The American Spectator

Lazlo H.| 8.25.09 @ 10:53AM

Yeah, Karl Barth is pretty great. Congratulations on writing an article that mostly represents your opponents in a true light, Mr. Tooley. I'm used to reading you in FrontPage, but this is much better. I guess I've underestimated the American Spectator's editors.

Vern Crisler| 8.25.09 @ 12:27PM

It’s no surprise that Arthur Schlesinger would say that Karl Barth reminded him of “a leftover from Henry Wallace's pro-Communist activities in 1948.”

While Barth was an interesting dialectical theologian and writer, he was also a lifelong socialist. His theological nominalism was simply a mirror image of his Olympian above-it-all leftism and his anti-capitalism.

For an admiring but still somewhat worthwhile discussion of Barth’s theology of permanent revolution, see Timothy Gorringe, Karl Barth: Against Hegemony, 1999.

David H.| 8.25.09 @ 1:43PM

This article is not a criticism of Barth as such. It is a repeat of an ancient debate within Christianity. Within this debate, one side emphasizes God's grace, while the other side emphasizes right reason's capacity to approach the divine. The former side see all things through the cross, rendering even the Cold War divisions of East and West trivial. The latter side sees God as working through us, making our choice between liberty and tyranny clear. Stated simply, do we trust God alone to make all things right, or do we see ourselves as his junior partners in making things right? There is no right answer here. The debate is older than Protestant or Roman Catholic, and is infinitely complicated within the breast of each individual. Indeed, Barth himself professed to be willing to fight in the Swiss militia as long as he faced against Hitler's Reich. In charity, we should also give any man a break for pacifism who came of age as a pastor during the Christian-on-Christian slaughter of World War I.

I would ask Mr. Tooley not to call certain Protestants "blithe" for basing their faith on a radical conception of God's sovereignty and grace. Agree or disagree, it is a vital perspective on Christianity.

Big Leo| 8.25.09 @ 2:16PM

As a student of theology for fifty years, and a religious professional, I understand the appeal of pacifism. I grew up in Amish country, and admire them for their lifestyle. However, I noticed that all the Amish, Quakers, and Mennonites who were attacked or violently robbed would call a policeman. In a broken world, total pacifism doesn't reduce violence-- it merely provides an easier field for the predators of our society to prey in. My father experienced the Russian Civil War and fought in WWII. Naturally, he hated war. Because of this he was in favor of a strong army and an enormous navy. His simple reason was that no country ever attacks an enemy who is stronger. Since he also trusted in the virtue of America, he saw this as contributing far more to peace than Barth or his followers ever could.

Alan Brooks| 8.25.09 @ 7:03PM

Rheinhold Niehbur (sp?) is the man to read.

Vern Crisler| 8.25.09 @ 7:48PM

David H, the problem with leftist pacifism is the hypocrisy -- willing to stand up to socialism of the nationalist kind (Nazism), but not of the internationalist kind (Leninism, Stalinism).

David H.| 8.25.09 @ 8:24PM

Dear Mr. Crisler, your statement is true, but only to the extent embodied in (literally, in the human agency of) the term "stand up." The radical view of God's sovereignty and grace that I was characterizing in my earlier post does not accept the need for man's agency. Barth's last recorded words were simply, "He reigns." Not Kaiser Wilhelm or President Wilson, not Hitler or Churchill, nor Eisenhower or Stalin (Barth lived through them all, with all the perspective that brought him), but God. I don't discount a theology of radical grace simply because some left-wing hypocrites support internationalist dictators but oppose nationalist dictators. From Barth's perspective, who or what one opposes is almost beside the point. Anything besides faith in God is beside the point. If God truly reigns, then there will be one body through the cross. To Barth, either we believe that or we don't.

By the way, I am neither a Barthian nor a liberal Protestant. I am simply trying to justice to Barth's position.

Liberal Reader| 8.25.09 @ 11:51PM

Nice piece, Mr Tooley.

Liberal Reader| 8.25.09 @ 11:57PM

Vern --

For the love of God: just because the Nazis put "socialism" in their name does NOT mean they were socialists.

Hitler recruited young mostly uneducated men from the lower classes who were involved in trade union activity. They were tantalized by the word "socialism," so Hitler used it. As soon as he gained power, these men were largely drafted into the military and their leaders were executed.

