Fall 1994

Volume IX, Number 3

In This Issue

• An Experience Down Under by Nels Elde

  Last year’s winter issue of Pietisten found me in the Southern Hemisphere. Luck had smiled on me, and I had been given the opportunity to participate in Carleton College’s Marine and Field Biology Seminar in Australia and New Zealand.

• Waldenstrom's Commentary Hebrews 10:5-10 and Waldenstrom’s Commentary translated by Tommy Carlson

  It was God’s will that these offerings should cease with Christ’s arrival. The emphasis in this reading is that a body you have prepared for me to give as a sacrifice in place of the old sacrifices.

• Musings on the Rebirth of Pietisten by Peter Sandstrom

  John Lennon’s words from the old Beatles song were wafting their way from the juke box, through the din of drunken conversations and clanking glasses, past the neon revolving brewery signs and smoke-laden air, somehow to land upon my ears and enter my mind like a convicting, long lost friend.

• J. S. Bach and Pietism by Don O Franklin

  Up to this point in our study, we have traced Bach's encounters with pietism from his early childhood in Ohrdruf to his first position of importance, namely, that of organist in Mühlhausen. In the process of retracing Bach's steps, we have uncovered evidence indicating that he did not reject pietism out of hand, as earlier studies have concluded, but, rather, that he accepted, and often sought out, positions in places where it flourished. The evidence has come to light in a wide variety of sources: historical studies of German cities and provinces; biographical sketches of superintendents and pastors, as well as city and court officials; new research on the historical, social, and theological contexts of pietism; and, finally, the music itself. Rarely is the evidence explicit; often it is fragmentary. Taken together, however, it conveys a new image of Bach.

• The Snapper and Me by Arthur W. Anderson

  Dealing with people can be difficult, but dealing with things can bring out the demons. At least, I find it so. Golf illustrates this perfectly. After missing the ball twice on my drive and slithering a third into a bush, I knew there was an imp on my shoulder.

• The Confidence Factor by Ken Sampson

  Continually building up the self-assurance and skill of his teammates is Joe Montana’s trademark. The result — come-from-behind victories won decisively in the last quarter.

• Temptation and Confession: My Knowledge About and Of C. S. Lewis by Tim Johnson

  In my encounters with C. S. Lewis and Paul Holmer, I have come to understand that there is a difference between knowing about something and knowing of something.

• Invocation by Philip D. Anderson

  Father of all — Jew, Gentile, Muslim, and Shintoist, we hallow your name.

• On Handling Wasps by Elder M. Lindahl

  Many a picnic or outdoor café lunch has been upset by the presence of yellow-jacketed insects people commonly refer to as “bees.” The kind of “bees” that most often descend on our hot dogs, tortes, and soft drinks are called, appropriately enough, “social wasps” or “picnic wasps.”

• Fluke or Providence? by Glen Wiberg

  The text we have just read appears odd, if not trivial. I’ve never preached on it before, and I’ll wager you have never heard a sermon on it before — unless by some fluke for good or ill.

• Practical, Therapeutic, Theological Thought Fundamentals for Parents by Penrod

  Many parents are worried about their children, and many adults complain about the youth of America and of the world. High-school-aged kids and even younger children are getting into a lot of trouble.

• Jesus Was a Radical by Sandy Johnson

  Jesus was a radical! (So was John the Baptist.) What does it mean to be “radical”? The word comes from the Latin word radicalis: “having root.” Jesus was always getting down to the root of things, revealing the truth about life.

• I Sing With Joy and Gladness by Bradley J. Bergfalk

  The men’s chorus from Bethany Covenant Church gathered at a local retirement community to perform a concert for the residents. Residents who could walk ambled in and waited patiently for the concert to begin.

• Poetry Distance by Dennis Jones

  The talk of light years goes gently around the table, as though we’re talking of a cross-town trip.

• Out and About by Phil Johnson

  Once in awhile, a person gets a chance to do something entirely different. That chance came to me in September. I had the opportunity to be “manager” for the Minnesota portion of the concert tour of Christina Ekström and Bo Haraldsson.

• Sport Report by Phil Johnson

  Our phone rang one day in July. “Hello, Phil.” The voice was familiar — out of the past. As I struggled to identify the source, he continued, “This is your old teammate, Gerry Fross.”

• Sport Prophecy by Eric

  Here are my 1994-95 NBA picks.

• Post: Readers Respond

  Once again I have been inspired, refreshed, challenged, and just plain pleased as I have read the Summer 1994 edition of Pietisten. Many thanks to all of you who are involved in putting it together.

• Dictionary of Vital Theological Terms

  Agathology — the inquiry into the nature of the good. Apocatastasis — the final and complete salvation of all beings.