H.L. Mencken Defending Women?

I just started reading H.L. Mencken’s In Defense of Women.  For those who don’t know, Mencken was a terribly witty journalist in the early 20th century.  He was witty, and he was terrible.  He was enamoured of Nietzshe’s philosophy and hated Christianity.  Oddly enough, he could praise a theological stalwart like J. Gresham Machen because Machen was a stalwart.  Mencken hated hypocrisy, but he respected a man who could defend what he believed, even if Mencken could not accept that defense.  All that to say–Mencken was a clever pagan and a talented wordsmith.  We who would defend Christianity can, and should, learn a lesson or two from him.

In the Introduction, Mencken writes, “in the United States, alone among the great nations of history, there is a right way to think and a wrong way to think in everything–not only in theology, or politics, or economics, but in the most trivial matters of everyday life” (xix). 

Mencken was writing in the 1930s, and so he is railing against “traditional morality,” but his words apply equally today–in the realm of political correctness and the holy dogmas of Tolerance.  “For an American to question any of the articles of fundamental faith cherished by the majority is for him to run grave risks of social disaster” (xx).  The difference now is which “articles of fundamental faith” the majority hold to.  Back then it was the veneer of Christian morality–now it is the veneer of Toleration for every belief and moral practice … except for Intolerance and believing that one belief means that others are wrong!

And Mencken had no illusions about the redemptive value of democracy:  “All such toyings with illicit ideas are construed as attentats against democracy, which, in a sense, perhaps they are.  For democracy is grounded upon so childish a complex of fallacies that they must be protected by a rigid system of taboos, else even half-wits would argue it to pieces.  Its first concern must thus be to penalize the free play of ideas” (xxi). 

When was the last time we really had a debate in American politics, rather than slogan-tossing festival? 

Mencken could sound like a Calvinist with no Cross and no Christ.  That is, he understood human depravity, but did not have the hope of Resurrection:  “In truth, I am very suspicious of all remedies for the major ills of life, and believe that most of them are incurable” (xxiv).

The book promises to entertain and infuriate.  I’ll try to post his best observations here (mostly to help me study how he writes!).

Pseudo-Scholarship & Opportunities to Evangelize

Darrell Bock has good observations and advice on how to deal with the all the media hype about the “latest-greatest Jesus”.  The bottom line is that all the interest in works like The Da Vinci Code and the tomb of James, “the brother of Jesus” present a wonderful opportunity to evangelize.  The problem is that most Christians don’t know enough history to combat the silliness of Hollywood or the one-sided scholarship of much Jesus research.  Tolle lege–take up those church history books and read!  The fields are ripe for a harvest!

Noah and Deucalion

Theophilus of Antioch (115-c. 181) notes an interesting connection between Noah and the mythical Greek character, Deucalion.  In his long treatise “To Autolycus,” Theophilus argues that the Bible is older than Greek mythology.  Along with other church fathers, Theophilus also contends that whatever was true or noble in Greek mythology was borrowed from Biblical truth. 

He draws this similarity bewteen Noah and Deucalion: “Noah, when he announced to the men then alive that there was a flood coming, prophesied to them, saying, Come hither, God calls you to repentence.  On this account he was fitly called Deucalion,” (Theophilus to Autolycus, III.xix ).  The editor explains that “Deucalion” derives from the Greek words, “Deute” (come) and “kaleo” (I call).  I don’t know whether this connection would hold up in a court of modern philology, but it ties in nicely with what 2 Peter 2:5 tells us about Noah, namely that he was a “herald [preacher] of righteousness” (ESV).  Perhaps the Greeks had some dim memory of this truth as they told the story of Deucalion. Theophilus also states, cryptically: “And of the ark, the remains are to this day to be seen in the Arabian mountains.” 

Spiderman Theology

Now that the Spiderman triology is complete, I’ve noticed a common theme.  None of the villains in the Spiderman movies is really evil.  They all have evil thrust upon them, either by some potion, invention, dysfunctional relationship, or an accidental gun-shot.  Additionally, in the last two movies, the villains have good motives–Dr. Octupus is seeking the advancement of science and Sandman is trying to save his sick daughter.  The third movie introduces a black blob which causes people to become wicked, but it only magnifies their latent wickedness.  It’s hard to actually blame those overcome by the black blob. 

Since the third movie highlighted the problem of evil (in the form of the black blob), it had to deal with forgiveness.  I was hopeful when Peter’s Aunt gave a little sermon about revenge and forgiveness, but I should have known better.  Her advice culminated in: “forgive yourself.”  Um, okay …  Perhaps that’s why the movie ended with meaninful looks rather than an actual apology from Peter.  The only real apology came from the Sandman, but that was an apology for an accident. 

