Favorite Blog

If you have a taste for satire, especially for satire that sends up the ridiculousness that plagues much of modern evangelicalism, check out a new blog called Tom In The Box. Headlines include: "Extreme Home Makeover Church Edition Hailed A Success," "Robertson Declares Himself the Winner of the 2008 Presidential Election," and "Amillenial 'No Behind' Novel Suffers from Lackluster Sales." It's quite funny stuff, but doesn't feel as sacreligious as sites like Landover Baptist

A (somewhat heavy-handed) Parable

I didn't catch the Bears-Saints playoff game last week; I was busy doing other things and didn't have time to sit down and watch it. So on Monday morning, I asked a coworker who had won, and he told me that the Bears had been victorious. But then I was talking to another person a bit later, and he said that, in fact, the Saints had won the game. This confused me, so I asked some more people, wanting to know the truth. But I didn't get any satisfactory responses. Some people said the Bears had won. Some people said the Saints had won. Some people didn't know. Some said nobody could say for sure, because it had been a close game decided by a questionable call from the referee. Finally, I decided that since people couldn't agree on the truth about the outcome of the game, there must be no truth. Since everyone saw the outcome of the game from their own perspective, with their own bias, it must be just as true that the Saints won as that the Bears won. For all I know, there was no game at all. It doesn't matter to me; I'm a Saints fan and I choose to believe that the Saints won. That's the truth...as I see it.

Favorite Site

Sometimes, in my current employment, I do work that...well, let's just say it doesn't require intense concentration. To stave off boredom, I've found a great resource to help me pass the time: . Similar to Project Gutenberg, LibriVox (the name comes from the Latin words for 'book' and 'voice') hosts audio recordings of scores of classic books that are now in the public domain. Like Wikipedia, it's an open-source, collaborative project, so anyone can expand the site's catalog by recording chapters of books and adding them to the collection. I'm slightly ashamed to admit it, but this is how most of my reading has gotten done in the last several months. Here are some of the LibriVox books I've consumed recently

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
Dracula, Bram Stoker
Ghost Story collections (1) (2)
Gift of the Magi, O. Henry
King Solomon's Mines, H. Rider Haggard
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Iriving
My Man Jeeves, P.G. Wodehouse
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories, Ambrose Bierce
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Psmith in the City, P.G. Wodehouse
Right Ho, Jeeves, P.G. Wodehouse
Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe

When I'm tempted to complain...

...that my apartment is too small, I need to remember that it could be worse. Thanks be to God for the (relatively) palatial space that Andrea and I have.

(HT: Randa)

Entertainment of the Day

If you're in the mood for some entertaining reading, check out the Amazon customer reviews for a gallon of milk. I'm not kidding.

Style on the Page

Back in September, I posted about online resources for learning about classic men's style, and I said I'd mention some books on the topic at a later date. Well, that time has come, and I'll start with two books given to me for Christmas by my wonderful wife.

First up is The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men's Style, by Nicholas Antongiavanni. Possibly the most entertaining and inormative book on men's style that is in print today (it certainly tops the non-illustrated list), it is also the most recent. Mr. Antongiavanni has fashioned his book in the style of Niccolo Machiavelli's classic The Prince. While the language might be somewhat confusing to those who miss the connection, for anyone who has read Machiavelli's seminal work The Suit will stand out as an artfully crafted imitation with class and significance all its own. This book is perfect for that special Straussian in your life.

Next is Alan Flusser's Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion. Flusser sets out to demonstrate (and illustrate, with scores of photos) that permanent fashion is not an oxymoron. Rather, with careful attention to fit, proportion, color, and pattern, any man can acquire a wardrobe that will help him look his best for years, no matter how fashion-runway frippery may change. Mr. Flusser's writing style can be a bit florid, but the real gems in this book are the illustrations. Every page has photos of stylish men from the 1930s to today, and, as they say, each one is worth a thousand words.

Flusser has also written Style and the Man, a guide on how and where to buy the fine men's clothing that he describes in the previous book. It is composed partly of instruction on what to look for when you're in a store, and partly of a directory of where the best haberdashers are worldwide. The latter section is now somewhat dated, and at any rate will be of limited use to men who, like myself, don't have thousands of dollars to spend on clothing each year. In most of the stores he lists, I daresay I couldn't afford a pair of socks, let alone a custom-tailored suit. Still, the guidance on how to shop for clothing will be helpful to a man on any budget, and will arm you with better knowledge than most store salesmen possess today.

Also of great sartorial significance is Gentleman: A Timeless Fashion, by German author Bernhard Roetzel. Like Dressing the Man, this volume is indispensible for its illustrations of how to wear clothing of different styles, patterns, and colors. Roetzel meticulously examines all the elements of a stylish man's wardrobe, and he covers many areas, including shoes, accessories, and formalwear, with a thoroughness that Flusser's books can't muster. This book is currently out of print, but used copies can be had from several online sources.

