One of the failures of thought among some of the modern Reformed is the tendency of that some to absolutize the biblical vision for God’s glory. That is, this school of thought asserts the drama of world redemption was played out for God’s glory alone. Understood rightly, this is absolutely true. However, the redemption of […]
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The Sound of Sputum
The voices have reached a fever pitch. They’re no longer just faint static or the hum of a radio left playing in the background; they’ve grown from that to indistinguishable murmurings fading in an out of earshot to the constant dull roar which now occupies the foreground of every facet of life. Whispered and shouted—and […]
On Modern Health and Fitness Culture
Nothing can make you believe we harbor nostalgia for factory work but a modern gym. —Mark Greif I’m writing this post on Labor Day even though you won’t be reading my words until long after the sun has set on the Central Labor Union’s annual national festival for affirming the glories of factory work and […]
Don’t Smile Until Christmas
To heed or not to heed the old adage, “Don’t Smile Until Christmas!” That is the question. Likely, you’ve heard this familiar advice sometime in your teaching career and wondered if it was sound or even possible. You may be asking yourself, Should I really hide my human side and keep things “all business” until the first […]
My Hope for Exploring and Teaching Christian Humanism
My hope for exploring and teaching Christian humanism is that it will revive an interest in the humanities amongst contemporary Christians and transform our understanding of the significant influence Christian humanism has had on Western society. In the modern world, it is often purported that there is a conflict between the Church and the Academy. […]
Human Beings First
In a recent podcast interview I was asked to explain the difference between Christian Humanism and “straight up” Christianity. I don’t recall exactly how I answered the host, but in short, I asserted that true humanism stems from Christianity, particularly as it is expressed in the incarnation. This is because the incarnation was a miraculous […]
Don Quixote and His Agreeable Delusions for Chivalry
Like many books that already I should have read, Don Quixote had been neglected for far too long—Tsundoku and everything. I am now reading Cervante’s hilarious novel for the first time and am immediately tickled by the Jared and Jerusha Hess comedic style (Nacho Libre and Napoleon Dynamite definitely come to mind). Lines such as […]
Probing Identity
Contemplating place, as I did recently, also conjures thinking about identity. What do they have to do with each other? We know humans are sacred in that we have been created in the image of God, imago dei. But we also know we have been desecrated by sin. But if, as a Christian, our sins […]
Pound the Stone
While serving as Police Commissioner of NYC, Theodore Roosevelt once called Jacob Riis “the most useful citizen of New York.” Riis was a police reporter for the New York Tribune, where he photographed and wrote about NYC’s worst slums; as a result, he became a prominent social reform advocate. His success in producing substantial, albeit […]
For Contemplation: Sacred and Desecrated Places
The second stanza of Wendell Berry’s poem, “How to be a Poet,” says, Breathe with unconditional breath the unconditioned air. Shun electric wire. Communicate slowly. a three-dimensioned life; stay away from screens. Stay away from anything that obscures the place it is in. There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated […]