Culture Blog

The Calvinist is counter-cultural in the modern world. There is much to discuss. There is much to ignore. When matters relate to music, the arts and worship, they come very close to home for composer Abigail J. Fox. These are her occasional essays, not to court controversy but to take a stand.

Learn to neglect censure

September 26, 2016 Abigail Fox

If you are doing right, you will certainly be censured; and if you resolve to do right, you must learn to neglect censure. ...

The ministerial clergy are welcome to call me what they please. I honour their reproach: for I find myself in the best of company by leaving theirs.

~ Rev. William Romaine

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February 2022
- 12 Feb 2022 Poetry: A Compass unto Christ 12 Feb 2022
July 2021
- 13 Jul 2021 The Slow Write 13 Jul 2021
June 2020
- 2 Jun 2020 Support for Melody Bannister 2 Jun 2020
April 2020
- 27 Apr 2020 Conformity to whom? 27 Apr 2020
- 2 Apr 2020 Public Worship in England Today 2 Apr 2020
December 2019
- 20 Dec 2019 The Poison of Little Women 20 Dec 2019
September 2019
- 2 Sept 2019 Review of "The Subversive Puritan: Roger Williams and Freedom of Conscience" by Mostyn Roberts 2 Sept 2019
August 2019
- 2 Aug 2019 "BROAD OAK: A Father's Legacy" (15th Anniversary) 2 Aug 2019
February 2019
- 26 Feb 2019 Dead Saviours 26 Feb 2019
- 23 Feb 2019 Composing when not under the influence 23 Feb 2019
- 16 Feb 2019 How does your garden grow? 16 Feb 2019
- 15 Feb 2019 The Talented William Cowper 15 Feb 2019
- 12 Feb 2019 How to make music and still be a child 12 Feb 2019
- 8 Feb 2019 No time left for sentiment 8 Feb 2019
- 6 Feb 2019 Excerpts from "No Earthly Good?" by Abigail J. Fox 6 Feb 2019
- 6 Feb 2019 Wisdom Speaks 6 Feb 2019
- 1 Feb 2019 Idols and the perversion of Florence Nightingale 1 Feb 2019
January 2019
- 30 Jan 2019 A Sharpened Antithesis & the London Humanist Choir 30 Jan 2019
- 7 Jan 2019 Truth, truth? What is truth? 7 Jan 2019
- 5 Jan 2019 Give us this day our daily bread 5 Jan 2019
- 2 Jan 2019 The Alignment of Romanticism and Roman Catholicism 2 Jan 2019
December 2018
- 31 Dec 2018 Why do we sing? 31 Dec 2018
- 17 Dec 2018 The Love of Christ, all the year round 17 Dec 2018
September 2018
- 18 Sept 2018 Modern Music vs. Good Music 18 Sept 2018
April 2018
- 4 Apr 2018 Answering Criticisms of my Review of Ann Voskamp's "One Thousand Gifts" 4 Apr 2018
March 2018
- 28 Mar 2018 Propaganda and the BBC's war against Christianity 28 Mar 2018
May 2017
- 27 May 2017 Songs for suffering hearts 27 May 2017
February 2017
- 18 Feb 2017 The Search for Happy Music 18 Feb 2017
- 9 Feb 2017 The Lost English Accent and Style in Singing and Composition 9 Feb 2017
- 4 Feb 2017 Christopher Robin and the Canon of Composers 4 Feb 2017
January 2017
- 28 Jan 2017 How the Death of Charles the First changed the Victorian Church 28 Jan 2017
- 28 Jan 2017 Review of “Sister Aimee: The Life of Aimee Semple McPherson” by Daniel Mark Epstein 28 Jan 2017
- 17 Jan 2017 The Triumph of the Musicians (over Donald Trump)? 17 Jan 2017
- 12 Jan 2017 Why Torrey & Alexander attracted thousands 12 Jan 2017
- 6 Jan 2017 The Devil's Tunes? Black Sabbath and Birmingham Cathedral 6 Jan 2017
- 3 Jan 2017 The BBC, 90 years of subverting Christianity in England 3 Jan 2017
December 2016
- 28 Dec 2016 The Romantic: Someone who looks for spiritual truth in material things 28 Dec 2016
- 13 Dec 2016 Life and Death: A Children's Guide 13 Dec 2016
September 2016
- 26 Sept 2016 Learn to neglect censure 26 Sept 2016
May 2016
