Safe Haven

Like a moth, like a moth, Drawn was I to the warmth of your face. And meager hope, restless hope Bound me to wait on cliffs of doubt. Leo did his level-best to distract, to deflect From the sign of my thrashing heart, which kept tenuous time. Doubtless happy light, joyous light Might dare break forth from your magic eyes (even in this dark lonely crowd). Like the grass, like the growth Of earth at spring's inception did I wait to bloom in the sun of your laughter. Happy hours, holy hours Went by as I granted your requests. I am stirred, I am stunned By the gravity of one error; Does it doom me? In my haste, in my hurry I forgot to buy you popcorn.

Follow Up Concerning Invincible Ignorance and "Inclusivism": One of the most serious charges against either Rome or Orthodoxy is that it is indifferent toward Jesus as "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." That perhaps articulating some idea that God is merciful to the ignorant who never hear of Jesus Christ. (Granted, this outcome grows more unlikely by the day, praise God.) On the one hand, "all paths lead to God" is expressly false, based on the verse I quoted above. But if all truth in the universe finds its source and summit in Jesus Christ, then whatever a person happens to be doing at any given time may be an occasion to find truth which belongs to Him. In that sense, all paths lead to God because nothing good or true or lovely could be so without God. Frankly, Acts 17 makes very little sense within a Calvinist way of looking at salvation/conversion, specifically this verse: "that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way ...

Invincible Ignorance=Universalism? Being the lunatic proceeding with a Reformed Protestant seminary education while most likely entering the Roman Catholic Church in a few weeks, I hear interesting things that strike me in funny ways. One of my professors was speaking about a student who is entering the Eastern Orthodox Church. That student had given him a book defending Orthodoxy, and he said he was disturbed by Orthodoxy's belief that God could show mercy to people in other religions due to ignorance. (I mentally noted that Rome's position probably isn't any different.) Is this a compromise of John 3:19, 14:6, and Acts 4:12, to name but a few? Well, let's think it through. Premise 1: God is the final Judge, and we are not. Premise 2: God judges the hearts of mankind, and will do so without error. Premise 3: He is free to show mercy, or not, to whom He wills (Romans 9:15-16). Premise 4: Christians are commanded to plainly declare the good news of God in Jesus Christ, ...

What shall we say then? In the midst of a rather rareified discussion about exactly how God moves the will, (among adherents of Thomist Catholic theology) Dr. Feingold, AKA The Hebrew Catholic Jack Collins, never fails to use simple, earthy examples. At that point, I figured a humorous impertinence would do the room some good. So I said, "All this talk of actual grace [prevenient grace that moves the as yet unsaved to take a step toward God] and sanctifying grace [the justifying grace, infused by the Holy Spirit, which includes the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity/love] is beautiful and lovely and everything, but, assuming such distinctions are valid,--while recalling the Scripture in Ephesians, 'and you were dead in trespasses and sins...but God made us alive together with Christ....'--are you saying that actual grace takes a man from 'All Dead' to 'Mostly Dead'? But how can you receive, respond to, or reject grace if you are dead?" Tha...

I was recalling a "conversation" of sorts last night (it was a 'chat' over the interwebs) about the Scripture in more ancient tounges (Latin, Greek) and I was lavish in my exhortation that she should learn the biblical Greek, (OK, fine, the Hebrew as well, if possible) being in possession of more than a modicum of facility in acquiring language (or at least the discipline to do it). In any case, I noted, to the great warmth of my own heart, that God, in his goodness, made the most important parts of the Bible to be fairly easy syntactically. (John 1, 1 John, Colossians 1:15-20, for example) A Roman 5 year old could read 1 John, I'm almost certain. Well, I'm not hard-core enough to go to the Greek (today), but I went to the Vulgate, first to the Prologue of (St.) John's Gospel, (and a little past) then to Colossians 1, starting with the greeting, and then I skipped to the Christ-hymn. (St.) Jerome chose an interesting word after telling us that "he is ...

5 Non-Football Thoughts on Super Bowl Sunday 5. That Maria lady was pretty. I can't spell her name, and I don't care. 4. Jen Aniston's apparent offense was really wanting to have a baby before she lost the chance. What a psycho! Why would she want to do that? [sarcasm] 3. Harrison Ford was highly intoxicated. It was some mixture of funny and shameful. 2. If you have to tell us why they are famous, they're not famous. 1. I promise, Keith Urban can sing better than that.

I got suckered on that whole, [paraphrase] "fierce moral urgency of change" deal with Obama. Still detaining people indefinitely for possibly dubious reasons; "Gitmo" is still open; American troops in two hot theaters of war; Lots of other stuff. But I don't agree with Roger Simon, here. I was eager to hear what the president would say, and particularly on Egypt. I understood the president to say, if you listen between the lines, as it were, that he had no idea what would happen, but it was up to Mubarak. What is almost unbearably irritating about Victor Davis Hanson is that his hawkish neoconservatism comes as a package deal with his anti-socialism. And with Obama, it's personal. I think that Obama's economic policy is totally wrong, as I have said a million times. But if he makes any gesture of nonviolence toward anybody, he is an "empty suit" who has "sold out our friends to our enemies." Or other such nonsense. One of the undera...

