Professor Eric Rasmusen

1. Please be polite. 2. Do disagree, but don't swear, blaspheme, or abuse. 3. I write as if my late parents are reading. Please do the same. 4. You always have control over how you conduct yourself. 5. A more civil society starts with you.

@NeilShenvi This wouldn't be that hard. Just ask graduates 10 years out, "Do you believe in God?", for example.

Do seminaries keep track of their alumni's theological trajectories? If not, it's probably worth doing. It would likely prompt self-reflection about what is being taught, how it is being taught, and what dangers need to be pointed out more clearly.

On the "rural England is racist" charge: it shows the limits of "racism" as an explanatory concept. What ppl mean is that rural England is overwhelmingly white, culturally conservative, & that old implicit norms hold more sway, such that it *feels* more difficult for newcomers.

@dandarling One of the "Fundamentals" is the virgin birth. It is a minor issue-- nothing like "Did Jesus rise from the dead" --- but a very good test for whether you are a Christian. So is "Is sodomy a sin?", which is harder to lie about than "Do you believe in the Trinity?".

I'm late to this conversation, but I'm disappointed in the way it makes several critical errors. I watched the whole thing to make sure I got the entire discussion and that they weren't being unfairly maligned, which happens on social. - Yes, Nicene and Apostles Creed are good to solidify and frame orthodoxy. If you are outside of them, you are not orthodox. - Those creeds don't mention sexuality because nobody in the church was making the claim that Biblical sexuality and gender were anything but what Scripture says they are from the beginning. Nobody was asking those questions at the time, not because they were second tier, but because they were so foundational as to be assumed! The Bible doesn't stutter on the issue of biblical sexuality. - The conversation talks a lot about history and the historic church. Making the bizarre claim that to put sexualty and gender as a first order issue gets rid of most of the church through history. Actually a revision of sexuality and gender does that. The church's view on sexuality and gender predates the creed! @TrevinWax has an important article on this here: thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-w… - I also think they misunderstand theological triage (a healthy and important exercise) and fundamentalism (from which I came). - Fundamentalism, yes makes third-tier ideas first tier doctrines, but to hold to biblical sexuality doesn't make one a fundamentalist. Otherwise, every Christian denomination was fundy up until 15 years ago. - Lastly, the bizarre insertion of MAGA is an unnecessary pejorative reason on this issue. First, hardcore MAGA is different than churchgoing evangelicals who may vote Republican. In fact, unchurched MAGA is less orthodox on Christian sexuality. Hating Trump so much you waffle on sexual ethics is a choice. - Finally, there is an air of elitism and "they" kind of language that is so dismissive of evangelicals. This, btw, in a conversation that seeks to bridge divisions. Ironic.

@ea_maclean @ClarkeMicah @WalkerMarcus Most do recognize the power of the old language, even tho they do not understand it , and sometimes even because of that.

@ClarkeMicah @WalkerMarcus Doesn't it come down to a question we can't answer? How spread the word effectively to modern unbelievers: plain words (an English koine) or 16/17th century prose unfamiliar to most but poetic to a very few? Is the CoE's choice really down to fear? Of what?

.@walkermarcus. 1/2 Does it still elude you? The liturgical reformers in the C of E are afraid of the power of the Prayer Book and the Authorised Version. And after 60 years they have ensured that even good ministers do not even know them.

@JamesWHankins1 I guess Strauss should have said more directly: The first question is whether a writer has any need or desire to conceal his conclusions. Second: If YES, then figure out if he has done so-- but he still might not have done so, he might just avoid the dangerous issues.

For the record, I think Strauss' reading of Xenophon is one of the most brilliant pieces of interpretation I've ever read. Strauss and my friends Harvey Mansfield and Paul Rahe also see things in Machiavelli that other interpreters miss, though I can't agree with their larger conclusions about the intentionality of Mach's writings. Articles by Harvey and Paul appeared in my edited collection with Cambridge UP on Renaissance Civic Humanism precisely because I thought they were valuable for generating discussion.

@NancyRPearcey They may have been logical positivists, but logical positivism just means trying to figure out what words really mean, which can be related to reality, and which ones are pure confusion. So I don't see the philosophic link.

The trend toward ugly architecture began with a change in philosophy: "A famous group of logical positivists, who called themselves the Vienna Circle, included several members who were also artists or members of a formalist movement in architecture, which gave rise to the international style. As a result, this style can be considered a visual expression of logical positivism. The movement included the Bauhaus (in Germany) and De Stijl (in Holland). Its bare glass-and-steel boxes are all too familiar in our cities today. Just as philosophers wanted to strip ordinary language of its idiosyncrasies and reduce it to a universal formal language, so artists aimed to strip architecture of all ornamentation and reduce it to universal geometric forms. Cut the clutter! Clear away moldings, cornices, scrolls, and gingerbread! Toss out historical styles like Greek columns and Gothic spires! The result was flat roofs, smooth facades, and cubist shapes (influenced, in fact, by cubist painting). One of the founders of De Stijl said the goal was to create a style based solely on “numbers, measurements, and abstract line.” This was the modernist mentality applied to architecture: Toss the entire past onto the junk heap and start over again from scratch. Architect Charles Jencks that the entire city was treated as “a tabula rasa on which one could inscribe totally new, functionalist ideas.” (From Saving Leonardo)

@JamesWHankins1 @rogerkimball @realDonaldTrump @replouiegohmert Tell me, Prof. Hankins, how to say it in Latin " Of the dead, say everything bad, not just the good, if there is any". (cf. De mortuis nilil dici sed bonum, or whatever)

@rogerkimball @realDonaldTrump @replouiegohmert Someone should ask the families of Joseph Salvati, Peter Limone, Louis Greco, and Henry Tameleo what they think of Mueller's part in covering up FBI malfeasance. Their families won 100+ million from the federal govt for miscarriage of justice.

