I’m sorry to say, but my thoughts have irrevocably turned to next week when I will be on “vacation” which is going to mean both lots of camping, lots of reading and writing (but not blogging probably), lots of finally painting my office and bathroom, and lots of praying that Matt will dig a pond in the back garden. It’s hard to stay “present” in the “moment” when there’s so much to do about the future, but I thought maybe… Read more
It appears that today is Bastille Day. I know because the French news person skipped complaining about America’s problems to exclusively show footage of the parade progressing down the Champs Elysees. Everyone seemed pretty cheery. Which should engender some small hope–give it a couple of hundred years and everything takes on a hazy golden glow, even things that at the time (coughreinofterrorcough) would have been pretty stressful. I say that having made the mistake of reading this right before I… Read more
A visual representation of me contemplating the day. Goodness, 7 am comes dolorously early with the clamor of the interminable road works outside my open window after a night interrupted by a bored and angry kitten. I only ignored him by finishing my mystery novel on my kindle. It wasn’t bad, if totally implausible, which I believe is the point of every good mystery. Today is the nineteenth birthday of my first child [that’s right, she’s nineteen, which makes me,… Read more
It is a gray and sultry day here in the Northeast. To cope, we’ve done a shortish podcast about some of the stuff going on in the Anglican world–allegations of abuse, the politicization of the issue on Twitter, that sort of thing. You don’t know what you’re chucking away, I explain, rather tetchily, and Matt concurs. Also, we apologize for the loudness of the trucks outside, I try to excuse myself for my lack of blogging, and generally, it’s what… Read more
Jesus watching me organize my day. The First Thing My proper review of Beth Allison Barr’s The Making of Biblical Womanhood is out. It’s paywalled in the hopes that you’ll be so anxious to know what I said that you’ll pony up your hard-earned money (or your free covid money) to read it. I must say, it was hard to write because there was so much that I objected to. I didn’t swing quite so wildly as I did at… Read more
Well, I didn’t want to, but I did read that thing in the Guardian about Tolkien being the Baddie after all. Here is the stupidest bit: Tolkien’s myths are profoundly conservative. Both The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings turn on the “return of the king” to his rightful throne. In both cases this “victory” means the reassertion of a feudal social structure which had been disrupted by “evil”. Both books are one-sided recollections made the Baggins family, members of… Read more
In spite of constantly cleaning my house and not being online, I do keep running into more articles and stuff about the question of where a preacher can get his sermon: According to Docent’s website, the group “partners with pastors to provide research assistance to lighten their load and help them serve their churches more effectively, ” and will “assist with both sermon and sociological research, offering consultations with experienced ministry leaders, and producing curriculum.” Further, Docent will “carefully pair graduate-level… Read more
Happy Fourth of July Observed! It is a bright and sunny day here in Bing and we’ve done up a decently lengthed podcast about what Christian freedom really means, how it is the same and different as civic freedom or liberty, how you should not despise people you think are gravely wrong, and how we have had enough scorn and contempt. If you managed to eschew pride in pride month, you could take up divesting yourself from scorn for the… Read more
I’m over at Stand Firm today. It is the very early dawn and a firecracker has just popped off near my window, reminding me that, though it is the usual Sunday, it is also Independence Day. This must be a terrible irony, organized by God to make us all feel uncomfortable. After all, independence isn’t something that pairs very well with the Christian life. The trouble is that the creatures whom God has made (us) desire their independence more than… Read more
A visual icon of the souls of my children. It’s Friday, and a holiday weekend, so let’s see what we have, shall we? One Our household is pretty divided on the question of whether or not America’s Independent Moment was a good or bad thing. Two One child thinks that the whole business about how we are supposed to “obey those in authority” a la the commands of Ye Olde Bible should have won the day and everyone should have… Read more
