Huck Finn, Jim, and Theology

            Mark Shaw wrote creative little book called DOING THEOLOGY WITH HUCK AND JIM: PARABLES FOR UNDERSTANDING DOCTRINE. He takes Mark Twain’s novel THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN and uses to teach Christians how to think theologically.

            Shaw begins with Twain’s account of Huck and the slave, Jim, who were running away. The two were on a raft when, after a period of silence, Huck asked Jim:

            “What did you bring for food? I'm hungry.”

            Jim unwrapped his bedroll. His worldly possessions were contained in it. Immediately it is all laid out in full view. There was a hat and some fruit, a pair of socks, a rabbit’s foot, and a book. Jim tossed up a piece of fruit.

            “Why did you bring the book for?" asked Huck with the tone of irritation.

            “I bought it to read,” said Jim. 'What else is a book good for?”

            “I didn't think you could read?” Huck said and wished he had not said it.

            “I can read,” Jim responded with intense seriousness, gazing into the night.

            “What kind of book is it?” Huck asked.

            “It's a book about theology,” Jim said, his voice trailing away.

            “Theology! I hate theology almost much as I hate schools and rules,” Huck said. “What good is a theology book on a trip like this?”

            Jim was silent a long time before he answered. “A trip like this is long. A lot of things are going to happen. Might come in handy.”

            Shaw’s point is this: life is a trip that takes a long time. We make decisions based upon what we think. What we think is based upon what we believe. These conspire to impact our relationships and our consequences of life. Theology, doctrine, and teaching matter.

Source: George Guthrie–Hebrews NIV Application Commentary (Page 214)

Kid Instructions For Life

            Living life can be a daunting task. Sometimes, we need good advice on how to do it. How about this:

Top Ten Kid Instructions for Life

 10. Never trust a dog to watch your food.  Patrick, Age 10  

   9. Wear a hat when feeding seagulls. Rocky, Age 9   

  8. Sleep in your clothes so you'll be dressed in the morning. Stephanie, Age 8

  7. When your dad is mad and asks you, "Do I look stupid?" don't answer him.

      Heather, Age 16  

  6. Never tell your mom her diet's not working. Michael, Age 14  

  5. Don't pick on your sister when she's holding a baseball bat. Joel, Age 12   

  4. Never try to baptize a cat. Laura, Age 13

  3. Never do pranks at a police station. Sam, Age 10

  2. Never dare your little brother to paint the family car.  Phillip, Age 13

  1. Remember you're never too old to hold your father's hand. Molly, Age 11

            As good as that advice is, maybe we can find better places to look. How about starting with the Bible?

Are you over 21?

            Several years ago, a guy in Colorado Springs walked into a convenience store. He carried with him a shotgun. He demanded that the clerk give him all the cash from the cash drawer.

             After the clerk put the cash in a bag, the robber saw a bottle of scotch that he wanted behind the clerk on a shelf.  He told the cashier to put it in the bag as well; the cashier refused saying, "I can't do that because I don't believe you are over 21."

             The robber said he was, but the clerk still refused to give him the scotch, again stating that he believed the robber to be under 21. 

            At this point the robber took his drivers license out of his wallet and handed it over to the clerk. The clerk looked it over, conceded that the man was in fact over 21, and put the scotch in the bag.

            The robber then ran from the store with his money. The cashier immediately phoned the police, offering the name and address of the robber, which he had taken from the license.  

            Two hours later, authorities arrested the robber.

            Living life by the gut typically does not work. At some point, clear thinking-reflecting in good attitudinal and behavioral choices-is necessary.

            I have found that God’s Word is the best source for providing clear thinking.

Focus on the Bad Guys

            Okay, this is not exactly a story, unless you count it as a story about the biblical scholar, James Sanders. However, it is so good, I had to share it in some venue.

            Here it is: when you read the Bible, you should never identify with the good guys. Rather, identify with the bad guys.

            If you come away from the Bible feeling good, you have misread it. That will make you feel self-righteousness.

The Value of the Bible

            I have not confirmed the following story; I read it in a Christian magazine many years ago. To be safe, let’s say, “Legend has it…

            D.L. Moody was preaching one time in a Southern city about the value of the Word of God in a person's life. Suddenly, he was interrupted by the loud voice of a man in the audience.

