The Not So Strange Non-Place
More evidence (as if we needed it) of the secular world’s determined effort to be done with a role for religion in human life can be found in a fine symposium on religion in the arts in the May/June 2009 issue of Books & Culture. Four representatives from the Christian art community – artists and […]
The Disappearance of Adulthood
Some years ago I think it was Neil Postman wrote a book entitled, The Disappearance of Childhood, in which, as I recall, he lamented the fact that childhood – which, he explained, is a modern invention – was in danger of being “disappeared.” Children were being made to grow up too fast, and neither they […]
Looking Ahead
One of the many things separating human beings from animals is our penchant for living toward the future. Animals live in the past, mostly guided by instinct, learned behaviors, and things that worked before. In many ways people are like that, too. However, we are eternal optimists and perpetual anticipators. We live toward the future, […]
Taunt Me Again
An old BeeGees song is rattling through my brain tonight as I watch the news about events in North Korea and listen to the President boasting about jobs saved and more to be saved: “It’s only words, and words are all I have…” The world is on to America’s political class and their free and […]
More Money, Less Money
Continuing our chronicle of the federal government’s extension of power into the private sector, two new developments just yesterday. First, it seems the “pay czar” is soon to be a reality. Perhaps his authority to define the terms of executive remuneration will at first be limited to those companies which took federal bailout money. I […]
Back to Those Days Again?
Three high profile murders have reminded the nation again of just how much things have changed since the 60s. The murder of an abortion doctor, the assassination of an army recruiter, and now the murder of a security guard at the National Holocaust Museum – all within the space of about a week – have […]
Re-defining Commitment
A report by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research raises questions about what megachurches are teaching their members regarding Christian commitment. It was not that long ago that megachurch pastor Bill Hybels announced that, after 22 years of megachurching, the staff and leaders at Willow Creek hadn’t managed to produce many disciples. The Hartford report […]
The Green Bible
A new study Bible has come out which is touted as “The Green Bible” because its focus is on the environment. In fact, any Scripture that includes a reference to the creation is printed in green, whether or not it has anything to do with environmental issues. Do we really need a Green Bible? In […]
Which is the Chief?
This reminder from early twentieth-century American naturalist writer Henry Beston: “Poetry is as necessary to comprehension as science.” He’s preaching to the choir ’round these parts, but I thought I’d run a little test and see if I could
Perfect Pick
Judge Sonia Sotomayor would seem to be the perfect pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. That, at least, is the opinion of Jeffrey Rosen. Writing in The New Republic (July1, 2009), Mr. Rosen touts Judge Sotomayor as a nominee who is growing in her understanding of the Constitution, the role of the […]
Life and Doctrine
Christianity in America is in the midst of one of those weird cycles where the “good guys” are downplaying the teaching of sound doctrine and all its terms so offensive to sensitive unbelieving ears for the sake of emphasizing Christianity as an experience and a way of life. We’re being told that teaching doctrine is […]
Amazonia, too
The material economy outlined for ancient Israel in the Law of God would be highly impractical in the modern world. It did promote two compelling ideas, however, which, in principle, are in danger of being lost by our materialistic age. The first is the idea of debt control. In ancient Israel borrowing was strictly limited […]
Fragments
I’m sad to report that I’m not making any headway with publishers on my proposed title to mark, in 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The working title I’ve chosen is What’s Not to Celebrate, and the book is intended to keep starry-eyed Protestant feet on the ground during what promises to be […]
Did you hear the one?
Last night, just as The O’Reilly Factor was winding down, Fox News broke in suddenly with one of its “Fox Alert” banners to announce breaking news. North Korea is threatening nuclear war if anyone tries to prevent them from doing whatever they want; and an American destroyer was shadowing a suspicious North Korean vessel, looking […]
Status Art
Art today has ceased to be about beauty. Some time ago I ran a little experiment. I read all the articles in, oh, a half dozen magazines on the arts, looking only for appearances of the word, “beauty.” In something like 30 articles the word appeared only once, and in that instance, as I recall, […]
