Safe Haven

Happy Birthday to my brother, Kevin Kettinger, my kindergarten teacher Miss Nelson, to Taylor Overstreet, and to Tiger Woods.

Obama clearly wants to lose . [No, he's just inept, and stuck with the fruit of identity politics.--ed.] True. Number 1 rule of winning electoral politics for presidents: Get the Midwest. Number 2 rule: DON'T TICK OFF THE GUN PEOPLE! Pete's sake, what happened to Senator Obama? This "President Obama" is clearly someone else.

Carl Trueman is as Protestant as Protestant gets. I read his articles, and I never get the sense that he is changing his mind. But he inspires me. I know Bryan is a fan, precisely because Trueman is willing to tease out the implications of what he believes (and what he doesn't) and to live with them. He's not on a team, as it were. If some piece of the historical data or some ecclesial consideration gives grist to the papists in the court of public opinion, it's no concern of his, long as it's true. What I can recall is thinking that the ground of my dissent or disagreement with the Catholic Church had to be strong. In that, I agreed with Trueman, who wrote that Catholicism was the default position in the West. I could appreciate also the opinion that we as evangelicals needed affirmative reasons to be what we were. If we found ourselves in agreement with Rome, we should return. All this is true, and it had to be so, for the sake of the dogmatic principle, as Newman wou...

Tim asks a good question about divorce in the comments to a previous post. The relevant sections of the CCC (let the reader understand) are 2382-2386. But some of the New Testament texts seem to permit divorce, at least in the theoretical, in the case of adultery. But Bryan's article on this is maniacally thorough. [We're used to this by now, aren't we?--ed.] It still shocks me, like the pungent incense at Easter, or the fact that the Cardinals won the World Series, or that Firefly was ever cancelled. [Yeah, that show is great.--ed.] I know, right?

I think it's raining ice at my house. That, or we are being invaded by radical eliminationist termites. [Could be both.--ed.] That's true. "Uncle Bryan" and I saw Bryan's old philosophy instructor from his Reformed seminary days at the midnight Mass at the Cathedral. She was glad to see him, we think. She taught philosophy back not long ago when Reformed people still thought thinking clearly was important. Not that I know anything about that. I've always wanted to ask her if she's inherited the Earth yet. (let the readers understand) And I still find that funny; thanks for asking. For my part, I'm still very glad with my decision. When I saw the Archbishop, my unity with him was palpable. In turn, I knew that I was visibly united to the bishop of Rome, who was and is the visible principle of unity for the Church, and for all Christians. Better still that my bishop holds the Catholic faith, and works hard to uphold those who hold it. I've been sick,...

On this day, God in the flesh appeared--Christ the LORD--to reconcile us to the Father. Even as the defenseless baby cried, He held the world in being. May His coming bring peace to every heart, and peace on Earth. May every darkness of sin be banished forever! I love you all, and Merry Christmas.

Permit me to be a bit frank here this evening. If you are working on "marriage" #2 and are not a widow or widower or roped into something on false pretenses, I'm not celebrating squat. You're likely in a state of permanent and public adultery. It's not "fabulous" and I'm not happy for you. Add it to my, "Why Protestantism Sucks" File, #4072. Incontinence with public sanction! Unfair, obnoxious, immoral. Lest you think Mother Church callous, there is provision for separation (but not divorce) in the case of adultery or violence in the Code of Canon Law, canons 1151-55.

Absolutely preposterous. Man, I love baseball. Note to self: I'm never drafting Dan Uggla again. [But he hit 36 HRs and had 82 RBI.--ed.] Dude, I'm a purist. If you hit .233 AFTER the season's longest hitting streak of 33 games, YOU SUCK. (No offense, Dan.)

Here's the Deborah Cox version of the song to which I was previously referring, in case anyone cares. [Great, encourage fornication, why don't you?--ed.] You can use it as a wedding-night song, or even a, "Wow, that was a fantastic first date" song, sheesh. I liked Deborah as soon as I found her; she's like Whitney with better songs.

OK, it's (ex) Protestant Share Time! I'm "in love" with Melanie Fiona . She's awesome. And this means that my three favorite R&B/Soul discoveries of roughly the last 15 years (joining Deborah Cox and Tamia) are all Canadian. Uh oh! C'mon, USA! [They also are very attractive.--ed.] True. But I think the whole movement like, "You don't have to be attractive to be a talented singer" is as manufactured as its opposite. Adele, looking in your direction. [That was harsh.--ed.] Well, we need something real to latch on to if "pop star" doesn't just mean "pretty face." If you're not exceptionally good, being unpretty shouldn't get you a pass. It's like the reverse, PC version of pop star venality. If you're ugly, we'll suck up to you! Bah! I admit my guilt in being a fan of Mya as a teenager for shall we say sensual reasons; however, in my defense, the radio-edit version of "My First Night With You...

I cannot write not one, but two semi-sympathetic posts on Christopher Hitchens without mentioning Vaclav Havel. I am a real commie if I don't say anything. I don't know all that much about him, but color me sypathetic to anyone who opposes collectivist totalitarianism. [You are hardly in a position to do that, are you?--ed.] Shush. Did Tim put you up to that? [No, but I like his style.--ed.] I'm sure you do. Anyway, I'd like to think that a whole bunch of professors and other useful idiots--but I repeat myself--wouldn't be so vociferous in defense of their utopian "dreams" if they had to live in one. RIP, Mr. Havel. P.S. Is anyone alarmed by the fact that anti-communism has turned militaristic? Paging Ron Paul! What if the whole worldwide non-left has been tricked into enacting the socialists' plans for them?

