Always provocative. Stanley Fish. ...in another popular Christian discourse, there is no way out of debt, and bankruptcy is the condition we are in from the moment of birth. This is a Calvinist discourse in which the language of money is allegorized. The debt we owe...
Culture
Luther Turns Over in His Grave Again (He’s Been Practically Spinning for Decades, Really)
I saved this when it came out last week and just got around to reading it. I highly recommend you take a look! In recent months, dioceses around the world have been offering Catholics a spiritual benefit that fell out of favor decades ago—the indulgence, a sort of...
Bravado + Bible = Just Sort of Ridiculous
Note: I sent this post to Lecrae's record label (I was unable to locate his e-mail address in repeated attempts), and received no reply in several months. I don't blame them; I'm sure they're busy! But this is a public issue calling for public comment. I think you'll...
“Etymology” = “and” + “shopping center” + “o” + “nonplussment”
A great point about the way languages changes—and how fickle people are about that—from John McWhorter in Books & Culture (Jan/Feb '09): Every word in a language is the end product of eons of heedless transformation. The lay public is mesmerized by this process...
Radio Lab: A This American Life Alternative
Before I got married I used to spend a bit more time listening to MP3s... There's been a marked drop-off in my listening time. Why would I want to listen to anything other than the sweet voice of my beautiful wife? But if she and I ever do take time to listen to MP3s...
Evolutionary Hymn by C. S. Lewis
Evolutionary Hymn Lead us, Evolution, lead us Up the future's endless stair; Chop us, change us, prod us, weed us. For stagnation is despair: Groping, guessing, yet progressing, Lead us nobody knows where. Wrong or justice, joy or sorrow, In the present what are they...
Tim Keller MP3s
A friend e-mailed after my post yesterday recommending Tim Keller's The Reason for God . He suggested I provide a link to Keller MP3s on the Internet. I have not listened to even the majority of these recently collected Keller resources, but if you want to start...
Maoz Zur
Pick up some free cultural and religious enrichment at Amazon׃ a traditional Hanukah song which is more than reminiscent of the biblical Psalms. While listening, try to follow along in the Hebrew. (Please try, if only to justify the time I spent typing it out!)...
Literacy Rates and the King James Version
Literacy in the U.S. is embarrassingly low. Nearly 50% of the adult US population reads at a 7th grade level or lower. Nearly 25% has reading proficiency so low they cannot read instructions on medication bottles, the manual that comes with a piece of machinery, or a...
BJU Statement on Racism
I applaud Bob Jones University, my alma mater, for stating this clearly in a statement released today: Bob Jones University has existed since 1927 as a private Christian institution of higher learning for the purpose of helping young men and women cultivate a biblical...
My Wedding Vows
Originally my thinking about wedding vows ran like this: The Bible doesn't require a church wedding; it's more the best of my cultural tradition that I'm honoring when I don a tux and Laura a white gown. That cultural tradition is primarily English, as are the vows...