The American Chesterton Society

By the way, for regular infusions of the wit and wisdom of G. K. Chesterton, check out the American Chesterton Society blog.  A wellspring of choice quotes and interesting information on all things Chesterton, you will surely slake your thirst here.  The occasional hagiographical boosterism by the bloggers can be unsettling, but nevermind.  Chesterton was a large man--the man himself was larger than his own legend.

am Dienstags und der Lusitania

My ultracool wife Wendy has started an intermittent blog: am Dienstags. I don't know what that means. She is so teutonic.

In other news, I read recently that Lusitania is the Latin name for Portugal. Here is a radical theory: Perhaps the Germans were trying to sink Portugal in WWI and accidentally hit an American ship instead?

Worst theologian ever

I rarely read comments on other blogs (except for my family members' blogs - I love you guys!). They tend to act as a forum for unending exhibitions of vituperation and ignorance, though I suppose I have been known to contribute in my day. (Wheaton professor Alan Jacobs made some insightful observations on the nature of blogging in a 2006 Books & Culture article, calling it "the friend of information but the enemy of thought." Not one to toss the baby with the bath water, Jacobs blogs at more than 95 theses and contributes to The American Scene.)

However, I found myself completely absorbed by the comments on a recent post at Inhabitatio Dei, provocatively titled "The Worst Theologian Ever?" I fully expected the comments to descend into a firestorm of name-calling... which they did, but not necessarily in a bad way. The commentors provided a fascinating gallery of controversial theologians, who are also often the most interesting.

I think the aforementioned "firestorm" began in the best possible way with a commentor named Andrew replying simply, "me." (As another commentor pointed out, "Very Chesterton-esque.") Dan Belcher brought some much-needed gravitas to the discussion:

"Doesn’t this just play to our already bent prone toward scapegoating?... Isn’t this simply a clever ruse on our part to divert attention away from our own complicity with and to the destruction of “the church,” or perhaps of faithfulness to the community that professes obedience to the Word of God? It also seems to be a way for people to prop up or repristinate their already entrenched biases."

Wise words. All in all, a bracing discussion. I even read the comments all the way to the end. I, of course, know next to nothing about the esoteric end of theology (which contains the vast majority of theological thought), nor of the vast panoply of theologians throughout history. However, if pressed, I would cast my vote for Charles Finney. Then me.