Safe Haven: Chapel-Skipper Edition. Ahem. So, my second session of the affectionately-named "E & E" was this morning. It's worth a note that Dr. Robert Peterson is a gifted man. More than that, a lovely, godly, man. He might do a fair bit of verbal sinning when I'm not present, I don't know, but he's always building people up. It's almost shame-inducing, it really is. And he's a good (Reformed) systematician. [According to dictionary.com, that's not a word.--ed.] All that proves is that lexicographers don't talk to theologians. [Or all lexicographers are godless pagans.--ed.] Be nice. Seriously, that was uncharitable. [Well, since I'm not an idiot synergist like you, I'm not worried about it.--ed.] I have serious doubts about your justification, sir, in the Reformed sense. [You strike me as uniquely unqualified to make that determination.--ed.] Perhaps. But the judgment cometh, and that right soon. Anyway, I was saying that Peter...

I can't well describe the terror I felt in my first day of Ecclesiology and Eschatology class. By my instructor's own admission, this is the most sectarian class at the seminary. [And you're not Reformed.--ed.] Right. On the other hand, I've wanted to take this class for 6 years. Still, I cannot assume the truth of Reformed theology, or the legitimacy of its ecclesial structures. Frankly, why would we allow all that to be assumed for so long? How do we account for what even a cursory glance at the Fathers reveals as glaring continuity issues in doctrine? [Eucharist, authority] We could, of course, assume they were wrong. But that would surely invite the question, "What else were they wrong about?" [So you're saying that all of Protestant Christianity is standing on the same ecclesiological ground as, say, the Mormons?--ed.] Exactly. If you have a built-in assumption of corruption, you can believe pretty much anything you want. It gets even less clear when...

Benedict Like you I know the sting Of dreams deferred. I have waited my turn As justice blurred. I have been engulfed With the flame of Self, Sold my comrades For a dime, Treating these gifts like passing fads. But today, I shake no traitor's hand. I gave no fort, I kept my honor; The test was short.

What did I think of the State of the Union last night? Boring. Flat. Minimalistic. This was a candidate who electrified America 2 years ago. Now, he sounds like a younger Walter Mondale. Part of this is that he has the completely wrong ideology. He can name the problems we face, but his mind is totally closed off to the workable solutions. "Investment" is progressive code for spending, "Infrastructure" is code for central planning. On education, he may indeed believe enough Democratic heresy on school choice to do something positive. We'll see. The foreign policy section was his best, but it was too brief and vague with respect to Afghanistan. They are making a big mistake regarding Egypt; Mubarak is no democrat, and the US pulling the plug on the 1.3 billion annual dollars propping up that regime would be among the most heroic actions ever taken by the United States. (Revisiting our aid to Israel would be wise also.) Obama is on the wrong course, but the Fox Ne...

The Holy Hour My friend Bryan Cross invited me to a Carmelite monastery where the consecrated host was in the room with us. I cannot say exactly what I believe concerning this; I neither am neither a believer or disbeliever. What I did sense was the nearness of Jesus Christ; it was to him I desired to bring my petitions; it was his peace with which I left. I held in my mind's eye the Canaanite woman; I sensed somehow that I was her. In one sense, this is risible. Part of me knows that I am part of the household of faith. And yet, I wonder if, by ignorance and an accident of history, I lack a fullness of Christ that he wishes to give. Thom told me that most conversions or other radical changes he has seen when people are "crazy for God" flow from fear. I have kept watch on my thoughts in this direction, and on balance, I would say that I have felt not fear but Love. I lacked nothing before this began. But I wished to know, if the primary means of growth in the Christian l...

I am very likely to take a more high-falutin' tone with this post, because I just read the first 43 pages (plus intros, prefaces, and the like) of Newman's "An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine." In the interest of intellectual honesty and good taste, I shall refrain from comment on the subject matter until I am finished. On mere aesthetics, (if a work of theology or other nonfiction qualifies) I can say that I only hope to blather so beatifully before I sleep in death, or our Lord returns. As the magisterial Dr. Cosby would say, however, I didn't come here to tell you that. I came to talk about Gnosticism. I happened to be sifting through my e-mail looking for something "Uncle Bryan" had sent while I was recovering from yet another respiratory malady. It is here. Gut reaction: Amen, brother. My second reaction: Pretty easy pickings, no? Low-hanging fruit, if you like. On the other hand, the Reformed actually pioneered the "Destroy all...

