Hamlet is one type of boyfriend to be avoided at all costs. Dads cannot control their daughter’s lives, but if either of my daughters met Hamlet, I would have a strong opinion about the relationship. I sympathize with the poor lad and his horrid family background, but a relationship is not cheap therapy. Does Hamlet have potential? Sure he does and my advice would be that when he finally actualizes that potential he should give one the girls a call.... Read more

There is no escape from this life, what we have done, and the person we become. Those are facts and the sooner we start to deal with them, the happier we shall be. This will come as bad news to many, I am sure I don’t like it (at first.) Atheists sometimes claim that theists adopt belief in God out of fear of death. Somebody may have done this, but as CS Lewis pointed out in Surprised by Joy, many fewer than... Read more

Higher education begins in learning to form and ask good questions. A good professor challenges our deepest ideas and helps us see the world in a new way. The result of this education will be an ability to act. The best questions challenge the intellect, move the heart, and motivate action. Socrates called his students to know themselves. This did not mean endless self-introspection. One of the hardest ways to know myself is to focus on myself. The best way to learn who I... Read more

Everything may not turn out perfectly in this life, but by God’s grace everything will be fine. History ends with the triumph of Jesus and the Kingdom of God and so we can take a more optimistic view of life: we are in a divine comedy that might will contain tragedy, but that sorrow will be swallowed up in a great marriage between God and humankind. The fact that much of broken, fallen life is a farce leads some of... Read more

We have a Presidential candidate who says we are going to win so much as a nation that we will get tired of winning. On the other hand, he looks like a sure loser in the general election. Should winning (if he can fulfill his promises) or losing (if he can’t beat Hillary) determine if we vote for Donald J. Trump? For Christians the answer is generally “no.” Winning (whatever that means) is not a good enough reason to support... Read more

We are always looking for heroes. Often we find someone we admire, a political, religious, or cultural leader, only to be let down when we learn more about them. I have known some actual heroes and it gives me hope for the future. William Shakespeare helps us recognize a real hero by giving us an image of one in his Henry V.  The Christian hero lives a sacrificial life for a community in service to a cause bigger than himself. Such... Read more

Woe is not romantic, but art can make it feel that way. If a piece of literature, a movie, or a play is true to life, woe or sorrow or misery are good signs that you are in trouble. If nothing else, when romance hurts, physically or mentally, it is time to step back, get outside help, and consider whether a sickness had masqueraded as love. Shakespeare made the difference between true love and an overly violent, hasty affection plain... Read more

Love can make you stupid . . . or seemingly stupid. People in love believe all kinds of things and have hope that kingdoms can grow out of the wilderness. Shakespeare made kingdoms grow out of nearly nothing on the stage, surviving critics, censors, and plagues to achieve unmatched greatness . . . and yet he is dead. Doesn’t that prove something? It might if death is the end, but it is not. Shakespeare understood this and so could write... Read more