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 […]
Life & Culture
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 […]
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 […]
We Are Humans; We Are Not Gods
I have been reading through Jorge Louis Borges’ Selected Poems. One of the poems to which I keep returning is one of life’s refrains. The poem is called Límites. It reminds me there is something human about boundaries because boundaries—be they natural or artificial (that is, political)—remind us of our own limits, especially the fact […]
The Real and Perceived Needs of Customers
More than five years ago now, I wrote a short post making the case that Teachers are in the Customer Service Business. Building on that idea, I would further argue that customer service ought to be a way of life, not the contrived attendance to a company (or school) policy. Providing good customer service simply […]
The Heart and Soul of Human Existence
As modern Americans, we have been conditioned to believe it is the “go-getter” who is virtuous. The person who shows up early, stays late, and puts in 40-plus hours a week at the office or factory is a first-world hero deserving of our admiration (Perhaps our real admiration is for the inevitable fat paycheck). Even […]
The Matter with History
Henry Ford once asserted that “history is bunk!” It seems he meant that we in the modern age need to forget the past and lean into progress. The unbridled irrationalists of our postmodern society might agree. But George Santayana wrote something to the opposite effect: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat […]