THE NEWSLETTER OF IBTM
with Douglas Jacoby
For the audiovisual version of the bulletin (YouTube, about 3 minutes, read by Chase Mackintosh), click here.
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6 August 2025
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Good morning from Atlanta! Back from an excellent time in St. Augustine, Florida, with family and church, and heading back to the UK this evening. In today’s edition, three offerings: a poem that has meant a lot to me through the years; a premium talk on “Apostles at Odds”; and a guest article on the Scopes Monkey Trial Etc. I hope you find something encouraging to your faith—and wholesome for the mind.
Back in 1980, I wandered into Divinity Chapel to pray. This chapel is in Divinity Hall, the oldest building at Harvard Divinity School (1826) and the dorm for my years there.
I stumbled across a poem, and its words have gently haunted me ever since. The sixth and seventh stanzas especially resonated. See what you think.
WHO SHALL DELIVER ME?
God strengthen me to bear myself;
That heaviest weight of all to bear,
Inalienable weight of care.All others are outside myself,
I lock my door and bar them out
The turmoil, tedium, gad-about.I lock my door upon myself,
And bar them out; but who shall wall
Self from myself, most loathed of all?If I could once lay down myself,
And start self-purged upon the race
That all must run! Death runs apace.If I could set aside myself,
And start with lightened heart upon
The road by all men overgone!God harden me against myself,
This coward with pathetic voice
Who craves for ease, and rest, and joys:Myself, arch-traitor to myself;
My hollowest friend, my deadliest foe,
My clog whatever road I go.Yet One there is can curb myself,
Can roll the strangling load from me,
Break off the yoke and set me free.Christian Rossetti, 1866
APOSTLES AT ODDS?
Galatians 2:11 is, I believe, a key New Testament passage. In it two prominent leaders are briefly at loggerheads: the apostles Peter and Paul. Admire Paul’s courage, gain insight into the problem, and make the application to your own life.
Note: Premium membership required. That is, log in first with username and password. Click HERE for the talk (10 mins).
A CENTURY OF INSIGHT: THE SCOPES MONKEY TRIAL
Featured guests Janet Kellogg Rat and John Haught
A Tale of Two Conflicts: Scopes, Telihard, and 100 Years of Hindsight — Podcast Episode -- BioLogos
In 1925, two pivotal events—the Scopes "Monkey" Trial and Teilhard de Chardin's censure—shaped a century of science and faith dialogue.
CLICK HERE to continue reading.
LEARNING
You often ask me what I’m reading. I just finished Richard Bauckham’s commentary on 2 Peter. As a result, I’ve made numerous updates to the 2 Peter sections of the Living NT Commentary at the website. This resource, available to all premium subscribers, is a growing organism. Even if you read the entire work back in 2008 when it first came out, you might want to try again, as there are easily an extra 100 pages since then.
Now I’m focused on 1 Corinthians, reading the Latin and Greek every morning. I’m also greatly enjoying Mirolsav Volf’s new book, The Cost of Ambition, Jim Manney’s A Simple Life-Changing Prayer (on the Examen of Ignatius), and the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, part of our resiliency training.
Finally, the revised and expanded edition of Amen & Amen was officially released yesterday. I do hope you will make use of it. I pray its prayers every morning—and often before bed, too. I’d be especially grateful for Amazon reviews!
Farewell for now. Thanks for your prayers. — DJ
