Mere musings on culture, life, and theology by Samuel James
Samuel James on August 7, 2017 James K.A. Smith's post about orthodoxy, Christian creeds, and sexuality has provoked much commentary, most of it far more thoughtful than anything I could write here. I agree with Smith's critics that his case against labeling revisionist sexual theology as "heresy" is weak and relies on a reductionistic appreciation of doctrinal formulations. I don't necessarily…
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Samuel James on August 3, 2017 I've been reading Joe Rigney's The Things of Earth: Treasuring God By Enjoying His Gifts, and cannot recommend it too highly. For me Joe's contemplations have been like cold spring water on a thick August afternoon. For years I have felt like something was missing in my understanding of how to love the things God…
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Samuel James on July 27, 2017 Carl Trueman writes that the oncoming crisis for Christian higher education is a "Waterloo" for traditional religious belief in our culture. Well, yes--and no. Over at the Patreon blog, I offer some mitigating perspective. Here's an excerpt: By calling higher education the Christian cultural "Waterloo," Trueman has invested an enormous amount of belief in the…
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Samuel James on July 20, 2017 When a friend sent me the link to this essay by a progressive bookstore employee, whose aching moral dilemma is whether to sell a book he disagrees with politically, my response was simple. I said, "American progressive culture has become mid-1990s homeschool chain email culture." Here's what I mean by that. Growing up in a…
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Samuel James on July 18, 2017 I don't have to do any research to know that C.S. Lewis is the most quoted person in my own writing. It's not close. In a given span of 5 blogs or essays, I would estimate that at least 1-2 will at some point cite Lewis in some way (whether paragraph quote or a simple…
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Samuel James on July 16, 2017 Here's how to end once and for all the evangelical "modesty war" Get the Right side of the debate to admit that women aren't inherent stumbling blocks and that sexual purity is not the greatest good. In response, the Left side of the debate acknowledges that the Bible has the right to command how we…
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Samuel James on July 13, 2017 Eugene Peterson told Jonathan Merritt in an on-the-record interview that he supported same-sex marriage. I, along with many others, publicly registered my disappointment and reasons I wish Peterson would have held the orthodox line. Today, however, Peterson retracted his comments and issued a statement of support for the biblical definition of marriage. Through the smoke,…
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Samuel James on July 11, 2017 Last week I saw several friends and fellow bloggers talking about this post, which, in bullet form, lays out a fairly scathing case against Twitter as a social media platform. The majority reaction to the post was that it was mostly hyperbole, mixed with an occasional insight and an occasional moronic statement. I don't necessarily…
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Samuel James on July 10, 2017 Why were the Harry Potter stories so wildly successful? What was it about them, as opposed to hundreds of other "young adult" novels, that embossed onto the consciousness of a generation? Why are we celebrating the 20th anniversary of their US publication with the same kind of enthusiasm as if the books were published last…
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Samuel James on July 5, 2017 Matt: You're always worth reading, and your perspective on the difference between allowing the "arc of life" to complete vs causing death is helpful. I absolutely agree with you that we ought never torture dying people. I also agree that in cases where death is clearly imminent, the moral dimensions of allowing it in vs taking…
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