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 …
Which Way Does the Line Go?
A very thorough treatment of the R2K approach can be found here and here. Think of it this way: when you draw the line separating the two-kingdoms, do you draw it from top to bottom, or from left to right?
Christ Church Summer Music Camp
We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for Christ Church’s third annual Summer Music Camp: The Whole Armor of God. The camp will run from July 16-21 and is co-sponsored by Trinity Reformed Church and New Saint Andrews College. Students will study Ephesians 6:10-20 (and related Scripture) and sing musical settings of …
That Seamy Chain of Syllogisms
Marriage is a political act, and not an individual choice. How you marry is a way of testifying to what city you belong to. Who defines marriage? The difficulty we are having in our generation in answering this question shows how theology shapes and drives everything. If God created the world, and put one man …
Book of the Month/May 2012
Below is the cover of my selection for the book of the month in May 2012, and just following that image is the book trailer. Full disclosure: the author, Mitch Stokes, is a friend of mine, which some might assume could skew this review. But no, I write objectively, with steely-eyed resolve. And also, on …
Getting Our Sensate Groove Back
I recently caused a small stir on Facebook by saying this: “One of the greatest aesthetic and arististic gifts the world ever received was the casting down of images in the Protestant Reformation.” I thought it might be good for me to explain what was behind that comment, at least a little bit. Yesterday, our …
Does Tim Keller Live on an Old Earth?
Tim Keller has provided us with a brief introduction to his thinking on the relationship of the current science and biblical revelation. You can find that essay here in six parts at BioLogos. After reading it, there were a number of questions I wanted to ask, and so then I decided to go right ahead. …
Book of the Month/April 2012
Reformer of BaselDiane PoythressReformation Heritage Books This might seem like an odd book to get excited about (at least to some), but I have wanted to see a book like this for years. In Reformer of Basel, Diane Poythress has given us a very fine introduction to the life and influence of John Oecolampadius, the …
But Rather Established
Sam Harris is of the conviction that he can talk about the loss of freedom as though it were the loss of something that left everything else about human nature relatively unchanged — such as when your uncle loses his left leg, well below the knee. You have the same old uncle, just a little …