Safe Haven

What is an "evangelical," anyway? You can only read so many seminary texts before you realize that, in context, it means, "People I agree with." It's the opposite of "fundamentalist." Which is why it's actually quite funny when some irreligious "progressive" is sputtering about how the "fundamentalist evangelicals" have thwarted some plan of theirs that would cause misery, poverty, and doom to millions. Anyway, I don't even think "conservative Protestant" covers it anymore. Was Lewis a conservative Protestant? [Sort of.--ed.] Yeah, I don't think he could be marshalled for the litany of sociopolitical causes (many of which, granted, I share) with which faithful Christianity is enmeshed. Let me yell in the direction of First Things: Why do you have a political blog (The Anchoress) sponsored on your site? Look, I understand: Abortion is a huge problem; the acceptance and promotion of homosexuality is a huge proble...

I would pay for going against my Cardinals; Jake Westbrook outpitched Cliff Lee--one of Philadelphia's "Four Aces"--and my fantasy team suffered. (Normally, my brother and I never put an opposing pitcher up against the home team, win or lose, but we both thought it was stupid to bet against Lee with Jake pitching so bad.) To quote the great American philosopher David Gates on another matter, "And God, I miss the girl." I'm utterly hopeless; I can't go two days without texting her; I wonder if she still reads the blog. I'm gonna drive her away. Someone punch me in the face. Please pray for me; exam on Wednesday, and I don't care. I just don't. This class has symbolized all the reasons I became Catholic all rolled into one. Not only does noone care about the critical question of who died and made the Westminster "divines" pope, I'm apparently all alone on the island of Hermeneutical Chaos, too; that is, the multiplicity of legitim...

OK, my peeps. A few things: My stroll in the English countryside otherwise known as my final exam with the one called "Jerram" went amazing. 94. Congrats and thank you to my comrades, Mr. Huensch and Mr. Keating, for excellent work. It turned out better than I thought. He had much to say in critique. Anne, Jerram has taught both a Tolkein & Middle Earth class, and a Jane Austen class; you would die of joy. You need to take a class with him. He's like the British grandfather you wish you had. Forget Boston; you need to find any excuse to be a Covenant student. But alas, now he is on sabbatical. I think the question of interpretive authority is an important one, because it is another way of asking who and where the community of the redeemed is and are, respectively. I am in awe of Jerram. Because although like many of my teachers, he may be dodging the question of the location of the Church, this man knows Jesus Christ, and is utterly unafraid of proclaiming Him, using ...

Theology Fail: Seriously, I love Doug Wilson. He is always interesting, his worldview is outstanding, and he's one of the reasons (Ahem. Rich Lusk, Jeff Meyers, N.T. Wright, "Captain Jack," et al.) that I was proud to be Reformed. But he needs to give the matters raised more thought. It was actually reading Trent (and not just the canons, you bums) that caused me to see what the anti-FVers are so on about. Being Catholic is first and foremost an ecclesial decision, not a doctrinal one, so I respect Wilson and others in their desire to remain separate from the Catholic Church. But the anti-FV position understands what the FV position does not, apparently: The traditional formulations of doctrine for Protestants are what the Reformation was actually about. If you question those, you are by definition questioning the wisdom of the separation itself. [By the way, you didn't read the whole thing, either.--ed.] Yes, but I did read Sessions V, VI, and VII, which are dire...

Wednesday "Pretending there's a chapel so I can skip it" Edition: And I should say that I loved chapel every time I ever went. But you know what it represents? Safety. Closed minds. Comfort. We do not have the luxury of not addressing Christian disunity head-on. Confessionalism and unity (even of an invisible kind) are intractably at odds. Time to make a choice. I absolutely know I'd love John Armstrong's book, Your Church is Too Small, even where we disagree. I know this because 1) I love John, whose warmth, honesty, courage, and sacrifice are worthy to be emulated, and 2) because it is an attempt to address the things that really matter about the Church. I think the thing that can be frustrating concerning the Catholic claims to people like John is that some "traditional" Catholics do not know just how good God has been to his people outside the visible Church. So called "conservative" Protestants are out there preaching the gospel, building ...

Catholic Eucharist, v. 2.0: We're plus-8 days as of this writing from my full communion with the successor of Peter. No, I don't think it'll wear off. [Noone stays on a high forever, freak.--ed.] True. But this is pretty sweet. I was in a minor foul mood because I couldn't seem to go to the little soldier's room before I left my house. We showed up early, because my friend was a lector (reader) today. So he said, "Do you want to go to Eucharistic Adoration before Mass?" Um, huge yes. Pointless Digression: Eucharistic Adoration is the heart of all the beliefs of the Catholic Church which are 1) undeniably weird, and 2) immeasurably awesome. The day you get used to experiencing Christ in this way, you'll be ready to be commissioner of the No Fun League. I must concede that I may be nuts, or Catholics have put those brain-leeches from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan into my brain. Either way, I'm OK with that.

