The law of supply and demand is not a mere cultural artifact. In short, it is not comparable to the decision-making process that the lords of etiquette went through when deciding where the dessert fork should go relative to your plate. A moment’s reflection should tell you that they could have decided pretty much anything, …
On Losing Your Shirt Like a Christian
We are far enough into this meltdown that we are starting to see its effects on individuals, and this of course includes individuals in the church. We are talking about layoffs, losses in retirement accounts, housing investments going south, and all the rest of it. If Christians are called to understand the times they are …
A Few Brisk Ones
In a recent correspondence with a friend who is much more of a Girardian purist than I am, he said something like “all violence is righteous.” He was referring to the Giardian insight that human beings have a deep mimetic propensity to deceive and blind themselves, especially when it comes to matters of violence. The …
Have I Proved Too Much?
With regard to this “Violence and the Trinity” series, I got a great set of questions from a member of our congregation here, and so I asked him if I could interact with them publicly. He said sure, and so off we go. “I noticed that in a recent post you refer to several classic …
No Middle Ground
If we believe in the Bible, we believe in the Christian future. This means that the salt is not seasoning to no effect, and that the light is not shining to no effect. The labor we put forth to make the world a better place is not labor wasted (1 Cor. 15:58). Moreover, if we …
Hep Cat Theology Circles
All right, then, let us take a particularly thorny test case — America’s use of atomic bombs on Japan near the end of the Second World War. Does that measure up to just war standards? If so, why? If not, why not? The answer I would give is “of course not,” but I am aware …
Marshmallows and Cotton Balls
God governs the world in such a way as to prevent us from thinking that we can be in the right simply by holding correct opinions. God governs our lives in such a way that we have to choose between two items on this Chinese menu here, and we are not permitted to slip away …
Violence and Vilence
There is not a word in the New Testament that hints that the Church is at odds with the State because the State is violent. When the Church is walking in the light and finds herself at odds with the State it is always because of statist idolatry, not because of violence. Those who believe …
Personal Grace and Calling the Cops
Alright then, on postmill assumptions, knowing that there will come a time when they will not hurt nor destroy in all God’s holy mountain, when will we know to shut down all the fire departments? This is not a trick question. Actually, if you think about it, it might be a trick question. We will …
How Pacifism Protects War
Given how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love and esteem one another, and given how God has revealed this triune nature to the world through the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the world has now been inaugurated into a new era of biblical glory. This glory is tied to worship, and so as the Church …