Seth Godin knows that “When you get an email from a faceless corporation speaking in the second person, someone is hiding.” He suggests, “it’s slick but it’s not real.” I love that line—it’s slick but it’s not real—because entrepreneurship and free enterprise are hallmarks of a free people and a flourishing society. But when capitalism […]
Life & Culture
We’re Late
W. H. Auden is considered by most to be one of the 20th Century’s finest English and American poets. Younger than T.S. Eliot, and greatly influenced by him, Auden fits squarely in the camp of the modernists poets exemplified by Eliot and Ezra Pound. In his poem, We’re Late, he highlights the hurry, scurry, fret, […]
The Problem With Story-Matching (And How to Overcome It)
The art of small talk is not easy for some personality types. For other personality types, it’s the long conversations that are difficult. But one of the patterns of conversation that almost all of us can relate with, or fall into, is story-matching. When we listen to someone else’s story (the storyteller) and then share […]
On Film: Plus My Personal 20 Favorites
Almost everyone enjoys film (watching movies) for entertainment, but the wise know how important it is to do so discerningly. In many ways, film is a lot like literature in that it mirrors life, making its soul-shaping, storytelling power surprisingly prodigious. Like books, we don’t have the time to watch every film that is produced. […]
Tolle Lege
“An easily manipulated population that cares mostly for its own amusement may be more ready for tyranny (which can keep the masses happy with “bread and circuses”) than for the arduous responsibilities of self-government” -Gene Veith. Now, more than ever, Christians need to read. We are people of the Word, and therefore need to immerse […]
A Letter on a Piece of Paper
Tis the season for grades, grading, and graduation. The academic year for most educational institutions has come (or is soon coming) to a close, elevating thoughts of education for everyone, even those who have long since been in school. With graduations to attends, scholarships to apply for, and television ads focused on graduates, the question […]
Christian Schizophrenia
I wrote parts of this weeks back and never posted it. And even though many things appear to be getting back to “normal” at this point, I thought it might still be worth sharing. Originally, I was prompted by two events–on their face seemingly unrelated–to write this; but, the more I have thought about it, […]
Large Draughts of Love with Vast Delight
Admittedly, this is an unconventional Valentine’s Day post, but in this series of excerpts from Virgil’s epic poem, The Aeneid, we are privileged to get a delightful and enlightening glimpse of an all too familiar dalliance with “love.” But, far above the rest, the royal dame, (Already doom’d to love’s disastrous flame,) With eyes insatiate, […]
A Short New Year’s Sermon
Of course, we’re all thinking about the New Year. And with 2020 finally wrapping up, I’m sure there are a lot of folks longing to archive this year as “one for the books.” But what will 2021 be like? Will it be better? We certainly hope so. On the other hand, this election debacle is […]
Living a Full Life
Does a full schedule mean a full (a.k.a good) life? If the not, the question becomes what is the relationship between a full schedule and a full life? Or, why do we try to fit so much into our schedules? If the calendar is to time what a budget is to money, how should you […]