My Papaw Earl taught me a great lesson: don’t love brown shirts or red shirts. Love the Bible, Jesus, and justice. Papaw had a vision as a young man: He saw a man looking like Charlie Chaplin riding a horse. All was military and grand until the horse passed by him, the viewer, and Papaw saw that the horse was only half alive. The innards spilled out to the ground. All was ugly. All was evil. There was no beauty.... Read more
A Little Argument Recently a man made a little argument about words: “Words mean what people say they mean.” “I am creating the meaning for this word. This is fun and what everyone does.” From this small argument the speaker was willing to draw pretty important conclusions about how he should live. He also thought everything he was saying was obvious. Naturally, the speaker could not really have meant this as if he personally was creating the meaning to all... Read more
Things were almost worse. Give thanks for the cold warriors and the American Christians wise enough to know that only a just peace can be a lasting peace. These Christians, Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical, stood firm for decades against the evils of the Soviet Union. They drew lines globally that kept millions free, and in the age of Reagan saw millions more come out from Communism. If you went to a Christian college in the period, you know this achievement... Read more
GEORGE MOSES HORTON, MYSELF I feel myself in need Of the inspiring strains of ancient lore, My heart to lift, my empty mind to feed, And all the world explore. I know that I am old And never can recover what is past, But for the future may some light unfold And soar from ages blast. I feel resolved to try, My wish to prove, my calling to pursue, Or mount up from the earth into the sky, To show... Read more
Facts are not negotiable. Mom’s decisions could be. Our children learned that if they could make us laugh, they might (might!) avoid all punishment for whatever naughtiness had been committed. Facts might not be negotiable, but outcomes in life sometimes are. Science can give us facts, including the fact of what will happen if we act certain ways, based on those facts. They cannot just tell us what we should do. All the facts in the world piled high together... Read more
As legends go, he was the genuine article. Douglas Clark was a champion wrestler and rugby legend before going off to war. He hauled ammunition on the Western Front in World War I, suffered horrible injuries, won a medal for bravery, and then came home to wrestle, play some more world class rugby. He helped create “professional” wrestling where he was an early international superstar. Steven Bell has written a delightful summer read (Pitch Publishing) about this amazing man. Clark grew up throwing sacks... Read more
If the United States of America is your country, as it is my country, these are days when we celebrate the beginnings of our freedom. The great nearly always have complicated legacies. They may have gotten some big things right, for which we celebrate, but have gotten other important issues wrong. As citizens of this community, there is a time to weep and a time to rejoice. This year I recall the not-so-famous who had fewer choices to make, but... Read more
Tomorrow in the Church year is the Second Sunday of Saint Matthew, this is most important, but this weekend we are celebrating my brother’s birthday. That jolly event will not be the focus of the Church Universal, but I will say a prayer for him. I do not love my brother because I am a Christian, but I hope to love him better as a result. Tomorrow is also the birthday of our nation and, as the liturgy directs, we will... Read more
The most mysterious book I own is a blank book from my birthday. This remarkable volume came with a bottle of superior ink for a pen. Allegedly, and this is a condition of the gift, I shall fill it with poetry. I am one of the few people living to be told by a poet not to write poetry for the public. I shall not, but I can fill this blank book with the attempt. Poetry is too important for the soul to... Read more
The good Book is beautiful. The beauty of the Book of Books points us Godward. Beauty always does. The books of the Bible reveal God to us and so are full of literary beauty. There is in truth always great beauty and the beauty of language in the Psalms or John declares the glory of God. God is beautiful, His creation is beautiful, but sin mars the beauty. Since the Bible tells the truth about the world, not all... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In