These books are just a few of many available that seek to give fashion advice to men, but they're some of the best--far better than anything Kressley or Molloy can offer. Any man who takes the time to peruse them carefully and apply their advice to his buying and dressing habits can hardly fail to cut a fine figure and impress those around him with his taste and refinement.

At the Company Christmas Party

Married

As of last Saturday, I am happily married to the most wonderful woman in the world. We were married on December 16 at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. You can see a couple of photos from the reception here at the Cavie Family's blog. I will post more pictures when we get them. For now, here's one of my lovely wife, taken in Colonial Williamsburg, VA. Isn't she beautiful?

The Soul of the University

My friend the Friar has an interesting post over at his blog on the topic of the "dwindling power of the faculty" in universities today.

This touches on something I and another former professor of mine were discussing the other day. In any good university, the soul of what goes on is in the faculty and in the relationship between the teachers and students. The faculty preserve and guard knowledge, while passing it on to future generations of students, some of whom will eventually become teachers themselves. The university can rightly be said to exist for this purpose. Therefore, the job of school administrators and non-academic staff is to facilitate the work of the faculty and the learning of the students.

I think that the recent decline (some would say self-destruction) of my alma mater can be summed up in saying that the above isn't what happened. The president of the college (now the chancellor), did not understand the nature of his role. He assumed that the college was like the organization he had previously founded, which had scores of staff all working to accomplish his ends. Rather than dedicating himself to serving the students and the faculty by creating a place where liberal learning could take place, he assumed that the college existed to serve his goals, ambitions, and plans. Rather than protecting the faculty's space to teach truth in the manner they saw fit, he invaded that space by trying to architect a curriculum on his own model. Rather than understanding himself as part of a complex institution that existed for a purpose outside himself, he saw the college as an extension of himself or a tool he could wield at will. Any criticism of the way things were being done at the college, therefore, he saw as an affront and a personal attack on himself.

Sadly, it seems that this perspective is shared by the new president of the college, as well. Recent reports indicate that the president has said he believes that "honor should be given where it is due." Therefore he is considering handing back to the chancellor much of the power and authority that was seconded from him in his move from president to chancellor. Sad, and ill-advised, but not altogether surprising. The circumstances of the new president's hiring made it clear that he had been handpicked by the now-chancellor to be of like mind.

So, Mr. Chancellor, and Mr. President, listen to this advice: Do not persist in thinking that the college is yours to do with as you please. Do not continue to think that it is a tool you can use to "reclaim America" or some such end. Do not continue to assume that the faculty and the students are there to serve you. Find faculty who are trustworthy and competent (like the ones you alienated), and let them do their jobs. Trust them to teach the truth in their respective disciplines, even if you don't like every word they say or every conclusion their students come to. Dedicate yourselves to serving, rather than being served; to learning, rather than dictating, and there may yet be hope for your college.

Friedman and Freedom

Economist Milton Friedman died today, at the age of 94. Friedman is much admired by conservatives and libertarians for his work as the leader of the Chicago School of monetary economics. Friedman also wrote much on public policy, with the overarching goal of promoting individual liberty in society.

I have some admiration for the man myself, a remaining influence of my conservative upbringing and education. I am no economist, but Friedman undoubtedly did much to work against the harmful effects of a Keynesian approach to monetary policy and its promotion of a directed economy. However, I find myself increasingly at odds with conservatives, to some extent, and libertarians, to a much greater extent, when they promote individual freedom as the goal of public policy and the greatest good in society.

Part of this disgreement stems from my belief that the individual is not the basic unit of society--that is, all institutions, phenomena, mechanisms, cultures, and such cannot merely or fundamentally be thought of as a bunch of individuals working together in a particular way or for a specific purpose. To look at them through the lens of the individual is potentially to miss the created structure of these institutions as such, and so to misunderstand their nature. For example, a family is an institution created by God with a specific structure--father, mother, children--and ordained for particular roles and ends in the world. It is not merely a collection of individuals who bond together to express and experience love and commitment. Therefore, two men can't be or have a family together--biological considerations aside. Likewise, to assume that government exists to promote the liberty of individuals is to wrongly account for government's existence, structure, and purpose.

A related principle is that any government or institution created by God is obliged to be ordered by God's law. He reveals this law to us in part through nature, and more fully and more clearly in Scripture. The only model of a society ordered by divine law that we have in Scripture is that of Israel in the Old Testament. Looking at the law given to Israel seems to show that promoting right relationships, not individual freedom, is the greatest good in society. Thus a purely free market that takes no account for human selfishness (as sin, not simple economic self-interest) fails to properly restrain man's own impulses that would destroy relationships and twist them for his own purposes.

