A Thinking Reed

  • H.R. Niebuhr’s principles

    In the preface to his The Meaning of Revelation, H. Richard Niebuhr outlines three convictions that he says underlie his argument: –self-defense is the most prevalent source of error in all thinking and perhaps especially in theology and ethics; –the greatest source of evil in life is the absolutizing of the relative, which in Christianity…

  • Absu, “Ontologically, It Became Time and Space”

    Sheer insanity.

  • Do we need a Christian party?

    Today I came across this article (via Crystal) arguing that American Christians should abandon the Republican and Democratic parties and form a “Christian party” that embraces something like Phillip Blond‘s “Red Tory” or “Big Society” program: British theologian and political philosopher Phillip Blond correctly notes that, “the current political consensus” in the United States is…

  • Silly season

    I haven’t been following the Republican primaries all that closely–partly because it’s too depressing, but also in part because I’ve been convinced virtually from the get-go that Mitt Romney will ultimately be the nominee. Nevertheless, what’s apparent even to the casual observer is that the G.O.P. intends to rerun the playbook they used in the…

  • Corrosion of Conformity, “Albatross”

    This probably calls my metal cred into question, but I prefer the later, Southern-rock-influenced version of CoC to the “classic” more punk-oriented sound. Ah well. BONUS: Here’s a more uptempo track from the same album:

  • Updated thoughts on Christianity and capitalism

    A while back I wrote a post called “What’s a Christian to do with capitalism?” in which I tried to outline some principles for a Christian approach to economics. I’ve since thought that those principles weren’t stated as clearly or exactly as they should have been, and I’ve updated the post to try and reflect…

  • Gojira, “Adoration for None”

    From the awesome French, eco-metallers, who are supposed to be putting out a new album this year, I think. This song features guest vocals from Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe.

  • John Wesley on slavery and human rights

    I’ve been reading Theodore Runyon’s The New Creation: John Wesley’s Theology Today, which aims to offer a synoptic account of Wesley’s thought and its relevance for the contemporary church. As the title suggests, Runyon argues that the notion of the renewal of creation is key to understanding Wesley’s theology. Specifically, it refers to the renewal…

  • Foreign policy and the Golden Rule

    Even though I argued in my previous post that liberals are under no particular obligation to support Ron Paul (e.g., vote for him), I do agree with those who say that he is raising important issues and has a perspective that needs to be heard, particularly with respect to foreign policy. In a recent post…

  • Vektor, “Tetrastructural Minds”

    If it had come out earlier in the year, Vektor’s “Outer Isolation” would undoubtedly have made it onto my “best albums of 2011” list. As it is, I’m enjoying starting 2012 with it. The over-the-top vocals won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think they’re a perfect compliment to the dizzying virtuosity of the…