Sowell on race and gender representation

Sometimes some people's opinions have more gravitas. This interview dates back to 1981. This year Sowell is 82 years old and still surprisingly sharp. His books and opinions stay fresh. We need more Sowells.

Word magic

An Afrikaner, Johan Degenaar, on word magic:

"For the poet the word is not only a sound-combination; not only the carrier of an idea; not only the form in which he maintains strict discipline in the experiences of his life. The word is a magical medium, a weapon with which impurity can be excised, a spell or magic formula by which things are exorcised, a chisel with which planets can be split open."

A Story of Two Tales

It is classified. Thus saith most encyclopaedias, including the omnipresent, omniscient Wikipedia. It al began with a guy named Carl Linnaeus. Actually it began a long time before him, but for now, let’s start in Sweden.

Carl Linnaeus lived in Sweden in the eighteenth century. He developed a system for classification – for the whole realm of nature. Most of us have used words like family, class, order, and kingdom. Some of us have sometimes used words like species and genus. Not many of us are still able to recall from our biology school days the package deal of species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, and kingdom. Carl Linnaeus’ used this package as sifts to develop the mother of classification systems in the modern era. Things in nature belong to a species, belong to a bigger genus, belong to a bigger family, belong to a bigger order, and so on - all the way up to being part of the kingdom. Through Linnaeus package of sifts we have just five kingdoms at the top: animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and protoctists. It is a pretty straightforward pyramid system that helped many to classify effectively. Let us call all the people who used his system the Linnaeunites.

People lived in basic harmony and peace with Linnaeunites, but gradually a new group formed that became unsatisfied. They are called by many names. The name that will be used here is Darwinites. Their founder’s well known book, Origin of Species, was already published in 1859. For a hundred years they grew and got stronger and then could not keep silent any more. Since the middle of the twentieth century Darwinites began to ask whether the theory of evolution should not impact the way people classify.

The Cladites and the Pheneticites 
It was particularly two sub-tribes that really started the war. They were called the Cladites and the Pheneticites (more appreciated in some circles by their names Cladists and Pheniticists). They were two rival groups that emerged in the 1970’s. The Cladites were convinced evolutionary history is indispensable for classification – good taxonomy they called it. But the Pheneticites challenged that. They thought classification can and should be totally independent of evolutionary considerations. As could be expected, after a while a third group - E-taxonomites (evolutionary taxonomists) - arose who thought that a midway approach was the way out of the quarrel.

The bone of contention in one of their biggest quarrels – in some circles called the monkey trials - was the following: how do we classify biologically upstream from the human species. The usual classification nowadays says humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, orangutans and gibbons are all members of the Homonoid superfamily. Baboons, however, are not counted as Homonoids. Why?

Native Nostalgia: A Review

“Now, suppose the people who promised a new and better life, don’t deliver. What do you think will begin to build up?”

Patrick shot in on behalf of Simon. “But that’s why there are meetings and new elections.”

“Do you know our people, comrade?” Samuel Sitjala asked. “Just last week I heard a coloured woman in the Cape province on national radio. He pulled his mouth into a snout and spoke in the tone of an old lady: “I êm ên ANC supporter ênd ên ANC supporter I will die, but this service delivery is rêlly a scêndel.”

“That’s not just the coloured people, Patrick. That’s our people too. In our lifetime many will never again change their vote.”

“You’re saying nothing can be done about that?” Simon asked.

“No, but it does give some big loopholes for some people to misuse their councilor's position.”

“In what way?” Simon probed.

“Laziness in their work, which translates for us into lack of service delivery, incomplete construction of roads. And sewage. That’s not something that you hear or read. That’s something you smell around you - the whole stinking day.” Samuel presented like a seasoned politician looking alternatively to Simon and Patrick. “And then there’s of course the selling of the RDP houses, bribery, nepotism. People get fed-up, so fed-up that they say: I don’t want your clinics, your library or whatever. I want justice and fairness.”

“And that’s what they’ll get if they just go through the proper channels.” Simon said.

