Culture and Education
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 ]
The great American sociologist Philip Rieff (1922–2006) stands as one of the 20th century’s keenest intellectuals and cultural commentators. Rieff did sociology on a grand scale—sociology as prophecy—diagnosing the ills of Western society and offering a prognosis and prescription for the future. Although he was not a Christian, his work remains a great gift—even if [ Read More ]
After Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s appearance on CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday night, progressive media outlets and personalities mocked her performance as “trainwreck” saying that she “stumbled,” “struggled,” and “stunk up” the interview. Although Secretary DeVos did struggle to answer some questions on the spot, the substance and tone of the criticisms are inaccurate and [ Read More ]
In Super Bowl LII, backup quarterback Nick Foles led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 41-33 win over the New England Patriots, outdueling Tom Brady and earning recognition as Most Valuable Player. During the game, Foles—not Brady—earned the highest passer rating in NFL postseason history and completed 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards, three touchdowns, [ Read More ]
When Super Bowl LII commences Sunday evening, millions of viewers will tune in to watch the New England Patriots play the Philadelphia Eagles. For some fans, it is an opportunity to pull for the “underdog” Eagles against the “Evil Empire” Patriots. For others, it is a chance to pull for a great dynasty against whoever-the-other-team-is. [ Read More ]
One of the great joys of teaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is the opportunity to teach History of Ideas at its undergraduate college, The College at Southeastern. Our college, led by noted author and philosopher James K. Dew, requires its undergraduate students to take four courses in the History of Ideas. The first History [ Read More ]
Recently, I composed a brief survey, asking my website readers to tell me what they like and dislike about my website, and what they’d want to talk about if they had some time to chat with me personally. I gained valuable insights from the survey, one of which is that many of my readers want [ Read More ]
Over the course of the years, I’ve taught countless seminars on “How to Watch a Movie.” This installment of the series will address several of the questions and issues that often arise in those seminars, before concluding with a brief challenge. What are some alternative Christian approaches to movie-viewing? In Reel Spirituality: Theology & Film [ Read More ]