Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

Blinded as a boy and orphaned shortly thereafter, Matt Murdock has had more than his share of tragedy. But all is not lost . . .for the accident that wounded him granted him nigh-supernatural powers. His father's life taught him much about tenacity and sacrifice despite repeated failures. And the bullying he received daily awakened a sense for law and order. 

Matt is also not alone; the mysterious Stick will take Matt under his wing to sharpen and hone his abilities. His college friend, Foggy Nelson, will prove a good friend. And the charming Elektra will intrigue him in many ways . . .

Time goes on. Matt is a lawyer now, in Boston. Called back to New York, he makes a new friend and finds a decayed city run by criminals. When his friend is kidnapped, he can bear it no longer—he will become Daredevil, the man without fear, and seek to right what he can. 

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This classic origin story is a solid introduction (and good starting point) to the Daredevil character. The only thing that surprised me was the relative absence of the faith component; it is foreshadowed but not explored here, and is (to me) an important part of this hero that later titles will flesh out. Still, this is a good read.

Rating: A

Twenty Years Hitched

Last week, my wife and I celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary. This posts reflects on marriage and some things I've learned along the way.

1) You'll learn more about yourself . . . and it ain't pretty.

When I got engaged, my friend congratulated me but added an intriguing message: "you're about to find out how selfish you are." He was right. Marriage shows you how selfish you are. Why?

The Bible makes it clear that no one is righteous; nobody seeks God (Romans 3:9-18). God ordained marriage and states that the two become one (Genesis 2:18-24); you will know (and be known by) your spouse better than anyone else on this Earth. Part of that is knowing their sin (and learning your own). Your true self comes to bear; any masks you might wear (consciously or otherwise) in front of others will come off over time. You will see deep ugliness in yourself and your spouse. You will see each other at your worst. 

2) Both spouses need forgiveness and grace.

You will fail in many ways (see point 1). Your spouse will, too. Thankfully, there is forgiveness and grace. We need to bear with and forgive each other (Colossians 3:12-14) early and often (Matthew 18:21-22), remembering we have been forgiven a much greater debt in Christ (Matthew 18:23-35). Similarly, we are to treat each other with grace (unmerited favor), as the Lord treats us (John 1:14-17).

3) Love is self-sacrificial, not transactional.

There are many passages on love in the Bible. I've looked at what it means to love others in recent posts (here, here, and here). From various Bible passages, I summarized love with this definition: "Love is the self-sacrificial and self-forgetful care for and building up of others demonstrated by action, affection, attitude, endurance, and optimism." One key aspect is the self-sacrificial/forgetful nature of love.

It is easy (for me) to be transactional. It can be especially so in marriage. "You do this for me, and I'll do that for you." There can be a time and a place for such things—like divvying up chores—but true love does not take into account their actions for you when choosing your actions for them. Loving my wife means doing the right thing for her even if/when she doesn't return the favor. That is tremendously hard, but it is ultimately freeing to care for others without thought of their care for you. 

As a counselor once told me, our job is to "trust and obey." For things in my control, obey (do the right thing). For things outside of my control, trust (that God will work). Ephesians shows how Christ's self-sacrificial love affects us, and relates it to marriage:

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,  that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. (Ephesians 5:25-28) 

There are no guarantees, but it is what we are called to do. 

4) Love is a choice. It takes work.

There are many emotions in love; not all are romantic or pleasant. In twenty years of marriage, there have been plenty of cases where good feelings weren't there. But going back to the definition of love, the main point is to care for and build up your spouse. That manifests itself in dozens of choices each day regardless of feeling. You can be mad at your spouse and love them. You can disagree and still care. You can be hurt and still choose to love. It's hard work. But worth it.

5) It is easy (but wrong) to put the kids first.

This is a common problem, in the church and culture. Once kids come along, they tend to take center stage, and life revolves around them and their activities. Years later, they move out, and the spouses can realize they don't even know each other anymore. This is not the way it should be. Take time to connect with your spouse—daily. They are your most important earthly relationship, bar none.

6) Marriage is sanctifying; one of the hardest (and best) things you will ever do.

It's been said that there is nothing better than a good marriage, and nothing worse than a bad one. It is constantly sanctifying; we die to self as we grow, forgive each other, and strive to put away our selfishness, looking to love the other before ourselves.

Most marriages I've witnessed have had elements of good and bad. If you strive to bear each other's burdens, share each other's joys, and walk in the same direction [living life in the Gospel and learning what God has for the two of you each step of the way], things will be good. If you don't (and there will be plenty of times when that happens), things will be rough. See point 2. 

