The book of Daniel is a lot of things, but one is a sustained critique of corrupt government and false religion. Nebuchadnezzar, representing both, swings into view immediately. The Babylonian king has defeated Judah and taken not only its leading citizens into captivity, but also the sacred vessels from the Jerusalem temple. These he deposits in the temple of his god. The young Daniel is one of Hebrews taken captive, as are his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (or by... Read more
The other day my son was going on about bricks. He had seen a documentary and was eager to report that firing bricks in a kiln made a stronger product than merely drying them in the sun. My mind jumped to a stretch I spent in Uganda. Megan and I saw giant stacks of bricks along the roadside most everywhere we drove. To make them locals molded sloppy wet clay and set the shapes out to dry. Next they arranged... Read more
Christians in Egypt suffer amid a “climate of impunity,” according to the U.S. State Department’s newly released International Religious Freedom Report. Despite word of positive developments — including prosecution for the murder of a Coptic man and occasionally increased police security for threatened Copts — the meager gains hardly diminish the unimaginable threats regularly faced by believers in one of the world’s oldest bodies of Christians. “While recognized and unrecognized religious minorities mostly worshiped without harassment,” said the IRFR, “the... Read more
Scientist, philosopher, and atheist gadfly Daniel Dennett offers some helpful guidelines for those looking to better engage ideas. His seven tools, excerpted from his new book, Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for Thinking, should prove helpful to a large number of readers. The advice ranges from “Answer rhetorical questions” and “Employ Occam’s Razor” to “Beware of deepities,” that is, statements that sound profound but are merely ambiguous. Those of us interested in Dennett’s least favorite pastime, theology, should be mindful... Read more
Pastors buy a ton of books, according to a new survey by the Barna Group. On average pastors purchase about forty-five titles a year, considerably more than the general population. How many books are we talking about? Protestant congregations number about 315,000 in this country, Catholic and Orthodox another 25,000. That means pastors buy about 15 million books a year, more or less. As a publishing professional, let me just pause and say thank you to all the pastors out... Read more
Megan and I finally got around to watching Life of Pi. It’s a beautifully filmed and extravagant spectacle, but it didn’t work for us. When I first expressed my disappointment, I received several negative reactions. It’s a movie that seems either to resonate deeply or not at all. Here’s where it failed for me. Pi’s survival adrift on the Pacific makes for gripping drama, all the more because he shares his lifeboat with an untamed Bengal tiger and also briefly... Read more
A Christian schoolteacher in Egypt has been detained by authorities for allegedly insulting Islam and Muhammad. Demyana Emad is twenty-three and teaches social studies at the Sheik Sultan Primary School in Luxor. She denies the charge and claims extremists urged students to falsely accuse her. The allegation is troubling. Last year another Christian teacher, Bishoy Kamel, was sentenced to six years in prison on similar charges, including insulting Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. Covering Kamel’s story, reporter Leone Grotti mentioned the... Read more
When I heard that philosopher and author Dallas Willard had died, my mind jumped to Bishop Todd Hunter. I was with him a few weeks back and he mentioned then that Willard was seriously ill. After news of his passing, I asked Todd if he would share a reflection on the life and impact of his longtime friend and mentor. Dallas Willard was an old-school Jesus Freak. He had a world-class intellect and passionate curiosity about all things concerning God... Read more
The economist Thomas Hazlett once told a story about the father of his high-school girlfriend. “I must say,” the man boasted, “that in my dating days, I never once asked a girl out who didn’t say ‘yes.'” Hazlett figured the brag was calculated to make him feel insecure. But it didn’t really work. “Even as a callow youth,” said Hazlett, “I knew the answer to his hollow boast: He simply hadn’t asked out enough girls.” Hazlett’s observation about his girlfriend’s... Read more
Where is God when we suffer? A new book by Frank Viola says he’s there by our side, suffering with us. Viola’s newest, God’s Favorite Place on Earth, recounts the biblical stories of Jesus’ time in Bethany, the town of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, who Jesus raised from the dead in anticipation of his own resurrection. I read it leading up to Easter — or Pascha as we call it in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which often differs several weeks... Read more
Joel J. Miller
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