Reformation Day is about "re-forming" the Church; that is, to return to its "substantial form" or essence, namely, the Gospel, that Christ saves sinners. The medieval church had the Gospel, but it was buried under other preoccupations. Today, 52% of "Christians" and 41% of "evangelicals" believe they must be saved by good works rather than by Christ, suggesting that today's church also needs "re-forming."
Chris Gehrz writes about the 1920s bluesman Blind Willie Johnson, whose sang about the Spanish Flu in terms that apply in a startling way to our COVID-19 pandemic. He also gives the epidemic an apocalyptic significance, as a sign that "Jesus is coming soon."
"Theodicy" deals with the Problem of Evil, how to reconcile the reality of evil and suffering with the existence of a righteous, omnipotent God. But if there is no God, the Problem of Evil remains. Indeed, it intensifies, to the point of becoming unbearable. This is the challenge of "atheodicy."
Now that the Left has adopted identity politics, the mindset of intersectionality, and the rhetoric of grievance, conservatives have started doing it too.
Conservative Christians tend to say that, yes, Donald Trump has character flaws, but they are outweighed by his pro-life positions. But noted evangelical John Piper is saying that character is MORE important in a leader than his stance on abortion. His analysis, though, is faulty.
Pope Francis is being quoted as endorsing same-sex civil unions. Though this stops short of advocating same-sex sacramental marriages, this would amount to a seismic shift in Catholic moral teachings.
Tonight is the final debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, their last confrontation before the election in 12 days. I won't be live-blogging as such, but I invite your commentary and discussion here at this post.
"Fascist" is not just an all-purpose insult, or a synonym for "conservative," or a generic right-wing dictatorship. Rather, fascism is a distinct ideology, with its own philosophy, economic theory, political program, moral convictions, and religious worldview. And, despite their catastrophic consequences, elements of fascism are re-emerging.
Americans are highly diverse and politically polarized. But they come to a remarkable consensus across nearly all demographics when it comes to architecture. Whatever their politics, race, sex, income, or education, they overwhelmingly prefer classical to modernist styles in their public buildings.
To enslave another human being requires a certain mindset. And because slavery has been so widespread in human history, that mindset must be easy to slip into. A scholar sees elements of the mindset that gave us slavery, ironically, in contemporary progressivism.
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