One of the valuable things I learned from Rushdoony was the idea of the inescapable concept. It is not whether we will impose morality through our laws, but rather which morality we will impose. It is not whether there will be an ultimate god for every political system, but rather which god it will be. …
The Loyal Opposition
Okay, so the Republicans had a really bad, losing season. They have fired the head coach, but kept the rest of the coaching staff on and gave them all big raises, in the hopes of perpetuating the mischief somehow. It will probably work. There is no elected Republican on the national stage with any kind …
Arguing High Theology with the Hot Dog Vendor
One of the testing points of wisdom is the matter of identifying what the real issue is. In ancient rhetoric, this is what stasis theory was about — what is really at issue? What is the hinge upon which all turns? Luther complimented Erasmus at the conclusion of The Bondage of the Will because he …
War, Theft or Fraud?
Bush the Second is responsible for many Problems in Our Midst, but one of the worst of them is the legacy of “compassionate” conservatism. Conservatism with a heart is the kind of conservatism that won’t ever veto anything, no matter how financially insane it might be, and consequently is the kind of conservatism that doesn’t …
Either Way, Not Yet Viral
This is an odd one on a number of levels. The central oddity is why this isn’t found in all the regular news outlets and blogs. If you google “Supreme Court,” “Souter,” and “Obama’s birth certificate,” you will find the information in a bunch of cyber-backwater places. I haven’t found this discussed in any of …
Our Secularist Mammon-Monkeys
The Persian Empire was what it was, but it still mattered whether Hamaan had the emperor’s ear or Esther did. In that case, Hamaan was bad for the Jews, and in ours Obama is bad for the unborn. On that front, we are still in a plot line waiting for the eucatastrophe. But for those …
The Creed and the Pledge
Many thanks for the good discussion on the previous post. Obviously more is needed. In fact, when I consider the shape we’re in, more is desperately needed. I say the Apostles’ Creed far more often than I say the Pledge. And when I say the Pledge of Allegiance, as noted already, it is not without …
The Minimal State and Other Bright Ideas
The last day or so Nancy and I have had the wonderful privilege of visiting the folks at Trinitas Christian School in Pensacola, and were wonderfully impressed with the work they are doing as a classical and Christian school. What a marvelous place. Last night I spoke for them on “The Paideia of God,” and …
Even Using Both Hands
I have been arguing that the central response of Christians to the ongoing disintegration of our culture must be to return to the worship of the triune God in such a way as that it becomes the seed of a renewed and rejuvenated Christian culture. That end cannot be accomplished by political means, as Scripture …
No Answer to Blood but Blood
The old Chinese curse says, “May you live in interesting times.” And here we are. Some conservatives who are not worried think that Obama will simply be a Carter rerun — an unknown who made a great first impression, but who grew quickly wearisome at an accelerating pace. Some conservatives who are panicked think that …