Things Not Indifferent

Last updated on: October 21, 2020 at 2:18 pm By Timon Cline

There has been much talk of late about the adiaphora (“things indifferent”) in the context of church-state relations, especially in Reformed Evangelical circles (probably the only circles nerdy enough to have such discussions). The things indifferent, it is said, are those that fall into the temporal realm (as opposed to the sacred realm) to which Scripture either does not directly speak or is silent. These indifferent things are, therefore, it is maintained by some, strictly subject to Christian prudence and... Read more

The Shocking Necessity of Not Reading Christianity Today

Last updated on: October 17, 2020 at 10:17 pm By Timon Cline

Three days ago, Bari Weiss published a simply phenomenal article at Tablet, where she is now writing again since being ousted from the Grey Lady, entitled “Stop Being Shocked.” Though I have a few (very few) quibbles, none of them are substantive. It is an insightful critique of the rising illiberalism of the elite, woke left. John McWhorter is quite right to call it a “masterpiece.” I will not use any of it here because everyone should read it, start... Read more

A Model Conversation: Jonathan Leeman’s Rebuttal

Last updated on: October 9, 2020 at 5:43 pm By Timon Cline

The aim of argument is differing in order to agree; the failure of argument is when you agree to differ. -G.K. Chesterton, “Shaw on Marriage,” April 1, 1911, Collected Works, vol. 29, p. 62. On Wednesday, here at TCC, I analyzed a recent Defend and Confirm podcast interview with Jonathan Leeman. Therein, I criticized some aspects of Leeman’s approach to the use of critical race theory (CRT) and intersectionality by Christians, specifically his suggestion (which he maintains) that,... Read more

On Co-Belligerence and Critical Race Theory

Last updated on: October 7, 2020 at 9:04 pm By Timon Cline

Jonathan Leeman was recently on the Defend and Confirm podcast. The guys (Sean DeMars and Russell Berger) at D&C have been doing a series on critical theories, which I commend to you (especially for the uninitiated listener wanting an introduction to the relevant concepts). The Leeman interview is a bit of an interruption of said series but is, nevertheless, not totally off topic. The discussion between Leeman and the D&C hosts revolves around how Christians should engage with one another... Read more

Weekend Miscellanies: Hypocrisy, Matthew 18, and the SBC

Last updated on: October 3, 2020 at 11:54 pm By Timon Cline

This is the beginning of a new series here at TCC. On the weekends (either Friday or Saturday, and probably in the wee hours) we will run short commentary on events, developments, hot topics, etc. from the preceding week. These posts (as often as they run) will be categorized under “Miscellanies” in honor of Jonathan Edwards. The thoughts (we almost went with “Pensées” as the title) will not necessarily be complete or definitive. Look for updates. Enjoy! The latest... Read more

Critical Race Theory is Not a Fad

Last updated on: September 29, 2020 at 1:27 pm By Timon Cline

In an article last week at The Federalist, Lewis Andrews argued that, as the headline read, “Just Like Freud’s Psychoanalysis, Critical Race Theory Will Ultimately Collapse.” The demonstration of the thesis proved a little less ambitious than the headline suggested. The basic argument of Andrews is that psychoanalysis was a popular fad, so too is Critical Race Theory (CRT). Therefore, the latter is doomed to the same fate as the former. Briefly recounting recent history of the ascendency of the... Read more

Playing Gracefully with Ideas

Last updated on: September 18, 2020 at 7:34 pm By Timon Cline

Over the past several decades, Reformed theology has enjoyed what has been called, in the spirit of the Reformers themselves, an ad fontes, a return to the sources, movement. The works of the sixteenth and seventeenth-century Reformers are now more widely appreciated and studied thanks (and translated), in part, to the work of Richard Muller, and others, who have spent their careers drawing from obscurity the wisdom of the past. The result has been a broadening, deepening, and enriching of... Read more

Roger Scruton’s Religion

Last updated on: September 5, 2020 at 5:37 pm By Timon Cline

Last week I took some live notes during the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation webinar, which marked the launch of the new organization dedicated, as the title indicates, to celebrating and furthering Scruton’s accomplishments and influence. I broke off my notes right before Roger Kimball and Douglas Murray started talking about Scruton’s treatment of religion. I wanted a chance to go back and watch the whole thing again before publishing that protion of the notes. The first round of notes can be... Read more

Critical Social Justice, Black Lives Matter, and Christian Missions

Last updated on: August 30, 2020 at 11:33 pm By Timon Cline

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how the logic of critical ideologies (Postcolonial Theory and Critical Race Theory, in particular) may very well lead Christians to forsake missionary work (n.b. don’t miss the update at the bottom of that article added later that day). The cause of decolonization demands it. An article from today at the New Yorker, to some extent, corroborates my predictions. In “How Black Lives Matter is Changing the Church,” Eliza Griswold chronicles the shift... Read more

Live Notes on the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation Webinar

Last updated on: August 26, 2020 at 2:31 pm By Timon Cline

Kimball: Scruton’s highest vocation was a teacher and mentor. He understood as Socrates understood, how to live the good life is the animating question of Scruton’s life in his polemical writings, his activism in Poland, his architectural enthusiasms, and etc. But his greatest impact was on those who knew him and were mentored by him. In other words, his friendship. Kimball suggests (as I wrote yesterday) that we are living through a moment not unlike the late 1960s when Sir... Read more