Stanley Fish Channels Van Til
Stanley Fish has a larger share of common grace than most people. For all his dark glasses, he sees many things clearly, and I always enjoy reading him. This must-read article made me feel truly sad—and not in a condescending way at all—for the hundreds of thousands of NY Times readers who continue to live so blindly in the faith that they have no faith. Reason is an idol of Enlightenment culture (as well as a gift of God). Here are three quick excerpts that grabbed me from Fish's piece: There...
Love and Hate; ἀγαπάω and μισέω
If hate is the opposite of love, as many passages indicate, then why don't we have a book called The Four Hates? Why don't preachers fulminate against the scary hate of a mother for her crying infant (ἀστοργέω [a + storge]), the emotional hate of one's ex-best-friend (ἀφιλέω [a + filos]), the even more passionate hate of one's ex-lover (ὠράω [a+ eros]), while defending the disinterested hate (ἐγαπάω [a + agaph]) of the enemies of one's country? Love is love. Hate is hate. They come in degrees;...
Good Friend Graduates!
Congratulations, Dustin!
Usage Determines Meaning no. 15
Sidney Landau, lexicographer, has a firm handle on one of my favorite near-inspired dictums, "Usage determines meaning." He devotes some space in his book Dictionaries to covering the history of English usage disputes. In the 18th century, grammar "errors" provoked moral outrage and an explosion of books offering corrections! I found this little anecdote about Goold Brown, author of The Grammar of English Grammars (!, 1851), quite amusing: Brown cites innumerable examples of actual "incorrect"...
COLLISION – 13 min VIMEO Exclusive Sneak Peak on Vimeo
Doug Wilson, Reformed apologist vs. Christopher Hitchens, eloquent atheist. Check out the first 13 minutes of their new documentary, Collision, here.