Chapel – Dr. James Robertson
Dr. James Robertson
Good morning, everyone. Strong start everybody. Good morning, everyone. There we go. I'm Dr. James Robertson. I'm the Assistant Professor of Christian History, and the director of Distributed Learning here at Tyndale. And I'm very excited to share with you this morning, a brand new adventure in what fits under the umbrella of the student voice movement. And so I'm very excited. We're gonna come to that in a moment. And but first, we have a very important question that we must discuss. Did Moses have horns? While the simple answer to that question is, yes. And I have the photographic, slash scriptural evidence to prove it. Next slide, please. All right, please note the arrows indicating the horns, in several key moments in Moses life, as recorded in Scripture. Now, you may be considering this, but these are not merely bad hair days, those are distinguishable horns. So the first thing you should probably say to yourself, is this. Now do medieval or Renaissance sculptures, and paintings of Moses with horns actually prove anything? And that is a great question and a great point. They are indeed a problematic source of evidence. But we're still left with this question. Where did this idea, and the ensuing artwork, sorry, I can see it here and the ensuing artwork actually come from? I mean, is it simply indicative of anti semitism in the Middle Ages? Very likely. That is absolutely something we need to take into consideration. The Jewish heritage, the Jewish people, and apparently, even Jewish heroes of the Old Testament scriptures were not immune to the anti semitism of the Christian nations in medieval Western Europe. But that is not the point I want to bring up this morning.
The point I want to bring up this morning, is that the horns of Moses were not just made up by some racist artists. No, the evidence behind this actually goes much earlier, to the early days of the faith, when Christianity was part of the Roman Empire, and specifically to one man, a man by the name of Jerome. Now Jerome is known for many, many things. For me personally, and for many of us academics here. He is the patron saint of academia, in that he was desiring to be self sacrificial, he was desiring to be an ascetic, of joining a strict monastic order. But the reality of such limitations, the lack of cleanliness, the strict physical demands of monasticism, he found these entirely too daunting, but he did not want to be outdone. Jerome was no quitter. He was, but he didn't wanna be seen as a quitter. So he did note, I think it's important that the amount of time, energy and exhaustion that being an academic can create should count as a spiritual discipline equal to if not greater than anything physical. And I would say, rightfully so, even if it was inspired by Jerome's personal insecurities, and I can back that up, because ask any of you during exam times, or when you're reading the 30th Book of the Week, you everyone in this room will relate to good old Jerome. And it will be revealed to you in those taxing moments, why his frequent laments about the rigors of a learned life made him the patron saint of the academy. But that aside, we still don't have an explanation for the whole Moses having horns thing, fair enough. The reality is that Jerome's most influential academic work was his Latin translation of the Bible, what we call the Vulgate. And within the Vulgate, is a word used in one of the biblical passages we just heard a few moments ago, the story of Moses coming down from Mount Sinai with the 10 commandments. You see, in Jerome's Vulgate and subsequent transcriptions of it, the word appeared, Korn aiutare, which is very similar to the word that we're used to, but in the Latin actually means Hornet, or possessing horns. When the reality is that the word was actually another word very close by and supposed to be the one we heard this morning. Glory. Radiance was it radiant was radiant, right, radiant, there we go. That was a test. I knew. Obviously, I wouldn't know that.
It's the idea that Moses face was shining with such glory, it actually terrified the Israelites following his famous encounter with Yahweh. So we can laugh at this now, we can dismiss this now as a bunch of medieval hooey. But the reality is quite powerful. Because Jerome's Vulgate was the de facto Bible for most western European Christians for, are you ready for this? 1000 years. It was the Bible. There is not a scholar in this room, myself included, who would not love to be able to make a claim just like that. That something we wrote, We researched influenced so many people for a literal millennia. That feeds the ego. Oh, that guarantees promotion. That is fantastic. But keep in mind, the reality is, this 1000 year reign influenced the interpretation of so many countless Christians understanding of God, the world, themselves, their faith. And if you were sitting here this morning, or listening online, and you are a good, Bible believing Christian, who leans on the Word of God heavily to help you with all sorts of decisions in your life, this simple historical fact could, and actually probably should, terrify you. Just think of the two translations we heard not five minutes ago. That was my clever way of letting you know that the message is wrapping up, and lunch is not quite yet. Five minutes. Giving you some timeframes. Jerome's translation was the Bible for a period of time, twice as long as Protestantism itself is old right now. Let that weight come in. Any of you who claim the broad umbrella that is Protestantism, Jerome's Bible existed for twice as long as the very origins of Protestantism are up to this day. 1000 years.
