It was my pleasure this week to interview Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, whose book, The World is Not Ours to Save, is really rocking some boats. Some of my most conservative friends, as well as some of my most progressive friends, have really enjoyed the book, so I was eager to talk with Tyler. Patheos is also featuring an extended discussion on the book here: * Congratulations on the new book. The reception I’ve seen so far has been highly enthusiastic, across the political... Read more
Film is indisputably the most powerful storytelling medium of the present age, and yet its full potential for Christian educational contexts has remained largely unexplored. There’s been no shortage of Christian movies, of course, and no shortage of Christian videos of various talking heads, from James Dobson telling us how to parent to Francis Chan telling us how to return to a more basic faith. But short films, narrative films, that can serve as centerpieces of sermons, classes, Bible studies and even family... Read more
Editorial Note: This is the fourth installment in John Mark Reynolds’ series on Christians and higher education. See Part One, Part Two and Part Three. * The most powerful person in a college student’s life is often the resident advisor: ill paid, but ideologically driven. Classroom time is not the only learning time. When I talk to students and parents, they don’t realize that the campus social climate will have as big (or bigger) an impact on their education than professors.... Read more
On Christian Colleges By John Mark Reynolds Government schools are less expensive, because you have been paying for them, are paying for them, and will be paying for them through taxpayer subsidies for the rest of your life. So, not using them is a tough financial choice. Most Christian colleges receive indirect support from the government through student aid, but are often more expensive than their “secular” counterparts. And yet it seems odd, and maybe even wrong, for a Christian... Read more
Listen, brother: If you don’t want your children to roast forever in hell, you should buy this teddy bear from John Hagee ministries. That was the message of a product commercial that Matthew Paul Turner noted recently on his blog. You’ll have to take my word for it, since the commercial has since vanished from the interwebs. But you can see a basic ad for Barnabas, the Bible Bear, sans John Hagee, here. Barnabas is a “soft, cuddly companion” that... Read more
I’ve noted before how labeling the struggle for same-sex marriage as a Civil Rights struggle on a par with the struggle for racial equality makes further conversation on the matter nearly impossible. While I believe (and I would encourage all Christians to believe) that every homosexual individual deserves all of the same rights and protections that heterosexual individuals enjoy — and preventing gays from suffering bullying, for instance, is absolutely a civil rights issue. I believe all humans are, essentially... Read more
Like most Christians, I have a keen interest in the affairs of Israel. Like most human beings, I have a keen interest in the affairs of the Middle East and nations in the surrounding region, such as Libya and Egypt. So I’m profoundly grateful for the work of faithful scholars like Lela Gilbert and others like Kurt Werthmuller at the Hudson Institute who help keep us informed on these matters. My thanks to Ms Gilbert for this guest post. *... Read more
To the Most Esteemed Senator Upufasa, Thank you sincerely for sending your regular Upufasa Updates. I enjoy watching them on my HoloTable and keeping abreast of your work in the Galactic Senate. Life as a moisture farmer is not exactly a thrill a minute, so it helps when I take my mind off Tatooine and remember this is a vast galaxy we inhabit. I must express my concern, however, at the Lightsaber Control Act you recently introduced. Life here on... Read more
Note: Below is the second part of Dr. Reynolds’ series on the future of Christian education. See the first part here. * Reasonable expectations matter: if you judge The Voice because you wanted to watch Downton Abbey, then your standards will be skewed and both experiences will be diminished. What should you expect from a college? There is a personal element to the choice, but given the expense, perhaps it would be wise to know what American college is designed to do. College... Read more
A recent piece I wrote on hell was inspired, in part, by the story of 23 Minutes in Hell, an account from a gentleman named Bill Wiese of a nighttime experience in which, he believed, he was permitted to experience hell for a short period of time in order to return to the land of the living and tell everyone that hell is for real. MY own post was not a careful exegetical treatment of the issue of damnation, but a... Read more
Philosophical Fragments
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