Neocalvinism ... Yes, but ...

Comment magazine continues its series on neocalvinism with an article by Janel Curry

Formerly an anabaptist, in neocalvinism Janel Curry has found an intellectual framework that allows her to negotiate between the pitfalls of both Enlightenment modernism and postmodernism, and find a cohesive solution to the problems posed by both in her discipline. But . . . while positioning herself as a scholar operating from the neocalvinist tradition, Curry offers a warning and issues a challenge to 21st-century neocalvinists.

Knudsen on Dooyeweerd on 24 CDs

I've just spotted a 24 CD series by the late Robert Knudsen on Dooyeweerd here.

The importance of worldview

... by Craig Bartholomew: here.

...we must realize just how powerfully Biblical Christianity is worldview-based. You know, one of the things that I've learned as well is that when you read the Bible, you don't take your worldview glasses off, you read the Bible with your normal worldview glasses. And if you're a white South African, you only read Romans 13 and you don't read all those other texts in Revelation which describe the state as demonic and as the Babylon of this world. And then the only thing you see is that good Christians obey and support the government. You read the Bible with your worldview-based glasses on.

Wiki toolbar

There is now a wiki toolbar add-on for Mozilla here. It makes editing wiki pages so much easier. Yet another reason to use Mozilla Firefox!

Global warming adverts

Here are two adverts aimed to get NorthAmericans to think about climate change: tick
and train.

Dooyeweerd's New Critique for Sale

It's not often Dooyeweerd's magnum opus comes up for sale secondhand - but PsychoBabel books have it for sale: volume I-II and volume III-IV

Dooyeweerd, Herman A New Critique of Theoretical Thought, Volumes I-II. The Necessary Presuppositions of Philosophy, Ontario, Canada: Paideia Press, 1984., Second Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/No Jacket. 0888151527 Clean Copy £ 50.00

Dooyeweerd, Herman A New Critique of Theoretical Thought, Volume III-IV. The Structures of Individuality of Temporal Reality, Ontario, Canada: Paideia Press, 1983., Reprint. Hard Cover. As New/No Jacket. 0888151527 Clean Copy £ 50.00

Neocalvinism ... yes

This week's Comment  continues the theme of neocalvinism.  Harry Van Dyke answers: Yes - do we have a choice?  He opens:

Both its teachings and its historical record leave us little choice but to embrace neocalvinism as the way to go when engaging culture. First off, neocalvinism is a comprehensive outlook on life and the world, a full-fledged worldview, one that is a match for every ideology that we encounter and often collide with in our daily lives. Secondly, the neocalvinist worldview equips the wide-awake Christian like no other option for being busy in God's world and witnessing to the gospel in its healing power for every human endeavour that we come across in today's complex social and cultural world.

Performancing 1.2 is now available

A conversation with Wendell Berry

There is an interview with the poet, essayist and novelist Wendell Berry at counterpunch.

Evangelical climate initiative

Evangelicals, for so long reluctant greens, have now woken up to climate change. See the statement here; and James Skillen's response here [HT Macht].

Idiotsavant

I have just spotted a blog by Jeff Cavanaugh: Idiotsavant. Jeff describes himself as:

a confessionally Reformed student of God's Word, whose interests and free time are increasingly devoted to theology and the intersection of philosophy, art, literature, and politics--that is, culture--with the Christian life.

Neocalvinism ...no: why I am not a neocalvinist

This week's Comment continues the theme of neocalvinism with Daniel Krauss' piece 'Neocalvinism.. no: why I am not a neocalvinist'.

Worldview illustration

This advert for playstation 2 is an excellent illustration of how worldviews (jam jars) shape our lives. [HT jonnybaker - who sees it as a parable for the church]]

Stop the Traffik

March 25th 2007 it will be the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. There is now a global coalition Stop the Traffik working together to raise awareness of contemporary slave trading. There are details of how to get involved here.

Brian Appleyard: Religion who needs it?

Brian Appleyard, author of Understanding the Present and a journalist for the Sunday Times, has written an intersting article in the newstatesman: Religion: who needs it? He concludes:

I would guess that at the Old Bailey we mostly swore by God because, in the face of all that sombre ceremony, we quietly accepted the demand - however unreasonable - that we belong to something larger than ourselves. I'd like to say it was a fleeting thing, scarcely worth mentioning: a mere habit, a reflex, perhaps even an embarrassment. I'd like to, but I'm afraid I can't.

