Josh Bishop Reads

"There is a habit that plagues many so-called spiritual minds: they imagine that matter and spirit..."

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:30:40 -0400

“There is a habit that plagues many so-called spiritual minds: they imagine that matter and spirit are somehow at odds with each other and that the right course for human life is to escape from the world of matter into some finer and purer (and undoubtedly duller) realm. To me, that is a crashing mistake. Because, in fact, it was God who invented dirt, onions and turnip greens; God who invented human beings, with their strange compulsion to cook their food; God who, at the end of each day of creation, pronounced a resounding ‘Good!’ over his own concoctions. And it is God’s unrelenting love of all the stuff of this world that keeps it in being at every moment.”

- Robert Farrar Capon in The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection

" ‘How do you know all this?’ he cried. ‘Are you a devil?’ ¶ ‘I am a..."

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:30:28 -0400

“” ‘How do you know all this?’ he cried. ‘Are you a devil?’ ¶ ‘I am a man,’ answered Father Brown gravely; ‘and therefore have all devils in my heart.’ “”

- G.K. Chesterton in “The Hammer of God”

"Why do these idiots always assume the only person who hates the wife’s lover is the..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:30:30 -0400

“Why do these idiots always assume the only person who hates the wife’s lover is the wife’s husband? Nine times out of ten the person who most hates the wife’s lover is the wife.”

- G.K. Chesterton in “The Hammer of God”

"He pointed to the colonel and said: ‘When did this dog die in his sins?’ ¶..."

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:30:32 -0400

“He pointed to the colonel and said: ‘When did this dog die in his sins?’ ¶ ‘Moderate your language,’ said the doctor ¶ ‘Moderate the Bible’s language, and I’ll moderate mine. When did he die?’”

- G.K. Chesterton in “The Hammer of God”

"Few except the poor preserve traditions. Aristocrats live not in traditions but in fashions."

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:30:37 -0400

“Few except the poor preserve traditions. Aristocrats live not in traditions but in fashions.”

- G.K. Chesterton in “The Hammer of God”

"Our libertarians, so infatuated with choice, are really infatuated with what facilitates or empowers..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:30:20 -0400

“Our libertarians, so infatuated with choice, are really infatuated with what facilitates or empowers that choice—that is, with government.”

- Joseph Knippenberg, qtd. by Jake Meador in “The tyranny of the choice enhancement state”

"Jesus once compared two men who built two houses, one on sand and the other on the rock. He then..."

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:30:27 -0400

“Jesus once compared two men who built two houses, one on sand and the other on the rock. He then compared what happened to the two houses when the storm hit them. Left out of His parable was the option of initially building a house on rock, but then going off to college and taking one philosophy course too many, and coming home again in order to have the house moved to a sandier location, but one with a better view of man’s endless potential and innate goodness.”

- Douglas Wilson in “Secularists With Bible Tinsel”

"Ale, man, ale’s the stuff to drink."

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:30:33 -0400

“Ale, man, ale’s the stuff to drink.”

- A.E. Housman in “A Shropshire Lad”

"True conservatism affirms ordered liberty, not liberty pure and simple."

Sat, 11 May 2013 14:30:35 -0400

“True conservatism affirms ordered liberty, not liberty pure and simple.”

- R.R. Reno in “Capitalism and Conservatism”

"Beer is one means by which the fruits of the earth are enjoyed to praise God, to bring cheer into..."

Fri, 10 May 2013 14:30:29 -0400

“Beer is one means by which the fruits of the earth are enjoyed to praise God, to bring cheer into man’s heart, and to lead one into genuine fellowship.”

- R. Jared Staudt in “Cause for Mirth: The Return of Abbey Brewing to the United States”

"Teaching is not just data transmission. Not even data transmission from gifted and talented..."

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:30:41 -0400

“Teaching is not just data transmission. Not even data transmission from gifted and talented lecturers. Teaching is about sharing of loves so as to reorder the loves of the young.”

- R.J. Snell in “The Locale and Grace of Teaching”

"A man who works hard stinks only to the ones that have nothing to do but smell."

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:30:35 -0400

“A man who works hard stinks only to the ones that have nothing to do but smell.”

- Laura Ingalls Wilder, qtd. by @sallylloydjones

"I support same-sex civil unions and foster care, but I have always resisted the idea that government..."

