Do Not Disavow

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Do Not Disavow By: Rick Davis   When Charlemagne established law Salic in barb’rous land, The gospel flourished, and he saw Christ’s praise on every hand.   (“Do you approve his methods now?”) I do not disavow.   King Godfrey took Jerusalem From bloody paynim hands And brought a halt to Musselmen Invading Christian lands.   (“He did some mean things anyhow!”) I do not disavow.   King Richard with his scarlet shield And passant lions ‘bossed Rode forth again unto the field To regain what was lost.   (“His deeds at Acre you allow?”) I do not disavow.   Unto the Germans Luther brought The gospel full restored, And Calvin at Geneva taught The glory of the Lord.   (“The Jews? Servetus? Holy cow!”) I do not disavow.   Stonewall and Lee like knights of old Fought for their native soil, The true and lovely to uphold Against the tyrant’s spoil.   (“Those vile racists ...
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It's Okay to Laugh

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One of my favorite Old Testament stories is the saga of Samson. So many people want to portray Samson as a reprobate old rascal who lives his life in sin, but somehow (who knows how?) ends up in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11. This is simply not the case. When we read the story of Samson, we should be rooting for Samson like he's the star quarterback in the Israelite/Philistine Super Bowl. Peter Leithart sums up a proper response to Samson in this blog post from a few years back.

"Perhaps it's the JPS Tanakh translation, but it struck me that the Samson narratives manifest the broad comedy of a Babylonian myth or the legends compiled by Levi-Strauss. He goes about tearing lions like lambs, posing riddles, lighting foxes on fire, and so on and on. Only moralistic Christians could rob these stories of their inherent humor and interest. Frowning and finger-wagging only makes the critics of Samson look tinier."

http://www.leithart.com/archives/001490.php

Comments

Chris said…
Samson was usually painted in a negative light in my Sunday school classes as a child and never as someone we should look up to. Thanks.
06 October, 2010 20:42
Rick Davis said…
Chris,
My thoughts on Samson began to change during a Joshua/Judges course in college. Reading James Jordan's excellent book "Judges: God's War on Humanism" completed the rehabilitation of Samson in my mind. I highly reccommend it if you can find a copy.
07 October, 2010 15:11
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