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Meanwhile, thinking about Hizbollah...

An oldie-but-goodie.  Jul 25, 2006 Fight a democracy, kill the peopleBy SpenglerConventional armies can defeat guerrilla forces with broad popular support, for it is perfectly feasible to dismantle a people, destroy its morale, and if need be expel them. It has happened in history on . . . . Continue Reading »

Memorial Gratitude

On this Memorial Day, I’ve been pondering the problem of gratitude, not only for my children (the two still at home) but for myself. Millions of soldiers and their families sacrificed much, even their lives, and my family and I have gained from their losses. Their losses are real, and often . . . . Continue Reading »

Random Thoughts on Celebrity

I agreed to write a contribution to a symposium on CELEBRITY. MY dumb thought was: How hard could that be? Pretty hard. Here are my first random observations in search of a point: Celebrity, in the most obvious sense, is the lowest form of fame. Being a celebrity is a sort of gift of public . . . . Continue Reading »

Charity and the Hardest Reading

It strikes me that two principles commonly used in textual criticism can actually cancel each other out.1. Charity to the Author: Other things being equal, it’s generally better to be charitable to the author when we can do so. If we find two readings in manuscripts, where one makes a lot . . . . Continue Reading »

Newbigin on liberation theologies

In my youth I was fairly sympathetic with the aims of liberation theology, although I could never bring myself to accept this position in toto, as there was too much in the larger worldview that did not quite sit right with me. With liberation theologians I confess that God has called us to care for . . . . Continue Reading »

Which Wheaton?

TIME Magazine’s News Feed carries the story: Ann Curry Flubs Wheaton College Commencement.Curry delivered Saturday’s speech to graduates at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, referencing the esteemed careers of a trio of alumni — reverend Billy Graham, film director Wes Craven and . . . . Continue Reading »

The Red Poppy

In 1915, Canadian medical officer John McCrae published what has become one of the most popular poems from the First World War, “In Flanders Fields” : In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely . . . . Continue Reading »

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