Safe Haven

OK, two things: First, I have counted 6 times by two different professors at my steadfastly Reformed, Westminster-loving seminary in the last week-plus, occasions where any normal Protestant would add the word, "alone" to the phrase, "justification by faith." Golden opportunities, mind you. Even in contexts of disagreement with the Roman Catholic Church, where such an appellation would seem most appropriate, in fact. 6 times. And my alleged comrades-in-arms, birthed not only in the bloodbath of Luther's protest, but in the blood of the Lamb, declined to add it. Look, I'm almost Catholic; I don't care what you say, to some extent. And I certainly wouldn't want to get anyone in trouble over there. But if we Reformed are re-visiting this position, we ought to talk about it, not hide our insights behind the bulky sweater of covenant theology or the Coke-bottle glasses of storied hermeneutics. [Maybe they're sick of being trapped by the Catholic apol...

Dear George Michael, Recent events involving your car and drugs have forced the British legal system to incarcerate you. I suppose we are all relieved that no one was hurt. And as you are no doubt aware, you will have some time to reflect not only on this incident, but on the general direction of your life. As one optimistic friend once said, "There are no problems, only opportunities." I might only interject that there seem to be both, and this is fitting for the merciful God to allow. I would not dare to judge you, or claim to know exactly what you must do. That said, I wonder if your remarkable and full life up to now is all that you had hoped. Is it abundant in the true sense? You have explored every human avenue of pleasure that exists on earth. You've worked hard, and played harder. Perhaps even now, those things are revealed as cruel masters indeed. Others looking in might say that I've no standing to say such a thing; 'tis true, my path has been mercifully...

I've been something of a fan of President Obama since he appeared on the scene in 2004. I heard the convention address that made him a star in 2004 (and was deeply moved, I must say). I predicted his election in 2006, after hearing a speech he gave to the Save Darfur rally in Washington, DC that spring. Right-wingers (and I am one, in many respects) scoff at his alleged soaring rhetoric and meteoric rise. And he should rightly receive mountains of criticism for his anti-life policies regarding abortion, his nationalizing economic policies that stunt growth, and his amateurish dealings with the opposition and its ideas, such as they are. But those who do not respect the events of his election, who mock his supporters as unthinking idiots, who behave as though the country is a gulag in which we are all trapped (understanding that the logical end of many Obama policies/ideas is exactly that) are not only irritating, but they demonstrate a lack of understanding in how American politics...