Talk to me, Goose.

On July 6, 1415, the pre-Reformer John Huss (also spelled Jan or Johannes Hus) met his gruesome death.

Huss was from Bohemia (now part of the "Czech Republic) and was the master of the University of Prague. He preached in the language of the people (not Latin) at Bethlehem Chapel, at a time when possession of a non-Latin Bible was punishable by death.

His theological views and criticisms of the church were heavily influenced by John Wycliffe, the English pre-Reformer.

Huss, whose name means "goose" in Czech, was among the first to draw the ire of the Roman Catholic church.

He opposed the corruption in the church and was on the "wrong side" with regard to accessibility to the Bible, authority of the pope, and issues of salvation. He spoke against simony (the purchase of church offices) and indulgences (the purchase of forgiveness).

Huss was excommunicated for siding with Pope Alexander (as did the people of Bohemia) instead of the Pope who succeed him (and may have murdered him) and for failure to comply with the order to ban and burn all the works of Wycliffe, and failure to stop preaching. Part of that papal bull of excommunication forbade anyone to give Huss food, drink, salutation, discourse, purchase, sale, or hospitality.

Huss was undaunted:

Huss reminds his friends that Christ himself was excommunicated as a malefactor and crucified. No help was to be derived from the saints. Christ’s example and his salvation are the sufficient sources of consolation and courage. The high priests, scribes, Pharisees, Herod and Pilate condemned the Truth and gave him over to death, but he rose from the tomb and gave in his stead twelve other preachers. So he would do again. What fear, he wrote, "shall part us from God, or what death? What shall we lose if for His sake we forfeit wealth, friends, the world’s honors and our poor life?... It is better to die well than to live badly. We dare not sin to avoid the punishment of death. To end in grace the present life is to be banished from misery. Truth is the last conqueror. He wins who is slain, for no adversity "hurts him if no iniquity has dominion over him." In this strain he wrote again and again. The "bolts of anti-christ," he said, could not terrify him, and should not terrify the "elect of Prag."
-Phillip Scaff, History of the Christian Church, §45.

Even though the Council of Constance had condemned Wycliffe and ordered his writings burned and his bones exhumed, burned, and sprinkled in the river, Huss did not distance himself from Wycliffe.

"I indeed confess that I hold the true opinions propounded by Master John Wycliffe, professor of sacred theology, not because he taught them but because the Scriptures taught them."
-Matthew Spinka, John Hus at the Council of Constance (New York: Columbia University Press, 1965), pp. 69-70.

In the face of trumped up charges and imminent death, Huss was able to express joy to Christ while being burned at the stake as a heretic in 1415. As Huss stood before the stake he reportedly said, "In the truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached, I die willingly and joyfully today."

584 years after Huss experienced a humiliating and cruel death, Pope John Paul II apologized to the Czech people on December 17th, 1999.

"Today, on the eve of the Great Jubilee, I feel the need to express deep regret for the cruel death inflicted on Jan Hus and for the consequent wound of conflict and division which was thus imposed on the minds and hearts of the Bohemian people."
-The Vatican Information Service (VIS)

Incidentally, Huss proved to be a bit of a prophet at his execution when he said, "You are roasting a poor Bohemian goose, but in 100 years there will arise a swan whom you will neither roast nor boil."

I don't know if any would refer to him as a swan, for Pope Leo called Martin Luther a "wild boar" (i.e., pig) in his papal bull of excommunication, Exsurge Domine. ("Rise up, O Lord, for there is a wild boar loose in your vineyard.")

But, I have every confidence that this "pig" would find kinship with "the goose" and wouldn't hesitate to say, "Ich bin ein Hussite."

"A cantionale, dating from 1572, and preserved in the Prag library, contains a hymn to Huss’ memory and three medallions which well set forth the relation in which Wyclif and Huss stand to the Reformation. The first represents Wyclif striking sparks from a stone. Below it is Huss, kindling a fire from the sparks. In the third medallion, Luther is holding aloft the flaming torch."
-Phillip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, §45.

