May 30, 2015 | Uncategorized
In 1905 Philosopher George Santayana wrote the now famous phrase, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” For some the study of history may be a dry and boring subject, especially in an age enamored of progress always pining after the latest and greatest, but history is the great book of the past that can teach us more than we can learn from the present.
History is not simply isolated facts, dates and events to be remembered as if it were a multiple choice test; it is a story, or very many stories, and for Christians it is ultimately His-story. History’s stories and the lessons we learn from them, have a profound impact on both present and future, or at least they should. We all know, or should, that the story tellers in a society have a significant influence on the manners and mores, the attitudes and beliefs of its people. This includes, importantly, the stories of history. History must be interpreted because it is not just brute facts. Partisan, philosophical, and religious divisions often afflict the meaning we assign to history. (more…)
May 29, 2015 | Uncategorized
For those of you going through “Mad Men” withdrawals now that the series has ended, and are in need of a ’60s series set piece fix, you have your wish in NBC’s new show “Aquarius.” But unlike “Mad Men,” this is a much darker look at the underside of the turbulent 1960s, mainly because one of the main characters is Charles Manson. Yes, that Charles Manson (played by Gethin Anthony). Here is the basic plot from an LA Times review: (more…)
May 29, 2015 | Uncategorized
Let’s be honest: Some black lives really don’t matter. If you are a young black man shot in the head by another young black man, almost certainly no one will know your name. Al Sharpton won’t come rushing to your family’s side with cameras in tow. MSNBC won’t discuss the significance of your death. No one will protest, or even riot, for you. You are a statistic, not a cause. Just another dead black kid in some city somewhere, politically useless to progressives and the media, therefore all but invisible.
–Rich Lowery, “#SomeBlackLivesDontMatter”
May 25, 2015 | Uncategorized
Growing up as the son of a Baptist minister I confess that my attitude toward alcohol was, at one time, less than positive. Drink was associated in my mind with drunkenness. Like most late-Gen X/early-Millennial evangelicals, my attitude changed. In fact, even my parents now enjoy a glass of wine on occasion.
What I regret most about this upbringing is not the absence of adult beverages. Having an aversion to these things as a teenager may well have saved me a host of troubles. What I regret is not having been initiated in a positive manner into the enjoyment of fine drink by older and wiser men, for the culture and community in which we learn to drink affects us well into the future. I had to stumble around, so to speak, and find my own way.
But I did find mentors, I suppose—mostly Catholic ones. I learned from Chesterton that there are radically different motivations for imbibing. His advice? “Drink because you are happy, but never because you are miserable.” Just as we must not grieve as those who have no hope, I learned, neither must we drink like them.
–Logan Paul Gage, “It’s Vespers Somewhere”
May 24, 2015 | Uncategorized
The importance of apologetics cannot be overstated, in the life of the Christian, the life of the Church, and the life of the Church in the world. The famous verse that all apologists, which should really be all Christians, base their obedience to defend the faith is I Peter 3:15:
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect . . .
The Greek word for “answer” is ἀπολογία, or 1) verbal defense, speech in defense 2) a reasoned statement or argument. These defenses or arguments can come in many forms and address many issues, like the reliability of the Bible, or the resurrection, the philosophical arguments for God’s existence, etc. The impact of Christianity on the world is another. (more…)
In 1905 Philosopher George Santayana wrote the now famous phrase, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” For some the study of history may be a dry and boring subject, especially in an age enamored of progress always pining after the latest and greatest, but history is the great book of the past that can teach us more than we can learn from the present.
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