The Tulip Driven Life

By: Thomas F. Booher I was compelled to write this piece after reading this  article by none other than Russell Brand. The reason I was compelled is this: he bemoans the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman and blames drug laws for making drug addicts seem immoral  (drug addicts being victims of a disease that could "attack" anyone). Indeed, the subheading of his post claims that Hoffman is another victim of extremely stupid drug laws.  Why are drug laws stupid? To quote Brand, "If drugs are illegal people who use drugs are criminals. We have set our moral compass on this erroneous premise, and we have strayed so far off course that the landscape we now inhabit provides us with no solutions and greatly increases the problem."  Then Brand makes the wild assertion that those who make the drug laws are "deliberately creating the worst imaginable circumstances to maximise the harm caused by substance misuse."  The war on drugs is politically mot...

By: Thomas F. Booher             How is the Gold Become Dim chronicles the decline of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., from its original intention to be faithful to the Westminster Standards and Reformed faith. The book was first published when many conservatives in the denomination were enacting measures to form a Continuing Presbyterian Church, which would become known as the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). At its founding the Southern Presbyterian Church was committed to the spirituality of the church, but over time and due to war, it began to leave its true calling for a social gospel and political agenda which consequently lead the denomination away from its Constitution and the Word of God.             By the mid 1930’s the PCUS began to seriously depart from its distinctives (22). The Hay Watson Smith case of 1929 opened doors for the denomination to beco...

                                          By: Thomas Booher Seeking a Better Country Hart and Muether’s Seeking A Better Country was written for the 300 th anniversary of Presbyterianism in America. The book traces American Presbyterianism from its inception, and rather than writing a revisionist history to celebrate and glamorize the men who were integral to the formation and growth of Presbyterianism, the author’s wrote for accuracy and to critique, not wishing to allow Presbyterians to distort the reality of their heritage, but rather to see it with its warts and bruises intact. The authors believe that all denominations of American Presbyterianism can and should trace their roots to the first presbytery in America in 1706, the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and t...

By: Thomas F. Booher Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars. Outcasts is the second book in Jill Williamson's Safe Lands series, and I have found the writing to be largely the same as the first book (for my remarks on that, go here , here , and here ). The back cover (of this advanced copy at least) will tell you what you need to know for the story. A family/tribe from Glenrock has been taken by force to the Safe Lands, where everyone has a disease that is slowly killing them, called the thin plague. The children are being held, and the women through artificial means are forced to bear children in the hopes that they are healthy and can repopulate the land.  The story revolves largely around three siblings, Levi, Mason, and Omar, who each have different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses that make it challenging for them to do what they must do. Levi is married, but the other two are dealing with romantic feelings which plays out quite well. Omar is a user, and I very ...

By: Christopher Larson This post originally appeared on Larson's own blog here Recently I read a chapter from Orson Scott Card’s book Characters and Viewpoint. I found a particular argument that he made fascinating enough to warrant a post of it’s own. I’ve always been a huge proponent of the “Show, don’t tell,” rule in literature. In case you’re not familiar with that rule, here’s a short breakdown of the differences between the two. TELLING: Bob grabbed the grocery list, headed for the door, then remembered he needed to tell his Mom where he was going. With that accomplished, he finally turned the handle and was off to the store. SHOWING: “Hey Mom, where did you put the grocery list?” Bob yelled. “It’s on the counter, honey,” his Mother replied. Bob turned on his heel to look at the counter. Sure enough, there was the list. Grabbing it, he ran to the door, then paused. “Mom! I’m going to the store!” “Have fun!” I always assumed that the second w...

By: Thomas F. Booher I have been reading a book by Iain Murray called Revival and Revivalism . It chronicles the time from 1750-1858. During this time, especially beginning in the early 1800's, a shift took place in the minds of many regarding revival itself. What was once understood to be a work of the Spirit became a work of man. The call for sinners to repent of their sins and trust in Christ as Savior turned to something more like what we see in Billy Graham Crusades. Free will theology replaced the Spirit's sovereign work, and the result was a scheduling of revivals rather than a praying that God would send one. John Knox Witherspoon, a President of Princeton and signer of the Declaration of Independence, said that piety was most key for a minister of the gospel to possess. He said this would give the minister experimental knowledge of the Word of God, since he felt it in his heart. He also said this would help the minister study with greater enthusiasm and also kn...

By: Thomas F. Booher Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. (Mark 1:35) I don't like the phrase "quiet time." It sounds very suspicious to me. What do you do in your "quiet time" with the Lord? Mind meld with Him? Is this simply where you get serious about God and think of Him? It's too squishy a term for me. What I do like, however, is a quiet place.  A quiet place is concrete. We know what someone is talking about when they say they need to get away and have some peace and quiet. They need a break from the noise, to rest, and to think.  Just as I typed that last sentence, my baby started crying in the other room. It's been like this for nearly four months now. This is the very reason why I haven't been blogging much at all lately. I have no quiet place.  Not having a quiet place isn't only detrimental for blogging. It's detrimen...