It’s fun to write about providence when things are good. I have, on more than one occasion waxed eloquent on the subject on this blog. It is a different story however, when a predestined storm blows through and shows no sign of stopping. It would also be nice to report that through it all aContinue reading “It is Well-ish”
Category Archives: Impromptus
The Wolves of Progress
I expect to be challenged by George Yancey’s forthcoming book One Faith No Longer: The Transformation of Christianity in Red and Blue America but perhaps not by the conclusions drawn by the work. Rather I expect my struggle will be over how to respond to the people I know that fall into the camp oppositeContinue reading “The Wolves of Progress”
Forgive or be Food
“The real test is this. Suppose one reads a story of filthy atrocities in the paper. Then suppose that something turns up suggesting that the story might not be quite true, or not quite so bad as it was made out. Is one’s first feeling, ‘Thank God, even they aren’t quite so bad as that,’Continue reading “Forgive or be Food”
Armchair Theologian Warning
“The Puritans made me aware that all theology is also spirituality, in the sense that is has an influence, good or bad, positive or negative, on its recipients’ relationship or lack of relationship to God. If our theology does not quicken the conscience of soften the heart , it actually hardens both: if it doesContinue reading “Armchair Theologian Warning”
Temperance and Lewis
“But the whole point is that he is abstaining, for a good reason, from something which he does not condemn and which he likes to see other people enjoying. One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he can not give up things himself with out wanting every one elseContinue reading “Temperance and Lewis”
Would You have a Drink with It?
“One of the tests that should regularly be applied to the results of any thinking process, however plausible, is: Would I like to sit down and have a vermouth with this thing I have just talked myself into? On that scale, ballerinas, oysters, free speech, and romantic love come off just fine. Computers, the ModernContinue reading “Would You have a Drink with It?”
Gratitude for Third Places
I would recommend reading the following two articles before continuing https://letterandliturgy.wordpress.com/2021/03/15/on-male-friendship-and-the-local-church/ Having spent a good portion of my last fifteen years studying the Biblical Manhood movement it is rare that I find writing on the subject that moves beyond the usual pablum. They articulate very well not only a part of the problem but alsoContinue reading “Gratitude for Third Places”
Hidden Book Rooms
There is a room in the basement of the Public Library here in Memphis that only a few can enter. It is filled with books, obviously, but these books are neither for borrowing or lending. These are destined to find homes in homes. It is the sorting and warehousing room for Second Editions the usedContinue reading “Hidden Book Rooms”
First Cigar Back
I should have started with something better but I have a confession to make. I may have squeezed in a cigar earlier this year on a surprisingly warm day that sometimes appears in Memphis during January, because our weather is controlled by Sibyl. If I did I can’t recall it. Sunday we had glorious warmth.Continue reading “First Cigar Back”
Snow Day Thinking
Over the past few days there has been an editorial back and forth in one of the local newspapers I enjoy. The topic was the recent week of snow that shut down the city. The first salvo was that snow days are a rare delight that should be cherished. The snapback was on the havocContinue reading “Snow Day Thinking”
