I believed the rumors posted a few months back about the Magic Trackpad that Apple released last week. It looked real to me and it made sense.  It made sense because Apple knows me, loves me, and Apple cares.  And since Apple knows, loves, and cares, they knew that I needed this thing two years ago. My main machine these days (aside from my iPad) is an iMac.  I also have an aging MacBook which is great, but it came out just before Apple started doing fancy stuff with trackpads (pinching, swiping and all that).  The "fancy stuff" is what I wanted.  With the two magically-challenged machines, I have had trackpad envy for what feels like forever.

So, with just weeks before I return to work from my sabbatical, I grabbed the shiny, new, work-inspiring accessory for my iMac.  Here are my first impressions. 

It's big, very small, and very pretty.

It is way bigger than what you would get on a MacBook Pro (80% larger), but what struck me in the store was how small it looked.  No visible buttons. No wires. No visible logos or writing on top. Clean, plain, and pretty. The physical click (which isn't really needed since a tap will do the same thing), comes from the small rubber feet on bottom. Cool.    

Feels and looks very clean on my desk.

My old mouse and mousepad never really fit next to my wireless keyboard (which is as small as they come!). It didn't fit in two ways:  first, physically, the mousepad was always getting smushed and rumpled. (I have a very small slide-out keyboard holder thingy.) Second, I was always having to do that lift and slide, lift and slide motion to get the curser from one end of the screen to another.  Exhausting.

My set up with the Magic Trackpad is as smooth as I could imagine outside of controlling it with my thoughts.  No wires, no mousepad, no clutter. Smooth like a fanboy likes it.  So until I get a glowing, apple-shaped, orb of light that reads brainwaves as it floats above my left shoulder, this is as clean a set up as I could envision. 

Using it. 

 Compared to a mouse, this feels like much less of an interruption to use. I'm a LaunchBar person, so I don't really like to use a mouse to do much anyway.  As one person (I don’t remember who) pointed out, there are several less (unconscious) steps involved in using it.  No reaching, then gripping, then moving the mouse.  Just slide hand to the right and move the curser.  

Swiping back and forth through pictures and webpages (3 fingers from side to side) feels awesome. 4 finger exposé is useful (more than the hot corners I have set up for it). My favorites, 2 finger scrolling and 2 finger tap for "right click", are there of course. (Whenever I help set up a new MacBook this is the first thing I teach a person.)          

14 days to decide. 

There are a few things that I'm not into or confused about. I'm worried that it will hurt. That suspend-your-hand-in-the-air position that is required to use the iPad can make my hands hurtsometimes.  Even in the store it felt like an awkward position, but that was while standing at the demo table. At home sitting at a desk, it feels comfortable so far.  I have noticed that I am accidentally selecting things (text, files, pictures) and dragging them places.  I combined two iPhoto events entirely by accident, for example.  I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing to make it happen, but it is annoying.  

Rotating images using two fingers is hard for me.  It usually takes me a few tries.  It feels clunky.  

Even with these things, I doubt I’ll get tired of it considering all the love we have developed for each other.  (Its smiling at me right now.)  So I would bet that it will stay past the 14 day return period.

The judgment. 

So, can you live without it? Will your life have meaning if you don’t buy it immediately?  Will your family still love you if you keep your lame mouse? Will your friends still respect you if you don’t get one? 

No.  The answer to all of these is, no.  I’ll update if I change my mind.  

I use the term Evangelical often.  It’s impossible not to, especially when I’m teaching.  It clarifies my perspective, and serves as short hand for a long list of ideas.  It means one believes that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.  It means one believes Jesus is God and so on.  It means that one believes in the core ideas of a broadly reformed Christian faith—a simple, New Testament faith.  But especially, it speaks to one’s perspective on the Scriptures as being the inerrant, authoritative, inspired Word of God in the original manuscripts.  At least that’s what I mean by it. :-/

Not a bad thing to be!  But of course the term brings other baggage with it that I do not intend by its usage. I recently found a take on what it means (or at least what it should mean) to be an Evangelical that I wish would come to the minds of every reader and/or listener when it is spoken.  From Bruce Waltke’s, An Old Testament Theology