Well, you just told me that I had a plethora, and I would just like to know if you know what it means to have a plethora.

In honor of the upcoming Reformation Day on Saturday, a plethora of Reformation Day (October 31, 1517) links for your reading pleasure.

Read the lyrics of the Reformation Polka.



Read James Galyon's overview of Luther & the Reformation's birth.

Read Martin Luther's 95 Theses.

Read about the 5 Solas per James Montgomery Boice.

Read Gunny's thoughts on Sola Scriptura.

Read Reepicheep's piece about the biography of Luther leading up to and including his conversion.

Watch a video of D. James Kennedy explaining the significance of Reformation Day. (HT James Galyon)

Read a short selection from Roland Bainton's Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther.

Read some insight into the relationship between Martin Luther and his beloved Katie.

Read Erasmus' In Praise of Folly.

Read Gunny's thoughts on pre-Reformer John Huss.

Read Luther's thoughts on lazy pastors.

Read Luther's thoughts on God's punishment.

Check out John Piper's notes & audio of his biography of Martin Luther.

Read Gunny's reflections on the life of John Calvin.

Check out Tim Challies' 2008 collection of Reformation Day items.

Check out some Reformation Art.

Read Luther's explanation of his seal/rose.

Read Gunny's suggested acrostic to replace TULIP as the expression of Reformed soteriology.

Read Tom Ascol's thoughts on John Calvin and how his readers celebrated Calvin's 500th birthday.

Other suggestions?

"Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty."
- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, I.1.3

Now Milton, don't be greedy. Let's pass it along and make sure everyone gets a piece.

I've already made an impenetrable case as to why he's the best NBA player of all time, so I'll just stop down here to wish Lansing's favorite son a happy 50th birthday.

3 cheers and a big slice of cake for Earvin "Magic" Johnson, born on August 14, 1959. With 9 brothers and sisters, I wouldn't be surprised if there were some birthdays where he never got a piece of cake.

"Few athletes are truly unique, changing the way their sport is played with their singular skills. Earvin "Magic" Johnson was one of them."
(Read more of his NBA.com biography)

Some interesting trivia about Magic:

• Johnson's mother, a devout Christian, thought his nickname was blasphemous.
• Magic was the first overall draft pick in 1979.
• Magic is the youngest player to ever be named the NBA Finals MVP and was the first rookie to win the award.
• Magic was the head coach of the Mighty Lakers for the final 16 games of the 93-94 season.
• Magic holds the NBA record for blocked shots by a point guard (374).

Magic Johnson Quotes:

• "Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates." (now you know where Kennedy got that line)
• "When you face a crisis, you know who your true friends are."
• "Standing on that platform, I said a silent prayer. I thanked God for giving me the strength and the opportunity to come back, to play basketball again, and to be part of that whole magnificent Olympic experience. It's a memory I will always cherish."
• "My father is my idol, so I always did everything like him. He used to work two jobs and still come home happy every night. He didn't do drugs or drink, and he wouldn't let anyone smoke in his house. Those are rules I adopted, too."
• "I want to be here for a long time, so I am going to do everything I have to do to be here. And I want to walk my daughter down the aisle and give her away to somebody some day. I want to make sure I am still here to make sure my two young sons become men."
• "My diet is mostly chicken and fish. I make sure I get a lot of vegetables, a lot of fruit. I am a big fruit man, I am a vegetable man anyway. And I also get a lot of rest. That's the key I may be up early, but I'm in bed early too."

George Washington Carver made the first computer! Out of a peanut! A PEANUT!

I have my first guest blogger, my daughter, Rachel. She wanted to share with the blogosphere her report on ... George Washington Carver.

Little George was born in Missouri sometime in 1864 and died on January 5th, 1943. He was a slave and got stolen. They managed to find him but could never find his mother. So, he lived with the Carver family. Young George couldn’t go to school every day because he lived very far away and because of his skin color. But he spent time outside learning about God’s creation and became a scientist.

