It Wasn't Falwell. It Was Francis Schaeffer

From The Huffington Post to The Weekly Standard, articles have appeared (some downright evil, some irenic) about the legacy of the late Jerry Falwell and his impact on the American scene--especially on the electorate.

First, a disclaimer: Falwell and I weren't on the same page when it came to separatism, eschatology and charisma. But he was far more than the cardboard cut-out that he's been made out to be. His faith was real, deep and strong. He had a passion for the lost and a special place in his heart for alcoholics. Very early on, Thomas Road Baptist established a home for alcoholic men.

But it wasn't Jerry Falwell who established the movement that the Moral Majority expressed. It was Francis Schaeffer. It was Schaeffer's writings and films (How Then Shall We Live? [1976] and Whatever Happened to the Human Race? [1980]) which inspired a generation of students and believers to re-engage in the political process.

Falwell's strain of social involvement was rooted in early 20th century fundamentalist pietism which regarded socio-political engagement as useless at best and harmful to the gospel at worse. Schaeffer's background was in the Reformed tradition which emphasized, in the tradition of William Wilberforce and Abraham Kuyper, the supremacy of Christ over all areas of life.

Falwell's success in mobilizing millions of American believers to engage in the social and political issues of the 1980s and beyond was inconceivable apart from Schaeffer--who died in twenty-three years ago, in 1984.

The Week They Lost It

The past week may be noted as The Week They Lost It, as in lost control of their words. Who are they?

First nominee is Christopher Hitchens who lost it commenting on the death of Jerry Falwell. (see YouTube video below:)




His comments are utterly indefensible even for his point of view. He lost it.

Second, if accounts are to be trusted, Sen John McCain lost it when confronted on the McCain-Kennedy Immigration bill, hurling unprintable words at some fellow-senators dissented from the bill. His pursuit of the presidency is over.


Third, former President Jimmy Carter lost it. He called the Bush Administration "the worst in history."

The Carter-Clinton effort to bring Baptists together for a image-scrubbing event in early 2008 seems more and more incredulous and more and more politically motivated.

Secure Your Homeland!

Ask people what concerns them most on day-to-day; it’s not global terrorism, the economy or the price of gasoline. It’s their marriage and family. In our bones we feel that home should be a sanctuary, a place of peace. At the same time, I imagine most readers of this column could count on two hands the number of people they know where marriage eating them alive and home is chaos. And maybe YOU’RE on that list.

So what’s to be done? Are there “winning strategies” that can be applied to secure the home front? Over the last several months, I’ve been working with two men I greatly admire on something we call HOMELAND SECURITY. (I seem to recall that there’s a government agency with the same name!) We’re putting on a three-night seminar deigned to enable YOU to secure your own personal homeland with timeless and timely strategies that WORK.

Did you know that the average American marriage starting out today has about 41-43% chance of ending in divorce? But research reveals that committed Christian couples—those who regularly attend church and apply themselves to their faith—divorce at a rate 35% lower than “secular” couples (that is, they profess no adherence to any faith)! Clearly, there’s something different. There are life principles that change outcomes! Now here’s a stunning statistic: nominal Christians, who seldom or never attend church but who profess faith, actually have slightly higher divorce rates than “secular” couples!

The seminar is from June 10-12. June 10 from 6-8 PM, I will lead session one. I’ll start with “Biblical Foundations of Marriage.” This is a study into the God-designed origins of marriage that will fascinate and surprise you, and give you a whole new view of marriage. In the second hour, we’ll build on that in “Don’t Survive, Thrive! Making Marriage Work.” I guarantee that you’ll hear some of the most practical things you’ve ever heard on marriage. We’ll spend of lot of time on the God-designed differences in men and women, how husband and wife are designed to complete the inner needs of the other and other great keys like The Tingle Principle.

On Monday and Tuesday nights, June 11 and 12, we welcome two great expert guests. Since those are work nights, the schedule shifts to 7 to 9 PM. On Monday we have Steve Robbins of RobbinsNest Ministries. How do children develop a heart that loves God? Steve will lead us in “The Spiritual Formation of Children.” Last year Steve has published his first book, Transforming Beliefs and is working on a new book about the Sermon on the Mount. He will share his insights as a dad and as a director of a ministry that specializes in deepening people’s experience of God. I’ve been fascinated to hear how Steve and his wife Ruth Ann have worked to form a heart for God in the lives of their children. If you’re a parent or a grandparent or if you work with children, you won’t want to miss this.

On Tuesday night, we welcome Richard Rupp. Rick is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a frequent speaker at men's conferences and retreats. He has also taught on Men's Issues as an adjunct professor at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology. He is co-author of a new book, What Wives Wish their Husbands Knew about Sex: A Guide for Christian Men. Rick’s specialty is gender identity. In a world in which gender identity is confusing and chaotic, Rick brings sanity back into focus. He’ll be speaking on “Raising Your Sons to be Men and Your Daughters to be Women.” Remember that on Monday and Tuesday nights, we’ll go from 7 to 9 PM.

