Dear Joel, Once we get past our agreement that perseverance in the faith should be considered a good thing, the doctrine of perseverance creates a large number of questions. Some of the disagreements that arise out of this are extremely subtle, so it is important to define our terms very carefully at the outset. According …
Ministerial Self-Defense
Morning, everybody. Tim Bartnick asks two reasonable questions. The first is that if folks locally can discount what Johnson says and does, then why do we need to defend ourselves against him? First, the answer is that we do not have to. The point was not to defend against Johnson’s charges, but rather to point …
Explaining the Joke
Dear visionaries, First, lest there be any more misunderstanding, I will do my level best to have this post be simple and straight, no goofing around. Humor works by means of startling incongruity (although there are mysteries beyond even this). Thus, when I and Christ Church were accused of racism, I undertook to defend our …
Not A New Phenomenon
In the course of the French Revolution, when the monkeys escaped from the monkey house, and captured the zoo to run it for themselves, Voltaire once said this, “Is not the fanaticism of your irreligion more absurd and dangerous than the fanaticism of superstition? Begin by tolerating the faith of your fathers. You talk of …
Missing Something
All this activity by the Panzer Diversity Corps has really got me inspired. Everywhere I look there is something else to say. Something new. Something fresh. Metaphors form in a conga line in my brain, and appear to be having a good time. Rose Huskey, in a fine fit of “backatcha-ism,” responded to my observations …
How We Handle Words
How we handle words tells a great deal about us. The questions I have raised about secret city council deliberations with Bill London, ex officio something, I haven’t figured out what yet, have raised some hackles out there. For example, Rose Huskey, one of our volunteer litigant ladies, has posted an, um, enthusiastic response to …
Lord’s Day Prayer 33
Father of all life, we thank You for our physical life, and for our life in the Holy Spirit. We thank You not only for life, but also for that which sustains life. We thank You for the food before us, and for the grace that the food represents in so many ways. We would …
You Might Need to Recuse Yourself If . . .
In a post yesterday, I noted that Linda Pall needs to recuse herself from any case appealed to city council that involves folks that she has been actively trying to help run out of town. From the Public Records material I have received, it is apparent to me that she has a clear moral obligation …
Green Jello
Morning, visionaries, We have to be careful lest a love-fest break out here, but I would like to thank Angie for coveting my tag line, and for saying publicly that in her view I am not an anti-Semite. She says also that if I were to display any of those tendencies she would hop on …
Love the One You”re With
Dear Joel, I have a little time free, so on to my next installment. This one will be less doctrinal than the others, but there are obviously doctrinal underpinnings. I want to address obedience and the affections. Another way to speak of this is in terms of covenant loyalty. I was recently in a conversation …