She says the expected, twists it, and then a sly smile, eyes half closing, appears with million dollar dental care. I have seen that smile almost all my life: Amy Grant in concert. Hidden in my office is an autographed picture of Amy that an awesome student had her sign for me. It includes a reference to Plato’s Republic. My wife, who loved Amy too, tolerates my keeping the picture, but not displaying the thing. The Amy pic has become... Read more
I am a recovering liberal arts snob. Liberal arts advocates feel besieged for good reason. Many do not understand the value of the liberal arts, we are often the first cut and the last hired as schools, and people mock us with impunity. What are the liberal arts? They are the part of college ranging from the common core that all students take to the humanities and fine arts majors. These areas train all of us to create culture and... Read more
Marriage is glorious when married to a woman proud of turning fifty: Hope Elizabeth turns fifty and I am proud of her joy. Saint Paul urges Christians to follow his example. I honestly can urge all of us to follow Hope’s example in many areas. Hope is holy, but not sanctimonious, pious without prudery. Everybody has “fun friends,” but sometimes an evening leaves a bad “aftertaste.” Most of us have “serious” friends, but an evening with them can leave the... Read more
Today is the day Americans celebrate our chief executive. This is a bizarre thing to do since William G. Harding or James Buchanan hardly seem worthy of a holiday. If we can celebrate the Buchanan White House, then we can party for anything. Still as our head of state, they are worthy of respect even if Andrew Jackson as a man was an immoral, murderous brute and Woodrow Wilson was a racist, Utopian fool. Still if any excuse is good... Read more
An academic is willing to discuss anything. A human, perhaps, should not be willing to discuss anything with anyone. For those Christians who make Socrates a hero, a pre-Christian role model for Christians, critics of Christian Socratic discourse pose a puzzle: “Will you change your mind on anything? Will you discuss anything?” I would discuss anything that Socrates would have discussed, but Socrates did not just discuss ideas, he talked to people and there was s certain kind of person... Read more
One of the most popular songs in American history has the following line: “My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the Cross and I bear it no more . . .” Americans no longer get to the end of the line. We are being taught to say: “My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought!” If not careful, we are more ashamed of our shame than... Read more
Once, so long ago today’s young earth creationists were all young, I was at a church youth event preparing to eat. There are no church youth events where one does not eat, but this one gave me a choice I had never had before. “Will you have peanut butter or jelly?” the nice man asked. I was stunned. Could the two be separated? And so I responded: “Could I have both?” “Wow,” the man replied, “that is so weird. I... Read more
The great warrior Achilles was given a choice: live long or live gloriously. He made a choice many heroes make and lived an intense, but short life. Others, safer souls, would choose differently, but Achilles very nature demanded an extreme life. We are, none of us, going to live forever and no matter what I do my health will decline. Adults choose between goods and health is not the only good. I thought of this when reading attacks on playing... Read more
Today the United States celebrates the work of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., particularly his work toward ending the evils of government imposed segregation and toward furthering racial reconciliation. He looked forward to a time of healing, but I am reminded that he had to fight against evil in his own day: both public and personal. Some of those fights he won and some he lost (as we all do), but we recall him for the good he did, as... Read more
Our most excellent friends sing for one of Southern California’s best churches, but are often disheartened to hear this: “I only come because of the music.” If you knew how good they were, then you would understand the sentiment, but also why the “compliment” distresses them. Beauty, especially musical beauty, is a great power in the Earth. The trained musician wields that power and rare is the soul so insensitive that the music does not have impact on him. A... Read more
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