This all takes place on the campus of First Baptist Church in Temple City, June 10-12. You can register by calling (626) 286-3125 or by email at glenn@templecitybaptist.org. All you have to do is register. This is so important that we’re not charging for this seminar. We want as many people as possible to come and benefit from this. I’ll see you there!

More on Herod's Tomb

Ehud Netzer displays one of the finds from Herod’s tomb. Photo by Ulrich Sahm.

Adapted from the BAR website, read more about the Herod tomb discovery:

Herod Tomb Update

May 10, 2007

“Ehud Netzer is 100 per cent certain he’s found King Herod’s tomb,” BAR editor Hershel Shanks told us from Jerusalem. He was among the first reporters to visit Herodium with excavator Ehud Netzer the day after Netzer announced that he had located the tomb inside the northeast slope of the volcano-shaped site. Netzer, of Hebrew University, first began his excavations at Herodium 35 years ago.

Located about 8 miles south of Jerusalem, Herodium is a striking structure built by Herod to house a fortress and palaces. At the base of the mountain, Herod built a small city, called Lower Herodium, and many scholars had believed that his tomb was somewhere at the base. Others, Shanks told us, had suggested that Herod’s tomb was in one of the towers at the top of the mountain, the only one of the four towers that had been sealed off in ancient times.

“The tomb is quite far down the slope,” Shanks said. From the base, a processional course featuring fancy architecture leads up the slope. Netzer and his team found a 10-meter-square (about 32 by 32 feet) podium. “Netzer hypothesizes that the podium supported a mausoleum,” Shanks continued, adding that Netzer had found fragments of both the mausoleum and a sarcophagus that had been inside it. “The sarcophagus was vengefully destroyed about 70 years after Herod’s death by members of the First Jewish Revolt against Rome” according to Netzer, Shanks said.

Netzer recognizes that because he did not find an inscription with Herod’s name not all scholars will accept his conclusion that this is indeed the tomb of ancient Judea’s at-times mad king. Netzer had hoped to publish a technical article on his findings, but when he realized that the story would soon come out in the media, he decided to hold a press conference to lay out his finds and his conclusions.

Shanks noted that when Netzer does publish his scientific article, some scholars may take issue with his conclusions. But Shanks gives great weight to Netzer’s theory. “Ehud Netzer has been living with Herod the Great for 50 years, so he feels the man. He also brings an architect’s eye to his work,” Shanks said. “If anyone understands Herod, it’s Ehud Netzer.”

Since our news account about the find (see below), Hebrew University has posted two reports on the web; they can be found here: http://www.hunews.huji.ac.il/articles.asp?cat=6&artID=773 and here:

http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/news/newfound.asp

Some very nice pictures of Professor Netzer and the site can be viewed here.The German publication Spiegel also has some very good photos at:

http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/0,5538,21444,00.html

And less than a day after the announcement of the find, the possible political ramifications for Israeli-Palestinian conflict entered into the picture: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR2007050800280.html

Herod’s Tomb Found

May 8, 2007

Thirty-five years after he first began excavating the site of Herodium, archaeologist Ehud Netzer, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has finally found what he’s been looking for—the tomb of Herod the Great, the murderous king who ruled Judea on behalf of Rome from 37 to 4 B.C.

The tomb turned out to be on the northeast slope of the manmade, volcano-shaped mountain of Herodium, about 8 miles south of Jerusalem. The builder of many grand projects throughout his kingdom—Caesarea, Masada, the expanded Temple Mount in Jerusalem—Herod constructed Herodium on a vast scale, with complexes inside the mountain and also a small city at the base, called Lower Herodium.

Herod seems to have originally intended his tomb to be inside a mausoleum in Lower Herodium but changed his mind later life and decided to be interred inside the mountain itself. At the top of the mountain Herod had built a fortress, a mountain and a monument; the tomb itself was approached by a monumental staircase about 21-feet wide.

Herod’s ornate sarcophagus, however, had been smashed in ancient times, likely by participants of the First Jewish Revolt against Rome (67-70 A.D.)—a reflection of how widely hated Herod was by his subjects, who saw him as a cruel puppet of Rome.

BAR published an extensive overview of Herodium by Netzer himself; click here to read it.

To see Hebrew University’s announcement of the discovery, click here.

A press report from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz can be read at http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/856808.html.

A selection of photos can be found at Yahoo.

Ha'aretz Reports on Herodion Discovery

More on what I reported earlier. I have always seen this spelled Herodion, Ha'Aretz spells it Herodium, let's call the whole thing off. (Lame Cole Porter reference.)