I accept the inerrancy of Scripture as to its Source and its infallibility as to its authority.  My spiritual conviction is intellectually defensible.  The finite mind is incapable of coming to infinite truth and moreover is depraved.  To live wisely I need to inspired revelation of the divine reality by which I can judge the wisdom or the folly, the right or the wrong, of my thoughts and actions.  But I dare not presume to understand how or what this revelation means before coming to it on its own terms.  I must allow the Bible to dictate how it seeks to reveal God’s truth.  I study how it writes history; I examine and lean to recognize the different forms of literature:  poetry, narrative, prophecy, and so on.  I consider the Bible utterly trustworthy, and I commit my life to it, but I do not presume to know beforehand the exact nature of its parts.  With this posture, I continue to learn and allow myself to be taught and corrected by the BIble. (Page 77, emphasis added.)

I particularly love the phrase “this posture,” but more on that in a moment. 

He contrasts this with 4 other types of Christian attitudes toward the Bible.  He classifies Evangelicalism (at its best) as standing under the Bible.  A close but misguided relative of Evangelicalism is Fundamentalism, which Waltke describes as standing upon the Bible.  Waltke writes, 

By “fundamentalists” I mean here those who presume the Bible does not stray from their

standards of accuracy, especially in matters of science and historiography.  They presume their interpretive horizon represents truth and that the biblical writers, though writing in an ancient environment, will not stray from the “accuracy” of their modern horizon.  But the ancient standards do not necessarily conform to modern standards.  The only legitimate human standard by which the bible can be measured is the logic of noncontradiction.  Paradox may be incomprehensible, but contradiction is “non-sense.”  What I have in mind here is that fundamentalists do not “stand under” the Bible long enough to “understand” it.  Sometimes they, thought well-intentioned, advertise “the Bible as it is for men as they are,” but they neglect the prior question of whether “men as they are are fit for the Bible as it is.” (Emphasis added.)

So a Fundy knows what the Bible means before he reads it!  It confirms him in his ideas!  It must, because he got them from the Bible, right?  

We’re all subject to that kind of self-confirming reading of the Bible.  Humility calls for a different posture in reading.  The posture is the one described by James in 1:25

James 1:25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

This phrase, “looks into” not only describes what such a person is doing, but the way they are doing it.  The Greek term indicates a certain curiosity, which in my mind cannot exist in the heart of the Fundamentalist (as described above).  It calls us to a posture of humility that assumes God is going to show us ourselves as we really are if we come to it with authenticity, and brokenness.  It assumes that I’ll find myself lacking and need to repent daily.  Repent, not only of things I do, but of who I am and things I wrongly hold to be true about myself, my God, and the Scriptures themselves. 

Psalms 139:23–24   Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

I have chosen not to spend any time blogging lately because I just can't take the time from other work. I'm making an exception to talk a bit about the new ESV Study Bible. Some of you know that I have been talking about this for a while. Well, the wait is over, and it is every bit as awesome as the early reviews claimed!

Yes, here are some unboxing photos followed by a few comments.

The ESV

I've touted the greatness of the ESV as a translation for almost the whole life of our young church. The ESV is what is known as an "essentially literal" translation, meaning that the translators made every effort to translate word for word from the Greek and Hebrew Manuscripts. With that as the basic translation philosophy, the team also paid special attention to beauty of language, and readability. It strikes an almost perfect balance between literal accuracy and readability. Whereas the NIV is extremely readable, it often sacrifices precision. I have also noted in the past that the New International Version (NIV) makes questionable translation decisions that can have an effect on the interpretation of certain important texts--the absence of the word "propitiation" from 1 John 4:10, and Romans 3:21-26 are a couple of glaring examples. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) preserves accuracy, but seems to sacrifice readability for precision. The English Standard Version (ESV) was masterfully produced to be both readable and precise. As J. I. Packer, who was the General Editor over the translation team, said the goal of the team was to produce something that could in essence serve as the new King James for the 20th century.