George made 350 products from the peanut. His gravestone read, “He could of added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world.” He liked to wear a flower every day on his jacket and hated to wear shoes. George Washington Carver helped farmers rotate crops so that the plants would grow better. Mr. Carver invented over 100 ways to use sweet potatoes. He made milk, coffee, crayons, dye, soap, flour, paint, and ink. These were things that he discovered that they didn’t have until he made them.

At church we watched a DVD about Mr. Carver called “Man of Science, Servant of God.” I liked that he never gave up and kept trying even when people were mean because of the color of his skin. Like him, I want to be a leader and not follow things that aren’t right. He was a great Christian man because he helped people and loved God.

Some quotes from or about Dr. Carver, some from the above mentioned DVD:
"God gave them [the discoveries] to me; how can I sell them to someone else?"

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these"

"Learn to do common things uncommonly well."

"No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving something behind."

"It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success."

"He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world."
-Inscription on George Washington Carver’s grave

"Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater."

"I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."

"Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses."

"We have become ninety-nine percent money mad. The method of living at home modestly and within our income, laying a little by systematically for the proverbial rainy day which is due to come, can almost be listed among the lost arts."

"We get closer to God as we get more intimately and understandingly acquainted with the things He has created. I know of nothing more inspiring than that of making discoveries for one's self."

Sorry, Goose, but it’s time to buzz the tower.

In keeping with my Bohemian heritage and Reformation Day, I thought I'd highlight one of the lesser known figures, the pre-Reformer John Huss (also spelled Jan or Johannes Hus).

Huss was from Bohemia (now part of the "Czech Republic) and was the master of the University of Prague. He preached in the language of the people (not Latin) at Bethlehem Chapel, at a time when possession of a non-Latin Bible was punishable by death.

His theological views and criticisms of the church were heavily influenced by John Wycliffe, the English pre-Reformer.

Huss (whose name means "goose" in Czech) was among the first to buzz the tower and draw the ire of the church.

He opposed the corruption in the church and was on the "wrong side" with regard to accessibility to the Bible, authority of the pope, and issues of salvation. He spoke against simony (the purchase of church offices) and indulgences (the purchase of forgiveness).

Huss was excommunicated for siding with Pope Alexander (as did the people of Bohemia) instead of the Pope who succeed him (and may have murdered him) and for failure to comply with the order to ban and burn all the works of Wycliffe, and failure to stop preaching. Part of that papal bull of excommunication forbade anyone to give Huss food, drink, salutation, discourse, purchase, sale, or hospitality.

Huss was undaunted:

Huss reminds his friends that Christ himself was excommunicated as a malefactor and crucified. No help was to be derived from the saints. Christ’s example and his salvation are the sufficient sources of consolation and courage. The high priests, scribes, Pharisees, Herod and Pilate condemned the Truth and gave him over to death, but he rose from the tomb and gave in his stead twelve other preachers. So he would do again. What fear, he wrote, "shall part us from God, or what death? What shall we lose if for His sake we forfeit wealth, friends, the world’s honors and our poor life?... It is better to die well than to live badly. We dare not sin to avoid the punishment of death. To end in grace the present life is to be banished from misery. Truth is the last conqueror. He wins who is slain, for no adversity "hurts him if no iniquity has dominion over him." In this strain he wrote again and again. The "bolts of anti-christ," he said, could not terrify him, and should not terrify the "elect of Prag."
-Phillip Scaff, History of the Christian Church, §45.

Even though the Council of Constance had condemned Wycliffe and ordered his writings burned and his bones exhumed, burned, and sprinkled in the river, Huss did not distance himself from Wycliffe.

"I indeed confess that I hold the true opinions propounded by Master John Wycliffe, professor of sacred theology, not because he taught them but because the Scriptures taught them."
-Matthew Spinka, John Hus at the Council of Constance (New York: Columbia University Press, 1965), pp. 69-70.

