The "redemption arc"--a plot line in which a character changes from bad to good--is disappearing in contemporary literature. Instead, characters discover their essential goodness or badness. But there is no repentance, forgiveness, or transformation. Our culture rejects traditional morality, but it is still fixated on Law, resulting in both self-righteousness and guilt. This can lead them to the redemption of the Gospel. Read more
Queen Elizabeth II has died at age 96, the longest-ruling monarch in British history. I find myself strangely saddened and moved by this, and I'm not sure why, American that I am. I have some personal reasons, but I am also seeing the wisdom in separating the head of state from the political chief executive.
This weekend we discuss "The Rings of Power." We have blogged about Amazon's project of making a streaming TV series about Tolkien's Middle Earth, and now it's here. Based on the three episodes released so far, how do you like it?
In general, the church should stay out of politics. But sometimes politics is foisted upon the church. The church didn't make abortion or same-sex marriage into political issues. The state did when it overturned centuries of moral teachings about such things and enshrined those changes in the law. So pastors are right to address them. Yet the vocation of pastors is not that of politicians. Read more
Does it seem to you that our society is mentally ill? There is a word for what happens when the society and the people in it seem to have lost their collective minds: Anomie. And, according to a historian, the syndrome can be related directly to the decline of religion. That is to say, anomie may be the price of secularism. Read more
In 2012, atheists rallied in Washington with the hope of forming a movement that would counter the Christian right. Even though the number of Americans who hold to no religion has increased, organized atheism has fizzled. Why this happened.
This Labor Day we note two trends that work against the spirit of the holiday: Quiet Quitting & Income Equality. These work against what the Bible teaches about vocation.
Most teacher training programs, as conducted by the Departments of Education in our nation's university, are focusing on race theory, gender studies, LGBTQ issues, and Marxist-infused "critical pedagogy." To the point of having very few, if any, courses on how to teach.
This weekend's discussion topic for our back-to-school days: How would you assess the education you received? Consider your primary grades (were you taught to read by phonics or whole language?) through higher education if that applies (was it worth your student loans?).
Teaching kids how to read is the most important task of primary education. But how to do that has been controversial. Now, though, research has settled the issue about the best way of teaching children how to read. But some teachers and school districts are refusing to follow the science.
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