So, what rescued Moses from this hornable predicament? Yeah, that's about as well as that joke shoulda gone. Next slide, please.
Well, the scholar after whom this school is named, is one answer. The great English translator of the Holy Scriptures. William Tyndale, a man who has hunted for most of his adult life, a man who was ultimately executed for the treacherous, and treasonous, and blasphemous work of translating the Bible into the English language. You see, he was not just a Latin scholar, but also a Greek scholar. And he made many corrections, to Jerome's mistakes, to be fair to Jerome, he really was the only guy kind of doing it at this level of translation in his day. But again, that's besides the point. Tyndale, besides being the namesake of the school, and yes, it's fine that we call it Tyndale. Even though he called his name Tyndall. He provides yet another great example of the importance of the academy. This place out, of a desire to follow in Tyndale's footsteps, is not interested in merely the academic, but the countless ways in which knowing more can help you do more, be more, and believe better, or as that we ultimately have in our schools mission statement. Tyndale is dedicated to the pursuit of truth, to excellence in teaching, learning, and research for the enriching of mind, heart and character, to serve the church and the world for the glory of God. You see, my dear brothers and sisters, my dear saints and scholars, this place is about the formation of your mind, as formation of your soul. So what does that all look like in the second decade, of the 21st century, in this place known as Canada? Actually, let me ask you another question, first. Show of hands, how many of you are in like your first, or maybe your second year of your program? Whichever program it is? Hold them up there for a second. Oh, good. Look at you. This is fantastic, okay, because it was in the scripture reading, you can put them down. Remember which hand you just raised, it's gonna come back in a moment, a very brief moment.
Heads up. What I'm about to say is going to be brutal, and you're going to regret putting your hands up. But trust me, I mean this with all sincerity. I mean this with all compassion. And I beg you to give me a few moments to put this into a proper context. This very mean thing I'm about to say. Do I have your pre emptive forgiveness? Spoiler, you're Christians and you have to! Do I have your pre emptive forgiveness? That's good. Myself, my colleagues here at Tyndale, share and are afflicted by the same disease each one of you students currently possess. Probably a better way of putting that, is we share the same blessing. But again, on exam weeks, it can feel like an affliction. Every one of us is here, because we've been gifted with this incredible thirst for knowledge. Trust me when I say this to all of you, all of your professors are similarly afflicted to you now. And I go so far as to say they have dedicated most, if not all of their adult lives, in pursuit of something that will be will ultimately never find satiated. And that is actually really exciting because there's always something more to learn. So now that I've asked for your forgiveness, and I've given a little preamble here, here is the promised brutal statement. If you are in your first and second year, irrespective of the program you're in, I need you to breathe in. And let the statement enter into you. You don't know anything. Good. You need to start there. The good news is if you are here, if you are a believer in Christianity, the good news is you already have all the tools, you need to handle what I just said with maturity, with dedication, with a lack of retribution, and possibly even grow spiritually, and in the academic realm. What I'm genuinely saying is, it needs, we need to start with a position of humility, a posture of subservience, as you listen to, and glean from the wisdom of my colleagues, your professors. Again, I can't stress this enough, your professors have been exactly where you are now. And beyond being just experts. And let's face it, that is a word that is coming under increasing fire in this day and age. Beyond being experts, there are people who've walked the path you are currently on, and walked it years ahead of you. We're not trying to be as much, in the words of my esteemed colleague, Dr. Yau Man Siew, the sage on the stage, we're looking more to be the guide by your side. And so when I say this, as harsh as it may sound, and I'm glad you laughed, it does come from a place of love, and admiration, and even a bit of nostalgia. We look fondly on you because we remember, it's like to being new in school, being asked for ideas, thinking we know a bunch of stuff, and then proving in numerous classes, in numerous times, how little we actually know. And even if you do find an answer, that tends to give birth to just a whole bunch of new questions, and that's great. On top of this, there's tons of readings assignments, some of which we don't do super well on. But that, my dear brothers and sisters, that my dear saints and scholars, is exactly the journey of the academy. It's what Jerome was referencing, when he talked about the exhaustion, and the toll studying can take on us. It is designed to open you up to the lack of knowledge we actually possess. And such a posture can feel destabilizing, it can be very disillusioning. And that's exactly the right word. It's a dis illusion, it's waking you up from certain illusions you've been carrying with you. And illusions are comfortable. And