“The twisted path from humanism’s soaring tributes in honor of the human divinity to the consequences of modern humanitarianism is best explained by the concept of ressentiment. When Nietzsche wrote his celebrated attack on Christianity, he transliterated this word from the French because he could find no German equivalent . . . When Scheler’s book …
The Font of Lasting Generosity
Schneider’s next chapter undertakes the very important task of reconciling two disparate strands of teaching in the gospels. He does well with this task too. First we find the well-known demands of an all-or-nothing discipleship. “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke …
Jesus and Halliburton
I enjoyed Schneider’s next chapter, but don’t have a lot to say about it. That is probably because he is interacting with the claim of “radical Christianity” that Jesus completely identified with the poor in His Incarnation, a claim that I tend to take less seriously than Schneider does. To insist that Christ was impoverished …
And That Means Nobody
“Nobody who rejects the first four commandments’ call to reject idols and worship the true and living God can be expected to recognize any ultimate significance in the last six commandments’ ethical requirements” (Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction, p. 47).
A Layer of Pea Gravel
John Schneider continues his good work in chapter four, and reminds me of another book I am currently reading (and which I would recommend), which is Nancy Pearcey’s Total Truth. She says that when evangelicals begin their presentation of the gospel with the fact and reality of sin, they are presenting the gospel out of …
Desire Runs Deep
INTRODUCTION: One of our central duties—as Christians seeking to live obediently in this fallen world—is to learn the true nature of the temptations before us. The oldest trap in the world for us is to “objectify” sin in a simplistic way, placing certain items on a list of prohibitions, as though it would be so …
Why Humanism Can Cry Me a River
“Humanism thrives on sentimentality because few religions are more dishonest in their doctrinal expressions. Unable to withstand dispassionate analysis, which would reveal its lack of foundation, it stresses feeling rather than thought. That is what makes sentimentality so vicious. People can get good feelings from almost anything” (Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction, p. 46).
They Like Core Values Instead
“Modern humanists are hostile to any notion of law that is external to the legislative organs under human control, and this means that morality cannot be predicated on universal codes” (Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction, p. 43).
A Big Shout Out to the Pope
One more quick comment on penitential seasons. I do believe it is possible for good, sound Protestants to observe such seasons, provided they redefine everything and do something very different from what gave rise to the historical practice in the first place. But it seems to me this is done with success rarely, and when …
Risen Indeed
We have declared it already. He is risen. He is risen indeed. Christ has risen from the dead, and He is alive in a way that makes it impossible for Him to go back again. Death no longer has dominion over Him, and this means that, although He is still fully and completely human, He …