Category: Second Hand Smoke

So You Don't Need a Brown Paper Bag

Published on by D. G. Hart1 Comment

(From NTJ, January  1998)

Nicotine of Hippo 

   We recently heard a wonderful suggestion about the name of our journal, one that might help readers who want their church libraries to take the NTJ but fear what other church members will make of the title and its association with the evil weed. Why not tell your church librarian about what a wonderful publication the NTJ is, how it is chock-full of wisdom and carries a style of argumentation rarely found in religious periodicals. Don’t say it’s smart alecky. When asked about the name, respond with as straight a face as possible that Nicotine is not what he or she thinks. Say that Nicotine is Augustine of Hippo’s obscure younger brother, whose obscurity is almost complete thanks to the modern jehad against RJR/Nabisco. Add that if the church would readily subscribe to a journal named the Augustine Theological Journal then no one could possibly object to the Nicotine Theological Journal, a publication dedicated to the memory of the first Old School Presbyterian. And because Nicotine was African the NTJ will make your church library a multi-cultural place.

Also, make sure that when you pronounce our journal’s title you put the accent on the second, rather than the first syllable of nicotine (as in ni-CO-tine), and make the last “i” short (as in “tin”).

Actually, we have a better way for churches to subscribe to the NTJ short of violating the ninth commandment (as the Reformed count them). In response to great demand (actually one EPC pastor in Texas inquired) we are now offering bulk subscriptions for congregations. Churches that order between ten and fifty subscriptions may receive the NTJ for $4 per subscription. The rate goes down to $3 per subscription for orders over fifty.

(By the way, we need to give credit to George and Lucie Marsden who suggested the new derivation of Nicotine but who have yet to subscribe and so should not be accused of sharing the NTJ’s outlook or bad habits.)

Is (or Was) Sam Walton Your Neighbor?

Published on by D. G. Hart19 Comments

(From NTJ, January 1998)

A report on NPR about a sermon by a priest in the Church of England prompted some thoughts about the implications of the Eighth Commandment. The news service copy indicated that this priest had told his parishioners that shoplifting from supermarket chains was not stealing. His reasoning was that such chains were putting the village food markets out of business and, thus, destroying the social fabric of English town life.

This priest’s teaching is not what we would prefer to hear in the pulpit. It does appear to be something of a stretch to say that shoplifting is not theft. And, no doubt, the character of English town life changed long before supermarkets and malls began to show up in the UK. Just ask the Luddites. But his admonishment does raise some interesting questions about how we observe the Eighth Commandment.

For instance, among the sins forbidden by this commandment, according to the Westminster Larger Catechism, are “oppression” and all “unjust or sinful ways of taking or withholding from our neighbor what belongs to him.” Which might mean that chains like WalMart, McDonalds and Winn Dixie, may actually excessively burden and deprive our neighbors who run local businesses from what would normally belong to them were it not for the consolidation of wealth in corporations and their ability to buy goods in mass quantities and distribute those goods throughout the world. As long as our only consideration in purchasing any item, from food to houses, is simply the lowest price, we will always be suckers for chains and the services they provide.

Continue reading “Is (or Was) Sam Walton Your Neighbor?” →

Year 2000 Recipes

Published on by D. G. Hart8 Comments

(From NTJ July 2000)

For readers who may have stockpiled various kinds of dried foods in preparation for the computer crash to end all computer crashes, we offer the following recipe as a tasty of way of serving beans in the new millennium. It comes from the Ontario White Bean Producers.

Rigatoni and White Beans with Italian Sausage

6 oz. rigatoni pasta, uncooked
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup WHITE PEA BEANS, soaked and cooked or canned in water: drained and rinsed
1 lb. fresh Italian sausage, meat removed from casing
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp fresh chopped oregano
½ tsp crushed chilies
1 cup beef or chicken stock
1 can (28 oz.) plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ cup freshly grated Romano cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with the olive oil, parsley and beans. Set aside. In a saucepan or skillet, saute sausage meat until browned. Drain excess fat, if necessary, and add onion, garlic, mushrooms and oregano. Saute for about 8-10 minutes or until tender. Add crushed chilies, stock and tomatoes and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and balsamic vinegar and continue to simmer until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Lightly toss together pasta and sauce. Sprinkle with Romano cheese.

6 servings

P&W and God's Impending Judgment

Published on by D. G. Hart5 Comments

From the NTJ, July 1997 (1.3)

We are not given to providential readings of United States’ history. Our editorial policy vehemently rejects the notion that America has a special place in God’s plan, or even that it was and should be a Christian nation. From our reading of the Bible only one nation ever existed as God’s chosen one, and that was Israel, the Old Testament church.Nor do we think it possible to tell what God is up to in human history. We know the broad outlines of the story, which is the movement from creation, the fall, and redemption (where we now are) to consummation. But how we get there apart from some special revelation to instruct us is anybody’s guess.

Having said all that, if we were to conclude that God was judging the United States through abortion, the AIDS epidemic and general lawlessness, would it be possible to say the cause of such punishment was the American church’s use of praise songs, overheads, hand held mikes and electric guitars in worship? After all, almost every time God punished Israel it was because God’s people was engaging in idolatry. So why is it that the Christians most prone to providential readings of current affairs are also the ones most  comfortable with rock ‘n roll in public worship?

As the punch line has it to a joke observing that there are twenty-four hours in a day and twenty-four bottles in a case of beer: any connection?