An Ecumenical Ministry in the Parish of St Patrick's Catholic Church In San Diego USA

米国サンディエゴの聖パトリックカトリック教会教区におけるエキュメニカル宣教

Friday, October 16, 2015

'Early Warning Signs of Adult Onset Calvinism'

October 16, 2015    

Hitler the Drug Addict
Apparently he was, as were many Nazi leaders:
In the book that is shaking up the history of the Third Reich, [Norman] Ohler explains that several high-ranking Nazis were addicted to opioid drugs, while civilians and frontline soldiers took Pervitin, a pill form of Crystal Meth. Before the Final Battle of World War II, the Nazis were in search of a miracle drug to transform "men into predators," Ohler writes, quoting Gerhard Orzechowski, a leading pharmacologist of the Navy.
Other interesting discoveries for me: Early Nazi leaders were anti-drugs, and eventually they turned to them as a way to help fight the war. Allies used them as well, doping up pilots to keep them alert for long hours. And a drug used to embolden German troops in battle may have also given German citizens the strength to recover from the war so quickly.
 
What Christians Will Be Talking About
I've already linked to a few pieces that discuss "the Benedict Option," defined by Rod Dreher like this:
The "Benedict Option" refers to Christians in the contemporary West who cease to identify the continuation of civility and moral community with the maintenance of American empire, and who therefore are keen to construct local forms of community as loci of Christian resistance against what the empire represents.
I suspect there will be more and more articles and conferences in the coming months on the topic, so to give Galli Report readers a heads up, here is a good primer on the topic by the man who is doing most to champion the cause.
 
Bad Pastor Stats
I easily tire of doomsday statistics in part because, even if they are accurate, they only tell part of the story. And then a lot of the time, they are simply myths. Like the ones that say pastors are miserable and want to quit, or divorce in higher rates than the larger population. Ed Stetzer does a good job of debunking here.
 
'Early Warning Signs of Adult Onset Calvinism'
The revival of interest in the theologian John Calvin comes in many flavors, from Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson to The Gospel Coalition to "Chestertonian Calvinist" theologian Doug Wilson. I think this a salutary development. Calvin is casually dismissed by too many; he is a giant intellect with keen insights into human nature and the Bible that cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. He didn't get everything right, but he has much to offer our age. The attraction can be cult-like, for a while anyway, as this humor piece by a Calvinist suggests.
 
Grace and peace,
 
Mark Galli
Mark Galli
Mark Galli
Editor, Christianity Today

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