“Modernism, however, is being replaced by the new secular ideology of postmodernism. This new set of assumptions about reality—which goes far beyond mere relativism—is gaining dominance throughout the culture. The average person who believes that there are no absolutes may never have heard of the academic exercise of ‘deconstruction.’ The intellectual establishment may disdain the …
The Church at the First is the Church at the Last
“But the problem with Eastern Orthodoxy, and also with Rome, is not their antiquity. The problem is that they are not old enough — they are not part of the Ancient Church, characterized in all ages by the righteousness of faith. Abel lived under a different administration of the grace of God than did Moses, …
Barely Disguised
“Violence is the true ‘referent’; barely disguised in the threats of the friends and not disguised at all in Job’s laments. Although our two types of discourse seem so different, each deals, in its own way, with the same. They both refer to the process whereby a hero becomes a scapegoat; they both refer to …
Vee Haff Vays
Can’t really figure out why the ACLU would put this up, but it is really worth a hard look. HT: David Field
Full Plates and Full Hearts
We now come to the portion of Deuteronomy where we find exposition of the second commandment, which is of course the prohibition of graven images. But as we shall see, more is involved in this commandment than a simple prohibition of what we might call gross idolatry. “These are the statutes and judgments, which ye …
More Thanks
The predominant emotion that should be present as we partake of the Lord’s Supper should be gratitude and thanksgiving. One of the ancient names for this meal is that of the Eucharist. This comes from the Greek word for thanksgiving, eucharisto. In fact, if our holiday of Thanksgiving were to be given a Greek name, …
Near the Back
We are creatures and so we are necessarily affected by our surroundings. But we are responsible creatures, and this means that if our surroundings are distracting us from our duties, then we must fight those surroundings and overcome them. This room where we are meeting is not conducive to worship in various respects, but one …
A “Yelling At My Windshield” Reprise
Some time ago I listened through a set of conference tapes put out by Westminster West, and blogged on that experience, calling the series something like “Yelling At My Windshield.” That series of posts is in the archives here, located somewhere under Auburn Avenue Stuff. I mention it now because this particular part of my …
The Puritan Elevation of Metaphor
“Indeed, the only way to say anything about God’s glory is through the creatures, through metaphor, a literary device implicit in God’s creation and sanctioned by its use in Scripture . . . A system of metaphors made by God and explicated in the Bible, the world itself had its place in salvation history” (Daly, …
Ecclesiastical Wanna-Bees
“Every age has had its eager-to-please liberal theologians who have tried to reinterpret Christianity according to the latest intellectual and cultural fashion” (Gene Edward Veith, Postmodern Times, p. xii).