"When War Must Be The Answer"

Policy Review recently published a provocative essay by James V. Schall S.J., professor of government at Georgetown University:

It is not a virtue to praise justice as if it need not be actually enforced or defended. The greatest crimes usually are grounded in a utopianism that is blind to living men, that does not see how to limit and control disruptive forces that continually arise in human life. Though I argue mainly about military force, the same argument includes police power. These are not substitutes for the virtue of justice, but this difficult virtue relies also on the existence and proper use of force for its existence. Contrary to much rhetoric, we do not live in a world in which diplomacy, dialogue, diversity, and law, however valuable, have replaced force. We can hopefully reach an adequate public order, but the failure to understand that law and dialogue need the presence of reasoned force ends up creating not more peace but less.

War is a tragic enterprise, but like Mr. Schall, I cannot believe that it can somehow be made "unnecessary" by simply relying on the good wishes and mercy of our professed enemies. As long as human enmity endures, good women and men will be put into the position of defending themselves from ideologies, like Islamofacism, that seek their destruction. To do otherwise, blinded by the utopianism of which Schall speaks, is not only unjust by also unloving to those who are our neighbors.

Back in the Saddle Again

As you can tell, I've been away for awhile because of the demands of learning Biblical Hebrew. The final for that class was last Monday (it was a tough exam), and I've taken a week long break to rest and recover. Spring classes began yesterday. It's nice to be back in the swing of things. We will continue our study of Systematic Theology this semester, and will begin using our Hebrew knowledge to interpret Hebrew scripture. We will also undertake what for many of us is our first dip into the river of preaching. Finally, we're begin our historical study of the New Testament. Exciting stuff!

Hebrew Midterm Complete

Here a picture of my recently-graded midterm. The scibbles you see continue on for five verses. The two hours I spent on this test seemed to pass in 10 minutes. Click on the photo to see a larger version. Let's just say that grace abounds.

My Hebrew Midterm Originally uploaded by whatnext.

Cephonodes hylas Linnaeus

Here's my Cool Flickr Photo Discovery of the Day. I would love to know how the photographer was able to capture this image.

Cephonodes hylas Linnaeus Originally uploaded by twin_lens.

Many of My Friends Would Conclude Otherwise

Via my friend Don Nunn.

Pastor Dies in Pulpit

This story has been making the rounds all day long (via MyWay):

OVIEDO, Fla. (AP) - A Presbyterian minister collapsed and died in mid-sentence of a sermon after saying "And when I go to heaven ...," his colleague said Monday.



The Rev. Jack Arnold, 69, was nearing the end of his sermon Sunday at Covenant Presbyterian Church in this Orlando suburb when he grabbed the podium before falling to the floor, said the Rev. Michael S. Beates, associate pastor at Covenant Presbyterian.



Before collapsing, Arnold quoted the 18th century Bible scholar, John Wesley, who said, "Until my work on this earth is done, I am immortal. But when my work for Christ is done ... I go to be with Jesus," Beates said in a telephone interview.



Several members of the congregation with medical backgrounds tried to revive the minister and paramedics were called, but Arnold appeared to die instantly, Beates said.



Arnold had been the senior minister at the church until the late 1990s when he began traveling to Africa and the Middle East to teach pastors. The cause of death was believed to be cardiac arrest. He had bypass surgery five years earlier.



Beates also recounted Arnold's death in an e-mail he sent to members of the Central Florida Presbytery.



"We were stunned," Beates said. "It was traumatic, but how wonderful it was he died in his own church among the people he loved the most."

א = Aleph, ב = Bet...

Week one of introductory biblical Hebrew concluded last Friday. We covered seven grammar lessons during the week - an almost unreal pace to be sure. Nonetheless, I find that I'm already able to read bits of Hebrew text. It's hard to discribe the exciting feeling you have when you see a world like:

אֶלֹהִים

and realize that you've just read the word "God" or "gods" (this common word, which has a masculine plural ending, can be interpreted as either singular or plural, depending on the context).

Now that we know the basics about the definite article, prepositions, conjunctions, noun roots, masculine/feminine/singualar/plural noun patterns, and adjectives, it's quickly becoming apparent that a deep vocabulary will be the key to reading and translating texts at speeds greater than glacial. I've already memorized 22 of the most common verbs, and this week I have to know 43 of the most common nouns. One of my more adventuresome collegues has already memorized about 250 words. My goal this week is to go well beyond the assigned vocabulary and try to catch up with my friend.