The Devil’s Swing Sets

“We are all aware of the hazards posed by fastidious sabbatarians—our Lord collided with them more than once, and once modern sabbath-keeping because the norm, it was not long before peck sniffs started to roam the city, putting padlocks on swing sets, lest any antinomian eight-year-olds swing themselves to perdition.”

Chestertonian Calvinism, p. 25

All the Blankets

“Over time, due to the effects of slander and the inexorable effects of wineskins getting old, the Puritans gained a reputation for being, well, puritanical. But by this I mean what that word has come to mean, which would make them the guardians of all forms of pious buzzkill. The problem is that this sad reality did not really start to unfold until a century or more into the project—it took quite some time before all the blankets got wet.”

Chestertonian Calvinism, p. 13

Chronic Late Adapters

“Evangelical Christians are adept at adopting worldly fashions ten years after the world has adopted them, and then doing it worse. This is true of fashion, music, diets, you name it. It is also true of political fads and fashions. As chronic late adapters, we are often climbing on board just as the carnal overreaction to the carnal stupidity is setting in.”

Skin and Blood, pp. 124-125