Personification happens when inanimate objects or abstractions are represented as possessing human form. Surely among the most compelling charms of little ones is their intractable tendency to view all the world as *personal.* Witness this picture drawn yesterday for me by Verdinah, age four. She had recently been applying her considerable energy to the motor … [Read more…]
I went to Shul tonight. I’m happy I did. Since I’m a Calvinist, I suppose it’s incumbent upon me to deliver three reasons for that happiness. OK. On second thought, let me give three reasons for the joy while taking a stab at explaining how so much misery made its way into the mix. It’s … [Read more…]
The men who have deeply influenced my thinking have been several, and I’d gladly list them if asked, telling particular ways each has contributed to my understanding of Scripture and life. Those who influenced my preaching, however, are fewer (which may partly account for its deficiencies). Few or many, the influence of Marcus Dods upon … [Read more…]
by Rev. Steve Schlissel In a moral universe, offenders grant power to the offended. The ineradicable, relentless presence of equity takes right from the wrongdoer and puts it into the account of the victim. It is for this, among many other reasons, that it is not only blasphemous, it is nonsense to speak of forgiving … [Read more…]
Some have asked for guidance in their thinking and reaction to the killing of Ben Lowdown. Okay, some quick ones. But first let me assure you that these comments are NOT personal and have no one in view. That said, I mourn over our unreaction to this unqualifiedly wonderful news and regard our confusion as … [Read more…]
Beloved People of God, Certain teachings hold the promise of opening vistas of understanding, enabling us to truly make awful sense even out of what we see today. So I thought it might be well to give a brief treatment of something which ought to be as familiar to thinking Christians as rice is to … [Read more…]
by Rev. Steve Schlissel Listen, the Times today made it clear that our response to the TSA’s movement against innocent Americans at airports has the potential to do what can only be done in a country such as ours (was): peacefully change policy. Brothers, there has not been a more important issue smooshed in our … [Read more…]
by Steve Schlissel I ordered some office supplies on eBay to save some dough. When I saw the shipping charges, I said to myself, “There goes the savings.” So, seeing how the vendors name was “twoguysfrombrooklyn,” I decided to deal with it Brooklyn style. And since he was a real deal Brooklyn boy on the … [Read more…]
A glance at the output of contemporary philosophy departments justifies this sardonic assessment: 20th century philosophy suffered so many hernias from pushing Kant against the wall, that the first decade of the next century has proved too short a time to calculate the damage, identify the lost trajectory, or get back to business. Publishing houses … [Read more…]
“And to the immoral and wicked, each day brings into clearer relief the relationship between ethics and epistemology.” Interesting remark. Can you expound on how epistemology and ethics are related? I have followed your stuff before and I don’t remember this emphasis. What do you mean by epistemology? Are you speaking in the Van Til … [Read more…]
There are limits to everything. Aren’t there? Well, there used to be. Or so it seemed. But I can’t tell if there are any still in place. And, I wonder, if there are limits, what they might be? Every sunrise brings new reasons to believe Leonard Cohen was in an inspired, prophetic estate when he … [Read more…]
We had been lamenting Andy Kuyvenhoven’s triumph over truth when he had converted a victory of communication in the cause of righteousness into just another lost cause. I don’t know how to catch up explaining to my children and my students all they need to know if they are to keep at least one foot … [Read more…]
Are Curves and Straight Lines Interchangeable? Brilliance, Perception, Lenses, and the Christian Reformed Church Having come across an article I found to be a true treat, intellectually, I asked Craig, the Go-To-Man at Messiah’s, if he would mind calling Alvin Plantinga to get permission for us to post it on the Net, or perhaps reprint … [Read more…]
We’ve nearly concluded a lengthy sermon series on POWER. It is, itself, part of a longer series on INESCAPABLES. By inescapables we mean things or categories or realities that no one can avoid in life. We have in mind, more narrowly, those categories and entities which we “religious people” are accused of making use of … [Read more…]