Reading the most recent post of Levy (known back in Blighty as `the unthinking man's Derek Thomas' -- though I have always thought that Derek Thomas himself fulfilled that role quite adequately) reminded me of the radical writer and critic, William Hazlitt, who, in an essay entitled `On the Feeling...

The trial of outspoken Dutch politician, Geert Wilders,is a great example of the kind of problem ( crisis being such an overused and overhyped word) faced by liberal democracy: a man on trial for stirring up hatred again Muslims by using his freedom of speech. It is, of course, arguable that it is...

CNN reports that bias (i.e., hate crime) charges are being considered in the sad case of the young man whose sexual encounter was secretly broadcast on the internet by a couple of students at his college. The whole issue of hate crime/bias is rather complicated and, frankly, speaks to the...

Jordan J. Ballor, over at the Acton Institute, offers a thoughtful response to my piece on work and dignity. Many thanks for this ; it contains much food for thought.

I confess that I am reeling from the fact that, at an age when I was still reading books with titles like Biggles Beats the Boche and comics where crowds of German soldiers, screaming words like `Achtung! Achtung!' and `Ze Britisher peegs must die!' were regularly massacred in hails of bullets...

Slate magazine has just published a fascinating article , calling into question the traditional wisdom that, in the 1960 televised debate, those who watched on TV thought Kennedy won, while those who listened on the radio gave the spoils to Nixon; and thus, so the wisdom goes, was born the modern...

Well, if Liam can mark his opening day on the blog with links to the reactionary broadsheets, I'll match him with one to a reactionary tabloid here . So Bono's campaign for the poor is all about `raising awareness,' not actually helping people? Reminds me of how my wife and I managed to kill off...

Anyone contemplating ministry in the postmodern world will find crucial advice here .

If the fact that the Senate did not repeal `Don't ask, don't tell' was a pleasant surprise, the tiresome role of celebrities (or, `slebs' as British journalist, Rod Liddle, calls them) in weighing in to campaign for such a repeal was not. This time it was `Lady Gaga,' who comes across as a cut-...

I was delighted today to see Bob Brady and congratulate him on his recent nuptials Bob is, of course, the evil organisational genius behind Reformation 21 (our one man equivalent to the Bilderberg Group , for whom myself, Derek and Rodney are mere stooges); yet I was somewhat shocked at the change...

2 Corinthians 6 continues the flood of gospel-saturated exclamations that have been flowing from Paul's pen since chapter 2. Now he reminds his readers that the age of the gospel is here, and, more specifically, that as that gospel lays its claims on each individual, there is no time like the...

Last week, we arrived at the point in 1845 when Newman converted to Catholicism. Shortly thereafter, he and his close friend, Ambrose St. John, traveled to Rome to train for the priesthood. St. John was to be Newman's constant companion until the former's death in 1875. Indeed, when Newman himself...

Bob Tarullo has brought to my attention this article which addresses the ambiguity of the reception of Newman in Catholic thought, especially the bizarre claim that he was a liberal. What will they be claiming next? The Meatloaf inspired disco? Or that former editors of the Crisis magazine and...

The confusing signals on syncretism coming from World Magazine are, indeed, confusing. While Andree Seu's column (which I linked yesterday) clearly points to Beck as a confused but genuine Christian, Marvin Olasky correctly points out that Beck's theology, or lack thereof, is a huge problem...

2 Corinthians 4 is a particularly important chapter for those in ministry and, indeed, for every believer. Building on the argument of earlier chapters, Paul points first to the fact that his ministry is something he has by the grace of God and which is therefore powered by the grace of God. For...

World Magazine offers an interesting take on Mormonism, Glen Beck, and Christianity here . So what is ultimately the one thing needful? Rom. 10: 9-10, or commitment to conservative politics?

Most of us have guilty pleasures which we enjoy, which are not in themselves particularly immoral, but of which might still be ashamed in certain contexts. My musical GP for example, is Meatloaf . That will be incomprehensible to anyone older than 45 or younger than 41. This is because I suspect it...

Here is a striking quotation from G K Chesterton, writing in the context of a discussion of Aquinas's criticism of the slippery medieval theologian/philosopher, Siger of Brabant: "It is a fact that falsehood is never so false as when it is very nearly true. It is when the stab comes near the nerve...

In this chapter we have one of those sudden gear changes which are so characteristic of the Apostle Paul and which, indeed, remind us that, although all scripture is God-breathed and authored in an ultimate sense by God, this does not override the personalities of the various human authors of the...

If being a generalist is, as I have argued, not simply possible but more than ever necessary, how does one set about becoming one? The first part (indeed, 90%) of the answer is likely the most unwelcome: disciplined use of time. I have a job and a half (Dean at a Seminary, plus a teaching load...

As WTS kicked off the 2010-11 year this week, there were two notable events. First, the Seminary Student President compiled music for the welcome barbecue not from the traditional 1980s gospelevator music list but on the basis of classic rock references in the MDiv Reformation lectures. Out goes `...

In thinking about the importance of being a generalist, the first thing to understand is that it is, indeed, a possibility. This might seem to be something of a stretch in the current climate of hyper-specialisation and oceans of information that no man can possibly navigate, but I do believe that...

One of the things that marks the world today, particularly the academic world, is the importance of specialisation and expertise. We all tend to trust the experts because who are we, poor mites, to question what somebody who has spent a lifetime studying a particularly narrow area says about a...

One of the barriers which often hinders appreciation of the early church fathers is the sheer strangeness of the world in which they lived compared to that which we now inhabit. In many ways, the fundamental questions they asked were akin to those we face today. For example, `What does it look like...