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We neglect the counsel of our fathers in the faith to our own detriment. Is this word from Basil of Caesarea (4th century) timely and relevant, or what? "So long then as the word of truth is on our side, never be in any wise distressed at the calumny of…
As has been clear from the beginning of our present economic crisis, our distress is about more than money or the lack of it. The problem is moral, even spiritual, and it will not be resolved by financial bailouts, corporate restructurings, salary caps, or caps on emissions. As Paul Tournier…
In a refreshingly frank essay in the Spring, 2009 issue of The Wilson Quarterly, Singaporean Kishore Mahbubani warns Americans against thinking that the United States cannot fail. He exposes and explains a good many reasons why we find ourselves in our current mess, and his analysis pulls no punches. He…
Some Christians are upset because President Obama, speaking in Turkey, declared that, in America, we do not think of ourselves as a Christian nation. I've been thinking about this for days, and, speaking for myself, I have to agree. I would not want to hold up America as she is…
We take it for granted that music is a big part of our everyday lives. Music comes at us from radios, mp3 players, CDs, and in practically every public place. Music awards programs abound; American Idol seeks to raise music to a kind of national hysteria; advertizing rides the currents…
God's first question ever to a human being was not for His sake, but Adam's. We should probably read it as asking something like, "Do you know where you are?" or even "Why are you where you are?" The question is designed to make Adam look at himself with a…
Susie and I enjoy jigsaw puzzles. We love the challenge of developing a keen eye for the smallest detail, finding the right pieces by discovering exact points of connection and continuity, and seeing the whole picture emerge from a thousand disparate pieces. When we do a jigsaw puzzle we're constantly…
Speaking at The American Enterprise Institute recently, sociologist Charles Murray called for a Great Awakening to deliver America from its decline into socialistic stasis and to renew the vision of the nation's Founders. He doesn't mean a spiritual Great Awakening, such as occured in the 1740s and during the first…
As I write, 41 people are being held hostage at gunpoint in a community center in Binghamton, NY. This just a week or so after a gunman broke into a nursing home and wantonly killed a number of residents and staff. And that shortly after a church was invaded by…
Two excellent articles in the current issue of The New Republic illustrate the differences between pop and high culture. Jason Zengerle's study of New York City basketball ("Empty Garden") features phenom Lance Stephenson and tells the story of the declining fortunes of Mr. Naismith's game in the Big Apple. Keith…
President Obama is asking for the authority to take over failing banks, resolve their difficulties, and get them back on a proper footing. Well, he wouldn't do it himself; Mr. Geithner would oblige, since he's the banking expert in the Administration. You gotta admire the President's ambition. If you think…
Is there no limit to what the federal government considers itself capable of achieving? David exulted to be able to admit that he did not undertake things too great and marvelous for him (Ps. 131.1). A little of that humility would be welcome on the part of our government. Our…
The astonishment and outrage over AIG's executive bonuses provides a focusing moment for our generation. Listening to the President, members of Congress, and the media talk about this situation you get a clear sense of how completely baffled they are at such blatantly self-serving actions. No one can understand such…
Apparently we have schooled ourselves to fail. At least that's the buzz where the economy is concerned. Writing in The New Republic, Bradford Plumer reports on the backlash against business schools who, for years, have charged exorbitant fees to train thousands and thousands of MBAs, nearly half of whom took…
I remember walking home after junior high basketball practice one dark October night, when my two friends and I decided to take the shortcut through the cemetery. Half way through, in pitch darkness, we suddenly heard the sound of feet, racing toward us. We fled in all directions, screaming. It…