Democracy is, as the fellow said, two coyotes and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch. But if the sheep is the rich guy, then the parable needs to be expanded. In the global economy, sheep can always move assets offshore, and you know, this metaphor is getting away from me. The point …
Eucatastrophe at the Eschaton
The fifth section of The Doors of the Sea contains Hart’s central concerns with inadequate Christian theodicies (as he considers them), and is the section where he showcases Ivan Karamazov’s rebellion against God. “This is the splendid perversity and genius of Ivan’s (or Dostoyevsky’s) argument, which makes it indeed the argument of a rebel rather …
Judgmental Non-Judgmentalism
In the next chapter, Boyd’s tendency to hydroplane on various evangelical cliches catches up with him. His central argument is that evangelical Christians have the beam in their eye, and hence are in no position to be “moral guardians” for the rest of the country. There’s a lot to that argument, actually, but the problem …
Some Normal People
The first draft of Evangellyfish (the next chapter of which is now posted) didn’t have John Mitchell in it. The entire cast of characters consisted of skunks and scoundrels. The problem with that approach was that there was no opportunity for a reader with reasonable morals to breathe. I say all this because this chapter …
He Feeds Us With Judgment
In the words of the prophet Ezekiel, we read this: “I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God” (Ez. 34:15). The Lord really is our Shepherd, and the Lord really does see to it that the flock is fed. It is striking that in the passage …
Grace and Mercy Both
Our God is a God of both grace and mercy. In the English language, grace is generally unearned, unmerited favor. Mercy is demerited favor that we receive anyway. When we have forfeited goodness, and God gives it to us anyway, He is showing mercy. When Adam was first created, he had obviously done nothing to …
Envy Looks Uphill
The post before last, I wrote on the institutionalization of envy, and thought I needed to address a reasonable question that may have arisen in the minds of some. In the first post, I made some reference to the situation that might cause this question — I wrote how hard it is for many for …
Narratival Calvinism and Storyless Readers
In his fourth section, Hart begins to interact with certain expressions of Calvinism. The Calvinists Hart was responding to are represented but not named, and since there are no footnotes to follow, I am puzzled over how to respond to this. Unvarnished Calvinism is hard for some people to take, and because they have trouble …
What Happened When I Ran Some Numbers on Envy
Some time ago I figured out a way for churches to get a general idea of whether or not their congregations are tithing congregations. I think I mentioned that already in some post or other. We have pretty good numbers on what the average income level is across the United States, and it is fairly …
Fifth Decade of Psalms/Psalm 41
INTRODUCTION: The great theme of this particular psalm is the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, but as we recognize the nature of types and antitypes, we see many THE TEXT: “Blessed is he that considereth the poora : the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble . . . ” (Ps. 41:1-13). OUTLINE AND …