i know i’m late to the game, previous responsibilities held me back (the lengths i’ve had to go through to not have anything spoiled!), but i am finally able to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book of the saga regarding “the boy who lived.” to celebrate this momentous occasion, i thought i would do a sort of running commentary, chapter by chapter, not only because of the story’s coming to a close, but also because it will help me piece things together from the previous six books. so i’ll read a chapter and then give my thoughts on it. that’s how this will work.

unlike most Potter fans, i don’t have an extensive list of predictions. i only have two main ones. snape is good and harry will die. i won’t fully develop my theory regarding harry’s death here (if you’re interested, a partially developed version is in the comments of this post at kari’s blog). all along i’ve thought that the book would end with harry’s death, but i’ve softened on that a little lately. i still think harry will die, but i’m not sure that the book will end with him dead as there could be some sort of resurrection after the final battle. but we shall see.

so, the commentary will commence after the jump (obviously, if you’ve not yet read the book and don’t want anything to be spoiled then proceed no further as there will be copious spoilers). (more…)

so my wife and i recently got a puppy. he’s a beautiful australian shepherd, and we named him Beren. since we’ve had him he has provided us with endless moments of amusement (as well as frustration), but none so funny as what is contained in the video below. apparently he had never encountered a squeak toy before and was quite unsure about what to do with one. hilarity ensued.

these words were written almost 140 years ago:

the victories of Christianity, wherever they have been won, have been won by distinct doctrinal theology; by telling men roundly of Christ’s vicarious death and sacrifice; by showing them Christ’s substitution on the cross, and his precious blood; by teaching them justification by faith, and bidding them believe on a crucified Saviour; by preaching ruin by sin, redemption by Christ, regeneration by the Spirit; by lifting up the brazen serpent; by telling men to look and live–to believe repent, and be converted.

let the clever advocates of a broad and undogmatic theology–the preachers of the gospel of earnestness, and sincerity and cold morality–let them, i say, show us at this day any English village, or parish, or city, or town, or district, which has been evangelized without “dogma,” by their principles. they cannot do it, and they never will. Christianity without distinct doctrine is a powerless thing.

J.C. Ryle, Holiness, 356

one of my professors, here at RTS Charlotte, died yesterday after years of battling cancer. this wasn’t a surprise as Dr. Brown’s health had been declining fairly rapidly over the last month and a half or so as his cancer came back with a vengeance. before he got sick this last time, i was planning on going to Europe with him this summer for a Reformation history course.

Dr. Brown was truly a brilliant man. he earned four, yes, four, degrees from Harvard College and Divinity School, and he was a renowned expert in the fields of systematic theology, right-to-life issues, ethics, journalism, public affairs, and political philosophy. he was a co-founder of The Christian Action Council, now known as Care Net, Inc., the leading evangelical pro-life organization which works to help end the atrocity of abortion through education, ministry, and the establishment of pregnancy centers around the country. aside from his teaching and his social efforts, Dr. Brown was also an accomplished scholar. he published several notable works including The Sensate Culture, The Protest of a Troubled Protestant, and Death Before Birth. however, he was probably most known for his work Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church, widely recognized as the definitive work on the subject of the various theological errors throughout the history of the Christian church.

Dr. Brown was one of my favorite professors here at Charlotte, not because of his courses, which were good courses, but because of his always cheerful presence in the halls of the seminary. he always had a joke or a great story ready, and he often spoke in limericks, which was quite funny. the first time i spoke to him, he asked me, in hebrew, to go to lunch with him. unfortunately, i had to decline (and this only after he translated his question after seeing my thoroughly confused expression) but his willingness to reach out to the students and truly get to know them will be greatly missed.

i thank God for the great privilege of knowing and studying under Dr. Harold O.J. Brown, and i rejoice with the angels that he is finally home and free from the suffering that he had to endure in this life. he can now join the Apostle Paul in saying, “i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have kept the faith. henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).