In the face of trumped up charges and imminent death, Huss was able to express joy to Christ while being burned at the stake as a heretic in 1415. As Huss stood before the stake he reportedly said, "In the truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached, I die willingly and joyfully today."

584 years after Huss experienced a humiliating and cruel death, Pope John Paul II apologized to the Czech people on December 17th, 1999.

"Today, on the eve of the Great Jubilee, I feel the need to express deep regret for the cruel death inflicted on Jan Hus and for the consequent wound of conflict and division which was thus imposed on the minds and hearts of the Bohemian people."
-The Vatican Information Service (VIS)

Incidentally, Huss proved to be a prophet at his execution when he said, "You are roasting a poor Bohemian goose, but in 100 years there will arise a swan whom you will neither roast nor boil."

I don't know if any would refer to him as a swan, for Pope Leo called Martin Luther a "wild boar" (i.e., pig) in his papal bull of excommunication, Exsurge Domine. ("Rise up, O Lord, for there is a wild boar loose in your vineyard.")

I have every confidence that this "pig" would find kinship with "the goose" and wouldn't hesitate to say, "Ich bin ein Hussite."

"A cantionale, dating from 1572, and preserved in the Prag library, contains a hymn to Huss’ memory and three medallions which well set forth the relation in which Wyclif and Huss stand to the Reformation. The first represents Wyclif striking sparks from a stone. Below it is Huss, kindling a fire from the sparks. In the third medallion, Luther is holding aloft the flaming torch."
-Phillip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, §45.

On the 490th anniversary of Luther's nailing of the 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenburg, we also celebrate John Huss, an early advocate of sola Scriptura, who was willing to die a martyr's death for the One who had died for him.

You want to investigate me, roll the dice and take your chances.

I thought it might be wise/helpful to establish my ethos, explaining who I am, where I've been, and what I'm about (including my weirdness and the nickname "Gunny").

First, I am a sinner saved by grace to be a child of God. Consequently, I am now simul iustus et peccator, simultaneously justified and sinner. (Read more on my theological perspective.)

PERSONAL:

• Married: Mary Ellen Hartman (1993)
• 4 Children

EMPLOYMENT:

• Pastor, Providence Church, TX (SBC)
  
• Adjunct Professor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

EDUCATION:

• B.A., Speech Communication, Texas A&M University (1993)
• M.S., Educational Administration, Texas A&M University (1995)
• Th.M., Pastoral Leadership, Dallas Theological Seminary (1998)
• M.St., History of Doctrine, Oxford University (1999)
• Ph.D., Rhetoric, University of Texas at Arlington (in progress)

*Full Resume* (pdf format)


One of many QUIRKS: I enjoy & use movie quotes.
As such, I will more often than not use movie quotes as blog entry titles. There are extra points if you can guess the origin (and I encourage you to be the first to post such in the comments section). As a hint I will list all referenced movies below (in alphabetical order). Note, citation doesn't necessarily entail endorsement of the movie, but more often than not it will.

• 10 Things I Hate About You
• 12 Angry Men
  
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Across the Universe
• Airplane
• Airplane 2: The Sequel
  
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
• Anger Management
  
• Animal House
  
• Apocalypse Now
• Arsenic and Old Lace
  
• As Good as It Gets
• Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
• Author! Author!
  
• Back to School
• Back to the Future
  
• Batman
• Batman: The Movie (1966)
  
• Ben-Hur
  
• The Big Lebowski
• Blazing Saddles
• Blues Brothers
  
• Braveheart
• The Breakfast Club
• Bring It On
  
• Bull Durham
  
• Caddyshack
• Casablanca
• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• Cheaper by the Dozen
  