7) Focus on God is key.

It is impossible to have a good marriage without God's strength. Your relationship with God precedes everything, and from that flows strength to love your spouse. Only through Jesus can you do so, for 'with men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible' (Matthew 19:26). In Jesus we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28), and without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). 

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The above is not exhaustive, but it is a start. I'm glad I married my wife (I still question her decision). It's not always easy, but I'd rather walk a hard road with her than an easy road without. It is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18); thank you, Lord, for marriage. And for forgiveness.

The Certainty of Faith (Herman Bavinck)

"A lust for doubt became the soul-sickness of our age, dragging a string of moral woes and miseries along with it." So says the Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck, writing in 1903, in the introduction of his short work The Certainty of Faith. And this quote points at why he produced this volume: we all want certainty. "To live in comfort and to die in beatitude, we need certainty about the things that are above, the things that are invisible and eternal. We must know who and what we are, and where we are going." He walks through a few concepts in this vein here. Select thoughts follow.

"Certainty is the complete rest of the mind in an object of knowledge." And faith is, in one sense, "confidence in the testimony of another." And for everyone, "by far the greatest part of their knowledge they owe to the investigations of others, whose testimony they accept in trust as truth." 

How does science relate to religious faith? Science is fine with human certainty, but religion "requires nothing less than divine certainty." Which relies on divine testimony. "We never obtain or maintain our deepest convictions and world-and-life-views by way of scientific demonstration." There is "no such things as science without personal trust, without faith in the testimony of another. The fact that religion and theology do not rest on our own observation but on a divine testimony, which cannot be established for us except through faith, does not in itself take anything away from the truth of their content." "Everything depends on whether the people to whose testimony we abandon ourselves are credible and deserving of trust." Thus, "by its very nature, [religious] faith . . . can only rest upon a word or promise of God, on something that proceeds from his mouth and is revealed to man in a natural or supernatural way."

How do we know which revelation is divine? Which religion is true? It is impossible to determine based on feelings, as "every religion arouses religious emotions and experiences." It is also impossible to deduce empirically, as we all have presuppositions that govern the questions we ask and approach we take. And our human heart is finite and fallen. Thus "the guilt of unbelief lies not with God and his revelation, but with man." And "due to the subjective condition of the human heart, all proofs are insufficient to move people to faith." So what can we do? Where can we turn?

The Bible stakes its claim. "The gospel of Christ does not first address itself to human beings as rational, but as moral creatures." We do see evidence of God in the world—creation bears witness and the gospel "does not fail to leave an impression upon the hearts of all." And we recognize the world (and each of us) is a mess—things are not the way they are supposed to be. But rather than proving anything, the Bible explains the problem and solution. It is living and active; a light and guide. It claims divine revelation and authority, "standing above and over against the natural man; while it is indeed intended for him, it does not accord with this thoughts and inclinations." And the Spirit does His work: "in order to believe, freely and willingly, and with our whole intellect, we need a new heart and a changed will. And who could give such things to himself?" For all Christians, "they owe their faith and hope to his grace alone." 

Thus "faith can rest in nowhere other than a word of God, in a promise of the Lord." "Let the plant of faith therefore take root in the soil of the promises of God, and thus it will naturally bear the fruit of certainty."

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This was a great book, full of good insights and (ultimately) hope.

Rating: A

The Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman)

Four friends in a retirement village pass their days by investigating cold cases from decades past. This self-proclaimed "Thursday Murder Club" has a real (and current) adventure on their hands, though, when someone affiliated with their community is murdered. And then another. Determined to be helpful, the unorthodox gang sets out to investigate, and soon finds themselves uncovering a trail of secrets. Can no one be trusted? And can they find the killer?  

It took me a bit to get into it, but this book is gold. Written by known funny television personality Richard Osman, I thought this would be a second-rate mystery focused on comedy. I was wrong! It is funny, but it is also a good and suspenseful mystery. And has a dash of wisdom and surprisingly poignant moments to boot. I especially enjoyed the varied quirks of the four protagonists. This was a good time.

Rating: A

The White Mountains in Autumn

Last week, my wife and I got away for an early 20th anniversary celebration. We spent a few wonderful days in New Hampshire; this post shares highlights.

North Conway

After taking an early flight to Manchester, we drove north and stayed in a new hotel in North Conway, a lovely mountain resort town in east-central New Hampshire. We enjoyed an initial hike east of town before checking out the (surprising) number of outlets and having a nice dinner.

