Neck Deep in Shoes

The last chapter of Cavanaugh’s book deals with scarcity and abundance. The juxtaposition of the two is set up (as he discusses it) in the contrast between scarcity as the driving force of free market economics, and the abundance of Christ as displayed in the Lord’s Supper. “The idea of scarcity assures that the normal …

Vanity Fair and Globalization

Cavanaugh’s third chapter, on the global and the local, contains a lot of good discussion of the problem of the one and the many. Keying off the work of Roman Catholic Hans Urs von Balthasar, Cavanaugh offers the kind of insights that I am more accustomed to hear from Cornelius Van Til and Rousas Rushdoony. …

Justice Java

William Cavanaugh’s second chapter of Being Consumed, on attachment and detachment, was — with the exception of a page or two — simply outstanding. His critique of consumerism contained some standard elements (but still driven home effectively), as well as some unique insights. For an example of the former, he points out how much contemporary …