Music has undergone serious theological neglect according to Jeremy Begbie, a professionally trained musician and theologian at Duke Divinity School. In his introduction to Theology, Music and Time, he writes:In the twentieth century, the corridors of theology were not generally alive with the sound . . . . Continue Reading »
I don’t know whether this is due to the quality of life ethic, strained resources, or indifference—but it appears that dependent seniors face malnourishment while in care in some Scotland NHS hospitals. From the story:One of the country’s leading health campaigners has . . . . Continue Reading »
A classic, just found on the web: Alan Bennet’s sermon from Beyond the Fringe , on the text “Esau was an hairy man, but I am a smooth man.” I have heard sermons like this. . . . . Continue Reading »
First Things’ “other” blog, First Thoughts, has editors listing the ten worst hymns and the ten best hymns. Whether this is a useful exercise is up to readers to judge. What is lacking is a set of criteria by which to judge what constitutes good and bad hymns. I note that most of . . . . Continue Reading »
Following the old rule of thumb: “Y goes before C, except when C stands for something that could be embarrassing,” the YMCA—formerly known as the Young Men’s Christian Association—has decided to lop off the last three letters of its name and will now be known simply as . . . . Continue Reading »
Well, I finally saw two of the upscale movies of the summer. Neither was that great. Michael Douglas is the star of A SOLITARY MAN, which is nowhere near as good as A SINGLE MAN or A SERIOUS MAN. Douglas basically plays the same guy he played in WALL STREET and WONDER BOYS—a glib and . . . . Continue Reading »
In the past few years, Glenn Beck and Jonah Goldberg have led the charge to popularize the notion that the governing totalitarianisms of fascism – centralizing, modernist, nationalistic, and willing to cooperate with the radical, internationalist Left, most notoriously in August 1939 – . . . . Continue Reading »
When critiquing American churches, opinion writers often adopt a form of historicism even Hegel would just barely accept—a philosophic stance that no doubt drives their chiding of churches as “behind the times” or “on the wrong side of history.” The same gives them the gall . . . . Continue Reading »
“The plot is a mishmash of disparate narratives; the expository opening scene, when soldiers on the night watch recount the tensions between Denmark and Norway, is deadening; and Shakespeare’s need to get Hamlet back to Denmark after his exile to England forces the playwright to resort . . . . Continue Reading »
Here’s the latest development in the ongoing story of Dr. Kenneth Howell , the former adjunct professor at the University of Illinois, who recently lost his job for teaching his students the Catholic Church’s position on homosexual acts in an introductory course on Catholicism. First . . . . Continue Reading »
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