“The goal was not to destroy holiness, but to get it out of the monasteries. The goal was not to destroy beauty, but to get it out of places where it was being falsely worshiped, and move it to places where it could be innocently enjoyed” (Rules, p. 251).
If At First You Don’t Secede . . .
Introduction: I know that it is the fifth of July, but the principles we were talking about yesterday have not gone away. Some discussion online yesterday made me realize that a brief history lesson was in order, followed by just a few contemporary applications. For Christians particularly, how does the American War for Independence comport …
The Fourth of July in Vanity Fair
Introduction: My topic, if you could not guess from the cryptic title, is religious liberty. Vanity Fair, if you have not guessed, does not celebrate the Fourth of July. That’s a problem. Lots of Americans still celebrate it, but because we are now governed by non-elected functionaries from Vanity Fair, the celebrations are merely impressive …
Their Invisoganda
“Fireproof and Courageous . . . could have been every bit as heavy-handed without exciting comment had the message been about climate change, treating a gay teenage boy with dignity and respect, or some down-‘n-out protagonist discovering the critical importance of ‘believing in himself'” (Rules, p. 247).
That’s One Take on It
Book of the Month: July 2016
I have confessed on previous occasions that I like to read dictionaries, chipping away at them a page or two at a go. I also like to do the same thing with collections of anecdotes, and as it turns out that I have just finished one. The plotting is terrible, and it is hard to …
More Than Good Intentions
“Many who claim to love Jesus with their theology hate the poor with their economics, and I think we should stop being okay with that” (Rules, p. 242).
Two Ways to Go, and One of Them’s Bad
“There are only two forms of engagement that Christians can engage in — we must either adopt a transformationalist approach or a compromising approach. If we are not going to go the escapist route, waiting for the rapture, we must either take every thought captive, or we must split the difference” (Rules, p. 241)
Stand By For a Little GIF Experiment . . .
No Substitute
“If we are going to be engaged in true cultural reformation, we need a gospel that kicks the devil in the teeth. And that means it must be a message of penal, substitutionary, vicarious blood-bought atonement. When it comes to this substitute, we must accept no substitutes” (Rules, p. 239).