The collected words of a prophet

Posted on February 10, 2011 by doradueck

Last week, in a reflection on John 4 in the daily devotional Rejoice!, Melanie Zuercher of Kansas said, “I’ve known at least one prophet: Gene Stoltzfus, the founding director of Christian Peacemaker Teams… From my experiences with him and from examples from the Bible, I’ve learned that prophets aren’t always easy to be around. However, my strongest memories of Gene are of integrity, passionate commitment to Christ’s justice and peace, a deep love for his work and for his coworkers, and a joyful spirit.”

This prophet she knew, Gene Stoltzfus, died suddenly in March 2010. Now, near the anniversary of his death, a book of his writings — Create Space for Peace: 40 Years of Peacemaking — is about to be launched. Gene’s widow Dorothy Friesen, who is a friend of mine from a former writing group, as well as CPT colleagues and others have been working on the collection. Here’s a short introductory video clip to his life, and a blog post with further information about the book.

Parenting wars

Posted on January 31, 2011 by doradueck

There’s a fresh skirmish going on in the wars over parenting, provoked by Amy Chua’s memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I’ve not read the book, but I did read the excerpt (with its unfortunate title), “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior,” carried in the Wall Street Journal, as well as reviews and commentary. The WSJ article, said the editors, generated tens of thousands of responses. No doubt about it, people take very seriously their beliefs about the best way to parent!

As I hear the frenzy around Chua and her book, I feel profound relief. Why? Because I don’t have to get worked up about it. I’m done. You only get one run at each child in the family, and for better or worse, I’ve had my turn. I don’t mean that I no longer have a role in my adult children’s lives. But, for me, child-raising is finished. Continue reading →

The gift of KJV language

Posted on January 21, 2011 by doradueck

As mentioned in the previous post, I celebrate the KJV because of what the text extended to me in terms of faith, but any notice given it in this its 400^th anniversary will have much to say about the gift of its language. I celebrate that as well.

Here’s just one example of the KJV achievement, as per Adam Nicolson, author of God’s Secretaries.

Tyndale, he notes, rendered Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created heaven and earth. The earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the deep, and the spirit of God moved upon the water.

The Geneva Bible added “the” before heaven and earth, as in “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Adding the “the” emphasizes the words, gives them greater specificity, and improves the rhythm.

And the committee that did the KJV translation? They built on Tyndale and the Genevans, and wrote it like this:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Not that different… but, as Nicolson says, these are “slight and marvelous changes.” Inserting a comma after “form” slows the pace by adding a pause, making the earth seem even more extensive in its formlessness. “The face” for the Hebrew word “surface,” which Tyndale apparently avoided, is not only accurate but richly alive in its implications, and the “s” on water too, more accurate, and giving the end of the sentence a fuller, softer sound.

Aspiring writers could not fail to benefit by immersing themselves in the rhythms and vocabulary of the KJV.

(If you’re interested, here’s Martin E. Marty’s take on the upcoming celebration of the KJV, in a “Sightings” column of last November.)