- 21 May 2016 Feel Good Christianity 21 May 2016
December 2015
- 22 Dec 2015 "Inside Out" Reviewed 22 Dec 2015
- 22 Dec 2015 "Doctor Barnardo" Reviewed 22 Dec 2015
November 2015
- 10 Nov 2015 The Christian under orders 10 Nov 2015
October 2015
- 26 Oct 2015 Covenant Love 26 Oct 2015
- 24 Oct 2015 Against every propensity to pride 24 Oct 2015
- 12 Oct 2015 So much power over others 12 Oct 2015
- 5 Oct 2015 Motive to do good to men 5 Oct 2015
September 2015
- 28 Sept 2015 An age which must be amused 28 Sept 2015
- 22 Sept 2015 An Eye of Favour 22 Sept 2015
- 21 Sept 2015 When the Spirit would glorify Jesus ... 21 Sept 2015
- 19 Sept 2015 Light on the Grave and the World Beyond It 19 Sept 2015
- 18 Sept 2015 To allure them to be become religious 18 Sept 2015
- 16 Sept 2015 Content with a little 16 Sept 2015
- 14 Sept 2015 What He has already given me 14 Sept 2015
- 11 Sept 2015 The busy trifler dreams himself alone 11 Sept 2015
- 10 Sept 2015 Compromise between systems of religion 10 Sept 2015
- 9 Sept 2015 Do not take up with a vague, general, and undefined religion 9 Sept 2015
- 8 Sept 2015 Some wooden buttress to support God's iron pillar 8 Sept 2015
- 7 Sept 2015 Resolved to be happy in spite of God 7 Sept 2015
- 5 Sept 2015 Unworthy the name of a Christian 5 Sept 2015
- 4 Sept 2015 Turning our liberty into licentiousness 4 Sept 2015
- 3 Sept 2015 Knowledge is to be found 3 Sept 2015
- 2 Sept 2015 When the mercy is ripe for us 2 Sept 2015
- 1 Sept 2015 Content, happy, strenuous, untiring 1 Sept 2015
August 2015
- 31 Aug 2015 Beset on all sides with problems 31 Aug 2015
- 29 Aug 2015 Faith picks the thorns out of the flesh 29 Aug 2015
- 28 Aug 2015 Teach her that this world is not a stage ... 28 Aug 2015
- 27 Aug 2015 Whether you feel it or not 27 Aug 2015
- 25 Aug 2015 To serve man, or even to serve myself 25 Aug 2015
- 25 Aug 2015 We should like an independent fortune, but it cannot be 25 Aug 2015
- 22 Aug 2015 The greatest fools in nature 22 Aug 2015
- 15 Aug 2015 Piety maintains no natural war with elegance 15 Aug 2015
June 2014
- 5 Jun 2014 Review: "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp 5 Jun 2014
January 2014
- 26 Jan 2014 Music Saves No One 26 Jan 2014
- 8 Jan 2014 The Murder of Christian Morality: The Orient Express 8 Jan 2014
December 2013
- 19 Dec 2013 The Theology of Song 19 Dec 2013
- 10 Dec 2013 Tohu and Bohu 10 Dec 2013
November 2013
- 19 Nov 2013 Tavener: Man’s Requiem to himself 19 Nov 2013
October 2013
- 10 Oct 2013 King Arthur Sullivan 10 Oct 2013
September 2013
- 19 Sept 2013 To Blame for the Abuse 19 Sept 2013
August 2013
- 30 Aug 2013 The Sound of Smut - Stephen Ward 30 Aug 2013
July 2013
- 16 Jul 2013 The Music of Funerals 16 Jul 2013
June 2013
- 11 Jun 2013 The Bible and the Composer 11 Jun 2013
May 2013
- 15 May 2013 Depression 15 May 2013
April 2013
- 30 Apr 2013 Whatever happened to Reformed worship? 30 Apr 2013
- 24 Apr 2013 When Hate is Cathartic 24 Apr 2013
October 2012
- 30 Oct 2012 The Inevitable Prodigy 30 Oct 2012
- 30 Oct 2012 The non-Christian nature of music 30 Oct 2012
September 2012
- 6 Sept 2012 UKIP, Flanders and Swann 6 Sept 2012
July 2012
- 13 Jul 2012 The Siren Song of Music 13 Jul 2012
- 11 Jul 2012 How not to Wright a Song 11 Jul 2012
May 2012
- 17 May 2012 Show - don't tell (The Wind and the Lion) 17 May 2012
April 2012
- 16 Apr 2012 Dmitri Tiomkin and Maurice Jarre: Musical Terrorists? 16 Apr 2012
March 2012
- 7 Mar 2012 Hubert Parry on BBC 4 7 Mar 2012
- 1 Mar 2012 The Diamond Jubilee 1 Mar 2012
February 2012
- 22 Feb 2012 Mortality, Music and Culture 22 Feb 2012