My Papaw Earl was a brave man. He once earned a coin by climbing to the top of a bridge. As Frank Capra might say, he worked hard and he prayed hard until Union Carbide killed him. They decided back when jobs were hard to get that they could hire men to cut asbestos and save money by giving them no masks. Papaw would cut asbestos and it would rain down on him like snow and it began to choke... Read more
When I was in seventh grade at a school I shall protect, I was not one of the Cool Kids. I have never been one of the cool kids, just as I am not now one of the Cool Codgers. Instead, I was a nerd. It was at the school, blessed memory, that I found Lord of the Rings. The library shelf had a black book with a red eye stamped on it, I picked it up and my weekend was... Read more
Nothing compares to the Third Reich. Nothing. Nobody in American politics is Hitler: not President Obama and not President-Elect Trump. We do some very bad things in America, but the Holocaust is a unique evil. Because saying anything about the Third Reich makes people think you are making comparisons between someone and Hitler, the temptation is never to write about the Third Reich at all. Yet we must write about the Third Reich because good Christian people, people that are like we... Read more
Tonight my family was having fun filming the Super Moon. You can see our (20161115_011546000_iOS) homage to Joss Whedon if you have the bandwidth and realize that Joss Whedon should be upset. We did the best we could. It reminded me: signs in Heaven matter, except when they do not. The strange thing is that events in space and time are significant. There comes a convergence of what is happening externally in space and time and what is happening within... Read more
Today a first grader at The Saint Constantine School learned about Charlemagne. In a burst of enthusiasm for this great leader, he shouted: “I am Charlemagne. Become Christian or die!” This required some teaching. Atheist, Christian, Muslim, almost any group, has been tempted to use power to make people believe the right thing. Law can force people to do the right thing, but conscience must always be free. Sadly, even Christians have missed this basic truth of our Faith and decided... Read more
There is so much I want that I cannot have. What is to be done? We often confuse who we are with our desires. Desire is very powerful, but philosophers from Plato to CS Lewis have understood that reason must govern desire. What I want is not necessarily what I should want. This is obvious in my own life. For whatever reason, I want to eat more than I need to eat. This is not good for my physical health,... Read more
To paraphrase Terry Mattingly: the film is the novel of the 21st century. And if this is so, then we should rejoice, because philosopher Nathan Jacobs has made a novel in light that speaks with those who respond “none” when asked about religion. His motion picture Becoming Truly Human listens, tells a story, and responds. People, not profit, motivate the film. The story is a thing where by Jacobs hopes to capture the conscience of the confused. Movie making, secular and... Read more
Veterans’ Day is the day World War I “ended.” The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month was the start of the Armistice for a War that continues. The War to end all Wars became the War that keeps spawning problems yet most of my students know nothing about this debacle. The odd thing is that many things happening now make no sense without knowing that the echoes of the Great War continue. Because World War I came... Read more
Dear John Mark: Our household has mixed feelings this morning. We are glad that HRC will not be President of the United States. She and Bill suffered a demoralizing defeat. We are glad that Republicans maintain control of Congress. We are glad that the Supreme Court will be presided over by constitutionalists. The Obama legacy is finished. Some further thoughts: Never be ashamed of doing what you believe is right. We are proud of you both for your stand for... Read more
The United States of America is, taken as she is with all her faults, a wonderful nation. This does not mean we are perfect. We were not, are not, and will not be perfect. The United States is not “special” like ancient Israel was special: God’s chosen people. Our national history is stained with hypocritical choices and a failure to live up to our ideals. And yet . . .after another election, I am proud to be a citizen of... Read more
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