I keep seeing the phrase written in chalk on the walkway at UTC:  "Your Body Your Rules".  It seems to have been written in contradiction to other things written elsewhere on the walkway, offering help for young ladies with unwanted pregnancies and affirming the good of life and children. "Your Body Your Rules" is a lie.  To begin with, we did not make ourselves.  We have been made by the Creator and therefore our bodies, just like the rest of creation, belong to him - not us.  Secondly, our Creator has given us rules.  They are called the Ten Commandments.  And those Ten Commandments tell us that we are not to indulge in sex outside of marriage (another thing initiated by the Creator and not us), nor are we to murder. This whole "it's my body and no one can tell me what to do with it" idea is a recipe for a dysfunctional and wrecked life - not to mention death.  I wish these people could see that they are driving away from themselves the very l

"I learned that he that will be a hero will barely be a man, that he that will be nothing but a doer of his work, is sure of his manhood.  In nothing was my ideal lowered, or dimmed, or grown less precious; I only saw it too plainly, to set myself for a moment beside it.  Indeed, my ideal soon became my life, whereas, formerly, my life had consisted in a vain attempt to behold, if not my ideal in myself, at least myself in my ideal."  Anodos, Phantastes .

From Doug Wilson’s Blog and Mablog e-mail today: “Far from providing a true spiritual counterculture, we have adopted the demented view that there isn’t anything the world can do that will not result in an evangelical knock-off.”

Dr. Hampton in English class today had the students meditating upon their mortality and how in all probability everything that they ever write will be forgotten.  Most authors are.  "Death wins every time."  The gloom was palpable. I responded by agreeing with him on a Solomonic-Ecclesiastes level.  We know as historians that nearly all of what has been said and done in antiquity is gone.  However, if the New Testament is true, our works can be remembered; God will not forget them.  And their is a rumor (using Lewis' language here) that there is another world to come and what is said and done here will be manifest there and, if it is worthy, it will be part of the glory to come. Hampton spoke of how we all desire to be remembered, even to have glory.  Mankind seeks glory because mankind was made for glory.  A few out of all humanity are remembered and given glory by their peers, but that glory will also be swallowed up by death.  Lasting glory is only that glory sh

Something that’s been on my heart for a while: Old age hath yet his honour and his toil; Death closes all: but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with the Gods.

I think Doug does a great job here, explaining the nature of the differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics.  I am interested in the reaction of Roman Catholics to this; I would like to know if they think Doug accurately represents their view of justification - at least the Tridentine view. Do notice, however, that Benedict agrees that we are justified by faith alone.  His concern is that we recognize the particular quality of the faith that receives the grace of justification.  There is certainly nothing wrong with his concern.  It is the concern of St. James in his epistle.  It is the place at which we argue that Paul and James agree.  Pope Benedict: "Being just simply means being with Christ and in Christ. And this suffices. Further observances are no longer necessary. For this reason Luther's phrase: "faith alone" is true, if it is not opposed to faith in charity, in love. Faith is looking at Christ, entrusting oneself to Christ, being united to Chr

I summarize and comment on the recent address by Dick Keyes at the Friends of L'Abri Conference at Lipscomb University this past weekend.  However, I do start with a few brief comments about the order in which the Narnia books can be read - I refer, btw, to a previous video I recorded for my Patreon supporters .

This is an excerpt from Session 7 of my course on C. S. Lewis and prayer, filmed in Lewis's home church in Oxford.

Image: crop of Saint Peter and Saint Paul: Artist: El Greco (1541-1614)  This is the text from my sermon recently. It is an understatement to say that the institution of the church in the western world today is in a mess.  There has been so much compromise and so much worldliness that the idea of a true Christian in the mind of many observers outside the Church is very confused indeed.  To whom do we point today to say, "That's a Christian?"   Is it Joel Olsteen?  Is it Pope Francis?  Is it Bishop Gene Robinson in the Episcopal Church?  All these people believe very different things and live very different lives.   Well, today we are remembering the apostles Peter and Paul , and I think it's safe to say that they were true Christians.  Thankfully we know what they would say about it all , for we can read their opinion in the New Testament.  As for Paul , he tells us here in our lesson from Ephesians - in verse 20 - that the Christian Church is like a temple t

For a small group study: From the Book of Common Prayer: GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. Luke’s account: Acts 1:1-12 What happened when Jesus arrived in “heaven?”  - Jesus began his reign as the true King David: Ephesians 1:15-23; I Cor. 15:24-26; - There was war: John’s account: Revelation 12.* - There was Pentecost: Peter’s commentary: Acts 2:14-36 Paul’s commentary: Ephesians 4:7-12; we understand this equipping of the Church to be the very thing that happened at Pentecost (the gift of the Spirit was given, with his gifts), Acts 2:16-17.  Cf. Hebrews 1:3 - We arrived in heaven, too: Ephesians 2:4-7; if you will, this is “the first resurrection” Revelation 20:1-6 (cf. Romans 6).  Rev. 20 is perha

