankful for my Scots heritage.

Long overdue
I've been frightfully remiss in spinning the tale of the Night of the Living Netizens. It was dreadfully fun. We 4 ghouls, er, girls, were hideously hinky. Our lurid stories of life on the internet were full of deliciously macabre humor and horrific revelations. Since Valerie has given a ghastly account, I don't feel too torn up about my inability to post photos at present (but I owe her a chop or two for posting a pic of me with wet hair!). My ba[n]dwidth has apparently been cut off. Ah, well.

Fascinating
So fascinating, in fact, that I'm at a loss for words...almost.

The session of an Orthodox Presbyterian church has written and passed a resolution outlining steps it will take in protest of the recent GA judicatory action sustaining the appeal of John Kinnaird. You may read the resolution here. Please note the date of the resolution: Sept. 12, 2003. The forward informs us that the resolution was sent to "the Presbytery of Philadelphia as an informational communication, and also to Rev. Donald Duff, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church" on Sept 12th. With undiluted incredulity, on Sept. 13, 2003, I discovered the resolution because it had been submitted to the self-appointed adjudicators of Presbyterian orthodoxy known as the Warfield List. So quickly was this denominational matter tossed to the gnashing and wailing Warfieldians that John Robbins hasn't even had a chance to "reduce it to ones and zeros" for the internet....yet. But he will. And the ironic part of the whole debacle-in-the-making is that there hasn't been a whisper on the OPC list that such a resolution even exists.

But, wait! This isn't déjà vu! It really has happened before...

***Update:
The Resolution finally has been cross-posted to the OPC list where it has received the expected chilly response. One pastor has called it a breach of Presbyterian polity and divisive.

I'm just putting
the finishing touches on my chainmail suit in anticipation of the arrival of Valerie, my favorite axe murderer! Dawn should be here in a few hours as well as our blogless forum friend Jennifer, aka da Queen, from Cincinnati.

I'll be starting dinner in a few minutes. On the menu is:
Lemon basted chicken with ricotta sauce
Spinach Provincal
Spring greens with fresh dill, artichoke, & hearts of palm
Poppy seed bread
Chateau Ste. Michelle Gewurztraminer
Pumpkin pie

To do list:
Things I need to do before Valerie arrives on Friday:
1. Equip guestroom door with deadbolt
2. Find adoptive families for my animals
3. Update my will
4. Install metal detector
5. Hide the chainsaw
6. Procure a goalie mask, straightjacket, and dolly. (Just in case)

A First Class Rant
may be found here: Societas Christiana, Tuesday, Septembr 9.

Growing perils for Iraqi Christians
(from the latest MERF newsletter)
Each of the six Reformed congregations in Iraq (two in Baghdad, one in each of Basra, Mosul, Kirkuk, and Erbiel) is experiencing much hardship. Like most Iraqi people, many have no job or source of income, no regular supply of drinkable water, electricity, or other amenities. The growing levels of crime and insecurity distress believers most, especially in Baghdad. Kidnapping for ransom was previously unheard of in Iraq.* Now this phenomenon is growing frighteningly in the larger Baghdad area. In June an average of 2 or 3 kidnappings were reported every day. Now it has jumped to a weekly average of 55 cases. Of these, an average of 8 kidnapped persons end up dead every week. In some cases, families recover the bodies of loved ones even after paying the ransom. Kidnappers are thus assured that they will not be identified. The incidents of kidnapping and raping of women are also increasing. The whereabouts of over 300 kidnapped women are still unknown, including about 40 of Christan background.

The decline of the security situation has drastically diminished the numbers able to attend church activities. It has also made it very difficult for pastors and elders to visit church families. Residents of several Baghdad neighborhoods have joined together to hire armed men to protect their homes and family members against thieves and kidnappers. Many Christian families have sent their daughters (and young wives) to relatives in the safer villages of northern Iraq. Please pray fervently for the restoration of law and order in Iraq and for the safety and well being of the believers, especially in Baghdad.

*except in the case of Saddam's regime and Muslim clerics. (my note)