“One of the impulses that overscrupulous pietists have is that of trying to ‘thin out the world’ so that we won’t be as tempted to idolatry by it. But the problem with this procedure is that it never works. We can fall into idolatry with our airy abstractions as much as we do with a …
Because the Sauce Goes on Everything
“The central point of the food is not what you are eating but rather who you are eating it with – but don’t mistake the point here. That does not make the taste of the food, or the care that goes into its preparation, irrelevant. Far from it. A good sauce accents the taste of …
To Join Us In Our Sorrow
“We continue to prepare ourselves for the celebration of one of the most monumental events of all world history – the time when the Second Person of the Creator God assumed a human body in the womb of a virgin, in order to join us in our sorrow, and to deliver us from it” (God …
An Unhappy Lot
“He does not eat ‘low’ because he has no awareness of what he is doing, like the fellow who has only ten taste buds for every square inch of his tongue and struggles to determine the difference between hot and cold” (Writers to Read, p. 117).
A Simple Church Year
“During the first half of the Christian year, remember the five evangelical feast days – Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. Do not look for any commemoration of St. Alphonse the Lesser, patron saint of three-legged cats. When everything is special, nothing is” (God Rest Ye Merry, p. 112).
Refined Past the Limit
“One of the great problems with developed sensibilities in any area is the temptation to preciosity. Overrefinement in art, music, language, or any area does not create the true artiste but rather the insufferable boor. The task is not to cultivate high standards; any lout can do that. The trick is to cultivate high standards …
With Both Hands
“If the law is grace, and if grace has a backbone, perhaps we ought not be too dismissive of those who have learned how to hold the Word of God in both hands” (Writers to Read, p. 113).
Grace Gets On the Floor
“When the wineskins burst, grace sometimes gets on the floor . . . Find me a place where grace has gone and taken deep root, and I will show you a place where vivid prose flourishes” (Writers to Read, p. 111).
An Imagination Fortress, Not an Imaginary One
“One of the reasons many apologists are not nearly as effective as Lewis is that they want the cold granite of reason to do everything. But true reason will collapse before a false imagination. False imagination must be answered by a true imagination, and when that happens, reason can flourish in its native habitat” (Writers …
What the Actual Mistake Was
“Keep in mind that the battle between Galileo and the church was not a battle between science and mindless fundamentalism. It was a battle between new science and old science, and the error of the church had been that of getting into bed with the best science of the day. And we all know, as …