that's what makes them so powerful. And that's what we're trying to call you to be pay attention to. I'm not saying that us professors have all the answers. But we do have years dedicated to a very few, very few select amount of topics, we're functionally useless outside of this place. And we do know these topics better than I would say 99.5% of every other human being on Earth. And that's fair. And we're doing this for no other reason than being driven by a desire to find as many different ways to communicate what's excited us and lit us up in ways that makes sense to you, and can help you function in the world and bring that message to others. It's very exciting. It's very daunting, it's full of challenges, but it is rewarding, because we all receive knowledge and wisdom from each other. And I think it is a fantastic antidote to the culture of today, where every belief, every opinion is given the same level. No. And I'm very aware that this makes me a grumpy old man. And I'm really starting to, I'm really starting to enjoy this place. Every belief is not as good as others. But here comes the next part, a criteria for figuring out how you're going to go forward. So I know you're probably a little bit weary of this. But raise the hand you just raised a moment ago when I was, asked if you're in your first and second years. Oh head Oh, yeah, way less. Oh, no, here comes the brave ones. All right. Now raise your other hand.
Here is your expertise. Here is what I want inspire with you this morning. If you are a believer in an immanent and transcendent God, by which I mean if you're a believer in a creator of the universe, a God who somehow knows you, names you. And if the audacity of the Christian message is to be believed, actually dwells within you, then you have something powerful. Next slide please. A gift no amount of education can take away from or really add to, and this is this, you are an expert. You are the expert. Absolutely bar none. You know more than any other human being on earth, what it's like to walk with God as you. That is not nothing. That is absolutely something, and in many ways, that's actually everything, and this is what I want you to remember. This is the power of a truly Christian, spiritually forming, academically molding education. On the one hand, I do know very little, there's much to be learned. And if I listen for a while, I might actually learn a bit more. If I'm really good, and really lucky, and work really hard, I'll come to the profound awareness as all of us do. Recognizing that I still have so much more to learn. And that is a very exciting way to live. That is humility. It places you in a wonderful way to speak into this culture, that is all about tearing down expertise, canceling people, being suspicious of everything, without actually taking the time to learn or build anything. No armchair theologians, armchair politicians, armchair doctors, that is this hand, a humility. And if you can recognize this, you will be very powerfully equipped. But on the other hand, this doesn't mean you have nothing to offer. Far from it, you actually have an amazing amount to offer to your classmates, to your professors, to this school, to your spheres of influence, and of course, indeed, the world. I want you to recognize that there's something powerful about your story, because every single person in this room, I believe, is here for a reason, not just at Tyndale, not just to follow in the footsteps of our namesake, but to look at issues that are wrong with the world, and with the church, and to dedicate him or herself to correcting them, no matter what the cost, to follow the calling that God has placed on you. Hang on, I gotta put these down. That's called commitment to a bit, because they're not there. Magic.
If we believe in the God of the Bible, and this is where I want to wrap up and get us into the next part, God looked at this world, good, broken, beautiful, whatever it may be, and said, "You know what, it needs you." And if that was God's decision, then you clearly have something to offer. And this is why I'm very excited to be introducing you in a moment, to a colleague of yours, a student by the name of Anita Wing Lee. Anita came to me a while back about her own journey through what is commonly referred to in this day and age as deconstruction. She wanted to walk through genuine questions about the faith, genuine struggles she was having with Christianity, and find some ways forward not only just for herself, but in ways that would help strengthen others wrestling with the same stuff, because all of you in this room, I am sure have wrestled with your faith, and spoiler, will wrestle again at some point. So in a second here, we're going to play a video clip about this new podcast that you're seeing up there. Heavenly minded, earthly good. The title of this, I've come to realize, is for, is better known among old people like me, but it was basically the statement goes, that person is so heavenly minded, they're no earthly good. Meaning that they're so focused on ideas, and doctrines, and all sorts of stuff, they've neglected actually being able to serve this world. And this is a clever condemnation of Christianity, we're hoping to redeem, and reverse, with this podcast that is opening up space for people to genuinely grow in their faith by questioning your faith. So we just have a one minute brief little video and I'm gonna invite Anita forward, I'm just going to sort of introduce you to the podcast. So if you will take a moment and watch this video clip.
