Week 44 (2024)
the Beatitudes, generosity & the love of money, boarding houses, neighboring & the housing theory of everything, sacramental life & a divided church
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to read: books
Technopoly — Neil Postman — Worth a read from everyone. Mine got marked up big time.
![Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology [Book]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8cd6d98f-df11-479e-9c0b-8c62da1cb169_649x1000.jpeg "Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology [Book]")
to read: essays, articles, newsletters
Money And The Roots Of Moral Evil — Dietrich von Hildebrand, Church Life Journal — “The first distinction that has to be made here is between a purely instrumental function of money, as a means to procure for ourselves certain goods, and the attraction that money possesses for man in itself, being wealthy, the position that wealth implies, the independence, might, security, the Lebensgefühl that riches provide.”
The Cost Of Giving — Sharon Rajadurai, Fare Forward — “If the American cultural context around me functions as a never-ending rat race to earn, save, spend, and invest, how do I overcome these conditioned cultural barriers that keep me from living a more generous life? How do I develop the eyes to see abundance where the culture I find myself in seems to see only scarcity?”
Those Baffling Beatitudes — Charles E. Moore, Plough — “Could it be, then, that wealth, honor, being in control, having one’s own way, gaining victory over another, and being untouched by the sorrow of others are not blessings but a desert mirage that ultimately leaves us empty? Could it be that the way of descent is in fact the rewarding life? What could be more freeing than to recognize one’s own sin and leave it behind? What could be more satisfying than to hunger and thirst after righteousness, which alone satisfies the soul? What could be more fulfilling than to release someone else from their debt? What could be more exhilarating than becoming single-hearted enough to see God? This, Jesus tells us, is the blessed life, the life that lasts.”
Stars —
, Ad Fontes — "One day on earth there may then bea sailor on an unlit sea,
set for some destination,
who fathoms not how, at one time,
some pin-pricks in the air gave rhyme
to human navigation.”
Theology In Division — Brad East, First Things — “True, from the perspective of Rome or Constantinople or even Canterbury, it may seem that believers the world over are meant eventually to swim the Tiber, the Bosporus, or the Thames. But in the divided church, if there truly are Christians outside these historic sees—if baptism is, by the Spirit’s gift, one’s irrevocable entry into Christ’s body and adoption as God’s child—then each must discern the will of God for himself.”
(also watched this interview Brad did regarding his two recently released books, with this article referenced and its themes expanded upon; still mulling it over — related: How Not To Be A Schismatic, shared previously)
Reexamining Sacramental Life For Baptists And Evangelicals — Tyler Hummel, Mere Orthodoxy — “There is no shortage of anecdotes of young Baptists fleeing for Anglicanism, Catholicism, or Eastern Orthodoxy who crave different approaches to theology and the benefits of the sacraments… In an age when all too many outsiders of the church view Christians as ignorant fundamentalists pushing a worldview with no connection to the coarseness of the real world, the sacraments have a wonderful benefit as tangible signs of grace that require discipline and participation to enjoy their full benefits.”
(related: this book and this on eucharistic ceremony and doctrine, shared previously — my husband is also reading this book which I’m eager to hear about)
The Resurrection Of The Body — Laura Hicks Hardy, Dappled Things — “As I read this creed, for the first time in my life, I felt that God might be interested in something other than my soul… Our mouths confess the body’s blessedness, but we secretly feel ashamed of its needs and limitations. When we care for our own bodies, we slip into the language of control or regulation… Often, it’s easiest to simply dismiss our bodies. Our bodies are temples of God, we say, which is good. But behind this sentiment can lurk the belief that they are disposable; like any good temple, they are only important insofar as what they house. The real goods lie inside, in the soul. But the Incarnation tells us what God does with bodies. God blesses them.”
(related: this video and ’s Talking About Mary, shared previously)
please humor me, then continue:
On The State Of Neighboring — Amber Lapp, American Compass — “I thought about all the people on the street, self-contained in their box-like houses in front of their box-like screens. There’s an illusion of self-sufficiency, until a concrete need arises… And as Leah Libresco Sargent points out, since we were all once children, we all have a responsibility to children.”
Boarding House At The End Of The World — Shelby Kearns, Front Porch Republic — “Sadly, renting became impersonal and transactional, and that was by design… zoning laws and building codes were the tools of advocates who did have some well-meaning goals… Now that we realize the costs of our affluence and preference for privacy, we first need to eliminate the legal barriers to boarding.”
(related: Can Cohousing Solve The Housing Crisis And Loneliness Epidemic?, shared previously)
The Housing Theory Of Everything — John Myers / Sam Bowman / Ben Southwood, Works In Progress — “A well-designed solution can spread those gains widely enough that everyone is made better off, including people who currently oppose existing efforts to build more that would make them worse off.”
(h/t — related: Arbitrary Lines (book), Escaping The Housing Trap (book), The Death And Life Of Great American Cities (book), this on the vicious cycle of housing policy, this on the word urbanism, this on land use and incremental development, this on the link between housing supply and childcare costs, this from , this and this from , and this from , shared previously)
to watch, listen to
Continuing On:
Genealogies Of Modernity — Season 1, Episode 3 — Eileen Reeves: Galileo and Early Modern Science
The Natural Womanhood Podcast with
& Cassondra Moriarty — Episode 3 — What is FEMM? An Interview with Anna Halpine, founder of FEMM — “We’re standing on the research of many decades… there’s a lot of knowledge that has been captured and achieved that hasn’t really been brought to women and patients directly. And that is a big part of what we want to do.”Woven Well Podcast with
— Episode 7 — Five Conversations for Couples using NFP
(more resources on female embodiment in the Big Ol' Compilation)
to glean from: tip, product, resource
Taper Candles — When it comes to gathering around fire, they’re the next best thing to an outside bonfire or indoor fireplace (of which we have neither). Just a reminder they’re for the everyday. That evening glow is unmatched.
These Workouts — At the recommendation of
here (among many other important, brass-tacks practical tips.) Our bodies need care in so many ways. Thanks for the reminder in this list.
I just discovered your substack, through the interview you did on the Common Place with Autumn, and I love everything about it. You are feeding my soul and bringing comfort to my brain that I've always questioned because it fires off thoughts like a spiderweb constantly weaving connections between topics and readings that seem unrelated to other people. I've come to realize it's a superpower and again it's a great comfort to see someone who is able to put those things into writing and share with others.
I love the piece on boarding houses. It is a creative solution that has a lot of potential. My mom (a widow), has a young couple living in her house and while it’s not without it’s challenges it’s been a huge blessing for everyone concerned. They’ve been able to be mentored by her and have the financial freedom to start a small business, and she gets their help and company.
My husband and I had a similarly positive experience when his godson lived in a tiny house in our backyard for a while.