One of the temptations that comes to people who learn how to see and identify “deep structures” in a narrative — adeptly twirling chiasms they have found, or anticipataory foreshadowing motifs, or whatnot — is that they sometimes lose their ability to read what is right there on the page. They know that the Mississippi …
Holy Orders
Book 4/Chapter 19 Clerical orders (section 22) 1. What does Calvin point out about the sacrament of holy orders? 2. Do their writers agree on how many clerical offices there are? Christ and seven offices (section 23) 1. What is Calvin’s response to the claim that Christ occupied all seven offices, thus sanctifying them? Lower …
The Case Against Distance Learning
But before anyone gets riled at the title, allow me a few caveats first. The first is that a strong element of distance learning is essential to every form of real education. Every university library is full of distance learning packets called books. When I read Augustine or Calvin, this is because back in the …
A Ministerial Tool Chest
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). This is a description of a minister’s …
Some Calvin a Bit Out of Order
It appears that I neglected to post the questions for this section a few days ago. Oops. Book 4/Chapter 19 Not a word game (section 1) 1. Who ordains the establishment of sacraments? 2. Is Calvin simply contending over names? 3. What authority does Calvin grant to Christians? Divine authority (section 2) 1. Who alone …
The Disease of Pragmatism
On this subject of higher education in the liberal arts, there is much to develop in every direction. And by “develop,” I mean “shoot at.” It is what our military calls a target rich environment. What is a liberal arts education for? Why go to college? Why pay big bucks to go to college? What …
Institution and Promise
Book 4/Chapter 19 Penance no sacrament (section 15) 1. What is Calvin’s restatement of his definition of a sacrament? 2. What advantage should we gain from a sacrament? Why not absolution (section 16)? 1. How does Calvin “kill these beasts in their own arena”? Return to baptism (section 17) 1. What is the sacrament of …
The Free Safety of Orthodoxy Considered as a Tub of Pudge
Chapter 7 of Franke’s book is where an astute defensive coordinator starts to get a good idea where the wide receiver is going to run his route. But since our free safety of orthodoxy has spent way too much time at KFC and is a tub of pudge, it begins to look as though we …
Some Very Important Things to Put in Three of the Cupboards
The first is that over at his blog Nate is conducting a giveaway of four copies of The Chestnut King that you could actually have in your possession prior to Christmas. But the entry deadline is like, today, or something. You can enter that drawing here. Secondly, Canon Press is taking preorders for the book …
The Coming Tax Revolt
Tax revolts are funny things. The powers that be are lulled into complacency, for increased taxation is inevitable, for do we all not know that progress is inevitable, and so the grinding business of governmental coercion as usual must continue on unabated? But this is like the man who was striving to live to be …