Featured Essay / Culture
A friend and I had a conversation about a situation of systemic and personal abuse she was suffering, which turned into correspondence between us. With permission, I have polished up my exchange with Lori (a pseudonym), as a reflection on what it means for a victim to properly love a…
Essay / Culture
According to Blake’s Alamanac of the Christian Church, March 16 is the day Robert Bowman was born in 1915. Bowman was one of the co-founders of Far East Broadcasting Company in 1945. He was the baritone voice in the Haven of Rest quartet, and parlayed
Essay / Culture
I know this day is most famous for the death of Julius Caesar, but I did not come to bury Caesar or to praise him. Instead, I want to point out a writer for whom every day was the Ides of March. Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Essay / Blog
One other thing has surprised me as I’ve unplugged from Facebook, and that is the unsolicited accountability people have offered, at times nearing the neighborhood of righteous indignation. Let me explain. I borrowed a friend’s big, mean black sign that says ‘Off Facebook for Lent’
Essay / Blog
I’m not yet two weeks into my Lenten fast from Facebook (or, FB to those in the know). I suppose I should tell you that I really like FB. Most days, most of the day it sits on the alert, standing post next to Gmail
Essay / Culture
Q. Can a man be an out and out Christian and use tobacco? A. There are laymen and ministers who purpose to be out and out for God and to make their lives count to the uttermost for Him who do use tobacco, but their
Essay / Culture
Today is Ash Wednesday. I’m sitting here with ashes on my forehead and the words ringing in my ears, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” That’s a fact that none of us can escape. Of course, Lent is that liturgical
Essay / Culture
Elementary school is a rather treacherous place to learn to navigate as a child. The first time I ever read Calvin and Hobbes, I discovered a kindred spirit. Calvin’s view of elementary school was akin to an intergalactic prison where the alien life forms torture
Essay / Culture
Georg Frideric Handel was born on February 23, 1685. He left us a body of musical work that is unsurpassed. His inescapable masterpiece is the sacred oratorio called Messiah, which is a comprehensive history of Western music and a singable systematic theology all wrapped up
Essay / Culture
The weekend news carried the report of the death of Hans Beck, the man behind the Playmobil toys. Born May 6, 1929, Beck died on January 30, 2009. Left to my own lights, I would be a lifelong Lego nerd. But my kids have very
Essay / Culture
Hannah More (1745 – 1833) was, according to the title of a recent biography, The First Victorian. That is, though she died before the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901), she was ahead of her time in so many ways that her lifework makes more
Essay / Culture
February is recognized as Black History Month in America. Why? Because Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) decided it was a good idea to set aside a month for special attention to black history in a month that contained the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
Essay / Culture
Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984) has been gone for a quarter of a century now, and responsible evaluation of his impact on Christian culture is just getting underway. Two major biographies have been published recently: Barry Hankins’ Francis Schaeffer and the Shaping of Evangelical America (Eerdmans, 2009)