Anita Wing Lee
I've spent a decade as a content creator, blogging, filming, snapping, live streaming and editing since I was 21. But behind my Instagram and YouTube videos, there was something I could never fully articulate. God had let me down. A terrifying incident in 2017 forced me to stop traveling, demolished my fledgling career, and left me with no option but to come back to Toronto. And I landed smack into a job at a church. I wasn't even sure what I believed about God anymore. But working in a church meant I want to figure this Christianity thing out. So three years ago, I enrolled in Masters of Divinity at Tyndale University. I wasn't trying to become holy or a pastor. It just felt like unfinished business. I'm Anita Wing Lee, your host and guide for season one of Heavenly Minded, Earthly Good.
Dr. James Robertson
Good morning.
Anita Wing Lee
Good morning.
Dr. James Robertson
Everybody. This is a Anita Wing Lee. Can we give a round of applause to welcome? Oh, I didn't say anything about whistling. It's really important. I want to take a second here. I just got a few quick questions and then we'll release you for lunch in a second. But I do want to publicly applaud you and encourage you. Anita has gone through a, for the last five months. Five, six months we've been doing this Yeah, a very raw, and I will say honest and admirable and brave journey through her own faith, that she's going to present to you so, every Tuesday starting today, episodes one and two are available today. But every Tuesday at about 8am, a new episode will be going for the next 10 weeks as she sort of unravels her story and offers space for people to ask and engage questions. So I'm very excited. So thank you very much for putting all the time and energy and courage into this. And with that in mind, I have a question. What is your biggest takeaway, slash advice, as you were walking through creating and recording this podcast?
Anita Wing Lee
I think the biggest thing that I got from studying at Tyndale, and just from the last couple years of my journey with God, which is now encapsulated in this podcast, is this permission to be who I am, but at the same time to let God change me. Every episode in this podcast focuses on a specific topic that for me, you know, these are like 30 to 40 minute podcasts, but you could say I have easily spent a year or two looking at each of these topics and figuring out, you know, how does my faith relate to this week's, was trauma and grief? How, how do I process theology? How do I make sense of the undergraduate education I had, which is in media and business? And so it's been this journey of figuring out like, How did God make me unique, and realizing like, I don't have to discard those parts of myself, but at the same time, like seminary and church, and the five years since I came back to Toronto has been this journey of really laying down who I am, and then figuring out, like, God, who do you want me to be, and watching myself change, like, over and over again, I feel like, as I let go of who I used to be, it's like God picks it back up. And he's like, actually, this is, this is what it's supposed to look like. And so letting parts of my personality change, parts of my work change, parts of my theology change, parts of my relationships change, change, I don't think there's any part of my life that now hasn't fallen under, you know, we'd call it the Lordship of Christ. But there isn't any part of my life that I haven't like, held up to God and been like, what do I do with this?
Dr. James Robertson
So you start the podcast with a very simple premise. I think God is real. And through the 10, episodes, brothers and sisters, you cover a lot of topics, like you've already mentioned, grief and trauma, but also yourself as a sister and a daughter, and how do you navigate the world of being a woman in the faith and in the world as well? Some very, very hard hitting honest topics. Is there any one of those topics that sort of sticks out the most to you or think that you're most excited for potential listeners to hear?
Anita Wing Lee
The topic that's most exciting to me, that's coming up would be this rediscovery of what it means to, you could say, be a business woman with God, I had a background in entrepreneurship and obviously creating digital content. And through, you know, being invited to do this podcast really felt like a redemption of sorts. Because if, like, you couldn't make something like this up. If I had gone to Tyndale and like, Hey, do you want to make a podcast about a student's story, they probably like it would never make it to any higher ups. But to get the opportunity to do this, and you guys are gonna hear in a future episode, this, this entire aspect of myself that had, had attempted to build a business. And as somebody with lots of ideas, and likes to start new things, coming into seminary and having to submit to a program, and then also working at a church and just, you know, having to submit to authority into leadership there. It's been really amazing to rediscover this part of myself that has lots of ideas, that likes to start new things and realize that God has a place for that too.
