“But what we are experiencing is not the knowledge explosion so often boasted of; it is a torrent of information, made possible by first reducing the known to compact form and then bulking it up again—adding water. That is why the product so often tastes like dried soup” (Jacques Barzun, The Culture We Deserve, p. …
Bible Mongery
“So through a series of complicated circumstances, we have come to the last point, which concerns the handlers or marketers of the text. We see that text of Scripture now established by the neutral Academy, and is afterwards packaged, copyrighted, marketed and sold by hustling and enterprising entrepreneurs. The Church today has no authoritative role …
Not A Tame Book
“Nothing is both more disturbing and more exciting than the irresistible resurgence of the Christian text, at a time and place when it is least anticipated” (Girard, Job, p. 166).
Layered Definition
One undercurrent beneath the Federal Vision business is a hidden difference in epistemological assumptions. The Hellenistic method strips accidents away from the thing, looking for essences. The Hebraic way of definition adds layer upon layer, looking at the thing from as many different angles as possible, and in as many situations as possible. Peter Leithart …
Islam and the West
“For many centuries, the world of Islam was in the forefront of human civilization and achievement . . . And then, suddenly, the relationship changed. Even before the Renaissance, Europeans were beginning to make significant progress in the civilized arts. With the advent of the New Learning, they advanced by leaps and bounds, leaving the …
Quiet Theft
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 105 “He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster” (Prov. 18:9). This passage illustrates well the nature of sins of omission. When someone vandalizes something, we can readily see that this …
The Metaphorical Alpha and Omega
“Other Puritan poets, accepting the metaphoric world, worked their way toward metaphor and ended their poems with it. Taylor often begins with metaphor and is left to work his way beyond it and sometimes back to it” (Daly, p. 165).
The Cape and Beret Problem
“By the 1700s, moreover, ‘art’ and ‘artist’ had subtly acquired new meanings. The good or great artist was now understood to possess more than high technical competence, and he had gradually come to feel a special kind of self-regard. The graphic artists particularly demanded freedom of action; when commissioned they would no longer tolerate being …
Another Thing Science Can’t Do
“The reconstruction of the autographic text is a task outside the competence of science, and any attempt to submit the task to scientific canons will only result in increasing confusion. A process of scholarly reconstruction here makes sense only when undergirded with faith in the living God who controls the flow of all historical events. …
Provided He Goes Along
“The unanimous community considers that it can judge without proof or trial: its own bloody turmoil is seen as a divine inspiration. As we have observed, no one is excluded from that communion — not even the victim, provided he justifies the violence and is not a spoilsport” (Girard, Job, p. 139).