Former FBI director Robert Mueller just died, age 81. Some are appalled by @realDonaldTrump's bitter response to his death. Some have even praised Mueller's character and job performance. Former Congressman @replouiegohmert wrote a summary of some of Mueller's more questionable professional activities. I think it makes Donald Trump's sharp response understandable and casts a definite pall over Mueller's reputation. docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU…

@PhilWMagness What has happened to Tucker? My old theory was that an Arab country was paying him. But NOBODY want to revive Mosley, and hardly anybody even knows about him. Who told Tucker about him?

Another Tucker Carlson falsehood: He portrays Mosley as a WWI fighter pilot hero, but in reality Mosley saw very little combat. He obtained an injury in the war from a plane crash...which was the result of his own reckless maneuvers while attempting to show off to his family during an air show in England. And he spent the rest of the war in a desk job.

Tucker Carlson is explicitly praising Oswald Mosley, head of the British Union of Fascists and personal friend of several leading Nazis (he even held his 1936 wedding in Joseph Goebbels' home in Munich with Hitler in attendance).

@RickHedin @SarahHuckabee no---there is an act of congress on that.

@erasmuse @SarahHuckabee Can they exclude black people?

Last week I was having lunch with two other moms at a restaurant when the owner approached a member of the State Police Executive Protection Detail and said my presence made their employees feel threatened and told us to leave. Arkansans are known for their warm hospitality, and while that restaurant didn’t meet that standard, my administration will continue to focus on lifting Arkansans up, not tearing others down.

@saniyafatma1278 Nothing, legally. And reasonably-- it's his land. You might try planting vines to crawl up the fence (with attachments). Or, you could pay him to take it down.

I seriously need some help here. My neighbor just put up this massive metal fence right along our property line and I’m honestly pretty upset about it. It completely changed the whole feel of my driveway and now it looks like I’m pulling into some kind of industrial corridor. I had no idea this was even happening until the thing was already built. It feels like my space just got boxed in overnight. What on earth can I do in a situation like this???

UPDATE: After our story posted, employees at The Croissanterie posted this defiant picture. And now it all makes sense. “I’m proud af to be gay”

@RickHedin @SarahHuckabee It's their restaurant. They can exclude Republicans if they want.

@SarahHuckabee But, you can’t yield. They’ll run over the next person.

@scotthraines I should read Road and BLood Meridian and Horses again. I liked them. But they're probably the kind of book that is enjoyed most on second or third reading. That's one definition of a classic. I've found that with some books and music (Beethoven late quartets).

Cormac McCarthy is a good metric for how well you can read—it’s not the faux literary fluff that gets praised today, but it’s also not readily apparent to the reader. So much is said in what is unsaid, so you have to really read. For example:

@pegobry_en Why not the "Algerie Francaise"?

There’s naming *one* aircraft carrier after de Gaulle, and then there’s naming *two* aircraft carriers after de Gaulle

@TDieppe I suppose during Ramadan, the Nigerian Muslims stop eating Christians.

King Charles: "Nigeria has long shown: that people of different faiths can, do, and must live alongside one another, in peace, in harmony and in shared purpose.” Does he have no idea of the level of persecution of Christians in Nigeria? gbnews.com/royal/king-cha…

@masquer_m14438 @bonchieredstate I was there a few years ago and it was tragic how bad it had become. Britain hates itself. There weren't crowds, tho-- it's so bad they'll probably close it because of poor popularity.

So sad to hear that! During my exchange tour with HM RM I used to spend many of free days there when in London. Go early ahead of the mobs, take a break to have coffee and lunch on the lawns, see each exhibit in detail. The environmental walk-thru recreations were amazing, the WWI trench was a favorite. Being the disparate Yank got me access to the reference libraries and exhibit storerooms. A bottle of embassy store Scotch now and again got me into the occasional exhibit preview and the Photography Archive as well. I suppose destruction of the Churchill War Rooms in Whitehall is also only a matter of time. Such a shame!

Four of the five senior leaders are women with no background in military history. They turned a once-great, highly accessible museum into whatever this monstrosity of modernism is where what exhibits even remain are in elevated cubby holes you can’t even see.

@drantbradley Pastor Wilson was both liked and heavily criticized, on many different subjects. He was willing to engage with people who disagreed with him

Doug Wilson didn’t change. Evangelical culture did. For 30+ years, his views were public, documented, and criticized. Influential evangelical men chose to publish, defend, and amplify him anyway. This is the story of the men and platforms that ushered him into the Pentagon.

@jakedell73 We protestants can claim those 1500 years too. It was all Council of Trent stuff.

Yes. Catholics did get the first 1500 years wrong.

@ParadigmNYC @megbasham Probably. I was young then, and looking for any smart, non-ugly, lady to marry.

@erasmuse @megbasham I was jealous of Woody Allen when he was with Diane. How about you Eric?

I just realized that Oscar’s in memoriam did not include Brigitte Bardot. One of the biggest stars that France ever produced who also starred in American films like the western like Shalako with Sean Connery. Why would they exclude an actress of that magnitude? Because she dared to voice at the end of her life that France should be for the French. Not for Muslim foreigners.

@zenahitz It's learninig! The idea is the same, but the original researcher almost never explains it very well, or even understands it cery well. He's a researcher, not an expositor.

Hard disagree. One question: Why would it be that the original sources are confused about what they are doing, but today's researchers are not? Is it magic? Of course, original scientific papers don't bring you up to date on the latest thing. They do help you to see foundations.