A small child can get cookies from the cookie jar, even if she should not, without being able to define “cookie” or “cookie jar.” She can know that she should not eat the cookie without a full ethical philosophy. You do not have to define a thing to be able to talk about it meaningfully. I once debated an atheist stuck on finding a definition for God as if the definition was the essence of knowing God existed. We can... Read more
Satan cannot produce blessings and so his ancient trick is to make blessings a snare. Wealth, as the Old Testament demonstrates, is a natural result of following God’s laws. In a broken world, this does not always happens, but it generally does. If Biblical authority is not enough, try classical. Socrates and his friend in Republic suggest: The best thing about being rich is that it makes virtue easier to obtain. The worst thing about being rich is that wealth... Read more
Work at a non-profit and you will eventually meet The Big Head: the person who allegedly knows what to do, but is actually incapable of doing anything. They often draw a big salary having sold the Boss, but when the work comes are absent without leave. Such people ultimately are a disaster to the organization and to the community, but they too are souls created in the image of God and as a result we can and must learn from... Read more
“Even a good man will find it difficult to cope with old age in poverty.” (Republic, Book I) One thing reading books from another culture, another time, and another place does is say things in a way nobody around you would say in just that way. One old book made me think about money, happiness, and old age by saying something plainly: money helps. Before looking at the old book, that blunt fact reminded me of some home truths I... Read more
America is a young country in love with youthfulness. We do not honor the old as other cultures do. Media pictures old age as ugly, something to be avoided. Too often we push the older folks out of view so they do not slow down progress. There is another perspective. Many cultures value old age and look to older people as a source for wisdom. Merely being old is not a source of wisdom, but given the time required to... Read more
I am in the youth of old age. So says my mother and she is always right. There comes a time when you are the youngest person to have your job and then another moment when you are the senior member of your startup. If our project survives, the future will belong to Megan, Cate, and the younger leaders, not to me. I am old. Thank God. If you are old, then you have one advantage, you have been young... Read more
When I was a boy, there was an expression about someone who had too high of an opinion of himself: “He’s gotten the big head.” The Big Head thinks he is always right and has no sense of curiosity about the world. With his swollen sense of self, he is sure that if the rest of us would just follow his example, everything would be great. Polonius in Hamlet is a Big Head and he demonstrates another characteristic of the... Read more
Summertime! When I was a little boy, I was blessed to get the long days of summer off to play with my brother. As he got older Daniel and I would go on adventures as we explored our neighborhood. We found creeks we did not know existed, fell into holes covered up by tall plants, and climbed many trees. There are stories, tales of a bear named Old Scar. We were always looking for something new to do and knew... Read more
Democracy dies in the light looking around for edutainment, hoping for an enlightenment that is fun! Democracy dies when academic bully boys use their power to make lovers of wisdom perform, because they have the money and power. Education dies when college presidents fire scholars to hire grifters that promise increased endowments and student life directors who promise fun (!). Education dies the moment we say “no” to any idea without considering whether it is true. Plato pictures this kind of... Read more
I love the song Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog after the War. Two nights ago, I heard Paul Simon tell how a picture’s awkward title inspired a song. Great genius inspires great genius. The artist Rene Magritte never stops making me laugh and think. Magritte’s work was absurd, in one way obvious to the point of heavy-handedness, but always backed up with a smile. It was the smile that tormented the powerful, laughed at them, and made them... Read more
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