• The Chronicles of Narna: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
  
• City of Angels
• Clerks
  
• Cool Hand Luke
• D.C. Cab
  
• Dances with Wolves
  
• Dead Poets Society
• The Deer Hunter
  
• The Devil's Advocate
• Dirty Dancing
  
• Dirty Harry
• Dumb and Dumber
  
• Dutch
• Excalibur
  
• Falling Down
  
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High
  
• A Few Good Men
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off
  
• Field of Dreams
• Finding Forrester
• First Blood
  
• Forrest Gump
• Full Metal Jacket
• Excalibur
• Fight Club
  
• Gladiator
• Glengarry Glen Ross
  
• Ghostbusters
• The Godfather I, II, and III
  
• Gone with the Wind
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
• The Green Mile
  
• Groundhog Day
• The Guns of Navarone
• Hardball
  
• Heartbreak Ridge
• Heaven Help Us
  
• Helter Skelter
  
• High School Musical 2
  
• Holy Grail (Monty Python)
• Hoosiers
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
  
• The Incredibles
  
• It's a Wonderful Life
• Jaws
• The Jerk
  
• Jerry Maguire
  
• Jurassic Park
• Karate Kid
• Knute Rockne: All American
• Kronk's New Groove
  
• A League of Their Own
• Legally Blonde
• Liar! Liar!
  
• Listen to Me
• The Little Mermaid
  
• Little Miss Sunshine
  
• Little Shop of Horrors
• Major League
• Master and Commander
  
• The Matrix
• Meet the Fockers
  
• Meet the Parents
• Men at Work
  
• Miracle on 34th Street
• Mr. Deeds
• Mulan
  
• My Blue Heaven
• My Cousin Vinny
• Nacho Libre
  
• Naked Gun 2.5
• Name of the Rose
  
• Napoleon Dynamite
• A Night at the Museum
• Night at the Roxbury
  
• Nightmare on Elm Street
  
• O Brother, Where Art Thou?
• Office Space
• One Hour Photo
  
• The Outlaw Josey Wales
  
• The Outsiders
• Pay It Forward
• The Planet of the Apes
• The Princess Bride
• Psycho
  
• Rain Man
  
• Raising Arizona
• Red Dawn
  
• Remember the Titans
• Reservoir Dogs
  
• Return of the Jedi
• Revenge of the Nerds
• A River Runs through It
  
• Rocky, II, and III
  
• The Rundown
• The Sandlot
  
• Saving Private Ryan
  
• Say Anything
• Scent of a Woman
  
• School of Rock
• Sergeant York
  
• Shawshank Redemption
• She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
• Signs
  
• Silence of the Lambs
  
• Sixteen Candles
• Slap Shot
• Sling Blade
• Smokey and the Bandit
  
• So I Married an Axe Murderer
• Some Kind of Wonderful
  
• Sound of Music
• Spaceballs
  
• Spider-Man
• Spider-Man 3
  
• Spies Like Us
• Stand and Deliver
  
• Stand By Me
  
• Star Wars I (The Phantom Menace)
• Star Wars II (Attack of the Clones)
  
• Star Wars IV (A New Hope)
• Star Wars V (The Empire Strikes Back)
  
• Star Wars VI (Return of the Jedi)
• Stranger than Fiction
• Sudden Impact
  
• The Ten Commandments
  
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  
• This Is Spinal Tap
• The Three Amigos
  
• Tombstone
• Tomorrow Never Dies
  
• Tommy Boy
• Top Gun
• Trading Places
  
• Troy
• The Truman Show
  
• Undercover Brother
  
• The Untouchables
• The Usual Suspects
• V for Vendetta
  
• Vacation (National Lampoon's)
  
• Valley Girl
  
• Vanilla Sky
• Varsity Blues
  
• Veggie Tales: Are You My Neighbor?
• Wall Street
  
• War Games
  
• The Warriors
  
• Waterboy
• Wayne's World
  
• The Weather Man
• Wedding Crashers
• The Wedding Singer
• What a Girl Wants
  
• What about Bob?
• When Harry Met Sally
• While You Were Sleeping
  
• Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
• The Wizard of Oz
• You, Me & Dupree
  
• You've Got Mail
• Young Frankenstein
  
• Young Guns