“An attachment to high cultural achievement is thus a necessary but not sufficient condition of civilization . . . The first requirement of civilization is that men should be willing to repress their basest instincts and appetites: failure to do which makes them, on account of their intelligence, far worse than mere beasts” (Theodore Dalrymple, …
Community is not a Hobby
“Community will never arise from groups with ‘special interests,’ whether those interests include ham radio, square dancing, or the five points of Calvinism” (Mother Kirk, p. 223).
We Don’t Need No Stinking Proof
Green Baggins is on to the next chapter of RINE, the one on heretics and heresy. He begins by acknowledging that individualism is a bad deal, but distinguished individualism from the obvious fact that we all go to heaven or hell, as I have noted elsewhere, by ones. Lane wonders if we in the FV …
By Their Fruit You Shall Know
Tim and David Bayly said some very nice things about their visit here over on their blog. That resulted in some interesting discussion in the comments thread, to which I simply want to add a couple of comments. It would obviously not be appropriate for me to add something like “yes, we really are wonderful, …
A Good Thing
Busy couple weeks. Our ministerial conference was last week, and the meeting of Anselm Presbytery is this coming week. But during the ministerial conference, I was delighted to find Tim and David Bayly in attendance. Thursday night they came to our place for dinner, and on the way home I took them by to see …
The Altars of Democracy
Whenever governments have a problem with God’s people worshipping the true God as they ought to do, the issue is always competition. Those who have made an idol out of the state do not want the presence of anyone who lives in a way that rebukes that idolatry. But we must make a distinction between …
The Lord’s Kindness is Here
We have been talking about the problem of the nagging conscience. A sin has been bothering you, a sin that you can’t seem to deal with. If you have a besetting sin, a sin that you keep committing—whether it is irritation with the kids, or attitudes of envy and lust, or discontent in your job—these …
Blake and Peggy
We worship and serve the triune God of Scripture, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our triune God is one God, and everlastingly the same. Our God is three Persons and constantly, surprisingly, different. God is without shadow or variation due to change. But at the same time, the Father is not the Son, and the …
Triangular Desire
Metaphysical Desire We come now to a fascinating engine of conflict, both in real life and in great fiction. As you will see, Girard argues that poor fiction sidesteps this reality, while great fiction confronts and exposes it wonderfully. We are beginning a genuine study of ourselves and, while we’re at it, a rewarding study …
Go Blue
Here is a quick look at the religious history of the world in 90 seconds. Quite encouraging, really. HT: Joost Nixon