Been listening to the latest Mars Hill audio, which you ought to do from time to time yourself. Anyway, on this latest one, Ken Myers interviews James K.A. Smith, whose book on postmodernism I reviewed in detail in my postmodernism thread. Their discussion on Derrida’s infamous “there is nothing outside the text” made me think …
Be Sure to Pick Up a Salt Pig
One of the things we have seen starting to take root in our community here is an emphasis on sabbath celebration. This is distinct from sabbath observance, if observance is merely defined as nothing more than having scruples about what you can and cannot do on the Lord’s Day. But learning how to call the …
Accreditation Woes
A few years ago, NSA was pursuing accreditation with the American Association of Liberal Education (AALE). We pulled out of the process when contrary to its published standards AALE denied candidate status to another Christian college (because said college had the temerity to expect their faculty to have a Christian view of creation). So we …
Born to Die
Introduction: As we continue meditating on the meaning of Advent, we are not really resisting attempts to make Christmas meaningless as we are fighting with alternative meanings. There is no such thing (in the last analysis) as a vacuum holiday, a celebration without a point. Attempts to neutralize Christmas are simply an intermediate step—and the …
And the Problem is not With the Non-Readers
“And modern poetry is read by very few who are not themselves poets, professional critics, or teachers of literature” (C.S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism, p. 96).
Evolution as the Devolution of Gratitude
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Make a joyful noise to God, all nations; Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him overflowing with music. Know that He is God; He is the one who fashioned us; We did not evolve by ourselves, We did not climb to …
Moleskins at SkyCow
If you are close to a writer, here is a great gift idea for commonplaces. I keep one of these in my briefcase, and when I run across an odd phrase that makes me think of another odd phrase, or an odd phrase just pops into my head, I make a point of writing it …
Building Her House
And the collection of columns that Nancy wrote for Credenda is also in. This one was printed with two different covers, so don’t let that fool you. Same book, two covers.
A Prayer of Imprecation
One of the easiest things in the world to misunderstand (and therefore to misrepresent) is the biblical pattern of imprecatory prayer. It is very easy to interpret the practice as some kind of primitive voodoo doll custom, practiced only by the petty and vindictive. But for those who are open to a very fine treatment …
Spiritual Disciplines in Narnia
The topic before us now is “spiritual disciplines” in the Narnia stories, and I have to begin by explaining the topic perhaps a little more than some of the others. Spiritual disciplines are those practices which should be practiced on a daily basis, so that they become habitual, with the result that you are prepared …