Roland Boer's Blog, page 91

Potatoes and Revolution

Can't beat this sort of history:

‘It may be that … the potato prolonged and encouraged, for another hundred years, the impoverishment and degradation of the English masses; but what was the alternative, surely nothing but bloody revolution. That England escaped such a violent upheaval in the early decades of the nineteenth century … must in large measure be placed at the credit of the potato’.

R. N. Salaman, The History and Social Influence of the Potato, Cambridge 1949, p. 480.

Bloody brilliant, i

If you put a cent at compound interest from the time of Christ...

I am working through some 19th century material and came across an innovative solution to financial problems. Some wise-acre proposed the theory that if you had put one cent into compound interest at the time of Christ, you would be so wealthy by now you could own everything on the planet. The next step is to argue that if you put away some money today you would then be able to borrow against the anticipated interest in 100, 200 or maybe 500 years' time. Now this wasn't some theory that stayed i

Criticism of Religion on its way

I was going to write about Marjorie, the old biddy who used to live in number six at our old place. One day, while I was hanging out the washing, Marjorie came up to me and starting chatting, as she liked to do, and the subject of the vandals came up. Someone had drawn a face on the large round outdoor light and written 'Take me to your leader' beneath the face. 'I wonder if it's a secret message', pondered Marjorie. "Could be aliens ...' I suggested helpfully. We agreed to keep watch.


But I deci

Reading the Bible

‘One of my less pleasant chores when I was young was to read the Bible from one end to the other. Reading the Bible straight through is at least 70 percent discipline, like learning Latin. But the good parts are, of course, simply amazing. God is an extremely uneven writer, but when He’s good, nobody can touch him’ (John Gardner, NYT Book Review, January 1983)[image error]

Nietzsche on towns

‘I love the forest. It is bad to live in towns: too many of the lustful live there’ (Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra, p. 81).

I must say I prefer to live in towns ...[image error]

Release date for Political Grace: The Revolutionary Theology of John Calvin

This one has just come through. The official release date for my Political Grace: The Revolutionary Theology of John Calvin is 27 July, 2009. But you can pre-order for the ridiculously low price of USD $16.47 (reduced from $24.95) here.

Now, this release date is 500 years and 17 days from the date of Calvin's birth - 10 July, 1509 at Noyon, France. Not bad timing by those good Presbyterians at Westminster John Knox. Given the chances of variation over a 500 year period, I think they've done prett

Great moments in church history

This would have been a major doctrinal advance. Apparently the bishop of Rome in the years 275-83, a bloke called Eutychian, decreed that only beans and grapes be blessed at Eucharist. Sure as hell beats all those life-and-death struggles over Monophysite, Nestorian and Arian Christology.[image error]

The law to end all laws?

Here in the blessed land of Australia you can be charged for possessing implements for making false instruments. I have no idea whether this law exists in other countries, but if implemented properly it could mean the end of capitalism.

Isn't possessing implements for making false instruments the very definition of producing commodities? One could argue that all the products made and enshrouded in dubious advertising are actually 'false instruments'. If that's illegal, then anyone possessing the

Bible and Critical Theory Seminar 10-11 July 2009

The paper proposals are rolling in for the 14th Bible and Critical Theory Seminar, so here's a reminder of the major event on the Australian calendar. It's not too late send me a proposal.
We usually deal with all areas of biblical studies and critical theory (feminism, anthopology, postcolonialism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, narratology, empire studies, new historicism, eco-criticism, queer theory, poststructuralism and so on). But this year we are opening out to include a session on religion and

On sermons

I'm making some minor revisions to my Criticism of Earth book before it goes to press, and I came across this observation on sermons from Fred Engels, who had heard more than a few Reformed sermons in his youth.

He writes of a certain minister called Döring,

‘whose absent-mindedness is most odd; he is incapable of uttering three sentences with a connected train of thought, but he can make three parts of a sermon into four by repeating one of them word for word without being at all aware of it’.

Rem