June Musings (6/17/2024)
Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates:
The Riddleblog and the Blessed Hope Podcast are in modified suspended animation as we are celebrating family birthdays, seeing grand kids, doing some household projects, and getting ready for our annual trek to the Eastern Sierras (see my Instagram account if you are curious about any of this).
I’m also hard at work on 1 Corinthians as I get ready for the second half of season three of the Blessed Hope Podcast when we pick up with 1 Corinthians 7:1. There are some important and controversial issues to tackle in the second half of Paul’s first Corinthian letter! Stay tuned . . .
Thinking Out Loud:
My rant against both political parties and their fossilized unfit candidates continues . . . We are slouching toward the worst presidential election of my lifetime. We’ve got MAGA folk using messianic and redemptive language of Trump, yet oblivious to the blasphemy of it all. We’ve got Biden mumbling, fumbling, wandering off during the G-7 meetings, and freezing up like an old, old, man (which he is). Put not your trust in princes has always been biblical counsel. Any temptation to ignore that counsel is long gone.
A full 25% of Americans are now considered “double haters” and dislike (really dislike) both presidential candidates, the highest percentage ever.
I could not agree more with the following: “Bottom line, never trust a man whose uncle was eaten by cannibals” — Sen. Joni Ernst to Sen. John Kennedy on a hot mic after a press conference.
Which couple is worse? Frank and Marie Barone, from Everybody Loves Raymond, or Frank and Estelle Costanza from Seinfeld. As I get close to 70, I worry about turning into one of the two “Franks.” Thankfully, the missus will never be a “Marie” or an “Estelle.”
Currently Reading:
Michael Horton’s new book is not for the faint of heart. Let the reader be warned. This is not an easy read, but well-worth the effort. This is a ground-breaking volume (the first of three in a series, “the Divine Self”) which seeks to answer the question, “what accounts for the rise of those among us, who claim to be spiritual, but not religious?”
The reason Horton takes us so deep into the past to cover ground most of us have never encountered, is precisely because those identifying as “spiritual, not religious,” is hardly a new phenomenon. The “divine self” is ancient, wide-spread, and highly influential in those empires, civilizations, and cultures (i.e., Greece, Persia, Egypt) from which most modern cultures trace their intellectual roots, religions, cultural artifacts, and literary canon.
Horton introduces several terms new to many, such as the “Axial Age,” “locative,” “Orphism,” and “Theurgy.” I am now better acquainted with the world of Plato, Orpheus, Porphyry, Pythagoras, and a host of others than before. I’ve never been a fan of Origen (the famed allegorizer) who failed to allegorize Matthew 19:12 and hence, castrated himself. I appreciate his brilliance, but not his unorthodox theology which Horton examines. According to Horton, Origen’s platonizing tendencies introduced a spiritualizing exegesis into the Christian community in Alexandria (also the home of Philo and Plotinus, both indebted to Platonism and Pythagorean numerology). From Alexandria, this religion of the divine inner self spread like a pathogen, and infected segments of the church and continues to reinfect across time. These related yet distinct movements see the soul as a participant in the divine, depreciates history for present experience, and looks to ecstatic encounters with a divine “something or other” as a self-authenticating ground for the “spiritual” (which Horton correctly identifies as mere superstition).
When the “The Divine Self” series is completed, Horton will have given us the framework from which to develop effective apologetic arguments against the spiritual non-religion which dominates our age. The book is extremely well-researched and its conclusions are compelling.
The volume is way too expensive (Westminster Bookstore has the best price I’ve seen). The price is set by the publisher, not the author. But kudos to Eerdmans for providing footnotes, not endnotes! Endnotes in scholarly tomes are the work of the devil!
Just a personal note—I read a draft version early on. I am blown-away by how much Michael’s arguments and research have been refined and greatly expanded as the sources and his thesis came together. Well done, Michael! Your Magnum Opus!
Recommended Links:
I think Yuval Levin is the wisest and most brilliant political theorist around. His new book American Covenant is a must read. Here’s why
Our old friend Ben Sasse on American education, Alligators, and the new Hamilton Center at the University of Florida. Outstanding!
Another essay making the case for “none of the above” on the presidential ballot
Richard Gamble reviews Christian Wolfe’s The Case for Christian Nationalism. Gamble makes the case that there is no case for Christian nationalism
Speaking of Christian nationalism, here’s a directory of churches to avoid: Directory of Christian Nationalist Churches
If you were wondering, here’s a list of the 100 largest churches in America, and a list of the 100 Fastest growing churches
Some folks in Pompeii did escape Vesuvius’ fury. Some ancient records tell the story
Not-So Recommended Links:
Sure beats a trip to the dentist/oral surgeon: A new way to replace lost teeth
NewScientist’s list of favorite science fiction books. I’ve read but one, Xamyatin’s We. Favorite Science Fiction books
There is a Papal saint for everything: Saint Influencer
The attack of the feral chickens. Sounds like a bad 1960’s “monster movie.”
The Previous Edition of Musings: May 2024 Musings
The Angel Hernandez Gallery:
Left to right: 1). Angel’s selfie 2). Angel’s mentor (Enrico Palazzo) 3). Angel’s signature on his retirement papers 4). Angel’s phone screen shot
