Look at this. Two UK posts in a row. After hearing my daughter express herself in our living room on this subject more than once, I encouraged her to put it in prose that sings. And so she did. Right here. If this were a Blandings story, and if Bekah were Baxter, this is the …
How Not to Lower the Net
There is not really a delicate way to get at one of the root problems with modern higher ed without confronting the emotional engine which drives those problems. And when we confront that engine we discover that the problem is caused by the atomosphere we all live in, and not by this or that nefarious …
Obeying the Ungodly
Book 4/Chapter 20 Unjust magistrates (section 24) 1. Does Calvin believe that magistrates are capable of great wickedness? 2. What does this do in the minds of men who must live under such? A foundational lesson (section 25) 1. What should our first reaction be when we find ourselves governed by a wicked magistrate? Obedience …
War on Overworked Metaphors
Just a quick, additional example of how we should draw political conclusions from what everybody knows, this time with some criticism for the neocons. What with the Christmas Day bomber guy and all, we are seeing another round of debate between the neocons, who say we need to treat this thing like a war, and …
Something Has to Die
When we are not getting along with others, the pressing temptation is always to believe that you are just as you have always been, and that they have somehow changed. This is often not true at all, but even if it were true, that does not put you in the right. Perhaps they have changed …
He Who Has a Tongue to Taste . . .
When we say that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, we generally do well at not inserting any portion of the material creation in between Christ and the believing soul. We know that it is the Word preached or written that was the instrument of salvation, but we don’t attribute …
Muddled in the Sanctuary
Our Father and God, You have established Your Church as a royal priesthood in this world, and so we intercede for the nations of men now, confessing on their behalf so that the grace of Your forgiveness will soon be extended to them all. Father, Your Word summons our nation to forsake its abominations, and …
Timber Wolf Poo and Rabbit Poo
This post was originally titled “The Way of the Cross and Constantine,” but this is more interesting, don’t you think? Jesus died outside Jerusalem two thousand years ago. That death was not only the hinge upon which all history turns (although it certainly is that), it is also the hinge in the story of every …
Obey the Magistrates
Book 4/Chapter 20 Motives in litigation (section 18) 1. When are lawsuits permissible? 2. What must the righteous litigant be without? 3. How should he treat his adversary? Legal wrangles (section 19) 1. Who is Calvin arguing against? 2. What kind of court system is Calvin assuming here? 3. What should the aim of the …
Yeah. Like That.
The president said that the health care package that cleared the Senate was the most important social legislation since Social Security. Which was, as my daughter Rachel put, like saying we haven’t had weather this good since Katrina.