I am on the hunt for themes that don’t mess up your comments through nigh impossible paragraph breaks. Many of you are already irritated enough when you first start to comment, and the fact that the old theme turns your lucid prose into a slab of granite irritates you further. I will probably go back …
Up and Down the Pew
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #137 “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that …
A Lot More Than Silver Bells
“A sentimental Christmas is a Christmas without conflict . . . a moralistic Christmas is a Christmas without sin . . . a spiritualistic Christmas is a Christmas without matter” (God Rest Ye Merry, pp. 32-33).
Why Lies Digest So Well
As Flannery O’Connor put it, “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” But a falsehood, as Chesterton notes, is engineered precisely so that the listeners would in fact be able to stomach it. Stomachability is a design feature when it comes to a lie. Who would invent lies that nobody …
Mark Driscoll and Problems of Citation
I don’t have much to say about the ruckus these last few weeks concerning the allegation of plagiarism by Mark Driscoll, an allegation that was made by Janet Mefferd, and then subsequently withdrawn by her. Not having much to say, I intend therefore to not say it. Initially I thought to say nothing whatever, but …
What Joseph Knew
Introduction Before discussing what Joseph knew, we should perhaps begin by considering what we know about Joseph. Despite the fact that we tend to assume we know very little, we may be surprised to discover how much in fact we do know. This is even more surprising when we consider that in the entire scriptural …
When Your Nerves Are Yelling at You
This is a meal that feeds us spiritually, and we should make a point of understanding how this relates to something we call stress. At this time of year, almost all of us have additional responsibilities, and some of us have quite a few additional responsibilities. This might be a function of Christmas preparations, or …
Grace Tastes Like Something
When the Bible calls us to holiness, which it does, it is not calling us to a fastidious primness that pretends to be holiness. Neither does it call us to a raw effort that refuses to touch the unclean thing externally, even though the heart does nothing but paw and fondle the unclean thing. And …
One or the Other
“From the moment Simeon spoke those fateful words, the winnowing has been in effect. Come to Jesus or go away. In Him is light, and away from Him is only darkness” (God Rest Ye Merry, p. 31).
And Fat Targets Are Everywhere
“Though it be not true that ‘ridicule is the test of truth,’ it is certainly a very effective way of refuting pretentious falsehood” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 203).