Now, freedom is not a bad thing. Jesus Christ came to set men free. But freedom, defined wrongly, is an idol that conservatives and liberals and libertarians alike must repent of. Freedom is found in loving submission to the Lord God, and that has implications for all of life. So as you think about the legacy of Milton Friedman, think carefully and critically. His work contains keen insight, but, like any man's, should be examined in light of the Word of God.

Happy Reformation Day!

This post is dedicated to David Snyder and Matt Brownfield. May we sing together again.

The Reformation Polka
by Robert Gebel

[Sung to the tune of "Supercalifragilistic-expialidocious"]

1. When I was just ein junger Mann I studied canon law;
While Erfurt was a challenge, it was just to please my Pa.
Then came the storm, the lightning struck, I called upon Saint Anne,
I shaved my head, I took my vows, an Augustinian! Oh...

Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let's start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!

2. When Tetzel came near Wittenberg, St. Peter's profits soared,
I wrote a little notice for the All Saints' Bull'tin board:
"You cannot purchase merits, for we're justified by grace!
Here's 95 more reasons, Brother Tetzel, in your face!" Oh...

[Chorus]

3. They loved my tracts, adored my wit, all were exempleror;
The Pope, however, hauled me up before the Emperor.
"Are these your books? Do you recant?" King Charles did demand,
"I will not change my Diet, Sir, God help me here I stand!" Oh...

[Chorus]

4. Duke Frederick took the Wise approach, responding to my words,
By knighting "George" as hostage in the Kingdom of the Birds.
Use Brother Martin's model if the languages you seek,
Stay locked inside a castle with your Hebrew and your Greek! Oh...

[Chorus]

5. Let's raise our steins and Concord Books while gathered in this place,
And spread the word that 'catholic' is spelled with lower case;
The Word remains unfettered when the Spirit gets his chance,
So come on, Katy, drop your lute, and join us in our dance! Oh...

[Chorus]

Schism

If you've been under the mistaken impression that Baptists are just a bunch of schismatic heretics, or if you've heard people expressing this opinion, check out this post on the current state of various Anglican bodies in the United States. Whenever churches fail to follow Scripture's model for church government and think that a bishop or a general assembly has authority over their congregation, these kind of separations will naturally ensue.

Words

I've been tagged by my fiancée, Andrea, with a word meme. Apparently this is some version of those delightful little word-assoctiona icebreaker games where people who don't know each other (and don't really want to) sit uncomfortably in a circle and pretend that the third or fourth thing that came into their heads at the mention of a certain word was actually the first response they thought of. This promises to be a more enjoyable version, I hope.

At any rate, here are the words with which I've been tagged, and my responses:

WEDDING: Andrea; church; lots of planning still to do; ghastly formalwear

BOOK: Library; old friends; learning; too much money spent on Amazon

BREAD: Hot crusty goodness; whole-wheat; Panera

NAP: The thing I wish I could get more of; Rip van Winkle; Sunday afternoons; why don't they furnish cubicles with beds?

I'm afraid thinking about bread and naps has made me too sleepy to think of who else to tag. Oh, well. If you're reading this and you have a blog, consider yourself tagged.

Hymn

Jerusalem, my happy home!
When shall I come to thee?
When shall my labors have an end,
Thy joys when shall I see?

Thy saints are crowned with glory great;
They see God face to face;
They triumph still, they still rejoice
Most happy is their case.

When shall these eyes thy heaven built walls
And pearly gates behold?
Thy bulwarks, with salvation strong,
And streets of shining gold?

There happier bowers than Eden’s bloom,
Nor sin nor sorrow know:
Blest seats, through rude and stormy scenes,
I onward press to you.

Why should I shrink at pain and woe?
Or feel at death dismay?
I’ve Canaan’s goodly land in view,
And realms of endless day.

From every tribe doth music rise,
All nations form the choir:
Ten thousand times that man were blessed
That might this music hear.

Jerusalem, my happy home!
God grant that I may see
Thine endless joys and of the same
Partaker ever be!

O Christ do Thou my soul prepare
For that bright home of love;
That I may see Thee and adore,
With all Thy saints above.

~Joseph Bromehead, 1748-1826; alt. st. Andrew Sherwood, 2005

John Calvin was a Baptist?

We Baptists are often criticized by our Reformed friends for our belief that baptism is a profession of the faith of the one being baptized. Such a definition, the argument goes, makes baptism too much an individualistic thing, all about me-'n-Jesus, with no necessary reference to the larger body of Christ. I wonder if they realize that John Calvin said the same about baptism? Granted, Calvin had a lot of other things to say about the significance of baptism, many of which are helpful as well, and which I can happily agree with even as a Reformed Baptist.

From Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book IV, chapter 15:

Baptism serves as our confession before men, in as much as it is a mark by which we openly declare that we wish to be ranked among the people of God, by which we testify that we concur with all Christians in the worship of one God, and in one religion; by which, in short, we publicly assert our faith, so that not only do our hearts breathe, but our tongues also, and all the members of our body, in every way they can, proclaim the praise of God. In this way, as is meet, every thing we have is made subservient to the glory of God, which ought everywhere to be displayed, and others are stimulated by our example to the same course. To this Paul referred when he asked the Corinthians whether or not they had been baptised in the name of Christ, (1 Cor. 1: 13;) intimating, that by the very circumstance of having been baptised in his name, they had devoted themselves to him, had sworn and bound themselves in allegiance to him before men, so that they could no longer confess any other than Christ alone, unless they would abjure the confession which they had made in baptism.

Yes, baptism is more than simply a profession of faith. Calvin knew that, and so do we. It is a sign and seal of God's grace. It is the rite by which one is united to the visible church. It is a symbol of regeneration and a picture of heart circumcision. It is more than merely a profession of faith. But it is inescapably a profession of faith.

On Being Reformed and Baptist

If you haven't noticed it already, in the comments on one of my recent posts there's a brief discussion of a recent LifeWay poll on Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention. This coincides with a recent article on young evangelical Calvinists in Christianity Today. The discussion continues over at Gregory Baus's blog, with his post on Calvinism in the SBC, and in the comments on that post.

Also, David Koyzis wonders if becoming soteriologically Calvinistic mustn't lead Baptists to reconsider other areas of theology, as well. The answer, at least in my case, is yes. An understanding of God's sovereignty in salvation--and especially an understanding of the history of that doctrine--can't help but affect other areas of our thought as well. See my comment on his post for more.

For the Rest of You

I realize that my previous post on "Online Style" may not be of interest to some folks who just don't like dressing up. Well, here's a link for you too: http://www.businessbibs.com

Arr.

Online Style

One of my hobbies is reading and learning about men's clothing and style. Some have said I have a passion for fashion, and, while that has a nice ring, the word "fashion" has some unpleasant connotations that I prefer to avoid.

At any rate, I thought it'd be interesting to do a quick tour of some of the online resources I've found helpful in learning about how to dress well.

Ask Andy About Clothes is a great site with some helpful articles on dressing, but the real treasure here is in the Forums, where hundreds of men (and a few women) talk with an astonishing degree of knowledge about sartorial matters.

The London Lounge is another, similar forum, but devoted more specifically to what's known as "bespoke," or custom-made clothing.

Styleforum is yet another similar forums site, albeit one that I don't visit very often.

There are also several blogs that are fascinating in this category:

The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman, is a New York photographer who is constantly shooting photos of well-dressed people on the streets of the Big Apple.

Film Noir Buff is the pseudonym of a fellow who has written lots of interesting, if overly wordy, essays on clothing and style.

English Cut is the blog of an English tailor, Thomas Mahon, who specializes in bespoke suits. Tom is, if not the first blogging tailor, almost certainly the best-known one.

Martin Stall is another bespoke tailor with a blog, and a friend of Tom Mahon's. He works from the Netherlands.

Desmond Merrion is another British tailor with more great insights on what goes into making a well-done custom suit.

Darren Beaman posts pictures of some of his bespoke creations on his blog, though his has been idle since June.

Solomon Animashaun is a fellow sartorial fan who posts pictures of some of the clothes he likes and owns, though his blog is also idle for the time being.

And that, dear friends, along with a few books I may mention later, is how I came to know as much as I do about dressing well.

To Daniel, whoever you are

Dear "Daniel":

Just wanted to send you a friendly note, and, since I don't know who you are, I'm posting it on my blog.

Apparently sometime in the last couple of weeks you've inadvertently written down your phone number incorrectly on a form somewhere. Or maybe your business cards were misprinted, and you haven't noticed yet. In any case, you're giving people a phone number that isn't yours. It's mine.

If this were an isolated incident, Daniel, I wouldn't be worried. I've gotten wrong-number calls before when people misdialed the number they intended to call. No big deal. But when I get your phone calls on a near-daily basis, I begin to be slightly annoyed. More than anything, though, I just want to be sure you aren't missing important calls. I mean, who knows? The people who call me expecting to find you could be trying to offer you a new job. Or they could be trying to tell you your housing application has gone through. I don't think I've recognized Ed McMahon's voice (from Publishers' Clearing House) on any of the calls, but who knows what could be next? I think you can see this is a pretty big deal, and I recommend you do something to fix the situation soon. For your own good, and for my sanity's sake.

P.S. If you're my friend Daniel S., and you've given my number out intentionally as a joke, I'll get you.