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The "culture of narcissism" that Christopher Lasch described back in the late '70s was an alarming idea at the time. Had Americans really descended so low as to think only of ourselves in every decision, choice, and action? At about the same time, Robert Ringer sought to make a life…
In spite of the many beautiful examples of Celtic Christian art that survive today from the period of the Celtic revival, we know the names of only three artists, and only one of them (Muiredach) because he told us himself, having carved his name on the base of the cross…
Twentieth-century liberal theology unraveled and lost a huge chunk of its following as evangelical scholars pointed out its fatal flaw: Liberals had cut the faith of Christ off from real history. By launching the events of resurrection and redemption into a realm of "salvation history" somewhere, at best, merely tangential…
The Apostle James reminds us that those who transgress one of the commandments of God break them all (Jms. 2.10). The story of the balloon hoax foisted on their community by a Colorado couple provides a perfect example of this. The Heenes, a family afflicted with misplaced values and priorities,…
Big, dramatic, watershed social changes don't happen all at once. They are the result of movements that build over time, as burdened individuals find voices together against a common enemy and lend their small talents toward big changes. Andrew Curry's brief history of the fall of the Berlin wall -…
We're hearing more speculation these days over the security of Pakistan's 60-some-odd nuclear weapons. Recent terrorist attacks on police and military headquarters inside Pakistan demonstrate just how easy it is for terrorists to infiltrate, penetrate, and devastate what were assumed to be safe facilities and secure protocols. Will the nuclear…
I'm hoping that better minds than mine will engage the debate over the FCC's proposed policy of "net neutrality." According to Jeffrey Rosen, writing in The New Republic (Oct. 21, 2009), "The essence of net neutrality seems simple: Internet service providers should be required to treat all data equally and…
I have on occasion been advised that I'm going about this cyberspace writing thing in all the wrong ways. People who read from the web or email aren't interested in whatever points you may be trying to make; they want to be entertained or made to feel like they're in…
The current issue of The Economist (October 10th) reports on a disturbing upward trend in job-related suicides among workers in certain sectors of the worldwide economy. For example, in America work-related suicides increased by 28% in just one year. The Economist argues that suicides are just the most dramatic evidence…
In his useful new book, The New Shape of World Chrisitianity, Mark Noll provides a stirring and instructive overview of the state of Christian faith in the world today, and explores the shape of its development over the past 200 years as in many ways mirroring (though not necessarily being…
To his credit, President Obama said that he did not feel he was worthy to be counted among the glorious company of those who have received the Nobel Prize for Peace. He was, of course, correct. He is not. Nominated for the prize two weeks into his presidency, and having…
I have a bit of an animus against contemporary worship songs, not all, but most, at least, most I've ever heard. My complaint takes three forms. First, I don't like the melodies, which you can't really sing without all manner of electronic accompaniment and drums. Second, I don't like the…
Attorney General Eric Holder announced yesterday that the Justice Department and Education Department will undertake a new effort to eradicate violence among teens in Chicago. Millions of dollars are being appropriated and all the latest hi-tech gadgetry will be installed in an effort to control gang violence among teens. The…
I've just come off one of the most inspiring and challenging conversations I've had in years. Talking with our son, Casey, who lives with his wife, Shelby, in Brooklyn, we encouraged one another with the fact of what God has given us and called us to be. Casey is an…
Was he ever! Or, rather, weren't they ever - 150 doctors, in fact, all gathered in their white coats at the White House to provide a prop for the President to salute his health care reform ideas one more time. The President insisted that these doctors wouldn't have been there…