Book review

Introductory criticism of Wilson’s “‘Reformed’ is Not Enough”

Posted by T on November 24, 2009
Church, Current Discourse / 2 Comments

The book “Reformed” is Not Enough created quite a stir a few years back, inspiring Continue reading…

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Thomas Aquinas on the Jews

Posted by T on October 31, 2009
Biblical, Judaica, Theology / 5 Comments

The book of this title is by Steven Boguslawski (see biblio. info at end of this post). From the title, one might expect a book full of “quotes on jews,” but actually, it is a theological Continue reading…

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Ham on Blood

Posted by T on June 11, 2009
Biblical, Culture, Current Discourse, Man, Salvation / 10 Comments

One Blood, a book by Ken Ham, C. Wieland, and D. Batten (see detail at bottom) is a creationist attack against “racism.” Continue reading…

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Greg Reynolds on Christian Media Ecology

Posted by T on June 01, 2009
20th century, Agrarianism, Church, Judaica / No Comments

This book (see biblio info at bottom) is an introduction to “media ecology” by Continue reading…

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Jerry Bridges’ Sin

Posted by T on November 01, 2008
Ethics, Man, Salvation / 6 Comments

His book Respectable Sins starts off with a few orientation chapters, the burden of which is to show: You are already a saint Continue reading…

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Slovakia during WW2

Posted by T on September 20, 2008
20th century, History / 1 Comment

To understand the troubled waters through which Slovakia had Continue reading…

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The Slovak people continue five centuries to 1938

Posted by T on August 02, 2008
Modern (1500-1900) / No Comments

Continuing the brief history of the Slovak people from the narrative begun earlier, through the modern era, we see very clearly illustrated Continue reading…

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16 Milestones in Thinking about Just War

Posted by T on July 26, 2008
20th century, Ethics / 2 Comments

This is the 65th anniversary of the Allied firebomb-murder of Continue reading…

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Berman on Law and Religion

Posted by T on July 12, 2008
Current Discourse, Ethics, Judaica / 2 Comments

The topic addressed in this little book is important, asking such questions as what is law? where did it come from? what are the dynamics Continue reading…

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N. T. Wright on the Resurrection

Posted by T on July 03, 2008
Man, Salvation / 5 Comments

The thesis is that the “Easter belief” of the early Christians (a) refers intentionally to a literal, physical (not merely spiritual) raising of Jesus from the dead, and (b) the mode and breadth of this belief can only be explained on the hypothesis that that is what actually happened. The thesis is pursued in specific and detailed interaction with the Leben Jesu literature, most of which denies the resurrection. The characteristic emphasis that we would expect from Wright is Continue reading…

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The Pastor of Buchenwald with Parallels

Posted by T on June 28, 2008
20th century / No Comments

This book (see biblio info at end) is a nice companion to the Wentorf biography of this dear German Reformed pastor who died Continue reading…

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Frege’s Sinn und Bedeutung: first third

Posted by T on June 07, 2008
Logic, Philosophy / 2 Comments

This essay by Gottlob Frege (1848-1925) was published in 1892 in the journal Continue reading…

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The Slovak people: original settlement

Posted by T on May 31, 2008
History, Medieval / 2 Comments

This report is based on a “target of opportunity” — an old beat up book from a co-worker; though held together with masking tape and rubber bands, Continue reading…

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Noll on Bible and Slavery in US History

Posted by T on March 24, 2008
History, Modern (1500-1900) / 15 Comments

An essay by Prof Mark A. Noll of Wheaton College in the collection Religion and the American Civil War (Oxford, 1998) outlines the place of the Bible in the American debate on slavery during the years leading up to the Civil War. Noll identifies the dominant view of the Bible on both side of the debate as “Reformed literalist.” Given that view of the Bible, the proslavery side seemed to have the upper hand. The Abolitionists were willing to move toward a “spirit not letter” type of interpretation, but all the orthodox saw this approach as a trajectory toward liberalism. Noll knows that “proslavery” — his term — is wrong, though a high view of the Bible is right; so he explores what might have gone wrong. He examines four alternative hermeneutical traditions that could have led to a different conclusion on slavery, while still holding to a high view of the Bible:(1) the “African American” way of reading the Bible; (2) the Roman Catholic; (3) High-church Lutheranism or Reformed; (4) the non-Southern Reformed, especially Charles Hodge. Only the last named of these had enough of a foothold in America to temper the discussion, but it fell short because of a root inconsistency in the American outlook which compromised the profession of sola scriptura and led to failure to draw a key distinction that would have unraveled the proslavery argument. Continue reading…

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Wading into the Tractatus

Posted by T on March 07, 2008
Epistemology, The Greats / 15 Comments

The attached audio (or better: use this 16 kbps compressed version) is our beginning of a close reading of the early Wittgenstein. Continue reading…

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