A Robe, not a Cape.

D.G. Hart has a quick bit of logic in favor of ministers donning a plain, simple robe in corporate worship. I think he is right on about ministers:

"Isn’t the nature of their work to get out of the way and let the word and Spirit do the work? And wouldn’t a robe that hid personal idiosyncrasies of sartorial preference and cultural breeding be a good way to remind the pastor that his work is not finally about him, his taste, or his social standing? "

http://oldlife.org/2010/10/22/why-should-chaplains-have-all-the-good-uniforms/

On Christian Civil Discourse

Professor Carl Trueman has a thought provoking article on civil discourse in America for Christians. If we understand the injunction to "honor your father and mother" as being about honoring those placed in power above us as Larger Catechism Question 128 states:

Q. 128. What are the sins of inferiors against their superiors?
A. The sins of inferiors against their superiors are, all neglect of the duties required toward them; envying at, contempt of, and rebellion against their persons and places, in their lawful counsels, commands, and corrections; cursing, mocking, and all such refractory and scandalous carriage, as proves a shame and dishonor to them and their government.

If that is our understanding, we should be careful with the names we throw around like "fascist" and "marxist." I'd probably want to dialogue about the application of such a reflection with Trueman, but I think he gets an interesting conversation started:

http://theaquilareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3173:confessional-subscription-and-political-discourse&catid=49:people&Itemid=132

Current Reading: Marrow of Modern Divinity

I've started to read this book for fun in my few free moments. (Yes, I read theology for fun in my free time.) The Marrow of Modern Divinity is a classic book by an unknown author that sparked a controversy in Scotland in the 1700's. in this work, a gospel minister talks to a legalist and an antinomian and explains (in question and answer form) why true faith is neither legalistic and merely moralistic, nor is it libertine and unconcerned with right living. so far the chapter on Adam has been very profitable. Buy this book and read it to your spiritual betterment.

And if you don't want to bother with all that reading, you can get a good introduction to the controversy by Sinclair Ferguson in audio form: here