I don't even have a good reason why I liked Hitchens' work; I just do. Actually, one of life's more interesting moments came about when discussing him. I was at an event sponsored by the respected Acton Institute, and I mentioned that I respected him and liked to read him. You'd think I killed someone's cat or worse. The table, full of uber-orthodox Catholics, was stunned. I didn't say I thought he was a moral paragon; in fact, the difference between our worldview and his covers some distance. But he always makes me think, and I appreciate that. I may ever be one who admires the unworthy, but my intellectual world is better with him in it. Lucky for me, his words outlive him. I wonder what to make of this? Even the thought of taking this seriously is preposterous. But maybe that's the point.

5 Thoughts After Writing A Certified, Literary Piece Of Crap 5. Where's Tim Butler? Then again, I'm not sure he can help. 4. [Where is this story going, anyway?--ed.] Well, if I knew that, I'd tell you. 3. [You should kill some more people.--ed.] No, that's a cheap trick. [Like everything you write.--ed.] Touche. 2. I might try writing the seventh part to make it better. 1. [You really shouldn't speak so crudely; this is a family site.--ed.] Psssshhh. I can't even pass for Martha Stewart, much less Martha Washington.

Christopher Hitchens has died . I just wanted to say that although the words were relatively few, I enjoyed almost all of his in which I partook. It was Hitchens who convinced me of the evil of water-boarding. It was Hitchens who convinced me not to take solace in the temporary rise of the serial-liar Hillary Clinton. It was his frankness about the war in Kosovo that helped me to revise my thinking on the role of religion in postmodern life. That I need to explain. He had no patience for those who refused to acknowledge or consider the role sincerely-held doctrine could play. If he thought we were buffoons for believing it, at least he didn't view it as an accessory in those he mocked. In this way, he respected us. If I or anyone else had a tendency to compartmentalize or live as de facto secularists, he would remind us that he took such claims seriously, even in denial. I never finished God Is Not Great. Whether it was fear or anger, I can't recall. But the truth is, even if h...

YouTube invited me to listen to Michael Jackson's "Will You Be There." Man, I love that song. I'm a fan of his music, I admit it. I wish I could give a wholehearted endorsement of the man. I hope all the accusations made against him are false. I hope he came into the LORD's mercy, and not His wrath when he died.

This payroll tax cut debate is inane. Both Democrats and Republicans believe (or should) that cutting the payroll tax is a good idea. Just do it, then. President Obama needs to realize that the House Republicans want to attach the Keystone pipeline to the bill. Did he fail to notice that they won the last election? Does he really believe his re-election will be thwarted by hordes of depressed leftist greens? Nor do I see any reason or mechanism to stop those who wish to build the pipeline. Of course, he'll claim credit when it produces jobs. Nothing new there. It's not my job to correct the falsities of political machinations; I just know that electoral kabuki is pretty stupid when the people are out of work.

I admit it, I love what I've read of Ayn Rand. I read 'The Fountainhead' when I was maybe 13. I started 'Atlas Shrugged' but have never finished it. I read 'Anthem' at least once a year. But I'm not an Objectivist. I like altruism; I think the Gospel of Jesus Christ absolutely requires it. But the folly of the secular state that destroys the individual can no longer be avoided. The poignance of the critique at precisely that point isn't altered or blunted, no matter who else embraces Rand. Nor does an appreciation of Rand in some limited sense constitute an embrace of her amorality, either personally or philosophically. Mr. Carter needs to re-think this, and definitely apologize to Congressmen Paul and Ryan.

I read 5 more psalms today. I spoke too soon if I conveyed that I had put away the anger. After you've been slandered and cast aside, it's hard not to be. But I read the Catechism section on anger as a check and a warning. I don't want to hurt anyone, but I'm angry. Angry that no one called to talk to me. No one said, "You're going wrong." And then I find that I had done great harm, irreparable harm, that my last warning had been given. It was over before I spoke a word in defense or reparation. No, I don't wish harm. But you have harmed me.

"Take two psalms and call me in the morning." Well, it didn't work. I read five. Heck, at least I'm not sad. I can't say it's productive as emotions go. Just be glad I'm not Ali before the Terrell fight, because Terrell would die. Anyway, I've got nothing useful to say. Thanks for stopping by.

God is enough, more than enough for us. We could spend all day thanking Him for the revelation of His love in Jesus Christ for the rest of our lives, and we could not exhaust the deserving. Because of this, how can we not say words of peace and pardon to one another who have only met because of Christ? I have heard that I am forgiven, but this state does not do justice to those words. If I am not to be trusted, then I never was. Despite my errors, I am the same person. Shall I discard those momentos of happier days? As of now, they mean nothing. They must have signified something false, something unreal. What else can be my conclusion? Can the love which gave the signs their meaning be significant when it is so easily discarded? I admit, I do believe this unhappy state befits a much greater crime. Forgive me if I speak out of turn in saying so.