Smelly Little Orthodoxies

Of course, on the question of the relationship of clear writing and clear thinking, George Orwell is indispensible. And so it is indeed fitting that my friend Peter Hitchens has won the Orwell prize, England’s most prestigious writing award. Go, fight, win. The judges said: “In choosing this year’s winner, we went back to Orwell. …

Creation is Thick, I Tell You

Think of this another way. In the gnostic order of things, the material world is always convicted, damned. It is the problem. In the Christian world tugged on by gnosticism, the material world is not condemned — the orthodox faith forbids this because God made the world, and Jesus rose from the dead in it. …

The Barkity Barkity Midnight Dog

In order to sort some important things out, we have to do some further work on the relationship of giver and gift. I propose to begin by discussing the relationship between created giver and created gift, and then moving up to the much more complicated relationship between the Uncreated Personal Giver and the created personal …

A Full Tank of Gas and Lots of Wyoming Ahead

A week or so ago, I wrote about Piperian Hedonism 3.0. Following that, a friend helpfully pointed me to Chapter 11 of John Piper’s book, When I Don’t Desire God. That chapter is entitled “How to Wield the World in the Fight for Joy.” And that chapter is filled, of course, with Piper’s usual exegetical …