“In a series of cases beginning in 1957, the Court judged that obscenity and the representation of sexuality were not the same thing and that ‘material dealing with sex in a manner that advocates ideas . . . or has literary or scientific or artistic value or any other forms of social importance may not …
Hidden In Plain Sight
“We have only to look at the numerous everyday displays of envy and jealousy to realize that even adults never attribute their mutual antagonisms to that simple phenomenon” (Girard, Violence and the Sacred, p. 176).
Find Out Who She Is And Marry Her
I am currently reading, and very much enjoying, Debbie Maken’s book, Getting Serious About Getting Married. My wife read it and reviewed it for Credenda a few months back. This is one of those “about time” books. My father, who has been counseling young people about affairs of the heart for half a century or …
What Huxley Called “The Feelies”
“[T]he court delineated between the transmission of culture and the provision of entertainment, and relegate movies to the fulfillment of the latter. This is most ironic, because the film that led to this case, Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, had demonstrated the power and potential of film as an intellectual and artistic medium. Now, …
Tweedledum and Tweedledee Contend for the Throne
“From within the system, only differences are perceived; from without, the antagonists all seem alike. From inside, sameness is not visible; from outside, differences cannot be seen” (Girard, Violence and the Sacred, p.159).
Can’t Work the System
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 98 “How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver” (Prov. 16:16). This is another interesting comparison in Proverbs. If you have to choose, choose this over that. If …
Gotta Be Authentic
“With the emergence of high and low cultural categories around the turn of the century, distinctions were created between ‘commercial’ art, or entertainment, and nineteenth century ‘high’ art, that which was considered creative and authentic” (William Romanowski, Pop Culture Wars, p. 76).
Too Far Into It To See It
“In the temporal plan of the system there is not a moment when those involved in the action do not see themselves separated from their rivals by formidable differences. When one of the ‘brothers’ assumes the role of father and king, the other cannot but feel himself to be the disinherited son. That explains why …
Postmodernism Is Triumphalism
James K.A. Smith recently made a good start in reviewing Greg Boyd’s book on Christians in politics. Justin Taylor had linked to it, and here it is. The book reviewed was The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church. The review seemed promising, and Smith scored some good …
Three Cheers
I recently saw part of a commercial for the “Girls Gone Wild” videos, in which some nubile young idiots were enticed — by the presence of cameras (the device that may not be denied), and by the beckoning promise of fleeting immortality — to flash everybody. These poor souls did not know that they had …