Friday "There is a chapel, and I'm skipping it" Edition: There's a typo in the last post, and I'm too lazy to correct it. [I've got it. It should read, "A Librarian's Comments On..." There now, all better.--ed.] Thanks. Or, in the Anne Katherine Robinson notation, '*A Librarian's Comments On...' [It's not like she invented it, you know.--ed.] Yeah, but "St." Justin is the only other one of my friends who corrects his mistakes in this way. So I found myself in a 'conversation' about books last night, and I feel moved to comment further. I don't really know what a "good book" is. [Duh.--ed.] I mean, I don't really evaluate books in that general, holistic sense. If I find one line that contributes in some way to my well-being. or the Kingdom, or the Truth, I'm liable to praise the book as a whole. I know, that's insane. And I have an abiding talent for exaggerating. D.L. Moody told a woma...

Wednesday "If there was/were a chapel, I'd skip it" Edition: [You're evil and unpious.--ed.] I should say not. In fact, there is a legitimate question whether I'm free to attend chapel, now that...we'll get to that. [I hate you for this.--ed.] I'm sorry; it had to be done. Are you going to leave me? [To whom shall I go? You ignore the words of eternal life.--ed.] Oh, stop it. [But in all seriousness, I can't leave you. I love you; I'm a part of you. I think you're completely wrong, that you go to the "high places," but I go with you, if only to keep watch. If I go, you'll forget everything we've learned so far. You'll forget our people.--ed.] A very Jewish way you say that. [It was purposeful.--ed.] And I can't do that; I never would. One thing I love about where I am is the theological journal we get as students here: the Presbyterion. Always awesome stuff. That one guy with the evil twin brother named Clarence w...

I want to curse. No, really. There might be a holy time for a F-bomb, and this might be one of those times. As in, "Steve, what the [expletive] are you doing?" Let me honest here: I don't like other religions. 'Hate' applies to some of them. Why? Because they're missing Jesus. [You're a compromiser too; "invincible ignorance," anyone?--ed.] Look, whatever that means or doesn't mean, one thing is clear, which no Catholic worth his salt would dare deny: Truth from God only flows in one direction--TOWARD Jesus Christ. You're either floating down the river that leads to living water, or you've reached the Spring. (Or, of course, you could be moronically running the other way.) But woe to the one who loves men more than Christ! Read Hebrews. Then, read it again. How about a third time? Good. Feel better? Rinse and repeat as necessary. Someone should pay for this. I blame Luther. [Luther Vandross?--ed.] Hardly. Besides, listening to that...

Holy Water Like mercy Does the water fall Big love Couched in droplets small. It means… At your gates, O Lord, At your gates We enter by water Which he hates, The enemy of our souls. The door, the sky, the River, All love from You, the giver. Could we but see it, Your will to deliver. As for me, I will not shut my eyes.

I'm gonna take a wild guess that Rahner and von Balthasar are not representative of how the Magisterium means Vatican II to be interpreted. (Indeed, it's probably a knock on the latter that he's in the same sentence with Rahner, and an unfair one at that.) In fact, according to my friend, Dr. Lawrence Feingold, a leading scholar and Catholic theologian, those views are almost entirely contrary to what Vatican II actually taught, assuming the hermeneutics of continuity. More investigation is certainly warranted. Even in the best form, the concept of "invincible ignorance" is a real stumbling-block to Protestants, whose missionary impulse and understanding of Jesus' exclusive claims prevents even the suggestion that a person might be declared just by God without hearing and accepting Jesus.

I'm in trouble for writing this: "I cannot allow Green to use the word ‘Church’ (and the word ‘Eucharist’) in a catholic sense without a discussion of whether we mean the same things as they meant, or a note on how our own divisions make such generalizations dangerous. In our individual confessional positions, we may find agreement with the Fathers on some points, and disagreement on others. But as we make use of their insights—seemingly selectively and arbitrarily, I daresay—the degree to which we invoke them as authorities (and Green certainly does this) undercuts the legitimacy of critiquing them. And that reality simply amplifies the question of whether we can hold our confessional distinctness with any firmness at all, or if there is an invisible ‘Church’ to which we are joined at all, because it is defined by our various confessions, combined with a presumption of our ecclesial validity in its particularity." In other words, your definition of 'Church' (invi...

5 Thoughts For Today 5. I'm thrilled to be FINALLY done reading Evangelism in the Early Church by Michael Green. The first 200 pages and the last 8 are especially great, and I recommend the book to any committed Christian, whether papist, Eastern pope-dissenter, or fractious biblicist (Protestant). 4. Baseball season is upon us, and I'm PUMPED. Tomorrow, it begins. And the highlight is of course is Chris Carpenter taking the hill in St. Louis against San Diego. 3. Prayer is good, and overdue. 2. My mind is on the weekend. 1. Those crafty zealots at the local Jesus TV station have started showing Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes at 9 PM. But I wonder if they realize they might be militating against their own evangelistic appeals? Gene Roddenberry was a kind, but militant, secularist. (But, I suspect that the Christian faith of Star Trek writers has been formidable indeed.) Larry Rice Bonus: I know that Larry Rice is a left-wing hippie. I know that some people think he...

