Much philosophical endeavor is occupied with trying to answer questions that ought never to have been asked. I am reminded of Bill Cosby’s old joke about it. Philosophy majors want to ask questions like “why is there air?” when the PE majors knew the answer already. Air is for blowing up volleyballs. The world is …
Abstractions are Bad
Abstractions don’t exist, if by existence you mean having a certain weight or color. Neither do propositions, if by existence you mean material embodiment. And of course, by such criteria, God the Father doesn’t exist either. But of course, abstractions still function just fine, provided the people using them are grounded in an incarnational and …
Creme de la Creme
A few days ago, a comment on one of my posts noted that Southern Slavery As It Was had been dropped from the banned and/or challenged list of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. Today when I had a moment, I went to check, and, sure enough, there our booklet wasn’t. In other words, …
Publishing Is Warfare
Some of you may have noticed that over the weekend the Canon Press images on my bookrack off to the right went blank. This little glitch on my blog was the result of a major renovation, overhaul and upgrade of the Canon Press web site. I would strongly encourage all of you (and your sisters …
Remembering Your Day
Our Father in heaven, we thank and praise You in the name of Jesus for all Your kindness to us. That kindness includes Sabbath kindness, and so we rejoice before You now. We thank You for the food, for the wine, for the fellowship, and for the opportunity to proclaim Your gospel in this joyful …
Salem Witch Trials
One of our local intoleristas recently wrote the following: “Wilson believes that God has a relationship with the Church in which the state cannot interpose. The relationship between God and any one individual is secondary to the relationship between God and, essentially, the whole of Christendom. The Church therefore has a divinely ordained right to …
One Foot Nailed to the Floor
Chesteron once said (Chesterton always once said) that the purpose of an open mind was the same as the purpose of an open mouth — it is meant to close on something. A man who is not closed in certain respects is a man who was never open in the right kind of way. The …
Neck Kissing
This morning I received a really fine set of questions about my posts on Brian McLaren and the emergent church from a graduate of NSA, one who really grasps what we are seeking to do here, and who wondered at the similarity between McLaren’s critique of modern evangelicalism and our own critique of it. The …
True Certainty
Absolutism is a two-edged sword, and yet we would prefer to have it be a more comfortable one-edged sword. Epistemic certainty is an Enlightenment idol — men who want to know absolutely have fallen to the ancient temptation offered in Eden, which is, ye shall be as God. Only God knows absolutely. But the fact …
Not On the Ballot
Here in Moscow we are having our city council elections tomorrow. And of course, I would urge all Christians who are living within the city limits of Moscow to do their civic duty and get out there and vote. For those who are readers of this blog residing elsewhere, it is quite possible that there …