A year in which the worst didn't happen (but might in 2024); the lessons of 2023; and the year in review.
A year in which the worst didn't happen (but might in 2024); the lessons of 2023; and the year in review.
A free post: As 2023 draws to a close, it is time to look back upon the year, compare what we expected would happen with what actually did happen, and bestow the coveted GlutenFree Award--named after BernankeIsGlutenFree, the reader who predicted COVID--for the best prediction of the year. Read more
In a recently-discovered uncollected essay from 1946, C. S. Lewis explores the difference between pagans, Christians, and post-Christians. And he anticipates the mindset that we are dealing with today, 77 years later.
Advent Calendars as we know them go back to the 1920s when Gerhard Lang published something based on how his mother had taught him the Bible. So recounts Tosha Lamdin Williams. This, in turn, goes back to some older Lutheran customs.
The Nativity Scene was invented in 1223--800 years ago--by St. Francis of Assisi. Sort of. Not exactly. It was born again, we might say, and the second time had a Lutheran connection.
God the Baby; the world Jesus was born into; and Christianity, paganism, and the gospel. [Also, on Friday we'll have a free post checking reader predictions for 2023. And on Monday, New Year's Day, we'll have a free post for readers to make their predictions for 2024.]
As we come to the last post in Advent, it's evident that even many Christians don't know how to think about Christ's return. A look at the Hamas war in light (allegedly) of Bible prophecy. And the bigger problem of dispensationalism.
This weekend, as we move into Christmas Eve on Sunday and Christmas day on Monday, our discussion topic is Christmas!
One solution being floated to the discrediting of elite universities due to antisemitism: reclassify Jews as an oppressed group for DEI purposes. Andrew Sullivan shows why this won't work. Jews are demonized as the ultimate embodiment of "white privilege."
Christmas has its secularist version. Apparently, Advent, a time for reflecting on the End Times, does too. Among 16-25 year olds, 75% are "frightened" of an impending climate apocalypse, with 50% believing humanity is "doomed." Apocalyptic thinking, both religious and secular, has a long history. How Christian eschatology is different.
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