“This democratic impulse exploded into full revolt near the beginning of the nineteenth century, and three significant columns began to march on the older established order of Christendom. The political revolution was accomplished in the election of Andrew Jackson to the presidency in 1829. The ecclesiastical revolution was ushered in during the Second Great Awakening, …
The Pentagon Finds Out About the Serrated Edge
Now here’s something interesting. Some of the good guys have finally figured out a basic feature of warfare. This would include the war on terrorism. You can find out more about the power of ridicule in war here. And you can see some tentative application here. Joel Belz has a solid take on self-criticism for …
Presbyterians and Presbyterians Together
I would like to direct your attention to an important statement here. A group called Presbyterians and Presbyterians Together has drafted a statement, and they are inviting you to attach your signature to it. I would strongly encourage the same thing. The importance of this can hardly be overstated. This is not an abandonment of …
Apostles of Uplift
“Much Christian art today of the sort sold in bookstores is ‘uplifting’ in a sentimental and optimistic way, as if looking on the sunny side were a cure for the cancer of human sin.” [Gene Veith, State of the Arts (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991), pp. 172]
Cherishing the Banned
“On the one hand, the codes claim to cherish free speech and academic freedom, including the freedom to express even the most challenging and offensive ideas; one the other, certain categories of ‘offensive’ speech are banned in order to create a ‘comfortable’ and ‘inclusive’ learning atmosphere” (The Shadow University, p. 79).
The Difference Between the Two
“The nature of this rebellion was democracy — the rule of demos, the people. The people en masse were thought of as having final authority — over traditions, kings, customs, historic loyalties, and churches. We have grown accustomed to thinking of our democracy as a good thing, and it surprises us to learn that the …
Our Educated Fog-Mongers
A week or so ago, I posted something on laymen and Scripture here. I invited Tim Enloe to respond, which he has now done here. To this, let me add just a few additional comments. I agree with the drift of Tim’s comments, and share his loathing of egalitarianism. And I agree that the fact …
Who? Whom?
[Stanley] “Fish openly suggested that he was receptive to the prospect of both ideological indoctrination and ideological intimidation of students. He was equally blunt in responding to the classic claim of free speech absolutists that the beginning of censorship is a perilous ‘slippery slope’ that would result in pervasive and unpredictable restrictions on freedom. ‘Some …
A Green Acre of Goo
“The plenitude and magnificence of God’s works are all around us. Annie Dillard has observed that God is infinitely more imaginative than we are. Pretend, she says, that ‘You are God. You want to make a forest, something to hold the soil, lock up solar energy, and give off oxygen. Wouldn’t it be simpler just …
A False Savior Saved
“In an important sense, every culture is the externalization of some religion. And every school exists to perpetuate and pass on that culture. As we look around at the great squirrel-cage run we call modernity, we see that most of us as moderns belong to a religion called Getting Ahead. In contrast to this attitude, …