by Brian Allred Certain things are really hard to do. Try saying “eleven benevolent elephants” five times fast. I imagine riding a unicycle is pretty hard. Personally, I find it extremely difficult to hit a golf ball – at least long and straight. Some other things are virtually impossible for us to do like tying … Continue reading Loving Our Enemies
Tag: ordo amoris
by Brian Allred Broken cities, broken schools, broken laws, broken bodies, broken bones, broken vows, broken marriages, broken homes, broken dreams, broken spirits, broken hearts. To quote the title of a 1989 Bob Dylan song: everything is broken [1]. Does that capture how you feel sometimes? Even if you’re a bit more of an optimist … Continue reading Fixing What’s Broken: Insights from Isaiah 59
or...When Our Own Sin Startles Us Sin doesn't always have the effect that it should. Sometimes our callous hearts are oblivious to our transgressions and we go on with our day, impenitent. This is especially true in our sins of omission versus our sins of commission—that is, when we don't do what we should rather … Continue reading To the Delta Fan in Front of Me at the Delaware County Boys Basketball Tourney
"Adoption...is the highest priviledge that the gospel offers: higher even than justification.... Adoption is higher, because of the richer relationship with God that it involves...Justification is a forensic idea, conceived in terms of law and viewing God as judge. In justification, God declares of penitent believers that they are not, and never will be, liable … Continue reading Adoption: The Highest Privilege
From Reading Augustine On Education Formation, Citizenship, and the Lost Purpose of Learning by Joseph Clair "Ordered love within the context of liberal arts education moves in three directions. First is the inward ordering of the soul that happens as one acquires the moral and intellectual virtues necessary for disciplined study. Second is the upward … Continue reading Education and the Order of Love
Courage Comes from Rightly Formed Loves In The Abolition of Man, C. S. Lewis famously warns that we are creating "men without chests." Though this phrase is often coopted by a sort of MMA brand of "manly Christianity," taking it out of context to advocate for a simplistic real-men-don't-cry, pec-thumping evangelicalism, that is the last … Continue reading Missing the Middle