Dear visionaries, In making the Nazi connection, Anne failed to mention that when I was in the Navy (and Germany also had a Navy, did it not?) I owned a Volkswagen. I think that Will missed one of my key points. I said that I actually think this is appropriate. I believe that some of …
Help From the Outside
Visionaries, Ralph raised a couple questions based on the reports in the newspaper that our private Christian school was limiting board membership to men only. First, the board has not voted on that proposition. The board approved presenting the proposed change to the school’s constituency, and then collecting feedback. According to our by-laws, the board …
Grenade Attack
Visionaries, The grenade attack over the weekend in Kuwait has led to the detainment of a suspect, an American Muslim soldier. The news media reports that authorities are still baffled over the apparent lack of a motive. But in the meantime, because we cannot afford any more attacks like this, we need to call upon …
Style Over Substance
The story is told of the preacher who had prepared a manuscript of his sermon, and in the margin of one section he had scribbled a note to himself. “Argument weak. Shout here.” The phenomenon can be seen in many settings. Lousy rock bands often invest significantly in dry ice and laser light shows. All …
Generalizations
Dear visionaries, The best thing about progressive tolerance is that great popping sound it makes when you stick a pin in it. Robert says that “to condemn an entire race based solely on the actions of a small percentage of that race” is inhuman. He goes on to make other observations. Condemn an entire race? …
The Devangelical, Demergent Church
One of the great problems with devangelical postmodern, post-Christians is that when it comes to the text of Scripture, they are tone deaf. They make a great dither about things like narrative and poetry, but do not understand the most basic elements of the scriptural narrative. That is, they are like someone reading a detective …
Theology to Make the Teeth Ache
J. Gresham Machen was once speaking with B.B. Warfield about whether the mainstream Presbyterian church (at the beginning of the twentieth century) was going to split over the issue of liberalism. Warfield said that it was not possible, and his reason for this is that “you can’t split rotten wood.” Machen was to go on …
Islam and Fair Trials
Some context is necessary for this exchange. Several years ago in our small town, a Saudi man was arrested by the FBI, and was charged with supporting terrorism. He was later released, and these postings occurred between the arrest and the release. Dear Visionaries, Please do. But please note that if Muslims do not find …
Thou Shalt Not Steal, IMO
Definitions frequently plague us. One problem occurs when we think of the definition as having a reality apart from the thing it is describing. Thus it is that a man can fight for “the covenant” while in all his day-to-day covenantal dealings he assaults and insults the reality in various ways. But another problem with …
Discovery Channel Picks Up the Shroud
Sorry to post two notices about all this Shroud of Turin business in one day, but that’s the way the linen fades, you know? Some of our local critics have a profound need for this to have been anything but a huge breakthrough in Shroud studies, and have rather desperately wished it to turn out …