H.L. Mencken once ably described democracy as the art and science of running the zoo from the monkey house. There are placid periods where one is permitted to forget this, but every so often elections happen to us, and everything gets ripe and fruity. James Dobson took Obama to ask for his comments in a …
Crude Oil 2.0
This is not just some fun news. It ought to make us ponder. If we think about this carefully, it ought to make us question many of our assumptions about the world — whether those assumptions are economic, geo-political, environmental, household financial management, or religious. Put in short form, the world does not work the …
Swearing By the Temple/Amos V
INTRODUCTION: We have come to the second of three pointed words from the prophet, addressed to a disobedient Israel. The first begins with “hear this word” (3:1). The second does the same (4:1). The third begins with “hear ye this word” (5:1). God’s judgments are not designed by Him as surprise attacks. Surprise does result, …
Eating Out of the Zeitgeist Can With a Spoon
Rodney Clapp says a number of structurally admirable things in his conclusion, but he can’t get them to add up. He states, rightly, that baptism is a political act (p. 121). He says, also rightly, “for the baptized, nothing can be more basic or more significant than their baptism” (p. 122). Batting a thousand, he …
Simple Pimple
I have finished Rodney Clapp’s book, and enjoyed it a good deal. This post will be on his penultimate chapter — on violence and peace, and my last post, following shortly thereafter, will be on the central contradiction that has plagued Clapp’s attempt to work through these issues. This post will be fairly short because …
Scram, Padre
I am genuinely enjoying Johnny Cash and the Great American Contradiction. As I have mentioned before, Rodney Clapp is an astute social critic, and many of his insights are really valuable. But there are times, and this chapter is one of them, when the underlying incoherence of his political theology catches up with him, tackles …
High Praise from Publishers Who Passed
I recently announced that Evangellyfish was coming soon. Also coming soon will be an explanation of exactly how and in what form it will be coming soon. In short, prior to publication (which will be soon) there will be more teasers, explanations, and glimpses of the characters. Do books have trailers? If so, there will …
God’s Garage: Some Visual Evidence
A week or so ago, I wrote about God’s Garage. Here is a picture of what I believe was known to the natives of that time as a “rap session.” Sorry about the size of the picture.
Our Intellectual Cheetos
In the introductory material, Clapp has noted many of the American characteristics that are in tension. In Chapter 2, he starts to get into the particulars, in this case the tension between lonesomeness and community. If there is anything that country singers are good at, it is “high lonesome.” And if there is anything else …
Hardscrabble Celts
The first full chapter of Clapp’s book is entitled “America’s Southern Accent” and shows, quite effectively, that when we talk about American culture generally we are largely talking about Southern culture — “but now southern identity, like the Mississippi in flood, has surged well beyond the banks of the South as a region. In so …