The Problem

So, I've been encouraging all of our people at Savior and all of my students at the AGBI and now at Nyack College to use the ESV. A lot of people have hesitated because of the lack of a good study Bible that uses the ESV text. A study bible of course is a Bible with a running commentary along the bottom of the page that helps the reader understand the text better. Until now there was only one study Bible that used the ESV text, the Reformation Study Bible. It is great, but the title gives away the fact that it is written from a strongly Calvinist perspective. You know I love Calvin, and that I'm a closet Calvinist in the AG, but the truth is, its theological bent wasn't in line with our church and movement in the Assemblies of God. Moreover, it simply did not match the quality of what most people were using--the NIV Study Bible.

The NIV Study Bible has been recognized by many as the standard for excellence in Study Bibles. It's editorial team and contributers were first rate. It is solidly evangelical, but didn't seem to grind any theological axes in the notes (as far as I ever noticed). The NIV Study Bible really only had one flaw--the NIV! (NOTE: I think the NIV is great, but the existence of the ESV leaves me no reason to put up with its shortcomings, so don't think I'm hating on it. I just don't see a reason to continue to use it when we have something far better available.)

So, now that the ESV Study BIble is here, that problem is more than taken care of. Furthermore, from what I've seen in the articles, notes, maps, timelines etc., the ESV Study Bible surpasses the NIV Study BIble in quality. Again, I'm not beefing with the NIV or those who love it. I'm just offering my pastoral perspective on what would benefit your spiritual life more.

My Review

Awesome. It is a comprehensive resource for Bible Study.

In the time I've spent flipping through, looking at articles, and looking at the notes of some of my favorite passages, I've been very impressed. The articles at the back of the BIble cover everything from the reliability of the Bible to an overview of Christian ethics, to an overview of Christian Doctrine. My early impression is that we truly do have the best all-in-one Bible resource ever produced.

Those who have gone through the Savior Core Course know that I recommend that every Christian have 4 books: a good study bible, a Bible Dictionary (IVP's New Bible Dictionary, 3rd edition is always my recommendation), a single volume Bible commentary, and a book on Theology. I would say that this study Bible relieves the need for two of those: the commentary and the book on Theology. The notes and book introductions are so extensive that it matches what you would get in most 1 volume Bible commentaries. The articles in the back are so well written (particularly on Doctrine and Ethics) that they would meet most people's needs. Of course, better to have more books than less. I'm just trying to make the point that this book will fill a huge gap in your personal Bible Study library all by itself.

If this sounds like a commercial, you got it right! I do want you to buy it, not because I make money off it (I certainly do not-this blog is not monetized at all!), but because as your pastor I want you to have one! You can get a hard cover for $30 from ChristianBook.com. I went for hardcover because I don't think I would carry it around.

Here are just a couple of endorsements from their site:

“The ESV is a dream come true for me. The rightful heir to a great line of historic translations, it provides the continuity and modern accuracy I longed for. Now the scope and theological faithfulness of the ESV Study Bible study notes is breathtaking. Oh how precious is the written Word of God.”

John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN

“The ESV Study Bible is the most important resource that has been given to the emerging generation of Bible students and teachers. The ESV Study Bible is the best. Period.”

Mark Driscoll, Preaching Pastor, Mars Hill Church, Seattle, WA; President, Acts 29 Church Planting Network

Whole Text Online

When you purchase an ESV Study Bible you get a code that unlocks the online version. The online Study Bible has everything that the print Bible has and allows you to keep personal notes. I think this is the way I will be using it most of the time.

Try it Free Online

You can demo the online Study Bible here. They have allowed access to the entire book of Matthew for the public. (As I said, you need to purchase a hard copy to get a code to use the full online version.) Check it out.

Cons?

Only con I can come up with is pure hugeness. The thing is giant, though not as big as I feared from the early advertisements. You're not going to want to have one in your backpack or briefcase. The web version does work on my iPhone, but it isn't optimized for mobile browsing. All of this would be made up for if they release an iPhone version--we can pray!

Hey everyone. My daughter Julia and I have been working our way through the Jesus Storybook Bible. It is excellent. I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Tim Keller who recommended it for all believers, not just kids. The subtitle says it all, "Every story whispers his name." I have often found that writers of children's material are great with kids and lame with theology. Not the case here. The author gets the Gospel.

You can get it Amazon here.