God's great frontal assult is the push out from the uterus; his first battle cry is the sound of a newborn. The creator and sustainer of heaven and earth, is sustained by the milk of his mother's breast and the warmth of her body.
They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
What our sense of 'gratitude' reveals is the depth of our false allegiance to the god of this age.
There is no tension between the two: God's grace and judgement are the same movement; the one implies the other.
I recently heard that the foundational principle of some libertarian or anarchist political theories is the right to own private property. It is precisely this principle that leads these thinkers to reject all forms government coercion, because they violate this most basic human right to autonomy and self-sufficiency. As far as I'm concerned, this position … Continue reading Christ and Possessions
Note to Reader, I received a free review copy of this documentary in exchange for this review. I've tried to remain impartial and unbiased in what follows. In one of the opening lines of Postcards from Babylon, Brian Zhand proclaims: “I am not following a donkey, I am not following an elephant, I am following … Continue reading Postcards From Babylon Documentary Review
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves … Continue reading Parables of the Kingdom
In this chapter Taylor looks at the phenomenon of conversion in a Secular age, those people who “broke out of the immanent frame” into a larger perspective of Transcendence. These are people who come to recognize—perhaps through a conversion experience or via some other path—that there is more, that the immanent frame is insufficient. Taylor … Continue reading Chapter 20: Conversions
In this chapter, Taylor explores some of the points of cross pressure, tension, unease for modern unbelief. The places where the buffered identity and immanent frame have a hard time remaining “closed,” and an “open” take suggests itself. Taylor's exploration in this chapter can't “decide the issue between belief and unbelief” but it can “bring … Continue reading Chapter 19: Unquiet Frontiers of Modernity
In this chapter, Taylor continues to explore the tensions between belief and unbelief, now turning to look at issues surrounding the meaning of life. He zooms in on the question of evil and suffering. The question that evil and suffering raises is not one of theodicy (this is only a problem for belief) but rather, … Continue reading Chapter 18: Dilemmas 2
Coffee with Kierkegaard 