Peter Hitchens has written a corker about the Archbishop of C, a corker which I would commend to you here. I am constantly astounding by those who think that fruit can mysteriously continue to show up in crates every autumn after we have chopped down the tree in June. As in C.S. Lewis’ famous observation …
All Three of the Flying Bambino Brothers
This is archived under “Book Review” but it is not really a book review proper. It is more of a statement. Last April I finished reading a short book by David Bentley Hart called The Doors of the Sea, a theological reaction to the Asian tsunami. In my short book log review, I just said …
Shriveling the Inner Man
“We must consider each situation in its own right to get some sense of who or what is responsible for the boredom and what can be done to relieve it. We have seen many influences in our culture and in the individual choices that people make in response to their circumstances that might lead to …
Do We Think That They Think That We Are Influenced by What They Show Us?
“If their techniques for influencing us were not successful, I doubt they would spend millions of dollars for a thirty-second commercial during the Super Bowl or the Academy Awards” (Richard Winter, Still Bored in a Culture of Entertainment, p. 85).
The Marshmallow Test
“In an experiment at Stanford University known as the ‘marshmallow’ test,’ four-year-olds were brought into a room one by one. On the table in the room was a marshmallow. Each child was told, ‘You can have this marshmallow now if you want. But if you don’t eat it until after I get back from running …
A Culture-Wide Case of the Fidgets
“Those of us who do not hunger for such extreme stimulation can still find plenty of entertainment in the endless shopping malls, restaurants, fitness clubs, tennis clubs, golf courses, gambling casinos, porn shops, strip clubs, movie theaters and late night television. This is the world of the big M’s: the Mall, McDonald’s and MTV” (Richard …
Calling Covenant Fathers
“Today, the whole trend is against authority, against maleness, against Christianity, against covenant, against law. You have to find the strength that’s much greater than your own if you will be a covenant father, but it remains the need of the hour” (Steve Schlissel, Christian Culture in a Multicultural Age, p. 156).
Hatred Directed Upwards
“Egalitarianism, the prevailing and acceptable religion of our generation, teaches not a love of equals but a hatred of superiors” (Steve Schlissel, Christian Culture in a Multicultural Age, p. 146).
Thump Thump Music
“A guilty conscience, such as our generation has, often tries to drown out consciousness in order not to be aware of the pain of guilt. Drugs, booze, and the pursuit of deadening pleasures of all sorts, the constant thump-thump music or the ubiquitous narcotic of television—all are ways to drown out the guilt of consciousness, …
Getting Back to “A and not A”
As I continue to reflect on the state of things in the UK, I wanted to post something that might be a tad provocative, and by this, I don’t mean provocative to those who are currently agitating for the ordination of sea urchins, or whatever it is they are doing these days. Those folks have …