The same issue has an article by Lewis Wolpert: My evangelical son and me.

All scientists believe in God

All scientists - including agnostics and atheists - believe in God. They have to in order to do their work.

Vern S. Poythress 'Why scientists must believe in God: divine attributes of scientific law' JETS 46(1) (2003):111

Comment: James K A Smith

James Smith is the author of the latest Comment. Smith looks at 'Neocalvinism . . . maybe: a peek into my neocalvinist toolbox.

He writes he could still consider himself a neocalvinist if: neocalvinsists recover a deep sense of the antithesis; neocalvinism is understood as a catholic tradition; neocalvinism can welcome the Spirit's charismatic renewal; neocalvinism can think of the possibility of a 'Reformed monasticism'.

Many of his thoughts echo those of an earlier article in Comment by Al Wolters; Smith's Comment is likely to provoke much useful debate.

E L Hebden Taylor

Revd Eustace (aka Stacey) Lovatt Hebden Taylor is an Reformational Anglican vicar (b 1925 in Katanga, Belgium Congo - the son of missionary parents). He has served in the Royal Navy and as a missionary in Alaska. He has been the rector of St Matthews, Montreal, Holy Trinity, Langley, UK and Greengates, Bradford, UK. He became the professor of History and Sociology at Dordt College. There he was described as:

One of the most colorful and eccentric professors in the history of Dordt College was Dr. E. L. Hebden Taylor. While he brilliantly developed a Reformed perspective in his unique brand of course materials, he was about as approachable as a prickly pear cactus. He was not distant in a negative way; it was just that his commitment to scholarship left little time or interest for interpersonal relationships with students.

He is the author of:

• The New Legality: In the Light of the Christian Philosophy of Law (Craig Press/ P&R, 1967) available here as a pdf.
• Evolution and the Reformation of Biology (Craig Press, 1967) reviewed here.
• The Christian Philosophy of Law, Politics, and the State (Craig Press, 1969)
• The Reformational Understanding of Family and Marriage (Craig Press, 1970)
• Reformation or Revolution (Craig Press, 1970)
• The Origin and Nature of Modern Capitalism (Christian Studies Center, 1975)
  
• Economics, Money and Banking (Craig Press, 1978)
  

Articles

• The Reformation and the development of modern science Churchman vol 82 (2) (1968): 87-103.
  
• 'The death of the Lord' an interpretation His Dominion (Bracebridge, Ont.: The Society of St John The Evangelist) 1 May 1961.
• The state of British Christianity today Pro Rege June (1974) 17-22

Does anyone know anymore about Revd Hebden Taylor?

Reformational journalism

The reformational movement has a long history of reformational journalism: Groen van Prinsterer was the editor in chief of a dialy newpaper De Nederlander and, of course, Abraham Kuyper was the editor of the De Standaard. And Dooyeweerd's The Roots of Western Culture originally began life as newspaper articles.

Albert Gedraitis is continuing this reformational tradition with on-line journalism. His refWrite blog has now exapanded to three pages: refWrite page 1, refWrite page 2, and refWrite page 3.

Philosophy of religion articles on Apollos

A number of philosophy of religion articles have been added to the Apollos.ws website; these include links to:

• Alvin Plantinga Ontological Argument
• Richard Swinburne Resurrection Argument
• James Sire Against Naturalism
• Gordon Pettit Free Will
• Stephen T. Davis Cosmological Argument
• Alexander Pruss and Michael Harbin Theistic Evolution
• Bradley Monton Intelligent Design Theory
• Jay Wood Miscellaneous Religious Epistemology
• John Hick and Richard Swinburne Problem of Evil
• Bruce Reichenbach Atonement
• Jeffery L. Johnson and Joyclynn Potter Miscellaneous Arguments for the Existence of God

They have also restructured the New Testament part and added new articles and books in different categories.

The Evangelical ecologist

The Evangelical Ecologist is a blog worth checking out: "A Christian ecoblog - 'cause the world isn't ours to mess up Psalm 24:1."

Why the blog? I started it because I think there's a need for a conservative evanglical voice in the environmental movement today. Clearly, though, I'm not the evangelical ecologist. All of us who desire to care for God's creation while spreading the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ are evangelical ecologists. And this site is here to help.

Teaching history backwards?

Kenn Hermann has an interesting post on his Radix Perspectives about teaching history backwards; he also has a essay on this topic where he highlights seven pedagogical advantages of this approach.