I want to begin by acknowledging what all right-minded observers ought to know by now, which is that Obama’s foreign policy approach is a clownfest. And if that is the case, and it is, his Middle East bureau would be the red rubber nose. It is as if somebody decided to take a mash-up of …
Hey, This Knife Cuts in Two Directions!
Suppose the point were to be made — and it is a worthy point to make — that being a Christian trumps being an American. This is a point with which I am in whole-hearted agreement, and which I have made in this place numerous times. A conservative Republican believer in Jesus has far more …
Book of the Month/September 2012
This is a book for everyone who has been in a conflict, is now in a conflict, or will be in a conflict. Which is to say, everybody. I appreciate Alexander Strauch very much. This is because he sticks close to the text, which means that you are bound to learn a great deal, even …
Douglas the Dogmaton?
A few distinctions still remain to be made in our discussion of authoritative proclamation. A friend has reminded me that we need to bring another issue to the surface, which is the nature of claims of authority (implicit in authoritative claims) over against claims of infallibility. And this whole subject is actually trickier than it …
One of Those Yellow Rattlesnake Flags
As we continue our discussion of politics (and economics) in the name of Jesus, I want to pick up on at least a few things that have arisen in the comments. When it comes to reasoning from Scripture, applying the word of God to our lives, there are two ways of reasoning — inductive and …
Politics in the Name of Jesus, Part Two
The comments here are pursuing the question of what it means to declare something in the name of Jesus, particularly when it comes to convoluted political questions. Here are some additional thoughts on that thorny question. First, the job of a minister is to declare “thus saith the Lord,” and not “it seems to me.” …
Book of the Month/August 2012
This month’s book selection is part of a larger series, and if this first one that I read is anything to go on, I want to commend the whole series. The series is new from Crossway, edited by David Dockery, and is entitled “Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition.” The book I read is by Gene …
Book of the Month/July 2012
This book, From the Garden to the City, is a fantastic treatment, developing a biblical response to technology, and it does so by laying out basic foundational principles. This is not a methods book; this is a book of basic principles. The basic reason this book is so good is that Dyer walks a tightrope …
Book of the Month/June 2012
In this very fine book, Jonah Goldberg rises to the defense of ideology, and about time somebody did. He acknowledges that there has been a stream of Burkean/Kirkian conservative thought that has been suspicious of ideology, but this has just been the natural prudence that wants to avoid movements in the grip of one idea. …
Not Even Sure How to Spell Kleagle
In his engaging and admirable book, Bad Religion, Ross Douthat mentions me in an aside,[1] and in that particular citation, he touches on a few things that need to be addressed at the very outset of any argument for a “mere Christendom.” They can be grouped under the heading of proposals that no one should …