Excellent Reading
I found this to be a moving story told with insight and written with exceptional skill. It's not an accident that it has been one of the "most e-mailed" articles at the New York Times for days.
Better than Me or Better than I?
What's proper English: "He is a better frisbee player than me," or "He is a better frisbee player than I"? Don't answer yet! There's a key element missing in the question: Where am I? Standing on the sidelines of an actual ultimate frisbee game, watching along with a group of sweaty guys in athletic attire, it is actually improper to say, "He is a better player than I." It's inappropriate for the situation; it sounds hoity-toity. It's like wearing a tuxedo to McDonald's. It sends a message of...
Consciousness and Materialism
Really good stuff from a great Christian writer and wide-ranging reader and thinker, Alan Jacobs (can't help saying it again: I loved the remarkable book Original Sin). Turns out evolutionary scientists don't really know how consciousness is possible in a materialistic universe. Calling consciousness an "emergent property" is something of a feint. HT: Brian Collins
Journalism at Its Best
Well-known New York Times religion reporter Laurie Goodstein (with Jodi Kantor) did good homework on this interesting piece about female Mormon missionaries. The authors feed the story through a distinct narrative of their own, but what comes out is still well worth reading. I was really struck by the videos of young Mormon women proselytizing in South Korea. The most difficult challenge to the exclusivity of the gospel I ever face is definitely not the learned arguments of the evolutionists...
Christian Persecution?
Ross Douthat and Rod Dreher represent two similar but different positions in a very important discussion: are American Christians being persecuted? Will we be, if current trends continue? Or is "persecuted" a label we shouldn't arrogate to ourselves considering the kinds of truly violent stories told regularly about Christians around the world by Voice of the Martyrs? For what shall we American Christians prepare ourselves? (Let me give a hint: whatever it is, 1 Peter will be essential in...