Beauty is all the rage. In the Movie of the Moment (Barbie, obviously), there is a scene in which Barbie sits on a bench next to an elderly lady, looks at her intensely, and breathlessly exclaims, “You are beautiful.”Studio executives suggested cutting the scene because it served no real point in advancing the plot. But the director stood firm, “If I cut the scene, I don’t know what this movie is about.” [Further reflections on what the movie is “about” are in Tremendous Trifles here. (And … [Read more...] about Is The Bride of Christ Beautiful Too?
Christianity
Is Phantastes Worth Reading?
“Yet I know that good is coming to me—that good is always coming; though few have at all times the simplicity and the courage to believe it. What we call evil, is the only and best shape, which, for the person and his condition at the time, could be assumed by the best good. And so, Farewell.”That is the end of George MacDonald’s Phantastes: A Faerie Romance. Phantastes has a fame that far outstrips the number of people who have read it. Why? Because one cold evening at the bookstall in a … [Read more...] about Is Phantastes Worth Reading?
How to Plant a Church
“The problem comes when we aren’t conscious or honest about the real reasons we plant churches. I professed to plant churches for the glory of Christ, but my practice had a lurking desire that compromised our work. I wanted glory.”That is Nathan Knight, a pastor of a church in Washington, DC, and the author of Planting by Pastoring: A Vision for Starting a Healthy Church. It is not hard to see why someone like Knight would be captivated by the idea of glory. The church planting movement in … [Read more...] about How to Plant a Church
The Sovereignty of God
“At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,and he does according to his will among the host of heavenand among the inhabitants of the earth;and none can stay his handor say to him, ‘What have you … [Read more...] about The Sovereignty of God
The God of Analogies
“All human knowledge is analogical…These analogies have their origin in the perfect knowledge of God….Human knowledge of God is the indispensable background for our knowledge of anything at all…”That is from the conclusion of Vern S. Poythress’ Redeeming Reason: A God-Centered Approach. Poythress has created a cottage industry in Redeeming Books. Ere now, he has Redeemed Mathematics, History, Philosophy, Science, and Sociology. Redeeming Reason is thus a sort of Ur-Redeeming—before thinking … [Read more...] about The God of Analogies
How To Read The Good Book
“If this robust three-fold mode of reading happened naturally and was common today, we would not need the book you’re holding in your hands. But in reality we often don’t read this way.”The book (which, truth be told, you are unlikely to be holding in your hands while you read this here review) is Come and See: The Journey of Knowing God through Scripture. While the author Jonathan Pennington doesn’t frame his book this way, Come and See reads like an appendix to an excellent book I have … [Read more...] about How To Read The Good Book