Hitler and his fellow Nazis loathed socialism and everything it stood for. He capitalized on fear of socialism and communism and used it to justify his barbarity.

While totalitarian socialism does have some similarities with Nazism, there is NO inherent similarity between democratic socialism and Nazism.

None. And I don't CARE what you heard on Rush Limbaugh.

This is actually pretty basic stuff if you take an introductory political science class.

There are REASONS why the different words ("socialism," "fascism") exist. Like "salamander" and "slug," their referents are DIFFERENT, even though they share some characteristics.

Hitler had a mustache. Tom Selleck had a mistache. But Magnum PI is not Nazi propaganda. Do you think you can handle that?

Liberal Reader| 8.26.09 @ 12:03AM

U.S.S.R. stood for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Republics?

Yes. Therefore, all Republicans are Soviet-style totalitarian socialists.

See how this works?

If a dictatorial regime puts a WORD in their name, that word then comes to mean something new.

You people need to EDUCATE yourselves. Nazi German was NOT a socialist state by any means; not by ideology, not in structure. It was not, was not, was not, was not socialist.

göğüs büyütücü| 8.27.09 @ 11:29AM

only to 1.4 in almost a year, not good. wifi restrictions need to be lifted to make "the social" work, add video to zm. in short the zune is the only good thing about owning a zune.

sex shop| 8.27.09 @ 11:29AM

only to 1.4 in almost a year, not good. wifi restrictions need to be lifted to make "the social" work, add video to zm. in short the zune is the only good thing about owning a zune.

Steve Schaper| 8.27.09 @ 11:39AM

Evangelical refers to those who a) believe in sola Scriptura, the inerrancy and authority of Scripture, and b) the gospel of Christ's atonement for our sins on the Cross, received through faith.

Wallis (who's previous project "The Wittenberg Door" makes more sense as an Alinskyan project), Sider and the others are -not- evangelicals. Nor is Neo-Orthodoxy to be confused with orthodoxy.

Todd| 8.27.09 @ 3:52PM

This thread may be done but Liberal Reader has got it wrong as usual in stating that the Nazi's were not socialist and it was just a trick by Hitler. Do you know what socialism is? It is when the government controls the means of production. Communism differs in that it "owns" not just controls and there is no such thing as private property. Every accurate portrayal of Nazi Germany demonstrates they were socialist through and through and very much into environment as well. It comes as no surprise Liberal Reader clings to the lie that that communism and fascism are ideological opposites rather sides of the same coin that they are.

poptropica | 4.8.10 @ 11:35PM

I’ll have a Poptropica full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!
Getting Hercules to Help You

Hercules won’t help you until you have all five items from Zeus’ quest. Once you have the five items, bring them to Athena. Zeus will appear and steal them. The big jerk! Once this happens, talk to Athena and she will tell you that Hercules will help you. You’ll need to have the magic mirror from Aphrodite because Hercules doesn’t want to have to walk. He’s so lazy!
Getting the Hydra Scale

You can see how to do this in the videos, but basically you need to jump up when the Hydra is about to strike. He will rear one of his heads back to attack and his eyes will bulge out. When this happens, jump up in the air and then try to land on top of his head. That head will get knocked out. When all five heads get knocked out, the Hydra will be asleep and you can click on him to get one of the scales. Poptropica I’ll have a full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!
Getting Hercules to Help You

poptropica | 4.8.10 @ 11:36PM

I’ll have a Poptropica full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!
Getting Hercules to Help You

Hercules won’t help you until you have all five items from Zeus’ quest. Once you have the five items, bring them to Athena. Zeus will appear and steal them. The big jerk! Once this happens, talk to Athena and she will tell you that Hercules will help you. You’ll need to have the magic mirror from Aphrodite because Hercules doesn’t want to have to walk. He’s so lazy!
Getting the Hydra Scale

You can see how to do this in the videos, but basically you need to jump up when the Hydra is about to strike. He will rear one of his heads back to attack and his eyes will bulge out. When this happens, jump up in the air and then try to land on top of his head. That head will get knocked out. When all five heads get knocked out, the Hydra will be asleep and you can click on him to get one of the scales. Poptropica I’ll have a full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!
Getting Hercules to Help You