‘Conn’-versation
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(Dr. Peter Enns has posted a personal reflection about his growing realization of the significance of his teacher Harvie Conn, the namesake of this blog. He plans to follow up on the home page (the “blog” portion of the site) with a series of quotations from Conn’s most important book, Eternal Word & Changing Worlds. About that book, Enns says There are numerous literary high-water marks in the WTS tradition, and EWCW is one of them. In my opinion it is the single most penetrating and insightful theological work the WTS tradition has ever produced. One of the things th... [read more]
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It’s no secret on this blog that I’m a McCain supporter. I believe that he has an appropriate understanding of the benefits of public policy on behalf of the common good, and its limits as a tool to re-engineer society. He has personally sacrificed for the United States, is demonstrably competent, and knows how to work with those who see things differently to accomplish important goals. I don’t agree with everything he says, but I think Sen. McCain is right for the challenges of the presidency – domestic and international – and I will vote for him. But I’m not his ... [read more]
add to discussionAfter I picked my son up from football practice yesterday, he asked me how things were. I let him know that the stock market had dropped 777 points. “Wow, Mom,” he replied, “that’s God’s number.” I had to chuckle – at least he’s paid attention to a few things he’s heard me explain – but that’s about the only chuckle I had yesterday. If God is using this economic crisis to get our attention, he certainly has mine. I’ve been studying Zephaniah, and his words are reverberating: “Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the... [read more]
add to discussionI think the movie The Savages, starring Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, exposes our tendency to avoid the reality of death. Linney and Hoffman play siblings who are forced to take care of their father (who is battling dementia) after his ‘girlfriend’ dies. Outside of a care facility Hoffman lays into his sister for being so choosy about assisted living centers saying, “…the landscaping, the neighborhoods of care, they’re not for the residents. They are for the relatives; people like you and me who don’t want to admit what is really going on ... [read more]
add to discussionI realize that not all the Conn-versation authors are in the PCA but I wanted to direct attention to what I believe is a very well put together discussion around last years Denominational Renewal Conference for the PCA (it was not an official conference but a few hundred pastors and seminarians turned out). Here’s the links and the schedule for the next five weeks; CGO Forum on Denominational Renewal Conference Sept. 15-Oct.17 The structure is as follows: Mondays- Simpatico response Tuesdays- Critical response Wednesdays- Women or minority voices in the PCA response Thursdays- Outside... [read more]
add to discussionThis interview has been floating around the web in several forums from Crossway’s Book Blog site to personal blog sites of a political nature, etc.. I had some pretty strong thoughts regarding the interview as I watched it and I wanted to bring here for conversation. Thoughts, criticisms, reflections…
add to discussionEvangelicals are back in the media spotlight again, but the spotlight has gone from red to purple. Back in the 1970s, largely energized by Roe v. Wade, Evangelicals asserted themselves into the political process as never before. Though it is debated how much real influence they had even then and on into the 80s, on one thing all agreed: the Evangelical vote could be counted on by the Republican party. So after 30-some years, why would the Evangelical voter be back in the news? The “man bites dog” story for 2008 is that for an increasing number of (particularly, but not exclusive... [read more]
add to discussionJust as I was ready to recycle yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, I took a quick flip through to make sure I hadn’t missed anything interesting. Glad I did! Yesterday’s edition featured an interesting book review of Julia Duin’s new book Quitting Church. Duin, the religion reporter for the Washington Times, analyzes what she characterizes as an epidemic in church-quitting among evangelicals. Her thesis struck a chord. I’ve already done this once, may yet again, and all of my reasons were among those reported in the WSJ review. She discusses lack... [read more]
add to discussionThis isn’t a political blog, but Art’s 8-19-08 post got us thinking about how Christians might work through their faith in deciding how to vote. Yesterday, the choice before us suddenly got more interesting. I surely didn’t see Gov. Sarah Palin coming, although my high school aged son, who has been intently interested in the VP selection process for months, had her as one of his top three picks for McCain. He had put her on my radar screen, but all that accomplished was to leave me impressed with the depth of his research. Who knew? Gov. Palin’s CV ... [read more]
add to discussionI greatly enjoy studying how we understand things—whether texts, another person in conversation, etc. I thought I would share some thoughts about such understanding-theory (hermeneutics, if you will), specifically focused on texts and meaning. Does a text control its own interpretation? For a long time the notion has persisted that texts guide and control their own interpretation. Texts thus “speak.” In evangelical circles we often discuss this in terms of authorial intent. The author’s intention, discernable through the text, constrains its meaning for us. This certainly mak... [read more]
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