“The first Christmas was the time in history when God began announcing His mastery of irony . . . The great day of resurrection, the eschatological climax, will be what Tolkien called eucatastrophe, and will be literary catharsis writ large, although large is far too small a word for it . . . In worshiping …
The Sin of Agreeing With Her Husband
The apostle Peter was pretty clear about our duty to submit to our political rulers. “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of …
Brace Yourself
“The apostle Paul said that it was designed this way — eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, what God has prepared for those who love Him. Do you love Him? Then brace yourself, and sing to a world that needs to brace itself” (God Rest Ye Merry, p. 15).
Obamamandias
With apologies to P.B. Shelley . . . I met a traveler from bankrupt land Who said: ‘One vast and hapless head of stone Lies in the desert. Near it, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered website lies, still down. That haughty look, and sneer of cold command, And photo-op poses, a myriad! Still …
Effluvia
This is the outline of remarks I gave to the male students of NSA this afternoon. Here are three things I want to set out with regard to the sins of words. I am not speaking here of the broad category of sins of the tongue — gossip, slander, quarrelsomeness, and so on. My concern …
And No Way to Catch It All
“Our good God, our overflowing God, our God of yes and amen, has always been able to promise far more than we are able to believe . . . God loves to bury [our faith] under an avalanche of promises. We serve and worship the God who overwhelms, who delights to overwhelm. At His right …
Opening Gambit
“Bethlehem was the opening gambit in the last campaign of a long war” (God Rest Ye Merry, p. 13).
Patriarchy, Vision Forum, and All the Rest of It
Patriarchy Patriarchy simply means “father rule,” and so it follows that every biblical Christian holds to patriarchy. The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church (Eph. 5:23), and fathers have the central responsibility to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. …
Food Libertarian
From time to time the authorities haul in some renegade cheese maker, and those who love bureaucratized food safety all breath a sigh of relief. This kind of tyranny is heavy-handed enough to get noticed by those who yearn for food freedom — as I do — but not so noticed generally that we can …
No Need for a Rental Unit
My friend Peter Leithart recently wrote about the end of Protestantism for First Things, which understandably excited some comment. Another friend, another Peter, provides an excellent and thoughtful rejoinder here. Peter Escalante brings much needed specificity to the question — the end of something as important as Protestantism, if actually pending, will need to be …