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 …
Another Shroud Announcement
The article that Nathan Wilson wrote for Books and Culture is now available on the web. Those who want to read the entire articule may do so by clicking here. Those who want a little more background information may still go here. And in another development, a lecture on the Shroud that Nathan gave should …
Education in a Democracy
Visionaries, Follow this debate if you can. GSS stands for Government School Supporter, and PSS stands for Private School Supporter. PSS: Let’s compare the stats of private schools and government schools! GSS: That would be an unfair comparison. Many of the kids in government schools are neglected. PSS. Oops. Sorry. Let’s stop neglecting them then. …
Making a Cat Laugh
Dear Visionaries, I am trying to figure out how my last post could possibly have been construed as a defense of Republicans. I am not a Republican. The morphing we have gone through has happened to a nation, and not just to one or the other of the major political parties. We used to be …
Belated Christmas Greetings
Dear visionaries, Just a short note expressing my deep hope that you all had as blessed a Christmas as our household did. Nothing compares to it — worship on Christmas Eve, family gathered around a table in deep fellowship, prime rib and rich red wine, grand-kids delighted with their stick horses, and a glorious tree …
Nouns and Stories
One of the most baffling things about the postmodern drift in Reformed and evangelical circles is the idea that certainty is entirely and completely dependent on foundationalism. And, if foundationalism goes, then there goes our ability to know anything for certain. Now foundationalism is the philosophical view that certitude must be based on certain “basic” …
Looking for My Feet
Manfully, I continue to work through The Next Reformation by Carl Raschke. In the course of my reading this morning, I came across this. “The philosophical quest for unfailing presuppositions is not Christian; it is outright paganism” (p. 113, emphasis his). Presuppositions are not something you go off and hunt for, like the Holy Grail. …
Anti-Americanism
I am currently enjoying the book Anti-Americanism by Jean-Francois Revel. On a number of levels, the book is a shrewd diagnosis of the various emotional European pathologies that masquerade as insightful analysis of the United States. Revel is not addressing those who, for various reasons, want to critique America (which is not only fine, but …
Trent Lott’s Gaffe
Dear visionaries, The price of true diversity is eternal vigilance. After all our striving for inclusivity in this forum, I am astounded that we still have folks making judgmental comments on the ethical choices of others. If Cardinal Law, after deep reflection in his own conscience, decides that chickenhawk priests are the way to go, …