Author: Thomas Fleming

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Fleming

6 Sep, 2015

On Second Thought II:  September 6-12 2015

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Pope Francis has been instructing Europeans to open their homes to Syrian migrants.  Obviously, many Europeans, Christian and secularist alike, might feel some reluctance about welcoming people from a country where the rule of law does not seem to exist and where it is not unusual to engage in civil war and violence against those who do not share every jot and tittle of your brand of Islam. For secularists, unless they are strict adherents to the Marxist-globalist ideology that even Bernie Sanders dissents from, practical considerations should be enough.  Christians, however, get uneasy.  Our religion, after all, teaches us...

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FF / Fleming

3 Sep, 2015

On Second Thought

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  Kim Davis–Saint or Sinner? At first glance, the case of Kim Davis is clear-cut:  A conscientious Christian who obeys the teaching of Scripture and refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  One more piece of anti-Christianity in the courts, and Kim Davis is being thrown to the lions, or, at least, in jail. On second thought, perhaps Ms Davis’s critics are right when they point out a  major irony in her case.  While she says repeatedly things like “I feel the institution of marriage was ordained by God in the Bible,” her own practice has been decidedly post-Christian.  She is currently working...

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Fleming

3 Sep, 2015

Properties of Blood I B

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Exiled Children of Eve, B Beatitudes, Not Platitudes It is commonly believed that, as Judas went away from the disagreement over the wasted oil, he was disgruntled over Jesus’ failure to lead a social revolution.  It is certainly true that Jesus’ answer remains a powerful rebuke to those who would confound the gospel with one or another form of state-imposed socialism.  The poor, whom we always have with us, will be taken care of properly only when we freely behave as Christians and not when Caesar, at the point of a sword, requires us to render doubly unto him so...

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Fleming / From Under The Rubble

2 Sep, 2015

The New Scopes Trial Is About to Begin

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We all know that USA is the dumbest country in the history of the world—just turn on the television news for five minutes, if you have any doubts.  But why, in the race to show off ignorance and stupidity, do Tennesseans have to try so hard to be in the forefront? Please do not misunderstand me.  I have many friends in Tennessee, and I have enjoyed my many trips through the state.  I like Tennessee whiskey and Tennessee music.  I admire the writings of Andrew Lytle, Romulus Linney, Madison Smart Bell, and many other Tennesseans.  I like nearly everything except...

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Fleming

27 Aug, 2015

Properties of Blood: Preface

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Praefatio Praefationis Many decent men and women feel instinctively that their world has gone wrong and is going still wronger every day.  Whether the subject is marriage laws, immigration, crime, moral and aesthetic standards in the arts, or even decisions of war and peace, discussions are reduced to an exchange of slogans and sound bites crafted, cobbled, and propagated by opposing political factions.  Conservatives and liberals with common sense, when they are confronted with the ideas and projects of the revolutionary left, are so confused that they concede point after point to their opponents, and, before too long, they have...

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Fleming / From Under The Rubble

25 Aug, 2015

ISIS Punks and USA Vandals

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When the Islamic State blows up the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, the UNESCO (the cultural arm of the United Nations) condemns the act as a war crime.  UNESCO’s director-general declared that in destroying ancient monuments, IS was “seeking to deprive the Syrian people of its knowledge, its identity and history.” In America, when political activists and legislators call for the removal of Confederate flags and symbols from public places, the destruction of Confederate monuments, and the desecration of the graves of Confederate officers, we do not hear a peep out of UNESCO.  Indeed, the entire world of right-thinking men...

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Fleming / From Under The Rubble

24 Aug, 2015

Triumph or Trompe l’Oeil?

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  Triumph or Trompe l’Oeil? By Thomas Fleming This article is, for a limited time, being offered gratis to readers of this website. “What’s in a name?”  When Juliet Montague famously asked this question, she concluded that the mere fact of Romeo having the last name of Capulet could make no difference to her future happiness.  Her mistake would prove to be fatal. In normal societies, names are meaningful, either because they convey the essence of the person or because they are an identity badge that tells others where he fits into the society.    American Indians often acquired their...

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Autodidact / FF / Fleming

19 Aug, 2015

Sophocles’ Antigone 4

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The Parodos of the Antigone begins with a lyric ode and concludes with a brief anapaestic passage (a meter for marching and walking, not singing and dancing) that serves as a transition to the first episode.