On numerous occasions I’ve been asked to describe a normal day in my life. Usually the question arises due to people wondering how I get so much writing done. Some of the answer to that question comes from the graciousness of my institution not to overload me with committee work and extraneous tasks that do not play to my strengths— teaching, preaching, writing, and mentoring doctoral students (or masters level students). There is also the fact that I do not... Read more

There are now five novels in the Matthew Shardlake series of medieval mysteries written by C.J. Sansom, this being the fifth one. It weighs in at over 600 pages of detailed, carefully argued plot set during the reign of Henry VIII, more specifically this one is set in 1545 when the French came calling at Portsmouth in retaliation for the failed English invasion of France (failed, except for the destruction of the city of Bologne). Here is the published summary... Read more

If you have read any Plato you will know that he argues in the Republic that this world is a world of shadows, of which the substance can be found in the eternal world. You hear something like this in the book of Hebrews as well. Plato conjures up the image of a man seeing images on the wall of a cave with light and the reality projecting those images on the wall. But is it true— that this life... Read more

Ah Nike, you really know how to inspire the fan base. Here is the latest Carolina Panther’s T shirt. My suggestion is go out and buy it quickly…. it will be worth a lot in due course. Take a good hard look at this merchandise and ask yourself this question— What’s Wrong with this Picture? Well, for starters, the Carolina Panthers play in Charlotte, and last I checked that’s 25 miles inside the southern border of North Carolina. So the... Read more

(This was sent to me by Timothy George). http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2013/07/averys-ten-rules Avery’s Ten Rules July 14, 2013 Timothy George Cardinal Dulles The year 2014 will mark the twentieth anniversary of the first publication of the ongoing project Evangelicals and Catholics Together. From the beginning, ECT was more than an alliance of convenience. It was a theological movement grounded in the Holy Scriptures and the deepest impulses of the historic Christian faith. In this work we were guided by two senior theologians, Dr.... Read more

One of the more popular scenes in religious art is the story of Paul’s U Turn on Damascus Road— the conversion scene. By the time Gaspar de Crayer, a Flemish painter, painting in the 1640s, did this rendering of the scene, there had been a long standing tradition of depicting Paul falling off his horse at this juncture. Never mind that the story told thrice in Acts (9, 22,26) says nothing of a horse. Different artists have of course painted... Read more

This painting is entitled ‘the Sermon of the Apostle’ but clearly he hasn’t much of an audience in this case. The artist is Giovanni Panini and this was painted in about 1758. You can tell that while the official subject of the painting is St. Paul’s preaching, perhaps in Athens, that what the artist was really interested in painting was the landscape and ruins. This is in fact typical of a good deal of religious art done on commission by... Read more

A minister was driving too fast going down a slippery road on a rainy day when his car slid off the highway and rolled down an embankment coming to a stop after rolling over some six times. The pastor however escaped without a scratch and was dusting himself off when a drunk, who was trailing the pastor’s car pulled over to the shoulder and ran down the embankment to see if the minister was alright. “You o.k.” slurred the drunk.... Read more