Some recent cyber-items of note from around the World-Wide-Web.
- An interesting article in First Things called Proclaiming the Good News, that talks about the descriptive/proscriptive hermeneutic from a Catholic perspective–this will probably fuel the urge in many to “swim the Tiber.”
- A discussion between Italian Philosopher Paolo Flores d’Arcais and Jürgen Habermas on the question of Religion and the Public Sphere
- Here, here and here are few of the many (and varied) responses to the article entitled “On the Coming Evangelical Disaster” that Aaron reviewed in his recent post. . . .but be sure to check out (regularly) “Adventures in Mormonism,” for their take not only on this article, but as a daily reminder of Galatians 1:6. Rest assured, Aaron’s is by far the most helpful and insightful.
- While we’re on the subject of theological vacuousness, perhaps the coming disaster is a result of “the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion. Taken literally, without knowledge of the historical controversies from which they emerged, or regard for the religious fanaticism and intolerance of the 16th century, and without taking cognisance of skewed and partial nature of many of the Reformers’ pronouncements—hmm, we’ll see.
- An interesting interactive grid that details the percentage shifts in Religious affiliation on a state-by-state basis. North Carolina, raise up.
- This article from the Atlantic, entitled “One World, Under God,” is a perfect illustration of the logical end to the false (neo-Marxist) assumptions of the New Perspective on Paul–it also has this amazing sentence, “In the days before modern anesthesia, requiring men to have penis surgery before they could join a religion fell under the rubric of disincentive“. . . indeed.
Anyway, that’s enough for now. Thank you for the moment (or six) of self-indulgence, and although I wanted to leave you with my current favorite boat song, for the sake of our family-friendly rating, I’ll settle for this:
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8 responses to “Second Hand News”
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JD –
you are hilarious. I can’t wait to see you at the Mbird Conference!
The Koch Report
It is interesting that Hughes says in the “Proclaiming the Good News” article in First Things:
“There is a place for exhortation in the pulpit. But it belongs at the end, when the overwhelming message of God’s unmerited love and goodness has prepared the hearers’ hearts and minds to respond to his love through grateful obedience and worshipful self-sacrifice.”
For many who post here, this may sound like “the law” reasserting itself, or it may sound like the dreaded “3rd use.” But isn’t this the pattern of every epistle in the NT? And isn’t it the pattern of the General Thanksgiving in Rite I:
“We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we shew forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end.”
My concern is having “exhortation” at the end of a sermon. The gospel should always be the first and the last word, and any mention of “righteousness” should be in the context of “thankfulness” and “gift” so beautifully put in the blessed Rite I. But what do I know? I just sit there and listen!
(Someone has discovered the super-size feature in embedded videos)
But what do I know? I just sit there and listen!
haha. . as anyone who follows this blog knows, you’re more knowledgeable/insightful than most!
I love this article because it really makes me think–like much of First Things (not to mention some of the Pope’s new writings)—about why I’m not swimming the Tiber, as it were. There are some subtle and not-so-subtle differences, but as this article shows, some of our critiques here are mirrored by our good friends at First Things.
JDK – As an “Orangeman” through and through, I am not the least tempted to swim the Tiber. When I get depressed and think that we evangelical Protestants have a monopoly on goofy legalism, I just watch a little EWTN and realize it could be worse. However, no Protestant, including Luther, ever had a better grasp of the gospel than Flannery O’Connor, one of the most devout RC’s ever.
Now you’re treading on sacred spaces, Michael. Like the Holy Ground in Lowndesboro.
😉
I’m not much on sacred spaces, but at Horseshoe Bend, I go barefoot.