Good for these students: From Geoffrey Wilson Six months ago, a third-grade class in Pleasant Valley, New York, learned about the negative environmental impact caused by a foam used in a common type of cup in restaurants across the country. So they chose to take a stand. The students presented their research on polystyrene foam to older classes at Joseph D’Aquanni West Road Intermediate School, wrote letters to government leaders and ultimately addressed the Dutchess County (N.Y.) Legislature. “It really took off,” Barbara Kurdziel, the... Read more

By John Frye “The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances.” To Build A Fire, by Jack London An unnamed man, a newcomer to the Yukon, tries to hike all day through deep snow with temperature of 75 degrees below zero. That is 107 degrees below freezing. While passionate to stay alive and reach his friends at a... Read more

His claim is that Luther’s doctrine of justification by faith is a species of indulgences and is, in fact, the most extreme form of indulgence. Everything for nothing. Salvation for doing nothing. So Richard Rex in his new book, The Making of Martin Luther. I’m no fan of faux-Alte Schrift design for letters on Reformation books, but I suppose one gets an ancient feel from the Alte Schrift. In part it is because I learned to read Alte Schrift and considered... Read more

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By Mitchell East, an intern for the university ministry of St. Aldates Church in Oxford, England. Most of us are familiar with the “fishers of men” story from the gospels (Mark 1:16-20; Matt 4:18-22; Luke 5:1-11). We might also be familiar with the sermon that follows from it. Some of the disciples were fishermen by trade, but when Jesus calls them to follow him, he says he will make them “fishers of men.” The preacher concludes that likewise, Christians must... Read more

A significant issue arises for women today when reading books like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Are these books, and they are not alone in the Bible, patriarchal? This question is both addressed head-on by Tremper Longman, in The Fear of the Lord is Wisdom, but decisively answered. Here’s the problem: We can detect this masculine focus in two areas. First, in the discourse section of Proverbs (chaps. 1-9), the father warns his son about the strange/ foreign woman… And, the imbalance if not... Read more

You can purchase Tara Beth’s fine book here: Emboldened. Read more

Kirsten Powers is right: It’s become a sort of twisted American ritual: A lone white male shooter opens fire on a crowd of people. Americans cry out for someone to do something and are met with shoulder shrugs, mumblings about “the price of freedom” and assurances that the people elected to protect them are sending their “thoughts and prayers.”.. It’s not that there is anything wrong with praying for those who are suffering. In fact, if you are a religious... Read more