Sermon preached today at St. Luke's Epsicopal, Blue Ridge, GA, by The Rev. Victor Morgan Easter 3 (MP-1) (2019)  A young mother returned from her first Mother’s Day service in an Episcopal Church and was sorely disappointed.   It seems that Mother’s Day in the church in which she grew up was much bigger – second perhaps only to Christmas or Easter. But in this service the day got bare recognition . . . and they even ran out of red carnations. Well, here at St. Luke’s we aim for the middle way . . . the via media between making it Holy Mother’s Day and ignoring the holiday all together.  While continuing to focus on the theme suggested in our appointed lessons, we nevertheless, try not to short change our mothers or fail to note the importance of the home. This last – the importance of the home -- is of particular is importance at this time. How so?  Because the homes in which many of us grew up are almost non-existent . . . not completely but almost.   The homelife pict

Free college tuition is being touted at present, with the claim (opinion) that college education is a right.  After all, everyone needs a job (note the questions begged here)  Of course, such an arrangement would be one more straw on the camel's back of our economy. We already have a "free" (tax-payer paid) education system, that, if it was doing a wiser job, would make college unnecessary for many people.  If we would get rid of our "one size fits all" mind-set, and recognize that people are different, we could do much to serve our young better. Why do we make teen-aged students - especially boys - sit through classes in highschool that they know are not fitting them for anything they want to do?  We need to do what the Brits do: differentiate between those who are talented for academic careers and those who will be entering trades.  We need to discern the differences between our students and serve those who need to be learning a trade.  Get those energetic

The Rt. Rev. William Meade, Bishop of Virginia From the Memoir of the Life of Bishop Meade regarding an agreement made among the bishops convened in 1838 for the consecration of Bishop Leonidas Polk: Among the private devotional exercises of Bishop Meade, the following prayer and superscription are found in his own handwriting: "The following is the joint composition of Bishop Otey and myself, the result of an agreement between Bishops McIlvaine, Otey, Polk and myself, to pray specially for each other every Sabbath morning: "O God, who art pleased not merely to receive the intercessions of thy son Jesus Christ in behalf of Thy poor sinful creatures, but dost command them to pray one for another, and promise that the effectual fervant prayer of the righteous shall much avail, favorably regard the prayers of Thy servants for themselves and each other, which we desire to offer up, trusting that our great Advocate will intercede mightily for us with Thee. "And oh

It may be easy to see how the Gospels are "inspired," but what about the rest of the New Testament?  Article VI of the XXXIX Articles states: VI. Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation . Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church. ... All the Books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive, and account them Canonical. So what's the rationale for this? Apostolic authority, for one thing. Jesus promised that the Spirit would bring all things to the disciples's remembrance. John 14:25,26 25 “These things I have spoken to you while being prese

I just finished Jaber Crow .  Berry says the book is about heaven.  And then he says it's about hell.  His main character, Jaber, one day sees a young girl passing by, avidly talking with her friends, and he is stirred by her beauty.  Toward the end of the story, she is his companion - and even guide at points - in the midst of a patch of woods that is like heaven.  The more I think of the story, the more parallels I see with Dante's Comedia .  This means I need to read it again! Jaber Crow is another example of how the great stories can be set in many times and places.  Great themes can be found in our lives, if we look for them.  How much more the Greatest Story of all? [image:  https://brewminate.com/la-vita-nuova-dantes-love-of-beatrice-and-poetry/ ]

Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.   Lord, we must believe that you are here and more present than all our circumstances combined; more present and determining than any disturbing imagination, any decision we make, any action we take. You are God. You do not fail your own. We are your very flesh and bones, and loved as such (Eph. 5:30). Fill us with thanksgiving and expectancy as we walk in your ways of delight. Father, You have already solved every problem we face.  We simply need to walk forward into your solutions, with you.  Your rod and your staff comfort us. Restore our souls.

If you are struggling with decision-making - as I often do - you've got to get this book.  I cannot recommend it enough.  Find it here on Amazon .  Yes, it's written more for ladies, but I'm finding it helpful.  :-)  Her website is here:  emilypfreeman.com  .

Some time ago, I posted on this blog various chapters from an old pamphlet by The Rt. Rev. William Meade (See Index in the sidebar: "Meade").  I have collected the whole pamphlet with a little more material and published it as a book.  You can find it here on Amazon .

Folks, as of this St. George's Day of 2019, I've decided to come back here to do my blogging.  I also blog at the website of the C. S. Lewis Foundation .  You can go there to find my posts on the book How To Pray , by C. S. Lewis - if you had been keeping up with those.  There will eventually be posts for all 18 chapters. I hope you are having a blessed Easter season.  Further up, and further in! David