I am guilty of an elaborate plot. And that is: to let me daughters (hereafter affectionately referred to as my “pixies”) actually use their imaginations. My daughters believe in the Tooth Faerie, Jack Frost, and Santa Clause. I have the film Rise of the Guardians to thank for that. Years ago, after they watched the movie, when the girls asked me if they were real, I didn’t answer. Instead, I asked them, “Well, what do you think?” They each proclaimed their answer:... Read more
Today’s guest post is brought to you by Chris Van Allsburg (no, not the children’s book author). Chris teaches apologetics and ethics, holds an MDiv, and is an MA in philosophy student. He teaches his children at home in the classical tradition, imbibing in Latin, Greek, Logic, and the good of C.S. Lewis. He loves Tolkien, sitting by the fire, and dreaming about being a master guitarist some day. My brother used to sing Randy Newman’s 1977 hit “Short... Read more
Today’s guest post is brought to you by Chris Van Allsburg (no, not the children’s book author). Chris teaches apologetics and ethics, holds an Mdiv, and is an MA in philosophy student. He teaches his children at home in the classical tradition, imbibing in Latin, Greek, Logic, and the good of C.S. Lewis. He loves Tolkien, sitting by the fire, and dreaming about being a master guitarist some day. In Sunday’s The Guardian, Yuval Noah Harari answers people’s probing questions... Read more
On the goodness and beauty of this world I can hardly keep still. I fidget with excitement. To see another mountain range. To discover a new path. To stand on the side of a remote gorge and listen to utter silence. To discover a three foot icicle hanging from an inordinately beautiful mound of moss. The ice and moss and silence does not serve me. There is no immediate utilitarian purpose to it. It’s there, moving in and among its... Read more
Men don’t need man-caves. We need a mountain. And we need to go to that mountain, alone, with God, so we can learn how to give our strength to our wives and girlfriends. Recently, I pulled the decade old Wild At Heart from my shelf and began looking at some of my favorite passages. In a chapter titled “The Father’s Voice” Eldredge tells how he heard God ask him if he was ready to be initiated. God initiates a man, explains... Read more
“Then you will understand what is right and just and fair–every good path.” (Proverbs 2:9, NIV) This morning the path stretches out before me, and before you. Will we ask for the wisdom and strength to walk it, or will we veer, following after crooked side-paths? Today, I’m spiritually refreshing myself in Proverbs 2, as I continue this short series of reflections on wisdom. Proverbs 2 is all about the path of the wise. It highlights moral contrasts and “if-then” statements: If... Read more
Some quick facts about Christian persecution: An average of 10 people are killed daily by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram in Nigeria. Christians are the victims of 80% of all acts of religious discrimination in the world. In 2008, violence against Christians in Orissa, India, has resulted in nearly 40 Christians killed and over 10,000 displaced. In 2013, Christians were harassed in 102 countries. 6% of the world’s population lived in a religiously repressive country. Before 2003, there were... Read more
“Whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear or harm.” (Proverbs 1:33, ESV) In times like ours, it’s easy to get carried away by our passions and offer emotional responses to everything. But 0ur times call not for emotional (and often irrational) lashings. Rather, our times call for wisdom. That’s why I’m refreshing myself on the the words of The Teacher from the Book of Proverbs. I used to think wisdom was life’s secret... Read more
I believe the Christian witness in the public square should emanate a transcendent beauty. Beauty in rhetoric, our speech, our writing, our interaction, our online presence, demands deference, not impudence. We all of us desire a culture governed by virtue rather than vice. But we, in our public commentary of others, should be careful we do not remove culpability. You and I cannot forget the ripples our tweets, posts, and finger pointing make. We must decide if we value our... Read more
Silence is not just the absence of sound. It can be a posture of stillness, a place of restraint, even a preciousness of attitude—a quietness that should mark the Christian life, which obviously includes public discourse. In today’s politically charged public square Christians should reconsider the cultural norms, which encourage brash discourse and vitriolic rhetoric, and take up the mantle of uncommon silence. We, The Great Barking Monologuers This week New York Times columnist David Brooks encouraged readers to read Martin Buber instead... Read more
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