Safe Haven

Rachel Held Evans is not the problem . There, I said it. These hermeneutics are the inevitable result of having ignored and subsequently redefining "God-given apostolicity." Yes, it's about Sola Scriptura. If the individual can interpret Scripture any way he likes (with the witness of history rendering at best an advisory opinion), sooner or later, you're going to reject something "traditional" in favor of something else. Isn't Rachel breaking the same ecclesial "shackles" that Luther did? But it was OK, then, right? Why? Doesn't every maverick say, "This other view is tainted by..." or "This organization is not legitimate, because..." Somebody better figure out what they mean by "apostolic" and "tradition," and I mean quickly. Look, I agree that the Scripture is plain on the matter. But the only reason I do is because I know who gave me the Scriptures, and so I read them how she reads them, and onl...

Devin is all over this. I don't need to be upset about it; you all know my arguments by now, probably, and I've said my peace concerning Leithart personally. This theology is nothing but a dead-end; you either spend your life dreaming of the mental phantasm you call the "Church," blissfully believing that every subtle tweak, every adjustment you make in response to the "shocking" reality that not everyone agrees with you, is from God (and not yourself), or you humbly recognize that some piece of the puzzle is missing, and you go find it. If the basis for the agreement between all Christians--such as it is--is an ecumenical council, (as one example) you must define the term. You must inquire how it got there; you must find out why that is important. You have to carry that forward--if it's part of the rule of faith--as a principle, and apply it in a principled manner. If ecumenical councils are an invaluable part of the definition of the rule of faith, be...

5. Man, when the Boomer rockers were older and not trying to be edgy, they made truly great pop music, even if a solid chunk of their audience wanted to vomit. 4. I call malarkey on anyone who claims to dislike "Glory Of Love" by Peter Cetera. 3. I know she changed Christian music forever, but someone should say it: Amy Grant's pop albums are better than her Christian ones. 2. I wish I had written "Endless Summer Nights" by Richard Marx. 1. You hear "This I Promise You" by NSYNC, and you think, "It's an adequately serviceable ball of sap from some teenage crooning sissies." You hear the songwriter (Richard Marx) sing it, and there's a credibility there, even if it's still melodramatic.

I've got a hope for unity, too . I sought communion with the Catholic Church in order to realize it. And the reason--indeed, the only reason I did--is because my hope absolutely could not be realized on the "Reformers'" terms. The big lie of the fig-leaf of "derivative authority" is that there is a difference between "me and my Bible" and Sola Scriptura. There isn't. Leithart is the perfect embodiment of the more perfect fundamentalist; his interpretive skills are better than most. And he appears to take history seriously. That's a major step forward. But it makes it harder for someone like him to realize that, after all the shell games, he's submitting to himself. I must be able to tell the difference between a fallible opinion (like my own) and the Word of God. And on Protestant terms, if my community does not have a charism of infallibility, there is little point in pretending submission in the first place. And if the Church is funda...

5. "Science"--The heathen use this word as a catch-all for certain dubious metaphysical conclusions drawn from empirical science, like a billy-club. Example: "Science has proven...." There is no personal "science," you buffoon. The scientific method is a method, not a life coach. 4. "Homophobia"--This word designates as a disorder any person who does not rush to celebrate homosexual acts (and the resulting political activism) as the GREATEST THING EVER!!! 3. "Bigot"-- See #4. 2. "Equality"--This word refers to giving any group of unhappy, imbalanced people whatever their whims dictate. 1. "Progress"--This refers to a person's relative success in using the apparatus of government to cater to the whims of unhappy, imbalanced people, at the expense of everyone else.

C.S. Lewis is a hero to evangelicals in general, and most Christians everywhere. If you've actually been an evangelical for any length of time, you might notice he doesn't square up with it very well . Well, duh. Anglican. Which roughly translates to, "Vomit-inducing heresy, or Catholics in denial." I digress. But do you know why we still loved him in our evangelical days? Because when evangelicalism is good, preserving something true, it's Catholic. That's the reason. It's up to you to figure out where the stuff you believe that doesn't square with Lewis comes from, but the stuff that does is all Catholic. There is no mere Christianity without the Catholic Church. No, not "small c" catholic. Big 'c'. Get over it. Feel free to disagree. But when you get broad-minded, when you get the thirst for "historic" Christianity, you're looking for the Tiber. We could stick a little flavoring in there, and call it "Tiberian ...