We are thus stuck between two unrealistic views of the autonomy of the individual. The first is that the self can be autonomous forever; the second is that only the autonomous deserve to live at all.” (p. 152) Peter Lawler’s thought-provoking “Stuck With Virtue: The American Individual and Our Biotechnological Future” has continued to occupy [...]
Archive for May, 2008
May 29, 2008
0
Autonomy, Eternity, and Value
By Tex in America, Life in general, People and Relationships, The Soul
May 29, 2008
0
The Political and the Cultural
By Matthew Lee Anderson in Christianity and CultureThe difference between them is crucial, yet few conservatives seem to understand the difference. And therein lies the problem, argues James Polous: I am no great defender of Rick Santorum, and I am inclined to think about ‘community’ the way Thatcher thought about ‘society’, but it’s obvious that what falls through the cracks in the [...]
May 28, 2008
0
Masters of Multitasking: Is Not Paying Attention Good for Us?
By Matthew Lee Anderson in Technology, UncategorizedIn an age saturated by information, our most precious asset is our ability to give–and take away–attention. For most young people, their attention is very rarely concentrated in one spot for an extended period of time. We are masters of multi-tasking, a freedom that has been increased exponentially since the creation of the walkman. There [...]
May 27, 2008
16
Is the Bible Monotheistic?
By Keith E. D. Buhler in Theology (Bible)Job 38:1-7: “Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me… Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding…. Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, [...]
May 26, 2008
5
Gay Marriage, Judicial Decree, and the End of Marriage in America
By Matthew Lee Anderson in Christianity and CultureI haven’t written anything on the recent decision by the California Supreme Court to overturn the ban on homosexual marriage in large part because I haven’t yet read the 121 page decision. Stuart Taylor’s read it, though. And he’s fired up: First, the California court’s 121-page opinion was dishonest. This was most evident in its [...]
May 26, 2008
0
For Memorial Day
By Matthew Lee Anderson in War and PeaceThis is the day whereupon we remember those who have given their lives in service for our country and offer our thanks to those who are currently serving. I remember two such individuals here. From Oliver Wendell Holmes’ Memorial Day speech on May 30th, 1884: But, nevertheless, the generation that carried on the war has [...]
May 25, 2008
0
The Case for Christ: Tuesday, May 27th at Biola
By Matthew Lee Anderson in NewsLee Strobel is going to be at Biola University this Tuesday giving away copies of his new DVD, “The Case for Christ.” Those who are in the area shouldn’t miss the opportunity to hear JP Moreland, Mike Erre, Strobel and Craig Hazen, not to mention pick up their own copy of what is doubtlessly an [...]
May 22, 2008
1
Review: Stuck with Virtue
By Tex in People and Relationships, Reviews, Reviews (Books), Technology, The SoulWe also must return to Pascal for a reminder that the biotechnological project cannot turn us human beings from mysterious into manufactured beings. The effort to deny the reality of the fundamental unpredictability of human life that is intrinsic to technological thinking is ultimately futile. The good news is that technology may finally make us [...]
May 21, 2008
3
(Apparent) Internal Contradictions
By Matthew Lee Anderson in PoliticsHumor me for a minute and allow me to make a significant number of generalizations and assumptions, most of which stem from my experience. Theological liberals often tend to be political liberals as well. In this, they often want the State to act as an agent of compassion along with the Church. Political conservatives resist [...]
May 21, 2008
0
Chesterton and Lewis, Cont.
By Matthew Lee Anderson in LiteratureWhile offering his own take on the differences between the respective literary imaginations of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, Martin Cothran offered this substantial and skillful critique of my defense of C.S. Lewis: Matthew Lee Anderson at Mere Orthodoxy has responded to Longenecker, saying that he unjustly uses Narnia as representative of all of Lewis’s [...]
May 20, 2008
0
PJ and a Plug
By Matthew Lee Anderson in Outside Articles of InterestP.J. O’Rourke is a serious thinker. But this is too good to pass up: All politics stink. Even democracy stinks. Imagine if our clothes were selected by the majority of shoppers, which would be teenage girls. I’d be standing here with my bellybutton exposed. No, P.J. No, you wouldn’t. (Ht: Joe) And now for something [...]
May 19, 2008
3
In Defense of C.S. Lewis’s Literary Imagination
By Matthew Lee Anderson in Literature, UncategorizedVia Rod Dreher comes this piece by Fr. Dwight Longenecker, who writes: Tolkien disliked allegory so intensely because he felt it was too didactic. It leaves no possibility that any other levels of meaning in the work could exist. Tolkien understood the artist, created in God’s image, to be a “sub-creator” — producing a work [...]
May 15, 2008
0
Pinker’s Paranoia: Stephen Pinker (Mis)Reads Leon Kass
By Matthew Lee Anderson in Outside Articles of InterestStephen Pinker’s diatribe (an appropriate word, I think) has prompted a fair number of responses from some pretty intelligent folks around the blogosphere. The assumption implicit in my question about Pinker’s reading of Leon Kass is that he fundamentally misunderstands Kass’s hermeneutic and philosophical style. My brother, rightly, wondered what had prompted that thought in [...]