7 Reasons for Cultural Optimism

Someone recently mentioned to me that my cultural commentary of late has not seemed very postmilly. Where did all my optimism go? Many years ago members of my family were assembling for breakfast, and I believe the demeanor of all of us was somewhat somber, particularly my mother. This inspired my father, seated at the …

Risking the Plug-Uglies

“Think of the countless human acts, acts of copulation, spread over millennia, that led to the birth of Plato, Attila, or Napoleon. Yet it is on these unpredictables that human history largely depends” (C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm, p. 39). We look around ourselves and we think we see solid things. We look at them …

Through Thick or Thin?

Introduction: One of the complicating factors in the recent dust-up over Trinitarian theology and complementarianism has been the fact that more is going on than trying to justify complementarianism in two different ways. Rather, there is the additional issue of people seeking to justify two different kinds of complementarianism — thick or thin. Thin and …

If At First You Don’t Secede . . .

Introduction: I know that it is the fifth of July, but the principles we were talking about yesterday have not gone away. Some discussion online yesterday made me realize that a brief history lesson was in order, followed by just a few contemporary applications. For Christians particularly, how does the American War for Independence comport …

The Fourth of July in Vanity Fair

Introduction: My topic, if you could not guess from the cryptic title, is religious liberty. Vanity Fair, if you have not guessed, does not celebrate the Fourth of July. That’s a problem. Lots of Americans still celebrate it, but because we are now governed by non-elected functionaries from Vanity Fair, the celebrations are merely impressive …

On Sharing Our Manna

All right. So there are several threads to tie together here, re: Falwell and Moore. First I need to address the lame defense of himself that Jerry Falwell Jr. gave. “Honored for same hypocrites who accused Jesus of being a friend of publicans and sinners to be targeting me over a decades old mag cover!” …