Chapter 9 of Dual Citizens is on the unworthiness of this world when compared with the glories to come. And of course this is quite right, but we still have to sort out the implications. There are a few things that Jason asserts in this chapter that rub my fur the wrong way, but he …
This Scandinavian Howler
It is hard to add something serious to a topic as risible as Obama’s peace prize, but here goes a try at it. President Obama is in a bad jam. He is intelligent enough (and a number of his advisors are certainly intelligent enough) to see the political capital that would be accumulated if he …
Insufferable Light Bulbs
Last night the overnight temperature here in Moscow was 12 degrees above zero, 7 degrees below the previous record for this date. This datum by itself is an anomaly, an outlier, a quirk. But taken together with what sane people all over the world are observing, to such an extent and at such levels that …
Chortle. Snort.
Here are the top ten reasons why I am beyond delighted that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize: 10. Because this means that the Vatican must have verified that reports of the president floating around the top of the Washington monument were reports of a genuine miracle, and were not a deceitful trick by the …
Affected By the Time Stamp
My response to Jason’s next chapter will be a little bit different. In this chapter, he presents the “big picture,” which in his understanding is set forth in the book of Revelation 12. “My thesis for this chapter, therefore, is that in Revelation 12:1-6 the church is given a glimpse of Christ’s victory in His …
Our Culture Warrior Hinder Parts
Chapter 7 of Jason’s book is really quite good. His topic is “Reformed Piety,” and he does a good job in distinguishing the corporate nature of Reformed piety from the radical individualism of much of contemporary evangelicalism. He appeals, quite properly, to the contrast set by John Williamson Nevin and Charles Finney, a contrast that …
Putting the Trash Out
My response to chapter 6 won’t be that long because I agreed with a great deal of it. Jason does a good job nailing those who have jumbled up their Christian faith with their heartland, red state patriotism. When that particular jumble gets knocked, we should just let matters unfold. The United States does not …
Just Plain Greasy
There is something different about these latest examples of sexual hypocrisy. We are used to sexual shenanigans, and we are used to people lying to cover them up. We are also used to the double standard — if a Republican congressman were to do to a fetching staffer what a Democratic congressman does to a …
The Relevance of Irrelevance
Chapter 2 of Stellman’s book was also quite good. It is entitled “The Irrelevance of Relevance.” The problems I would have with it are, I suspect, still in the background. But here he says a number of things I agree with wholeheartedly and enthusiastically. He doesn’t quote C.S. Lewis’ great line — “whatever is not …
Church of the Guttering Flame
The first formal chapter of Dual Citizens is really quite good. He begins where all thoughtful discussions of the church’s role in the world should begin, and that is with the question of corporate worship on the Lord’s Day. He has a true Reformed focus on the importance of Word and sacrament (p. 8). He …