I like vintage barber shops. Ever since I was a boy, they have been part of my life (of course, in those days, they were simply known as regular, run-of-the-mill barber shops). My father would take me to a Cuban barber who had a faint resemblance to Floyd, the barber in the “Andy Griffiths Show.” There is a comfortable feeling I get whenever I walk into these corners of men’s tonsorial establishments. The smell of hair tonics, Pinaud Clubman Aftershave,... Read more
Caution: This post contains spoilers. How far would you go to protect those closest to you, the things you hold most dear? The tiresome rhetoric of Hollywood is very often to go “as far as it takes”, but Rian Johnson’s new film Looper gives a host of reasons to call that ethos into question. In the beginning of the film, we see Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character (young Joe) literally choose to give up his best friend for a pile... Read more
I teach classes at the best Bible Institute in Los Angeles. I also work at Biola University, but that’s different. Biola was founded as a Bible Institute, way back in 1908. The founders of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles knew all about colleges (Lyman Stewart supported many colleges financially) and seminaries (R.A. Torrey was a graduate of both Yale and its Divinity School). But they wanted to start something else: a place where adult Christians who were not professional... Read more
Pierre Bayard’s 2007 book How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read is a real page turner. The best I can tell, it’s an elaborate joke in which the authorial voice is a kind of fictional character. This character –I’ll call him Bayard while remaining agnostic about how he relates to the historical Bayard who actually authored the book– is utterly devoted to non-reading, and is impenitent about combining so much talking about books with so much non-reading of books.... Read more
Michael J. McClymond and Gerald R. McDermott, The Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Oxford and New York: Oxford UP, 2012), 757 pp. (review copy courtesy of OUP) “Imagine a Christian dialogue today that included adherents of ancient churches–Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Coptic–with various modern church bodies–Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Disciples of Christ–as well as an ample representation from the newer evangelical and Pentecostal-Charismatic congregations from around the world. If one had to choose one modern thinker–and only one–to function as a point of... Read more
I’ve lived in California for more than fifteen years now, working as a professional theologian and flying off every year to academic conferences here and there. But mostly there: we west coast theologians have to head east to tap into any significant academic theological culture. Much as I enjoy travelling, I have often wondered why there are no important, annual theological events on this side of the Mississippi. We’ve got plenty of real estate out here, plenty of population density,... Read more
Phoebe Age Ten is an artist whose finest work occurs in her sketchbooks. It is in these small, impromptu productions between major artworks that she makes real progress as an artist, and indeed, makes real progress as an observer of the natural forms that animate her drawings. Consider today’s sketch, “how cats land on thier feet.” The central structuring element of the composition is the diving platform, which is a masterpiece of linework: A single line that enters from... Read more
Here’s a diagram (click through it to view a larger version) that the founders of Biola kept close at hand when they needed to explain the variety of activities the early Bible Institute was engaged in. It’s a scratchy copy, and the graphic design isn’t great even by 1910 standards. But the message is exactly what a Christian institution ought to bear in mind. The main text at the top and bottom says “for the glory of the Lord Jesus... Read more
There are always books about the Trinity coming out, because it’s a perennially important doctrine. All roads in Christian theology lead to it in one way or another, and from this doctrine you can get to any other doctrine without taking too many steps. But in any given year, the two or three new Trinity books that come out are mostly rehashing standard topics, or at best re-calibrating the old topics for a new audience. I love them all, and... Read more
Earlier this week I wrote a guest post for Seedbed, the online resource center of Asbury Theological Seminary. I got a wonderful education at Asbury in the early 90s, and was glad to contribute a few thoughts to this high-volume resource center. Seedbed (one of the many good signs at Asbury since Tim Tennent took the presidency) seems pretty unique, as the official outlet of a seminary but not of a denomination. They’re doing a great job gathering and disseminating content... Read more
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