So, once again, Hollywood skirts around the problem of evil and teaches our children that evil isn’t really their problem.  They aren’t really to blame for their actions–they just need to put on a new suit.  Of course, that’s part of the answer–we need to put on the righteous robes of Jesus (or, rather, He needs to put them on us).  But, we won’t realize the need for a new suit unless we realize the depth of our own sin.  Nor can we take off the black suit, even if we’re in a church bell tower–God Himself is the only one who can take it off.

Dumbledore is Gay

There are plenty of reasons to yawn about Harry Potter books, besides the silly stuff about magic, as a recent article shows. 
 

Academic Mission Opportunity

I came across an exciting mission opportunity for academics. This organization sends Christian teachers into other countries, finding positions for them in secular universities. A quote on their home-page says it all:

“The university is a clear-cut fulcrum with which to move the world. Change the university and you change the world,” declared Dr. Charles Malik, former president of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council.

The Gnostic Next Door

I’m almost done reading Irenaeus’s massive Against Heresies, an exhaustive refutation of the ancient heresy of Gnosticism, and a classic defense of orthodox Christian belief.  It took about a year (though I deliberately took it slow).  Some of it is quite tedious, and I often wondered if the pain was worth it.  But, Gnosticism is alive and well, from the Gospel of Thomas, to Joseph Campbell.  More surprisingly, there are actually Gnostic Catholic churches out there!  Go get a copy of Irenaus–there could be a Gnostic right next door.

Stem Cell Research and Adoption

“North Carolina proponents propose spending $10 million, a fraction of what’s been committed in some other states, but comparable to amounts spent in Illinois and Maryland.

The North Carolina bill’s supporters emphasized that only embryos a few days old that are left over from fertilization clinics could be used under the proposed state policy. Tens of thousands of cells sit in freezers and would otherwise be discarded as medical waste, supporters said.

‘This bill comes down to what to do with the embryos that are left over after in vitro fertilization,’ Gulley said. ‘Do you flush them or do you use them to find a cure for people like me?’” (Raleigh News and Observer)

One bad deed doesn’t deserve another.  This raises the question of whether we should have all these frozen children waiting to be thrown away in the first place!  The whole in vitro fertilization and “design-your-own-child” clinic travesty is a quite sad.  Why do couples spend so much money to create their “own” baby when thousands of children are suffering and dying in orphanages around the world?  American consumerism knows no limits. 

Cultures always sacrifice their children to their gods–we flush ours down the drain so that we can have our model 1.5 children who look just like us.  Good thing God doesn’t treat us that way: He adopted us even though we were disfigured and disabled by sin.  “As you did unto the least of these, you did unto me …”  

Nothing New Under the Sun

A sad commentary on the times: “I see now no difference between the dress of matrons and prostitutes.” 

“Where is that happiness of married life, ever so desirable, which distinguished our earlier manners, and as the result of which for about 600 years there was not among us a single divorce?  Now, women have every member of the body heavy laden with gold; wine-bibbing is so common among them, that the kiss is never offered with their will; and as for divorce, they long for it as though it were the natural consequence of marriage.”

Sound familiar?  That’s the early Church Father, Tertullian, writing about Roman decadence in his Apology (I.vi)!

Britney’s Crotch – Photos

If you came here, you have a problem.  If you’re married, you’re wrecking your marriage.  If you’re single, you’re training yourself to be a selfish husband.  Don’t fool yourself about sin.  It grows and multiplies, just like cancer.  Virtual sex is no substitute for real sex in a Biblical marriage.  Your pursuit of pleasure will leave you hollow and empty.

Ten Ways to Break the Stronghold of Pornography  

Head Games 

Reformational Sex

Justin Martyr and Van Til

I was struck to see how Van Tilian and presuppositional Justin Martyr was. See his Fragments of the Lost Work of Justin on the Resurrection, chap. 1 for an interesting comparison between one of the first great apologists of the Church, and one of the greatest in recent history (Van Til, of course).

Patristic Polemics

Justin Martyr, the Apostolic Father and philosopher, had this to say the Jews in his Dialogue With Trypho. Substitute your favorite theologian who has been grilled by the Truly Orthodox Heresy Hunters, Inc.

“For you swarm and light on sores like flies. For though one should speak ten thousand words well, if there happen to be one little word displeasing to you, because not sufficiently intelligible or accurate, you make no account of the many good words, but lay hold of the little word, and are very zealous in setting it up as something impious and guilty; in order that, when you are judged with the very same judgment by God, you may have a much heavier account to render for your great audacities, whether evil actions, or bad interpretations which you obtain by falsifying the truth. For with what judgment you judge, it is righteous that you be judged withal” (chap. CXV).