The Kancamagus Highway

The next day, we stopped at a covered bridge (there are many in the region) and then headed out for the main feature: the Kancamagus Highway, which runs west from Conway to Lincoln. This scenic road had plenty of stops for short (or long) hikes and beautiful vistas. Parking at some stops became an issue, but it all worked out. As you'd expect, cell service was not always available, so download local maps as needed before heading out.

Just before Lincoln, we stopped at Loon Mountain, headed up via cable car, and enjoyed the poorly-named (yet exciting) "glacial caves," which are a series of natural granite obstacles [not caves] that force you to contort yourself in fun [and nerve-wracking, for the older] postures to navigate them. 

The Loop Back

After a nice lunch in Lincoln, we stopped for ice cream (I had maple soft serve) and took the northern loop back, which runs through Franconia Notch, by Mount Washington, and had plenty of sights on its own. But we visited there last year, so we just enjoyed the views and meandered back to North Conway. The map below shows the Kancamagus (the southern road) and the northern loop back. The listed drive time of two hours is deceiving and easily exceeded; plan to stop often (and/or be held up by slow motorists).

Lake Winnipesaukee

The next day, it was time to head home. We had driven up from Manchester on the east side of Lake Winnipesaukee, and headed home on the west side. We intended to find a place to hike and enjoy a view of the lake; our first choice, Castle in the Clouds, was out due to a classic car show that day. We drove on through Meredith (it looked pretty; we should have stopped) and Interlaken (not to be confused with its Swiss counterpart) before finding what looked like a good spot. What we didn't know: the road up went from pleasingly paved to dauntingly dirt and rock, with difficult climbs and hairpin turns. We parked in a lot that had some other cars, saw no other hikers, and grew increasingly nervous. After briefly exploring the local trail options and enjoying the view, we decided to head back down. On the way, a passing motorist told us to watch for black bears he had just seen, reinforcing our decision to get out of there.

We drove back to Manchester, stopping at (another) L.L. Bean outlet on the way before catching our flight home.

Thoughts

It was a short but wonderful trip. The people in the White Mountains live life at a different pace. They are polite, kind, and much more relaxed than what we are used to. The area is beautiful, even though the leaves were not as vibrant as we had hoped (the locals told us a drought had affected the maples in particular). There is plenty to do for the outdoors enthusiast, and many options for all skill levels and desires (we focused on shorter hikes and loved it). The food options were excellent, with an array of both chains and local fare. The shopping was surprisingly fun. I wish we had more time to explore the Lake Winnipesaukee area (and foreknowledge of where best to do that), but ultimately, the trip was made not by what we did, but who we were with—each other.

It was the first time my wife and I had gotten away overnight without the children in seven years. It was a much-needed time to relax, enjoy each other's company, and connect without distraction or interruption. We need to make this a habit.

Daily Doctrine (Kevin DeYoung)

Daily Doctrine is a devotional of sorts, with 260 entries (five per week). But unlike most devotionals (where each entry focuses on a Bible passage or topic), this book presents systematic theology for laypeople in digestible pieces (about a page per entry). Here, notable pastor and author Kevin DeYoung covers doctrine in 9 categories:

- Prolegomena (Preliminary Considerations)

- Theology Proper (The Being of God and the Works of God)

- Anthropology (Man as Created and Fallen)

- Covenant Theology (How God Relates to His Creatures)

- Christology 1 (The Person of Christ)

- Christology 2 (The Works of Christ)

- Soteriology (Salvation in Christ)

- Ecclesiology (The Nature, Mission, and Ordering of the Church)

- Eschatology (Last Things)

I loved this work. It takes skill to translate skilled theologians and their terminology into something clear and concise, but that is DeYoung's stated gift, and he pulls it off. He presents the Reformed view on most matters, but for particularly contentious topics, he does give a fair summary of different viewpoints. I recommend this to anyone interested in learning about systematic theology but (understandably) overwhelmed by other works on the topic (like John Frame's excellent, but much longer, volume) and simply wants an overview. I only wish there had been 365 entries.

Rating: A

Magpie Murders (Anthony Horowitz)

Alan Conway is a popular 'whodunnit' author. His editor, Sue, is enjoying his latest draft manuscript until she discovers that the final chapters are missing. And it gets worse . . . Alan Conway is soon found dead on his property. Baffled, Sue takes it upon herself to investigate. Having enjoyed mysteries all her life, Sue suddenly finds herself in one . . . and the stakes could not be higher.

This was a fun read. This is two books in one: the manuscript is a ~240 page murder mystery, and Sue's investigation is about the same length. I don't want to say more lest I give spoilers, but it was a fun concept well executed. It has the suspense and surprises you'd expect of the genre.

Rating: A