                 “Mr. Moody, I do not believe a single word of that collection of old wives’ tales you call your Bible!”

                 “My dear brother,” replied Mr. Moody, “there is one verse in this Bible which you are forced to believe. ‘Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’ If a man sows wheat, he does not reap potatoes or peanuts. Take the saloonkeeper, for example; he sows drunkards and he will reap drunkards.”

                 The man sat down as the audience broke into loud applause. Mr. Moody, of course, did not know the man, but the audience did. He was a notorious, long-time atheistic saloonkeeper; and all his children, both sons and daughters, were drunkards.

Bible Reading

            Like a challenge? Try inspiring people to read the Bible.

            There is an old story about an elderly woman, who was distressed by the prevailing ignorance of the citizens of a small town concerning the Scriptures. Recognizing that illiteracy was a problem, she convinced the schoolteacher to teach some of the adults in the town to read.

            Later, she met one of the pupils on the street. She asked in a kind way, “Well, John, I guess you can read your Bible now, can’t you?”

            “Bless your heart, ma’am,” came the grateful reply. “I was out of the Bible and into the sports pages just over a week ago.”

The Craziest Language

           Someone sent me the following poem several years ago. It gave me a chuckle. The author is unknown:                

The Craziest Language

            We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes.

            But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.        

            The one fowl is goose, but two are called geese.

            Yet the plural of moose, should never be meese.

            You may find a lone mouse or a nest of mice.

            But the plural of house is houses, not hice.

    

            If the plural of man is always men,

            Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

          

            If I spoke of my foot, and show you my feet,

            And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?           

           Then one may be that, and three would be those,

           Yet hat in the plural would never be hose.              

            When we say brother, we say brethren.

            But though we may say mother, we never say methren.           

            Then the masculine pronouns are he, his, and him,

            But imagine the feminine, she, shis, and shim.

            So, English I fancy you will agree

            Is the craziest language that you ever did see.

            English is my mother tongue; yet, like the author of this poem, I still find it challenging. That is why I respect the discipline of Bible study.

The Bible is a book written over a 1500-year period. It was written in three languages—none native to me. The final book in the Bible, Revelation, was written almost 2000 years ago.

I do not take for granted the understanding of the Bible, and I take seriously the study of God’s word.

Satan’s Convention

This was sent to me a decade ago. The author is unknown, but the words are still relevant.

Satan’s Convention

Satan called a worldwide convention.  In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We can't keep the Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth.  We can't even keep them from conservative values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, abiding experience in Christ.

If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to church, let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that experience in Jesus Christ.

This is what I want you to do, angels.  Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day."

"How shall we do this?”  shouted his angels.

"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent unnumbered schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, then, borrow, borrow, borrow. Convince the wives to go to work and the husbands to work 6 or 7 days a week, 0-12 hrs. a day, so they can afford their lifestyles.  Keep them from spending time with their children.  As their family fragments, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work."

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still small voice.  Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, to keep the TV, the VCR, and their CD's going constantly in their homes.  And see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays music constantly.  This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill their coffee tables with magazines and newspapers.  Pound their minds with the news 24 hrs. a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards.  Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogues, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering, free products, services, and false hopes."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive.  Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week.  Don't let them go out in nature.  Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead.

And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotion."

"Let them be involved in soul-winning.  But crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Christ. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family unity for the good of the cause."  It was quite a convention in the end.

And the evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busy, busy, busy and rush here and there.

"Be still and know that I am God."  Have you taken time to listen lately?

A Faulty GPS

Recently, three South Koreans were touring in a state forest in Queensland, Australia. Following the directions from their satellite navigational system, they found themselves stuck in a gully in the middle of nowhere.

Authorities later found that the three men had ignored several warning signs. Instead, they chose to follow the directions of their GPS. Unfortunately, the guidance they had received was incorrect.

I am seeing more and more people operating with faulty navigational systems. Rather than using the Bible as their source of direction, they instead rely on the newest cultural source of information for how to make it through life. They, too, typically pass a number of warning signs that things are awry.  Unfortunately, they ignore these warnings and continue on until their lives are stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet

       and a light for my path.