Wes Hill, guest posting at Abraham Piper's microblog 22 Words, writes: I’ve never understood the phrase, “the exception that proves the rule.” An exception proves there isn’t a “rule” to begin with, right? Here was my suggestion: Ok, try this: The general rule is that...
Theology
Why I Believe Again
The fascinating testimony of a Christian turned atheist turned (recently) Christian who once wrote a controversial biography of C. S. Lewis: Watching a whole cluster of friends, and my own mother, die over quite a short space of time convinced me that purely...
Why I Am Writing My Dissertation, no. 2
I've already shared one blatant denial of my dissertation's thrust, courtesy of a high school Bible textbook. Here are five somewhat less blatant ones from the same book: Love is centered in the will, not the emotions; one who loves gives without reservation, for he...
Chambers and Creationism
Another great quotation from Whittaker Chambers that has come to my mind many, many times: I date my break [from Communism, which Chambers lived for and which, he says, was inherently atheist] from a very casual happening. I was sitting in our apartment on St. Paul...
Theologically Exhausted
I've just had the longest post famine in the history of my blog (excluding my honeymoon), I believe. I'm afraid I'm currently focused on work and dissertation, both of which have required significant attention recently. But I can't let my blog readers—both of...
Genesis 1 and Exodus 19, A Canonical Connection
Do you find yourself baffled by the Old Testament? You want to apply it to your life, but many passages seem impenetrable and the lessons you hear drawn from others just don't ring true? One idea I was taught in seminary that has begun to yield some rich results for...
Laissez-Faire Must Not Be Lazy but Must Strive to Promote Fairness
Hunter Baker, evangelical economist (with a new Crossway book coming out soon), made some helpful points in this little blog article. His main point is that conservatives shouldn't be so pro-capitalist that they overlook the effects of the Fall in the market. Here's...
Fish on Faith and Finance
Always provocative. Stanley Fish. ...in another popular Christian discourse, there is no way out of debt, and bankruptcy is the condition we are in from the moment of birth. This is a Calvinist discourse in which the language of money is allegorized. The debt we owe...
FIRST THINGS: On the Square » Blog Archive » Just Give It Up
First Things will never be the same without Richard Neuhaus. His proto-blog at the end of every issue provided great insight—and, admittedly, some juicy quotes about Catholic doctrine for those of us who still oppose it. But here's an excerpt from a recent First...
Luther Turns Over in His Grave Again (He’s Been Practically Spinning for Decades, Really)
I saved this when it came out last week and just got around to reading it. I highly recommend you take a look! In recent months, dioceses around the world have been offering Catholics a spiritual benefit that fell out of favor decades ago—the indulgence, a sort of...
The End for Which God Created the World
What is the biggest purpose of God, the Father's business in the world about which we must be about? It's the glory of God. God's glory is the ultimate purpose or end of all creation—and it should be our ultimate end in every act (cf. a book recommended by my pastor...
Do We Need a New Internet? – NYTimes.com
“As soon as you start dealing with the public Internet, the whole notion of trust becomes a quagmire,” said Stefan Savage, an expert on computer security at the University of California, San Diego. A more secure network is one that would almost certainly offer less...