So then. Let us have a little chat, you and I, about the exuberant Newtlove that is popping up in some quarters. Whence cometh it? I would like to identify the point of origin first, and then give perhaps something of an indication of what I think of it. The meme that is circulating, mostly …
A Heap the Size of Mt. Sinai
Well, nobody can say that the Republican primaries have been deficient as entertainment. People blowing up left and right like there were no tomorrow. At this rate, we’ll get to Jeb in no time. Cain was glib but fun, and while solid on some stuff, he encountered a situation he couldn’t quip his way out …
A Nice Little Helping of Jumble Pie
I’d like to make a few comments about Monday night’s Republican debate so that the candidates might have time to jot a few ideas down in time for their next round. I’m just helpful that way. Whenever Newt does well in a debate, as he usually does, somebody attaches a bicycle pump to his head …
Basic Math as Dark Horse
I have made this economic point before, but it appears to me that I need to keep making it. This is because we live in a time when we will all need to be reminded, regularly and at periodic intervals, that red ink does not really exist. Related catastrophes do, but I should explain myself. …
Norman Rockwell and the Dark Side
Stacy McCain was kind enough to notice my criticism of his Rule 5. His response, such as it was, can be found here, and my initial comments, such as they were, can be found here. His answer consisted of a “vintage pin-up girl.” You know the kind — what looks like what could have been …
Sexual Obedience Outside Scripture
And so here is my final response to the issues surrounding the publication of Real Marriage. The fundamental issue here is hermeneutics — how do we read God’s Word, and more important contextually, how do we read God’s Word in the context of God’s world? This is actually an issue having to do with the …
Dinner for Two at Angelo’s
One of the questions that has arisen here is, basically, how could this happen? How could so much of Real Marriage be so good in so many ways, and yet whiff on something like this? In polemical discourse there is something called swallowing the reductio. Your opponent slyly suggests to you that he who says …
Sexual Dirt and a Gospel Backhoe
Having set the stage with my preliminaries, let me now engage with Mark and Grace Driscoll’s book, Real Marriage. Let me begin by saying that it is a very fine book over all. Before getting to the sections that call out for more discussion and some yeahbuts, let me mention first why this book is …
Preliminary Thoughts On “Real Marriage,” Part Dos
Before interacting with the controversial parts of Real Marriage, I want to set down a few more additional and preliminary thoughts. I am not addressing anyone in particular yet. But because I am going to be engaged in close pastoral reasoning in a very sensitive area, I want to reveal some of my foundational operating …
Some Preliminary Thoughts On “Real Marriage”
Lord willing, as time goes by, I will be interacting more with Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll. But here are some of my basic assumptions going into the discussion. 1. Words written are easier to interact with (and be concerned about) than words unwritten. Pastors like Driscoll frequently get in trouble for things …