I’m excited to pass on word of an October 2008 debate between four excellent theologians on the Trinity. Below is the announcement of the debate, originally posted on the blog of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding (bookmark this link if you haven’t already!). I added the bit at the end about the Henry Center, which is the academic center that I manage at TEDS. Hope to see you at the free debate in October–should be very... Read more
I’ve been reading the autobiography of theologian Carl F. H. Henry recently. It’s entitled Confessions of a Theologian and it is engrossing reading, particularly for those who enjoy study of twentieth-century Christianity. If you want an in-depth, personal look at this slice of history, you could do little better than to tackle this text. In the course of the tale’s telling, the matter of cultural and intellectual prestige comes up a number of times. The “new evangelicals”, as they were... Read more
All those box office superheroes wouldn’t seem to have a strong connection to American spirituality, would they? Aren’t those silly movies simply the big-screen realization of the adolescent fantasies of adult men? Well, maybe they are. But as a Vanity Fair blog (not linked due to content) recently suggested, perhaps there’s more of a spiritual edge to this cultural trend than one might think. Here’s what a couple of hugely influential figures, writer Frank Miller and director Guillermo Del Toro,... Read more
1. Have you heard about the Henry Center’s CCI essay series for college students? If not, you should check it out, and pass on a few essays to some thoughtful students that you know. 2. As one who loves studying urban churches, and who loves to see urban churches with a vision for the city, I found Desiring God’s plans for their new facilities interesting. 3. Readers of this blog know that I’m trying to think through how it is... Read more
Over at Justin Taylor’s blog, James Grant posted this terrific Dick Morris piece on Barack Obama’s tendency to flip-flop on issues. I’m not one to criticize young talent, but this piece does reveal something, I think, about Obama’s youth. Put simply, he can’t seem to make up his mind. “Dick Morris has a recent article examining the current presidential race and why Obama has lost some ground. While some of the gain is due to McCain, Morris says that part... Read more
Some of you out there have seen this famous quotation, but it is worth reading again. One of my friends passed it on to me for a lecture I’m doing on truth, and I thought it so fascinating and so insightful, so breathless and beautifully written with such vivid, dramatic language, that I needed to pass it on to you. Read the whole thing. The madman.— Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright... Read more
She’s here. Ella Rose Strachan–4 pounds, 15 ounces,18 inches long,5 weeks early,The sweetest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. Bethany went into labor Wednesday morning at 1:30am. After a rather quick trip to the hospital, she was admitted. About seven hours later, little Ella Rose was born without complication. Though five weeks early, she’s quite healthy. We are overwhelmed with joy and grateful to God for the safe delivery, the health of the baby, and the privilege of raising this... Read more
According to Douglas Groothius in the very helpful Truth Decay, “The public space of settled communities is replaced by the giant, impersonal strip mall, which serves as a surrogate for the older ideal of a marketplace of ideas. But no ideas are present, because truth repeatedly succumbs to “the evil genius of advertising,” in Baudrillard’s phrase. The mall simulates everything—with high-tech glamour and promotion—and represents nothing, outside of consumerism and commodity.” (55) We can easily demonize various aspects of our... Read more
I found this quote from the New Yorker piece on Obama very interesting from an evangelistic standpoint: “Gradually, Chicago caught up with the rest of the country and media-driven politics eclipsed machine-driven politics. “It became increasingly difficult to get into homes and apartments to talk about candidates,” Rose said. “High-rises were tough if not impossible to crack, and other parts of the city had become too dangerous to walk around in for hours at a time. And people didn’t want... Read more
1. You thought your tryouts for your high school teams were tough? Trying living in California and trying out with the sons of Joe Namath, Wayne Gretzky, and Will Smith. 2. Ever wonder how an album gets recorded? Here’s a peek into the recording of the “Looked Upon” album I mentioned last week. 3. How was Barack Obama shaped by his time in Chicago? The New Yorker answers the question in no less than fifteen “pages” of online content. I... Read more
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