"Why do people choose the substitute over God himself? Probably the most important reason is that it obviates accountability to God. We can meet idols on our own terms because they are our own creations. They are safe, predictable, and controllable; they are, in Jeremiah's colorful language, the 'scarecrows in a cornfield' (10:5). They are portable and completely under the user's control. They offer nothing like the threat of a God who thunders from Sinai and whose providence in this world so often appears to us to be incomprehensible and dangerous . . . [People] need face only themselves. That is the appeal of idolatry."
- David F. Wells
Thursday, October 18, 2007
As some of you know, I've been converting a message series I taught called "Old School Jesus" into a book. One of the joys in this process is transferring my typical sarcastic asides in preaching into sarcastic footnotes. Here's one I just wrote I felt like sharing:
"I am halfway convinced that Oprah Winfrey herself is responsible for the hamartological bankruptcy of Middle American culture. If you don’t know what hamartological means, it’s okay. I only halfway believe this theory, so it’s not that important."
In an earlier chapter I was being cheeky and long-winded and was footnoting definitions of some terms. In the final ranty lines, I made up a German theological term, which I footnoted: "This one I just made up."
This is a fun book to write. :-)
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Comments on "Thought This Was Worth Sharing":
2. De
- 10/18/2007 6:22 pm CDT
I can't wait to read the advanced copy! (cough - ADVANCED COPY - cough)
3. Sherry
- 10/18/2007 10:21 pm CDT
Hamartological???? You're right. My vocabulary is bankrupt in relation to that term.
4. Sherry
- 10/18/2007 10:23 pm CDT
It's not in my computer dictionary either. Maybe computers are responsible for the whatever-kind-of bankruptcy you're talking about?
5. De
- 10/19/2007 8:00 am CDT
[De digs down in his increasingly faulty memory . . .]
Hamartological - is it something about the study of sin?
I'm a huge fan of sarcastic footnotes! Thanks for sharing :)