“No, Simon Makoena, that’s what they’ll get if they make a statement of torching property. A statement that even implies that perhaps the previous regime was not that bad …”

The above dialogue is fictitious. It is this blogger's attempt to kindle the imagination on what lies behind Jacob Dlamini's recent book about post-apartheid South Africa. Written in 2009, Dlamini examines the collective violence that happened in townships more than ten years after South Africa got a full democracy. He is honest about some troubling features in the so called new South Africa.

A Personal Relationship with the Lord that Reeks

The expression "a personal relationship with the Lord" is often well meant by Christians. By that we want to point to the fact that our relationship with God is something personal that demands your heart. To be a Christian is not a philosophy or a code of conduct. No, to be a Christian means that the core of your being is seized upon and that there is a wonderful, intimate and real relationship between you and God. That is kindergarten categesis, you would think. As long as our children catch this, as long as this is engraved onto their hearts, everything is okay. Catechesis with all its dogma and doctrines can so easily only hinder this process. Personal relationship, personal relationship, personal relationship - that's all that matters. Thus saith postmodern categesis, Postmodern Cats 101, 201 and 301.

But don't the Heidelberg Cats (Heidelberg Categism) have an answer to this? They do, but apparently people won't listen any more. Perhaps we the reformed are to blame for that. Often we serve up the HC in such rationalistic dry colours and are as abstract and existentially poor as possible - nearly an unforgivable sin if you take into account the lively commentaries on the Cats available today. However, it is said that reformed theologian  Abraham Kuyper could hold children spellbound on the tip of their chairs when he catechized them. The fishermen of his congregation even took his commentary on the HC, E Voto Dordraceno, with them to sea during the week.

I want to expose myself with a statement. If you don't make an effort to portray the truth of the H-Cats with passion and colour, or at least within a context of love, warmth and security - and here I am ready to hang for this- rather leave it alone. Rather let an Arminian who believes the Bible lead the little ones with fire to the throne of grace than let them become part of the frozen chosen.

When Our Ears are Opened

This picture is well known, the story is not. It is the painting that was later used as the logo for the notorious company His Master's Voice. It was painted by Francis Barraud who painted his dog Nipper listening to a gramophone. In the original painting the dog was actually listening to a phonograph cylinder while seated on a coffin. The suggestion was that his master was inside. Barraud adopted Nipper when his brother died. He was fascinated when one day he saw how attentively Nipper was listening to the phonograph when he recognized the voice of his deceased master. Barraud painted the picture and later sold the copyright to Gramophone Company. It grew to one of the most successful logos in history and the brand name today is shared by various companies worldwide.

His Master's Voice's painting speaks to your heart. But long before, this image was already used by theologians to describe the relationship of Christians with their Lord. Calvin had already said:

"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet remained silent." (Inst. 4.16.21). Kohlbrugge also used the picture of a master and his dog surprisingly effective. In his commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism he gives this pithy explanation:

Question: What is the most thankful creature that God created?

Answer: The dog.

Question: How then will your thankfulness be manifested?

Answer: Therein, that I shall dwell with grace as a dog dwells with his master and always strive again towards this grace ... the dog crawls especially to his master when he gets chastised.

With this in mind, Karl Bark, I mean Barth, had once ammended the above by pointing out that the dog in Calvin not only humbly crawls to his master, but also should jump up, bark and bite when his master calls and commands.

The painting of Barraud reminds us that true interpretation begins when your Master is truly heard. That was exactly why the Protestants could celebrate the Reformation. it was a time when God's truth was heard once again - loud and clear.

A Framework for Song of Songs

Various hermeneutical frameworks for Song of Songs have been proposed: allegorical, typological, literal (drama - with either two or three main characters, depending if Solomon and the shepherd are seen as two persons or not, or love poetry) and even political. This post chooses for a literary-typological method that is implicitly theological in its basic approach. In some circles this is called a biblical theological approach within the reformed tradition. It is an intertextual approach that takes the canon of the scriptures seriously in their literary as well as historical meaning. The basic outline of this hermeneutic is worth some consideration.

How to Really Alleviate Poverty

The Acton Institute recently launched an international venture with other corporations to provide an alternative option to alleviate poverty. So many people and organizations mean well and try to help, but actually succeed in doing the opposite, which is why this new approach is so important. Go to the website of PovertyCure for more information. Here is a clip that explains their basic aims. This is a much needed step in the right direction.