When a local emporium, what should know better, displays a book like what you see there to your right, the public of course gets to take a look at it, and I gets to comment on it. Back when I was young, when you wanted to confuse people about which sex you were seeking to …
Kavanaugh, Social Justice, and #MeToo
An alternative title for this post could have been “Justice is Never Wholesale.” Justice is always particular, having to do with individuals and their situations. You can never buy justice in bulk at CostCo. At the general level, there can be just laws, but if you apply those laws woodenly and indiscriminately across the board, …
Their Blood Sacrament
Of course everyone recognizes that the battle over the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh is a battle—all understand that there is a fight going on. And more than a few understand that the battle is over Roe. But this understanding is greater on the side of the secularists, their understanding is much more pronounced. Many Christians—bless …
Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Introduction: So let us discuss some profiles in profiling. Suppose that some bank in our area was robbed by a Caucasian guy, around 6 foot 1 or so, brown hair and beard, and it also happened that he was driving a pick-up truck. Now let us suppose further that as the cops were scrambling all …
The Man with the Quivering Red Laser Dot on His Chest
Introduction: So let us discuss the recent charges leveled against Brett Kavanaugh. There are a number of things to say about all this, and I intend to say as many of them as I can get to, but the first and fundamental thing is this: If we didn’t really want to go to the circus, …
Concrete Help is Not Legalism
My apologies for creating the impression that I somehow got derailed from my ongoing review of Aimee Byrd’s book. I had inadvertently created this impression by getting derailed in fact, but it was not because of sloth, forgetfulness, ennui, or anything else bad like that. It was the press of other topics, all of them …
Truth off the Bay
Introduction: A fine statement on social justice and gospel issues came out yesterday, and so I signed it. I would encourage all of you to head over there and sign it as well. On top of that, another edifying exercise might be for someone to keep track of who does not sign it, particularly among …
The Great Servant Leadership Mistake
Introduction: In her next chapter, Aimee Byrd continues a similar pattern. She says a lot of good things, like a handful of pearls with no thread to make a necklace. But she also says some worrisome things, and then third, she assembles part of what she says to support her central non sequitur. After addressing …
Defrauding a Brother
I don’t have a great deal to say about this next chapter—on Christ as our Elder Brother—because most of it is very good. The mistake that Aimee Byrd is making is the same one again. She says a number of valuable things about the biblical relationship of brothers and sisters, some of them even glorious …
Under Lock and Key
Introduction: A few weeks ago, I wrote something that caused some consternation in some predictable quarters. I said: “But here are some different examples. This one is taken from the world, not from Scripture, but we can learn something about the world from it. Why, if a woman sleeps with a hundred men, is she …