Author: Tim
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C.S. Lewis: on children’s fears
“Those who say that children must not be frightened may mean two things. They may mean (1) that we must not do anything likely to give the child those haunting, disabling, pathological fears against which ordinary courage is helpless: in fact, phobias. His mind must, if possible, be kept clear of things he can’t bear…
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Beyond the Prayer of Incompetence
I happen to be a world-class expert in the prayer of incompetence — aridity, ennui, ligature, choose your own classical jargon — with decades of practice. Let me offer a few advanced pointers, in no certain order: It’s ok to give up in prayer emotionally, intellectually, and every way except physically. Make your body show…
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Dallas Willard: “…the good news of the presence…”
“When all is said and done, ‘the gospel’ for [some preachers], and others on the theological right is that Christ made the ‘arrangement’ that can get us into heaven. In the Gospels, by contrast, ‘the gospel’ is the good news of the presence and availability of life in the kingdom, now and forever, through reliance…
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“Prayer of Incompetence”
“Prayer of Incompetence The desert is a classic symbol of the monastic life and it is particularly apt in reference to monastic prayer. It is easy to be lyrical when speaking of prayer but the reality of praying is anything but lyrical. A realistic appraisal of the experience of prayer must lead one to…
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Psalm 131: Willing To Listen
Thomas Merton claims that silence is our admission that we have broken communication with God and are now willing to listen. From today’s lectionary (BCP) Psalm 131 I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul A Song of Ascents. Of David. 131:1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too…
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Douglas Wilson: That kindness doesn’t scale to the collective.
from Douglas Wilson: BLOG and MABLOG The simplest mistake in the world is to think that an act of human kindness, extended from one person to another, is capable of being translated to the larger scale of millions of people, with everything essential in that compassionate gesture remaining unaffected and unchanged. The mistake is a…
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Fathers Give Good Gifts
In the garden, in the cool of the day, God had the habit of visiting Adam and Eve. God didn’t live there, it was the couple’s home. God dropped in, every day. (In another real sense, God is everywhere – but the details of the biblical narrative are important and tell us real things about…
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Sex and Violence
I think it’s pretty clear that God made us to 1) enjoy our own spouses’ nakedness (but no-one else’s), and 2) be non-violent. The closer we can come to these primal conditions, the better. They are not unconnected, as it first appears, since both fidelity and peace are simply aspects of love. When Jesus changes…
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Technology births and kills culture
Technical progress yields leisure, which is liberation from the deperate pursuit of food and shelter. Leisure makes culture possible. Culture flourishes, which means the heart of man elaborates itself like a seed unfolding into a tree with good and evil branches. As culture develops, then, it’s parts are increasingly hostile to each other and in…