In this happy little imbroglio of ours, I am pleased to say that this was the very first trigger alert. (HT: Michael Terry). These are the first lines of Fidelity. But I have noticed two things about this sort of qualification. The first is liberated outrage if I suggest that you should talk to women …
Probably Where I Learned It
And in a Facebook discussion of Recent Events, my brother Evan pointed out this passage from That Hideous Strength: Jane said, “I always thought it was in their souls that people were equal.” “You were mistaken,” he said gravely. “That is the last place where they are equal. Equality before the law, equality of incomes …
An Episcopalian Lays Down Some Diversionary Fire
A friend sent me this, apropos of the discussion themes around here . . . “Sex, as commonly conceived, is something a couple do together. But the sexual act itself is not quite like that. It is, and remains, something a man does to a woman. They are not both working at the same thing. …
Probably Not! She Thundered
Let’s play the aggrieved game, shall we? Let’s play us a round of placing the worst possible construction on the words of someone we are in a dispute with. It might not look so good in the cold light of day, but then we might learn something. Here’s hoping. Rachel Held Evans has said the …
Cloacina, Goddess of Sewers
So here’s what happened. 50 Shades of Grey went on the NYT bestseller list. For those just joining us, 50 Shades presents a demented view of sexuality, of the women-are-idiots school of thought. Jared Wilson of The Gospel Coalition posted an excerpt from my book Fidelity that he thought helped explain why people go in …
The Tolerance Parade
Here is a Q&A on the Bloomington tolerance parade over at John Starke’s place.
The Cassandra Effect
Cassandra was that unfortunate woman who was cursed with an ability to foretell the future accurately, while at the same time never having her predictions believed. There is a sense in which that particular curse is a type for our times. Of course, it would not apply to simple predictions about the Kentucky Derby or …
Getting the Warm Tar
We all believe things on the basis of authority, and it is impossible to function otherwise. I believe there is such a place as Nepal, and I do so without ever having been there myself. But there is a distinction to be made between settled authority, and what I would like to call hard sell …
Michael Horton, Gender Stereotypes, and Me
Michael Horton recently offered up a critique of something he called “muscular Christianity,” and because I was (I think) referenced in his article as being among the bad guys, I thought I should say something about it. My first point has to do with the (I think) in the previous sentence. Throughout the article, Horton …
The Emperor’s Whitey Tighties
Yesterday our president hurled himself into a frothing maelstrom of flattery and praise by taking the astonishingly courageous step of endorsing gay marriage. Whoa. There have been other thoughtful interactions with this decision, as, for example, here, here, and here, but I have not asked for a moment of your time in order to thoughtfully …