5 Pieces of Advice For President Obama (Political) 5. Give the Republicans everything they want on the domestic policy front, while issuing cheap, symbolic, rhetorical slams from here until November, 2012. Among your true believers, you'll be a spineless, unprincipled worm, but in winning presidential politics, it's called, "pivoting." 4. Maybe hiring another dude from Chicago as your next Chief of Staff wasn't the best way to dispel the opinion on the right that your real talent lies in cronyism. If you absolutely owe him a favor, bury him (in the bureaucracy, that is) somewhere with a ton of money. I won't say a word, Mr. President. I'm here for you. 3. Because Iraq has already said that the end of 2011 will be the end of our combat mission there, definitely do keep this promise. Your left flank called; they wanted to know where you are keeping Anti-War Candidate Obama. Moreover, does anyone even know what the *&@! we are actually doing in Afghanista...

The 5 Best Things About Today 5. Prayer. 4. Talking with my buddy Jason Ford Smyth. 3. The fact that I read what I regard as the most beautiful word in English in the Wikipedia article on Richard Dawkins . Bonus points if you guess or remember my favorite word. 2. That today is today. Think of it for a moment: We all could have died in our sleep last night. For some of us, to die is gain. But some, not at all. 1. That Part V of my series, "The Woods" is written, and Part VI should be written today.

Almighty God, Lord and Giver of Life, we praise You for our lives, made as we are in Your own image. So much did You love us, you sent your Son to redeem us, and you keep us and teach us by your Holy Spirit. Yet we suffer greatly, and we do not see as you see. We do not understand. If we said that we did, we would forget the place you have given us, and we would dishonor your holy Name. Instead, grant us many graces to endure well, to not lose heart, to weep as those who know your goodness. Be patient when we forget. Bring us those who know when to speak and when to be silent. Lord Jesus Christ, the Scriptures say of you, "Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." Mighty God and Prince of Peace, we ask that you would carry our afflictions in a special way now. We know that you suffer with us, and you are inviting us to suffer with you. Just as it appeared hopeless in the dark hour of your death, so it may appear now. And we also remember how you wept at the de...

In contrast to the feckless, inane, dismissive stupidity from E. J. Dionne I referenced yesterday, Peter Beinart is exactly spot-on. And this is why the Tea Party has a chance to not be co-opted by the Republicans. (Full disclosure: I am of the opinion that Peter Beinart, while often wrong, says something interesting or useful 86.9% of the time.) Anyway, the issue of foreign intervention is not going anywhere, and any serious discussion of national financial solvency must by necessity include the possibility of major cuts in defense spending. However, before the Republicans tie me up and burn me at the stake Latimer-style, (ahem) I would point out that entitlements (Medicare, Social Security) have an even bigger share, depending on how you look at it. If the Democrats were any better than the spineless invertebrates on the ocean floor, (that is, consistent with the application of their ideological outlook and flow of policies) they'd man up and impose a means-test for both, but es...

I was watching one of my favorite shows the other day, and the characters paid homage to one of the worst songs in pop history. No, everything Britney Spears has ever recorded is vastly superior to this idiotic slime. Yes, I said it. And I mean it. The sick, twisted part of it all is that the artist (justly, probably) and his former band define popular music itself. But the song that inspires me to want to punch someone in the face every time is "Imagine," by John Lennon. This 4-minute bucket of dog-piddle is the reason we have a culture-war in the first place, and not that this is a good thing. If you attended university in the US any time in the last forty years or so, you know the grubby guy with the crappy goatee who is always blathering about "corporate interests" or some such? This is his favorite song. Ditto, Marxist college professor. I don't even have to think war is a good idea to think, "You'd have to be a first-class buffoon to believe that...

E.J. Dionne is a terrible columnist. Not only does he represent the institutionalized "left" in our country (as close to completely insane, wrong, and backward as you can get right now) but he doesn't even argue such a case with nice words. At least with Buckley, Krauthammer, and heck, even Mark Steyn, I enjoy reading them even when I disagree. And I do. But this: "Thus the new majority will open the next Congress with a full reading of the Constitution and establish a rule requiring that every new bill contain a statement citing the constitutional authority behind it. My first response was to scoff at this obvious sop to the tea party movement. One can imagine that the rule's primary practical result will be the creation of a small new House bureaucracy responsible for churning out constitutional justifications for whatever gets introduced. But on reflection, I offer the Republicans two cheers for their fealty to their professed ideals. We badly need a full-sca...

I have been blessed to spend the last few days with my good buddy, Robert Allister "Bobby" Rose. One of our favorite things to do is watch Japanese anime. We began with a show called Yu Yu Hakusho that aired in the early 1990s. In some respects, it could be suited for a more youthful audience, but this is not always the case. (Indeed, most often not.) But the last couple of years has been spent with a show called, "Ruroni Kenshin," which translates to "Wandering Samurai." (I nerdily recall from a History Channel program that "ruroni" denotes a samurai that does not have a lord.) In any case, this is the plot: (basically) A swordsman, Kenshin Himura, wanders the Japanese countryside near the dawn of the Meiji Era, (1878) hoping to find atonement for crimes committed as "Battosai the Manslayer," a legendary samurai in the service of the Tokugawa shogunate. Taken in by the gentle but fierce Kaoru Kamiya, Himura finds more than he bargained...