Just finished reading Born Fighting by James Webb, a book with tremendous explanatory power. It is a history of the Scots and Scots/Irish from their early conflict with the Romans, to the times of William Wallace, to the settlement of Protestants in Ireland, and then to the great migration to America. The latter half of …
Relativism Rules!
Dear visionaries, Ted’s correction is accepted, and his caveat noted. Our elected officials could be replaced if we wanted to do it. But we don’t — which is why I wanted to say we have met the enemy and he is us. We don’t want the Constitution to be read right side up anymore than …
Bell Bottom Blues
Just finished McLaren’s book A New Kind of Christian. All in all, taking one thing with another, the book is an almost perfect jumble of cant, cliche, and bad trouble. A number of very true points are made throughout the book, but the problem is that they are offered as part of a breathless discovery …
The Aroma of Burnt Marshwiggle
In a world gone mad, it can be difficult to keep your bearings. When everyone around you appears to have lost their grip, it is hard to keep believing that the rest of the army is out of step. Athanasius was probably tempted, more than once, while packing his luggage for yet another exile, to …
Three Toddlers
I am continuing through the unfortunate book A New Kind of Christian, and a thought occurred to me about the very name postmodern. This came to me because the spiritual mentor in this book (a man named Neo) is primrose pathing the other guy, and one of the first things he does is draw out …
Caesar and War
Dear visionaries, I too hope for a smooth ride in Iraq. But there is a difference between Congress declaring war and Congress abdicating its assigned responsibilities. Congress could issue a statement that the federal budget could originate this year in the Supreme Court. Doesn’t make it right. The Constitution doesn’t say that Congress declares war …
Postmodernism Is, As Derrida Might Say, Le Dead
I am continuing to slog my way through McLaren and Raschke, left hand raised high so I won’t get any on my watch. And I have come to the settled conclusion that postmodernism is dead. Why do I think this? What is the evidence? The proof is conclusive — we can tell that postmodernism is …
Deconstructing the Constitution
Dear visionaries, Here is the problem. The oath taken by those who serve in the military involves defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, whether foreign or domestic. We are certainly going to war in Iraq, and we are doing so in order to accomplish “regime change.” This is a traditional war, …
Licorice Altoids
A reader from a far place pointed out my very own howler. I take the liberty of quoting him at length. Mr. Wilson, While I am no fan of Mr. Gier, his scholarship, or his writings I feel obliged to defend him on one point. In a recent entry in your blog, you compared his …
Howlers
In a revision of an earlier indiscretion in print, Nick Gier continues to dub us the “Moscow Taliban.” This device of calling conservative Presbyterians Talibanesque was (in Gier World) quite a witticism, and one which Gier felt obliged to give credit for, and so he acknowledged Mark Potok, from the world’s richest civil rights organization. …