One of the things that worries me most lately is what might be called the Simon Cowell syndrome. I don’t watch American Idol much but even I could tell that Simon Cowell’s role on the show has been to be the one . . . Continue reading →
nice
Breaking the Law of Niceness
If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother (Matthew 18:15). We’ve been discussing Christian rhetoric and theological discourse on the HB. This . . . Continue reading →
On Humanizing and Dehumanizing
In The Abolition of Man C. S. Lewis worried about the effects of replacing sin and forgiveness with disease and therapy. His chief concern is that we would lose our humanity. This remains a great concern. Recently, one of the Supremes, not . . . Continue reading →
Being Nice Is Not What The Christian Walk Is About
Being “nice,” of course, is not ultimately what the Christian walk is all about. But neither is it just a low-level option for those who are commanded by Scripture to “speak the truth in love.” Even the order of that commandment—truth first, . . . Continue reading →
Why “Nice” Is Such An Impotent Category
The news is filled with comments made by people who knew the Boston Marathon bombers that they were “nice”, regular people. They cannot believe that the Tsarnaev brothers could be violent. This is not the first time we have heard such observations, . . . Continue reading →
Disagreeing With You Isn’t Unloving
Have you ever noticed that when differences of opinion come up between the confessionalists and the “can’t we all get along” (hereafter abbreviated “cwaga”) folks, that incredibly shrill and unloving voices come from the latter group directed towards the former group, all . . . Continue reading →
When Nice Is The Highest Virtue
In an age when being nice is the highest virtue, publicly confronting error from a well-known Christian is perhaps the last taboo in contemporary evangelicalism. I am a pastor. I write things that a very small number of people here and there . . . Continue reading →
Carl And Todd Are Not Nice
So far the best thing about the Mortification of Spin podcast has been the occasional appearances—an odd word for a aural medium—of Aimee Byrd. One of these days she might just roller-skate right over to Philadelphia and then whammo! Certainly they are proving . . . Continue reading →
The Subjectivity Of Niceness
I fell into the trap that ensnares many souls today: believing that if a person has a pleasing personality, is affable, attentive, and “accepting” (whatever that means), then the person is good. Somewhere along the line, Catholics began making crucial judgments based . . . Continue reading →