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:30:21 -0400

“I support same-sex civil unions and foster care, but I have always resisted the idea that government should encourage same-sex couples to imagine that their partnerships are indistinguishable from actual marriages. Such a self-definition for gays would be based on a lie, and anything based on a lie will backfire.”

- Robert Oscar Lopez in “Justice Kennedy’s 40,000 Children”

"Many of us discriminate on the basis of gender without realizing it. Because we were raised in a..."

Mon, 06 May 2013 14:30:00 -0400

“Many of us discriminate on the basis of gender without realizing it. Because we were raised in a sexist society, we think our behavior is natural and acceptable, even when it is discriminatory. Women often do not realize the extent to which they do not participate equally in society, nor men the privilege that maleness bestows on them—a sign that the distinct roles have been internalized well during the socialization process. Most parents do not directly plan to harm their daughters by teaching them feminine roles.”

- Donna M. Gollnick and Philip C. Chinn in Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, 7th ed.

"The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of..."

Mon, 06 May 2013 08:42:18 -0400

“

The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in this world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.

I open the New Testament and read: ‘If you want to be perfect, then sell all your goods and give to the poor and come follow me.’ Good God, if we were to actually do this, all the capitalists, the officeholders, and the entrepreneurs, the whole society in fact, would be almost beggars! We would be sunk if it were not for Christian scholarship! Praise be to everyone who works to consolidate the reputation of Christian scholarship, which helps to restrain the New Testament, this confounded book which would one, two, three, run us all down if it got loose (that is, if Christian scholarship did not restrain it).

”

- From Kierkegaard’s Journals, and beyond question my favorite passage from his works. (via ayjay)

"A crucial fact in understanding racism is that whites see themselves as superior to persons and..."

Sun, 05 May 2013 14:30:35 -0400

“A crucial fact in understanding racism is that whites see themselves as superior to persons and groups of color, and as a result exercise their power to prevent people of color from securing the prestige, power, and privilege held by whites… Many whites declare they are not racist… They take no responsibility for society’s racism.”

- Donna M. Gollnick and Philip C. Chinn in Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, 7th ed.

"It is a good thing for individual people to have the right to make a living in whatever way seems..."

Sat, 04 May 2013 14:30:35 -0400

“It is a good thing for individual people to have the right to make a living in whatever way seems best to them and that doesn’t harm their friends and neighbors. It’s also a good thing for individuals to have the freedom to make their own decisions about what to spend their money on, and I’d extend that idea to include gun ownership. I’d also say it’s good for individuals to be able to own a gun in order to protect themselves and to do things like hunting or even recreational target shooting. But if we don’t understand these freedoms within a shared communal identity marked by our affection for one another and our place and a mutual knowledge of that place, then these rights become detached from the world in which they can exist.”

- Jake Meador in “Freedom is more than owning a gun”

" ‘We have taken a wrong turning, and come to a wrong place,’ said Father Brown, looking..."

Fri, 03 May 2013 14:30:36 -0400

“” ‘We have taken a wrong turning, and come to a wrong place,’ said Father Brown, looking out of the window at the grey-green sedges and the silver flood. ‘Never mind; one can sometimes do good by being the right person in the wrong place.’ “”

- G.K. Chesterton in “The Sins of Prince Saradine”

"We have theology, and we have psychology, and we have philosophy, and we have, for some, Jack..."

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:30:25 -0400

“We have theology, and we have psychology, and we have philosophy, and we have, for some, Jack Daniels. But nothing quite works like stories.”

- Rod Dreher in “How Ordinary People Live Their Lives”

"If I am debating someone who was maintaining that God didn’t know where South Dakota was, the..."

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:30:20 -0400

“If I am debating someone who was maintaining that God didn’t know where South Dakota was, the difference between us would not be about geography. And if I am debating someone who thinks the government has the right to tell me what kind of light bulb to use, the difference between us is not about the best wattage for my living room. If I am debating someone who wants to ban magazines with more than ten rounds, they want it to be about the magazines — whereas if I still have my wits about me, I should know that the debate is over whether or not the ATF rose from the dead in order to ascend into the heavenlies, in order to give gifts to men. I maintain the negative, but maybe that’s just me.”

- Douglas Wilson in “Maintaining the Negative”