• Culture,  Politics,  Theology/Bible

    Touchstone Magazine on Human Life

    Touchstone magazine is a staple for the serious Christian reader, and if you are not a regular reader of Touchstone magazine, you should start your subscription today (click here to order). The January 2007 issue is about human life, and it is outstanding. Here is an excerpt from Patrick Henry Reardon’s excellent editorial: “Because ours is a journal ecumenical in structure, we are rarely apodictic in our views of public matters. In general, we have endeavored to be more Socratic than prophetic. Most of the subjects encompassed by our interest, after all, are open to more than one legitimate approach. . .

  • Culture,  Music,  Personal

    Auld Lang Syne

    Our family has been enjoying James Taylor’s new Christmas album this holiday season, and on it I have found my new favorite version of “Auld Lang Syne” (listen to it in iTunes). If you have ever wondered what the lyrics to “Auld Lang Syne” mean, the Wikipedia article on the song has Robert Burns’ original words along with a modern translation. I commend it to you. In the meantime, I won’t be forgetting our acquaintance. Thank you for reading my blog and Happy New Year!

  • Theology/Bible

    C. S. Lewis and Egalitarianism

    S. M. Hutchens has some provocative things to say about C. S. Lewis’ attitude toward egalitarianism and whether he considered it compatible with “mere Christianity”: “[Lewis’] gentleness toward egalitarians was evangelical: he wished to win them to Christ. He did not think they could be mere Christians because he did not consider them Christians at all. To come to Christ is to leave egalitarianism; a church with priestesses, he gently indicated, was ‘not like a church.’ The egalitarian may honor and admire Lewis, but cannot honestly retain him as a coreligionist, much less a patron, since he has rejected the cosmology that undergirt his writings.”

  • Theology/Bible

    C. S. Lewis and “The Weight of Glory”

    Perhaps you’ve read Mere Christianityor The Screwtape Letters, two of C. S. Lewis’ better known books. But have you ever read any of his essays? I recently came across an online version of one essay that has had a significant impact on me over the years. I just reread this one over the holidays, and I thought I’d share it with you. In “The Weight of Glory” Lewis takes on Immanuel Kant and the Stoics and the idea that self-denial is the ultimate Christian virtue. Lewis argues that “glory” and human desire are not at odds. Here is one of the many quotable quotes:

  • Politics

    President Gerald Ford, the War Hero

    Roberty Drury’s and Tom Clavin’s column in today’s New York Times tells of Gerald Ford’s heroism in World War II. It concludes, “Like his fellow World War II veterans, Mr. Ford returned home and resumed his life, rarely speaking publicly of his heroism. But in contrast to the public’s image of him as a clumsy nonentity, Mr. Ford was a man whose grace under pressure saved his ship and hundreds of men on it.” Go read the story: “How Lieutenant Ford Saved His Ship.”

  • Politics

    President Ford Disagreed with Iraq War

    I guess Bob Woodward always gets the scoop. He certainly does in today’s Washington Post. The headline of Woodward’s story reads “Ford Disagreed With Bush About Invading Iraq.” Woodward conducted the interview with President Ford in 2004 but only had permission to publish it after Ford’s death. It’s fascinating to see how different Ford is from Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, both of whom served in the Ford administration. It’s an interesting piece and worth the read.

  • Culture,  Politics

    President Gerald Ford, R.I.P.

    Former President Gerald Ford has died. President George W. Bush has released a statement saying that “President Ford was a great American who gave many years of dedicated service to our country. On August 9, 1974, after a long career in the House of Representatives and service as Vice President, he assumed the Presidency in an hour of national turmoil and division.