“Paganism can take a variety of forms, but when all is said and done, the system boils down to three simple postulates—sex, violence, and a grand identity . . . For four centuries the Protestants tried to hold them back, but the dam was breached. The gods are back in town” (Arthur Hunt, The Vanishing …
Paganism at the Movies
“The cult of celebrity fills a religious hole dug by modernism . . . The machines of show business brought the gods back to life . . . Images are pervasive, emotionally captivating, and . . . dare I say it? Sacred . . . This is what it means to be a pagan. Our …
The Homo Lobby and Hatred Inflation
A bit more on the topic of the previous post. I certainly believe that it is possible for Christians, standing for a biblical understanding of sexuality, to sin against homosexuals by means of verbal violence. Expressions of malice, pettiness, personal hostility, and so forth are prohibited in Scripture. “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, …
A Slow-Moving Pharaoh
Just a quick note to (again) clarify what I am doing with regard to Sarah Palin. As I am thinking through the whole business, some have jumped to conclusions about what I am doing, or where I must be going, or they have otherwise missed the point. Stated positively, I have wanted to clear away …
Low Empire
One of the things we have to get straight is the right relationship of the Church to various manifestations of earthly civil government. And in our setting, in our time, we have to come to grips with American hegemony in the world. That fact is a given — how shall we respond to it? One …
Plot Dragging a Little? Add Explosions!
“However, we find in drama today, and for my purpose specifically in film, two significant changes that were somewhat rare in our culture fifty years ago. First, the ethics of the hero’s action is now morally relativistic. And second, spectacle, or what Aristotle called ‘scenic effects,’ has upstaged all other dramatic elements” (Arthur Hunt, The …
Chased into a Minefield
You have asked me how it is possible to have a rebellious and out-of-control son when you have not ever thought of yourself as an indulgent father. You are right to see that radical indulgence on the part of a father is a disaster for sons — boys need direction, counsel, admonition, and correction. Of …
More on Moody Radio
Yesterday’s discussion on Moody radio can be found here. Monday’s discussion was on the blessing that Christianity has been for the realm of politics. Tuesday’s discussion was on the blessing that Christianity has been to the Academy. The discussion starts around minute 47.
The Great Eye Machines
“The visual element of romanticism is highly significant because it would later find its way into the great eye machines of the twentieth century—cinema and television. It would also lay the foundation for existentialism, the forerunner of postmodernism” (Arthur Hunt, The Vanishing Word, p. 120).
The Ironic Fairy of History
Oliver O’Donovan has just released a book that provides a classic illustration of why the moderate and progressive segments of the Anglican communion in the UK, Canada, and the US are all sick unto death. At the same time, he has done good work before this — in The Desire of Nations, for example. And …