Dr. James Robertson
Nice. So this comes to final sort of question for you, but also for everybody here. Season One is done. Wink wink, nudge nudge. We're looking, we're already looking at season two. And when we started discussing what season two would look like, we both came to this conclusion that the story, stories, of season two are most likely in this room. So this is an official invitation. If, if you're feeling tweaked by this, if there's stuff you've been wondering, no topic is off limits. We're gonna invite you in a moment, when we wrap up here in a couple minutes, to come forward and chat with us. We want to get these the student voice movement. We want to get some of these conversations going that come from your perspective, wherever you are in education, because as I was trying to, not jokingly, but seriously, put through, you have important things to say. And that story is your story. But I want to encourage you to look at your story, because as a professor, I always tell my students, if you got a question ask. Chances are a few other people in your class have the same question. And you're going to help not just yourself, but others. I apply that to this right now. If you have a story, and you're carrying this around, please consider sharing it with us, please be brave enough to share this story where other people can hear it and grow as well. So that's my take on it. What would you like in those last two minutes were together? What would you like? Whoever our season two is to be? What would you like that person to know?
Anita Wing Lee
Give yourself space to reflect on your own journey. I know that going to school can be like drinking from a firehose, right, you're, you're constantly trying to download all this content, power through the books, power through the papers, and and just get to the end of the semester, breathe, and then do it all again. But one of the best things I found was actually taking the things that I was personally processing and trying to use my assignments, when I could, to actually reflect on it. Because this isn't just a journey about getting a degree, it's really a journey about God changing you and showing you how he's created you. And so I think if you take that time for yourself and figure out, you know, who am I? How has God made me? What's unique? And what does it look like to put that in service to Christ, then, then, if you feel called to share that to a wider audience, we would love to hear and, and, you know, I think all of us know that sometimes it's hearing someone else's story and journey that really encourages us to, to, to know that if someone can navigate that, then I think I can navigate my life as well. So I really encourage you to share your stories. And we live in a day and age right now where you can. And I feel like that's God's invitation to us to realize that we are all called to to be people who are the light.
Dr. James Robertson
Right? Okay, we just get the last slide up there. So this is where it's available. Wherever you can find the podcast, this is where you can find these. Like I said, every Tuesday, there'll be a new episode coming out, episode one, and two. episode one, the art of throwing rocks at God, won't put you on the spot too... What is the episode two title?
Anita Wing Lee
Invisible grief and hidden trauma,
Dr. James Robertson
Light stuff. We're gonna release you. I, I cannot say this strongly enough, I really want you to, I did that metaphor based on Jesus teachings of the left hand and the right hand, knowing what they're doing. In the left hand of humility, and the right hand of recognizing that you are here for a very specific reason. You put those together and you can offer your story, your understandings, and you don't have to have the answer. In fact, it's much more amazing when you don't, but please Anita and I are going to stick around afterwards. If you have something, you're not even sure it's just a grain of an idea, or a germ, but something's pulling you, do not let this moment pass. Come forward. Let's talk, let's share, and we will walk with you through this, logistically speaking. Don't worry, we won't start recording stuff till next year. So you don't have to be like, I don't want to add another thing to my semester. That's okay. This semester is the storytime and then getting to know you. Whatever you do, however we go forward, whatever spheres of influence you introduce, this yourself into, remember that humility, that uniqueness in the power, whatever you do, go forward using both hands.
Dr. James Robertson
Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. Thank you for redeeming us. Thank you for some amazing music this morning. Thank you for good church. May Your blessing rest upon Anita, and these students here, as they struggle through all sorts of practical, and emotional, and psychological struggles that is the academy. Grant them not just the ability to be theologians, pastors, counsellors, construction workers, any version of of your Kingdom being put on on earth here, but Lord grant in them a courage that will make them divine artists. Bless them in their bravery to push and challenge boundaries to go further and farther and deeper and broader into the Kingdom that has always been and will always be yours. Thank you for calling us. Thank you for calling us. Thank you for calling us, in your mighty name we pray. Amen.
Dr. James Robertson
Thank you, go in peace, and please come forward if you can. We are happy to chat. Bless you.
