David Brooks on Rod Dreher’s Benedict Option, Or, The Ironist Us Vs. the Purist Them
David Brooks has responded in the New York Times to Rod Dreher’s just-out, “already-the-most-discussed-and-most-important-religious-book-of-the-decade” The Benedict Option. His response is not negative so much as graciously dismissive. He does this by labeling Dreher a “purist.” Brooks' critique sets “purists” like Dreher against “ironists” like Niebuhr (and, apparently, Brooks); and at first he had me assuming I’d land clearly in Dreher’s category, conservative Protestant that I am. But the...
Why Bible Typography Matters Video Passes 10,000 Views
A HUGE thank you to my mother and my mother-in-law, who have each watched my Why Bible Typography Matters Sunday School over 5,000 times! But it's time others watched it, too. It's got some stuff you need to hear and, I think, will enjoy. Also parts of it are funny.
Four Major Layout Options for New Foreign Language Bible Translations
I've recently done a little volunteer consulting work for a Bible translation organization. Volunteer, as in I'm not sure they wanted it or will do anything with it but they don't yet have a "no unsolicited opinions" sign up and I couldn't help myself... Here's what I sent them. It's a suggestion for four Bible typography options that might be presented to national church leaders as they prepare to print their new Bible. I think at least four major options need to be made available to national...
Cool New Way to Use the Best Word Processor
I love Google Docs. I live by Google Docs. I can't believe I ever lived with anything else. It strikes just the right balance between simplicity and power. It's made for writers like me who constantly need to send out documents for edits and comments without causing a massively complicated pile-up of versions and tracked changes. Plus, it's in the cloud, so my documents are never stuck on one computer. I can access Docs on my MacBook Pro, my iMac, my iPad, and my Nexus 5X (and my wife's iPad...
A Profound Contradiction at the Heart of the New Left
Super helpful, from Alan Jacobs, reviewing a book by Roger Scruton: Scruton gives two reasons for bringing [the subjects of his book on leftism] together here. The first is that they have all identified themselves as leftists.... The second is that “they illustrate an enduring outlook on the world, and one that has been a permanent feature of Western civilization at least since the Enlightenment.” That outlook is composed of two major commitments, or proclaimed commitments anyway: to...