Okay, we have seen that merciful intentions do not mean that the results actually are merciful. Being soft-hearted and soft-headed at the same time doesn’t help anybody. But of course — and here comes the point of this post — being hard-headed and hard-hearted is also a spiritual disaster. God calls us to be hard-headed …
Stupidity is not Compassionate
Just a short post to address two things at once. I have wanted to say something about the Wall Street meltdown, and I also needed to address a question raised in my last post on mercy and economics. The bottom line first. Should the taxpayers be bailing out Behemoth Banks, Leviathan Lenders, and Marduk Mortgage? …
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 …
I Don’t Usually Link to Blogs Like This. Humor Me.
One of the more influential design blogs out there is called Design Mom, and she has just featured my daughter’s Amoretti line of skirties. Take a look here.
This Atheist Crew
The title is taken from Paradise Lost, which I am currently listening to (piecemeal) in my truck. Moscow is not very big, and so I usually only get three or four minutes at a time. That said, listening to that glorious poem read is far more compelling than simply reading it quietly to yourself. At …
Why Does Cavanaugh Believe Jeshurun?
I enjoyed and benefitted from William Cavanaugh’s Theopolitical Imagination, and am now working through his Being Consumed. The subtitle of this second book is “Economics and Christian Desire,” and I believe I really need to post a few installments on it. In my view, Cavanaugh is playing into the new Constantinian error and this is …
Fifth Decade of Psalms/Psalm 47
INTRODUCTION: Throughout the Old Testament, we are frequently given glorious visions of God’s glorious plan for our fallen world. It is tempting to say that we are given glimpses of this, but when we finally understand what God has promised us, we start to see His promises everywhere. This psalm is one of many examples. …
More on Moody Radio
Yesterday’s discussion on Moody radio can be found here. Monday’s discussion was on the blessing that Christianity has been for the realm of politics. Tuesday’s discussion was on the blessing that Christianity has been to the Academy. The discussion starts around minute 47.
The Great Eye Machines
“The visual element of romanticism is highly significant because it would later find its way into the great eye machines of the twentieth century—cinema and television. It would also lay the foundation for existentialism, the forerunner of postmodernism” (Arthur Hunt, The Vanishing Word, p. 120).
The Ironic Fairy of History
Oliver O’Donovan has just released a book that provides a classic illustration of why the moderate and progressive segments of the Anglican communion in the UK, Canada, and the US are all sick unto death. At the same time, he has done good work before this — in The Desire of Nations, for example. And …