“The mystery of Job is presented in a context that does not explain it but at least allows us to situate it. The scapegoat is a shattered idol. The rise and fall of Job are bound up in one another. The two extremes seems to be connected . . . The one thing in common …
Good Will on the First Page
“There is no work in which holes can’t be picked; no work that can succeed without a preliminary act of good will on the part of the reader” (C.S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism, p. 116).
The Victim is Always Ignored
“Job constantly reverts to the community’s role in what has happened to him, but — and this is what is mysterious — he does not succeed in making his commentators, outside the text, understand him any better than those who question him within the text . . . No one takes any notice of what …
And the Problem is not With the Non-Readers
“And modern poetry is read by very few who are not themselves poets, professional critics, or teachers of literature” (C.S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism, p. 96).
Job the Scandalous
“The scapegoat is the innocent party who polarizes a universal hatred, which is precisely the complaint of Job” (Girard, Job: The Victim of His People, pp. 4-5).
Evolution as the Devolution of Gratitude
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Make a joyful noise to God, all nations; Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him overflowing with music. Know that He is God; He is the one who fashioned us; We did not evolve by ourselves, We did not climb to …
Moleskins at SkyCow
If you are close to a writer, here is a great gift idea for commonplaces. I keep one of these in my briefcase, and when I run across an odd phrase that makes me think of another odd phrase, or an odd phrase just pops into my head, I make a point of writing it …
Love for Aslan
One of the great things about the Narnia stories is their very personal nature. That is, all through the books, the person of Aslan ties everything together. Not only is he the object of the loyalty and love of all true Narnians, it is a personal dislike of him that characterizes those who are bad. …
Aesthetic Vulnerability
“We must risk being taken in, if we are to get anything. The best safeguard against bad literature is a full experience of good; just as a real and affectionate acquaintance with honest people gives a better protection against rogues than a habitual distrust of everyone” (C.S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism, p. 94).
Christ Has Broken the Sacrificial Mechanism
“People caught up in the scandals and frenzy of a sacrificial crisis are prone to believe almost anything that will allow them to unleash their scapegoating violence with moral impunity. In Christianized cultures, however, attempts to claim such moral immunity by appealing to Christianity have been increasingly less successful. The moral blindness a sacrificial crisis …