I’m part way through Lane and Oreskes on the genius of American constitutionalism. It’s a breezy spin through the history of the constitutional crisis. The first part of their thesis is attractive to Augustinians. They argue that the founders realized that their implicitly Pelagian approach to politics was a failure. The constitution was premised upon their realization that, in civil life, people tend not to seek an altruistic “public good” but rather they tend to seek their own interests. This pushed them to republicanism and to a redefinition of the public good grounded in their new, post-revolutionary realism about human nature.  I see some parallels to aspects of their argument and aspects of the argument about the role of confessions in RRC.

I said light reading. Mike Babcock is probably the most knowledgeable living writer on Nebraska football. Haven’t got far yet but it looks promising. Mike is always a good read for Husker fans.

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Well, the last of this list isn’t so light but C. E. (Charles Evan) Hill is a brilliant scholar and a gifted writer. I’m reading this to review it for the next volume of the Confessional Presbyterian. If you’re a serious student of the fathers then I don’t need to tell you about Chuck’s work. If you’re interested in the fathers, then you will want to investigate this fascinating argument.