H. Richard Niebuhr famously summarised liberal theology as describing how ‘a God without wrath brought men [sic] without sin into a kingdom without judgement by the ministration of a Christ without a cross.’ I have no interest in engaging in theological polemic here. I raise this rather because Flynn’s narrative arc is the other way around – she describes wrath without a God, judgement without a kingdom, and, most disturbingly, a cross without a Christ.
Author Archives: Billy Backhouse
Care, Ovaltine, and Multiplicity
Carl R. Trueman’s new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, is a conservative thinker’s attempt to understand how western society’s attitudes towards sex have shifted so much, so quickly. Trueman is careful to avoid diatribe – this is not a book about how far ‘off-base’ modern society has drifted, or one proneContinue reading “Care, Ovaltine, and Multiplicity”
Exhaust fumes, earwax, and ecclesiology
Who are you? More precisely, what is it that constitutes you? This is the question that lies behind Daisy Hildyard’s elegant and probing The Second Body, published by the stylishly minimalist Fitzcarraldo Editions. We’re generally pretty confident to call our physical bodies part of ourselves even though they’re inhabited by a huge array of micro-organisms,Continue reading “Exhaust fumes, earwax, and ecclesiology”
Angry Pragmatism
The Coronavirus crisis has elevated a range of things in the popular consciousness – that song from Tangled, professional football in Belarus (which was, for a while, the only live sport available), Rishi Sunak’s startling good looks, and, more seriously, social issues from unequal access to education to the disproportionate impact of the virus onContinue reading “Angry Pragmatism”
Optimising for Eternity
Originally posted on Eternal Optimality:
On dynamic optimization, both in this life and eternally. So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisom. Psalm 90:12 ESV Photo by Aaron Burden on Pexels.com There is a short story by William Somerset Maugham titled The Lotus Eater. It describes a man…
Beyond preference: a response to Daniel Ooi
Daniel’s excellent blog is full of absolutely delightful reads and I can’t recommend them enough. It’s very refreshing to read reflections on economics of religion written by a fellow Christian economist. Daniel and I are on very different pages as far as economics goes, though, and there are a few things in particular on whichContinue reading “Beyond preference: a response to Daniel Ooi”
No Such Thing as a Free Thinker
If Rory Stewart is remembered for one thing, it will be the effort he spent in disabusing people of the idea that a No Deal Brexit was a thing – an ‘Anglo-Saxon fact’. As an idea, he argued, it had gained a lot of traction as an ostensible solution to a keenly felt problem. ButContinue reading “No Such Thing as a Free Thinker”
Male bias and female ‘otherness’ for (crash test) dummies
Who is the reigning Olympic 100m champion? I suspect that readers will know the answer immediately, even instinctively. There is, though, a second correct answer to this question – Elaine Thompson. This is more than just a snarky bit of pedantry. A question as simple as the one I posed above should obviously scream ‘twoContinue reading “Male bias and female ‘otherness’ for (crash test) dummies”
The Making of the Western Minds
Readers unconnected to the Twittersphere may be unaware that, in a recent furore around eugenics, hardened New Atheist Richard Dawkins concluded “we could breed humans to run faster or jump higher. But heaven forbid that we should do it.” A quirk, perhaps, of language – Dawkins was hardly begging a God in whom he doesContinue reading “The Making of the Western Minds”
Trade, Union, and Compatibility: A response to Silenus
https://silenus.home.blog/2020/02/03/the-philosophical-case-against-the-eu/?fbclid=IwAR0KU1TBvM9puY8oJHR6lF0QX5H025kE7UV_pfcRD6z4kBMLQU2FoJocqOQ In the article linked above, Jacob Anderson makes a fourfold philosophical case for leaving the EU. I respond here to each of his points in turn. 1. ‘I don’t want a united Europe’ Jacob’s argument here is very simple: the only thing that unites Europe is ‘the legacy of Christendom’. Other things divide itContinue reading “Trade, Union, and Compatibility: A response to Silenus”
Yikeiatry 