Hebrew University: Herod's tomb and grave found at Herodium

By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Staff

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced Monday night that it has uncovered the grave and tomb of King Herod, who ruled Judea for the Roman empire from circa 37 BCE. According to a press release from the Hebrew University, the news of the archeological find at Herodium was to be announced Tuesday morning at a special news conference, and was to be kept secret until then, but the discovery by Haaretz of the story had led to the premature announcement.

The tomb was discovered by Hebrew University Professor Ehud Netzer, who is considered one of the leading experts on King Herod. Netzer has conducted archeological digs at Herodium since 1972 in an attempt to locate the grave and tomb.

The discovery solves one of Israel's greatest archeological mysteries. Additional details will be made available at the Tuesday press conference. The majority of researchers had believed that Herod was in fact buried at Herodium, based on the writings of the ancient Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, but multiple excavations at the site failed to locate the grave.

Netzer's successful dig focused on a different part of the site than previous excavations, between the upper part of Herodium and the site's two palaces.

Herodium, a fortified palace built by Herod some 12 kilometers south of Jerusalem, was destroyed by the Romans in 71 CE. Herod, whose father and grandfather converted to Judaism, was appointed governor of Galilee at the age of 25 and was made "King of the Jews" by the Roman senate in approximately 40 BCE. He remained king for around 34 years.

Herod, also known as Herod the Great, is credited with expanding the Second Temple and building Caesarea, Masada, and many other monumental construction projects. He died in the year 4 BCE in Jericho after a long illness.

Herod decided to construct his tomb at Herodium because the site played a role in two dramatic events in his life. In the year 43 BCE, when Herod was still governor of the Galilee, he was forced to flee Jerusalem along with his family after his enemies the Parthians laid siege to the city. His mother's chariot flipped over near Herodium, and Herod became hysterical until he realized she was only lightly wounded. A short while later, the Parthians caught up to Herod and his entourage, although Herod and his men emerged victorious in the ensuing battle.

At Herodium, Herod built one of the largest monarchical complexes in the Roman Empire, which served as a residential palace, a sanctuary, an administrative center and a mausoleum. Herod first built an artificial cone-shaped hill that could be seen from Jerusalem, on which he constructed a fortified palace surrounded by watchtowers that he used solely in wartime. At the base of the hill, he built an additional palace, which was the size of a small town and known as "Lower Herodium." The palace included many buildings, fancy gardens, pools, stables, and storage areas. Herod spared no expense in an attempt to turn the site into a regional gem, bringing water from Solomon's Pools and special soil to allow his gardens to blossom in the heart of the desert.

Following Herod's death, his son and heir Archilaus continued to reside and Herodium. After Judea became a Roman province, the site served as a center for Roman prefects.

With the outbreak of the Great Revolt, Herodium was seized by the rebels, but then handed over without resistance to the Romans following the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE.

Fifty years later, Herodium was also used by the rebels during the Bar Kokhva revolt, but was abandoned thereafter.

In the 5th century CE, the site was settled by Byzantine monks, and then served as a leper colony before being finally abandoned in the 7th century CE.The first archeological dig at the site, between the years 1956 and 1962, was conducted by a Franciscan monk and revealed most of the currently-known remains. Israel began excavations at the site in 1972, several years after its capture during the Six-Day War.

Has the Tomb of Herod Been Found?

The location of Herod's tomb is one of the great mysteries of Biblical-era archaeology. The Herodion has long been suspected as the location. I will endeavor to find more detailed accounts of this find and post them here.

The Herodion towered in the distance (a few miles to the southeast) over Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth. It must have seemed an intimidating presence on the horizon. Here the tyrant perished and the King of Kings was born in its shadows...

Archaeologist finds tomb of King Herod
By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM - An Israeli archaeologist has found the tomb of King Herod, the legendary builder of ancient Jerusalem and the Holy Land, Hebrew University said late Monday.

The tomb is at a site called Herodium, a flattened hilltop in the Judean Desert, clearly visible from southern Jerusalem. Herod built a palace on the hill, and researchers discovered his burial site there, the university said.

The university had hoped to keep the find a secret until Tuesday, when it planned a news conference to disclose the find in detail, but the Haaretz newspaper found out about the discovery and published an article on its Web site.

Herod became the ruler of the Holy Land under the Romans around 74 B.C. The wall he built around the Old City of Jerusalem still stands, and he also ordered big construction projects in Caesaria, Jericho, the hilltop fortress of Massada and other sites.

It has long been assumed Herod was buried at Herodium, but decades of excavations had failed to turn up the site. The 1st century historian Josephus Flavius described the tomb and Herod's funeral procession.

Haaretz said the tomb was found by archaeologist Ehud Netzer, a Hebrew University professor who has been working at Herodium since 1972. The paper said the tomb was in a previously unexplored area between the two palaces Herod built on the site. Herod died in 4 B.C. in Jericho.

Herodium was one of the last strong points held by Jewish rebels fighting against the Romans, and it was conquered and destroyed by Roman troops in A.D. 71, a year after they destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem.