Category: US

By micoots
11/01/2017 0

More Russian dirty tricks

Not only did the Russians hack into the Democrats’ e-mails in an attempt to influence the election. According to a classified report shared with Donald Trump, the Russians also compiled a dossier of “compromising” information about the president-elect’s personal life and about his finances.
That the Russians released embarrassing information about Hillary Clinton but not about Trump is evidence, according to the CIA, that they wanted to discredit the former but protect the latter. But now some f..

By micoots
10/01/2017 0

Living under the law

More from David Zahl., who distinguishes between the big-L “Law” (of God) and the little-l “law” that people today try, futilely, to live by. . . .
The latter too is a sign of how people today are obsessed with justifying themselves, even though they can’t. We need to point them to the justification they can have, freely, through Christ.
I would add that those of us who have that justification should remember it more and should apply it when we ourselves fall into these syndromes of perfectionis..

By micoots
10/01/2017 0

The origin of the Bible’s chapters and verses

Imagine trying to look something up in the Bible if it didn’t have chapters and verses. But the Bible didn’t come with them. They were added to make the Scriptures more accessible. We have two men from two different centuries to thank for these innovations.
Mark Wood at Christianity Today tells the tale, excerpted and linked after the jump.
From Mark Wood, Who Divided The Bible Into Chapters And Verses? | Christian News on Christian Today:
Anyone who knows about Magna Carta and King John has pro..

By micoots
09/01/2017 0

Justification and contemporary culture

Luther-influenced Anglican David Zahl has a brilliant article in the latest Christianity Today about Luther’s distinction between Law and Gospel and his understanding of justification by faith. These teachings, Zahl shows, go to the very heart of what people are most struggling with today in contemporary culture: perfectionism, the need for approval, and the futility of [Read More…]

By micoots
09/01/2017 0

“The last honest liberal” dies 

Nat Hentoff, 91, has died. The jazz critic for the Village Voice, Hentoff described himself as a left-wing Jewish atheist. But he became a pro-life crusader, alienating his fellow liberals for his strong opposition to abortion. Hentoff was a civil libertarian, fiercely devoted to the Constitution, who quit the ACLU because of its support of speech codes.
Hentoff had been called “the last honest liberal” for his consistency in extending the left’s concern for the poor and marginalized to the most..

By micoots
06/01/2017 0

Spiritual anguish

Contrary to the “prosperity gospel” and other theologies of glory, negative experiences can also have a positive spiritual significance. Many of us go through depression, blue moods, black moods, and other sufferings, whether physical or emotional. These are not signs that you have lost your faith or that God has abandoned you.
Luther, who knew these states of mind well, considered them important for the Christian life. In fact, he considered them necessary for anyone who presumed to be a theolo..

By micoots
06/01/2017 0

Empire of Desire

I have long said that we shouldn’t look for analogies between our cultural problems and the fall of the Roman empire. We should look for parallels with the fall of the Roman Republic. Carl Trueman says that while the position of Christianity is changing, secular society itself is changing too. He sees the rise of what he calls an “empire of desire” (a concept also treated by R. R. Reno, whom he links to). He calls for new Ciceroes who have the integrity, the wisdom, and the eloquence to defend o..

By micoots
06/01/2017 0

Democrats hope to come back by going left

Democrats strategizing over how to overcome their recent defeats now have a plan: go left.
They are reasoning that they can get back those working class voters who chose Trump. After all, Trump’s populist economics promises–including protectionism, job protection, and more jobs–goes along with what Democrats used to stand for, before the party embraced globalism and Wall Street.
The Democrats believe that the cultural issues are still to their advantage, so they are going to emphasize their soci..

By micoots
05/01/2017 0

Grappling with Bach’s theology

Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker has written a fascinating piece on Bach’s theology. He says that while much research of the past tried to look at Bach in purely secular terms, today’s scholarship is attempting to unpack the musical impact of his Lutheranism.
Ross reviews several recent books on the subject, including one that tries to read into Bach’s music elements of anti-semitism, as if that is what Lutheranism is all about. (Despite Luther’s senile ravings at the end of his life, ..

By micoots
05/01/2017 0

Simulated relationships 

Why do we often take celebrity deaths so hard? According to Rev. Travis Berg, citing various experts, it’s because we form “simulated relationships.” Our impulse to form friendships is displaced onto people we don’t really know, except from the characters they play or their personalities projected by the media.
In our high-tech, low-interaction culture, those kinds of “para-social relationships” are all some people have! In contrast, God wants us to love actual people and to be part of actual co..