“Modernity only believes in the language of equality — we do not mind tyrannies as long as they are draped in the name of the people, all of whom must be formally acknowledged to be equal. The tyrant may actually be engaged in trying to murder all the people, but as long as he bows …
Hearth and Home
“Modernity has abandoned the household gods, not because we have rejected the idolatry as all Christians must, but because we have rejected the very idea of the household. We no longer worship Vesta, but have only turned away from her because our homes no longer have any hearths” (Angels in the Architecture, p. 117).
Conservative?
“To say that someone is a conservative does not tell us what he is interested in conserving. Within our lifetimes, we have seen hard line communists trying to conserve the Soviet Union, fanatical Muslims trying to conserve ancient Islamic traditions, and American right-wingers trying to conserve the rich heritage of “Ozzie and Harriet.” The word …
Creeds and the Voice of Authority
“A return to medieval thinking is a return to creedal thinking–and not just limited to those symbols recognized as formal creeds. A return to a creedal mind will come to see, gladly, the implicit creeds which shape our expressions of faith. But the modern evangelical church does not want this voice of authority. The modern …
Church Authority
“Whenever men abandon that Word, they frequently want the Church to speak authoritatively in her own voice, supplanting the Word with the traditions of men. But this does not make Church authority suspect, for when the Church is governed by the authority of the Word, the Church speaks authoritatively as well . . . but …
The Most Important Creed
“But he may continue to protest. He does not believe in creeds because he does believe in the Bible–the Bible only. Isn’t this the classical Protestant doctrine of sola Scriptura? Not exactly. There is no refuge from the necessity of creeds. When a man opens his Bible, the first thing he encounters–the table of contents–is …
Evolution, Aye
“Because He is the Maker of heaven and earth, we did not come about as the result of primordial forces working manfully away on a pile of primordial goo” (Angels in the Architecture, p. 100).
Creedal Authority
“The Bible tells us that other spiritual authorities exist, but that they are fallible and penultimate. Further, these lesser spiritual authorities are not just ‘allowed,’ they are inescapable. The question is not whether we will have them, but which of them we will have. We do not understand that when we have removed all traces …
Casual Creeds
“To use a phrase from Matthew Arnold, we are ‘light half-believers in our casual creeds.’ In a mad pursuit of cisterns that will hold no water, we have come to love the dust on the inside of our empty jars” (Angels in the Architecture, p. 97).
Getting It Right
The Word rebukes our sidelong glances at the world. Not that kind of laughter. The Word rebukes our choreographed repentance. Not that sancitmonious smarminess. “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, …