I woke up singing. That has to be good, right? "Praise to the Lord, The Almighty." It's either the first or second in the Trinity Hymnal, (PCA, OPC) I think. I don't know for sure, because I haven't seen one since I was at Christ Our King. But I sang it through twice. No, I didn't miss any words. It's a staple. If you believe the words of this hymn even a little, you're a different person, a new person. Note to the bishop of Rome: Steal the Trinity Hymnal now. If you are the shepherd of all of Christ's sheep, everything good and true belongs to Him and you anyway, right? I wouldn't mind a little editing here and there. On the other hand, most of the tunes are way too melodic for the average Mass. No offense. So maybe you can use it for kids or something. I was talking to Jesus yesterday, and I remember wondering with him what I'll miss most about the PCA, should I choose to accept this Mission: Nearly Impossible. And I said, "The hymns...

For Sarah “Let her cry/Let the tears fall down like rain…” And this is right. You cry with all you have, Just like He did, Though his power Reigned in the next breath. What mystery this: That this moment ever brief Should cause Him grief. And yet it did. If the Lord of Heaven and Earth should declare Such a wrenching loss an affront to his rule By His tears, Let your many more tears Be your testimony of Him. I join mine to yours, So great a gift it is. Amen, my sister.

OOOH, look everyone, dueling pieces on the Libyan War ! This reminds me of the paper I wrote on the Iraq War. Bush almost lost the presidency over that, and it was only 1+ years on when he faced re-election (and it got way worse). My take: Even if Congress is ceding their war-making authority to the executive, it doesn't make it constitutional, correct, or prudent. The case law Goldsmith cites relies heavily on accepted tradition. [Kinda Catholic, eh?--ed.] But in this case, wrong. We really need to take the electoral motive mostly out of war decisions for Congress. They're acquiescing to the president for 50 years because they (correctly) think that the blame for a bad war will go to him. I've written about this before: "The Electoral Biases Against Foreign Policy Expertise In Congress." ("Uncle Bryan," feel free to send that back over, so I don't lose it forever.) Repeal the 17th Amendment! Restore the Senate to its intended function! For the word...

Note to women: If your profile on Facebook in the "Books" section says, "I don't read books," don't worry, I won't bother you. It may be that I don't read the right books; that said, the worst offense in "the game" to me is a certain uncuriosity. Even if it were a kind of sliding scale...wait, wow, that would have to be...no, nevermind. That level of attractiveness (to balance out the uncuriosity) cannot be reached.

I started a fracas (yes, a fracas) on my Facebook page. It concerns our old friend, the phrase "common grace" in Reformed theology. This is one of the most problematic ideas anywhere in theology. It's not like "actual grace" in Catholic theology, a grace that moves a person toward sanctifying [that is, justifying] grace. In fact, if you were one of the "vessels prepared in advance for destruction," this would be horrible, because in Reformed theology, common grace doesn't of necessity lead to saving grace. In fact, I don't think there's a connection at all. This strikes me as the divine equivalent of healing Westley so he's strong enough to be started on "The Machine." There's a huge difference between being beneficent and providential toward those who hate you, and being gracious in the systematic sense. God is either giving utterly useless graces on purpose to the damned (if that Reformed predestination hoo-ha is true) o...

They couldn't stop the ball. That's the way it seemed, anyway. On this night, when basketball legend Coach Pat Summitt notched her 1,070th victory against only 198 losses, the very day the university fired her friend Bruce Pearl, Angel Robinson and her Marquette Golden Eagles teammates were quick off the dribble, and in the paint all night long. It was the easy buckets set up by penetration that made this game much closer than the 79-70 score. Tennessee rebounded well, and it's a good thing; the single opportunities and missed shots in the first half and in the final 3 minutes by Marquette were the difference in the game. This was a beautiful game to watch, as both teams had shooting percentages above 50 for most of the game. There was a flow, there was a cleanliness about it. Even if this tournament, indeed, this game is a product of an ill-conceived and unconstitutional attempt at social engineering, heck, I still like to watch it. It's good basketball. And anyone who...

Good for you, Grant Hill . But there's some real tension here culturally, isn't there? Cultural expressions that in themselves are real and valid, but expressed more widely do belie an anti-white, anti-intellectualism. Anti-white feelings are totally understandable, even if I think most black Americans are trapped politically and culturally by a revisionist history and victimology. But of course I would say that; I'm white and privileged. But anti-intellectualism is bad. Still, to what extent does "blackness" require hostility to the prevailing culture? To what extent does that culture reflect the pressure to homogenize, [sp?] which is itself a racist impulse? Or is it? Paging Anthony Bradley! This is the post I wanted to write last week; I was so mad and irritated at the good doctor that I wanted to egg his house and write "VIVA GOLDWATER!" all over it. (But seriously, I love Goldwater. I'm sad he lost. Mostly.)