“An apologist, rightly understood, is a missionary of the lovely.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 86
A New Category of Suberroneous
“If there is no absolute standard of morality, then anything goes, including the worst forms of absolutism. If biblical absolutes are figments of our own minds then the first thing we could do, if we wanted to be consistent, would be to hang all the relativists and burn all their houses. Of course, trying to be consistent like this is inconsistent, which, in an odd sort of way, makes it consistent again. It is kind of like looking at that endless series of the back of your head in the opposing mirrors at the barber shop. Ethical relativism is not just wrong; it is incoherent.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 85
The Authority of Baptism
“A baptized individual has the obligation to have his life point the same direction his baptism does—to Christ and to His righteousness. Many refuse to do so, but this does not alter their obligation in the slightest.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 80
Not the Epitome of Gladness
“When we look at the secularists who are the supposed experts in celebration, all we can see is that glazed-eye druggie look, clothes that hang on the body, and hair every which way. Everybody looks like they are just back from an unsuccessful exorcism.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 78
No Kidding
“A walk through our art galleries reveals our cultural bankruptcy as few other activities can.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 77
When Diversity Vaporizes
“Trinitarian culture is attacked from one side for its diversity, and from the other for its monolithic unity. Currently, the most immediate assault is being made under the banner of diversity and randomness.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 73
Which Explains Our Current Plight
“No society can survive if none of her wise men can give one good reason why she should. No civilization can last if her philosophers thinks she shouldn’t.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 70
Power Softens
“The ‘orthodoxy’ of today is epitomized by evolutionary relativistic sixties radicals who are now university presidents with cushy salaries. It must be said that at least some Christians outside now have an increasingly lean and hungry look. What happened to us a century ago is happening to them now.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 68
Compensatory Crusades
“The platitudes of the reassuring and accepting therapist are no longer adequate. The reservoir of guilt in a society is too great, and the words are too small. Nothing will do but a great crusade to rid the world of the ‘real’ evil, which will be, each in their turn, polluters trashing the planet, women being denied their rights, and so forth. These crusades are nothing other than great causes invented to give moral order and purpose to people who have previously affirmed that there is no such thing as morality.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 65
A Different Kind of Marriage Book
“The best thing which a husband could do for his marriage, and his nation would be to put down that copy of How to Put Zing Back in the Ol’ Marriage, and pick up John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 62