“The one thing needful, as C.S. Lewis once argued, is represented by a Middle English word solempne, which expresses something which is desperately needed in our worship. On either side of this solempne, we have this error or that one. Either we are right out there on the cutting edge with worship teams, a thumpin’ …
Is the Moon Really Necessary?
“Therefore to talk of not seeing the need for the Church is like talking of not seeing the need for the moon. The Church, like the moon, is not a human project, but a divine creation” (Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind, p. 119).
The Extent of the Damage
“But to many Americans this sounds like a drag. We are a breezy lot; we like to go casual. Whether we are flipping burgers in the back yard or approaching the throne of the Almighty, we want to wear shorts and flipflops. The problem is nearly universal; the only thing that varies from church to …
Conqueror and Builder
“Urban civilization is warring civilization. Conqueror and builder are no longer distinct. Both are included in one man, and both are an expression of that desire for the might which is revolt against the Lord. The Scriptures have given us here one more secret about the city. And our modern world hardly gives it the …
Surprises
“The Christian mind knows that, in any sorting out of the sheep and the goats, of the virtuous from the sinful, the forces of Heaven would slice through human society at an unexpected angle” (Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind, p. 91).
Tissue Thin Armor
“The idea that because a man is learned, especially in subjects appertaining to religion, he is therefore secure from the seductions of worldliness is a fallacy” (Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind, p. 60).
Telos and Propriety
“Superior music is inferior in some settings. Inferior music is inferior in some settings. Music that is poorly done within the constraints of each genre is bad music and shouldn’t be tolerated anywhere. Thus, we have good and bad superior music and good and bad inferior music. And surrounding all such distinctions we have the …
Symbiotic Sin
“All of man’s history is not limited to the history of the city and its progress. But they have nevertheless intermingled, and neither can be understood alone” (Jacques Ellul, The Meaning of the City, p. 8).
Mine, All Mine
“Of course the very fact that nowadays we look upon convictions as personal possessions is a symptom of the disappearance of the Christian mind” (Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind, p. 40).
Father Abraham Had Many Sons
“‘Wherefore we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire’ (Heb. 12:28-29). Let those words, reverence and godly fear, roll around in the mind and heart while you sing through some inane song, …