It was my privilege to live in Russia from 1998-2000, where I met Vladimir Putin and spoke with him briefly. He was campaigning for President. I knew my Russian friends were excited out of their minds about his candidacy, but I didn’t pay much attention to the encounter; I figured I’d just met a relatively [ Read More ]
The first line of the Lord’s prayer is, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” Or, in more contemporary English, “Our Father in heaven, holy and wonderful and beautiful is your name.” It functions as the opening salvo of a payer that proceeds to instruct us on how to savor and honor [ Read More ]
How many philosophers does it take to explain a joke? Quite a few, as it turns out. And not only philosophers. Psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists have exerted themselves to explain exactly what makes people laugh. Although everybody understands intuitively what humor is, the concept of humor is still elusive, being difficult to define in a [ Read More ]
Recently, I published a series of articles on the personal, social, and political implications of the Bible’s Ten Commandments. The article on the eighth commandment—the prohibition against theft—included a small section on “manipulation” as a form of heart theft. This portion of the article triggered a number of inquiries, which has prompted me to follow [ Read More ]
Every year, private schools across the nation commence for graduation ceremonies. Yet, if many of today’s progressive educators are to be believed, the ceremony they participate in ought to be abolished or sent underground. They wish for public schools to be the primary—and in some activists’ view, exclusive—vehicle for educating our youth. Indeed, whenever the idea of [ Read More ]
During the middle of the twentieth century, the great German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that the Western world was a “world come of age,” by which he did not intend a compliment; he meant that Westerners had learned to manage life without reference to God and that life without God is deeply unhealthy for individuals [ Read More ]
For almost twenty years, I taught a four-seminar rotation of “Great Books” for The College at Southeastern. The readings were formative not only for the students, but also for me, the professor. I gained an invaluable education. Through these works, I was able to trace the rise and development of Western thought and civilization, in [ Read More ]
Friends, please join me at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 24 for a Facebook Live event hosted by The Gospel Coalition. I will give three 10-minute talks, followed by three 10-minute Q&A sessions with Facebook viewers. Envisioning Christianity & Politics for a Secular Age Building a Whole-Life Pro-Life Ethic Cultivating a Christian Hope for American [ Read More ]
Prayers from around the world were answered this week with the daring rescue of 12 youth soccer team members, ages 11 to 16, and their coach from a flooded cave in Thailand. But we must not forget that one courageous diver sacrificed his own life to keep them alive. The diver, 38-year-old Saman Gunan, was the [ Read More ]
There aren’t many Hollywood actors who are willing to speak publicly in favor of Christianity. In fact, you could probably count them on the one hand of a bad woodshop teacher. But on Monday night, as actor Chris Pratt accepted MTV’s Generation Award, he thanked his family and then offered some words of Christian wisdom [ Read More ]