On Sunday’s “Meet the Press” David Brooks spoke in a way that you don’t hear very often in mainstream media outlets. He talked about the reality of evil and how few contemporary people have the moral resources to to do the right thing in a difficult situation.
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Circling the Wagons?
The video above is an episode of ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” from 2008. It is a report about off-field crimes committed by Penn State football players. What caught my eye in this report was not the behavior of the players, but the interviews with Coach Paterno and President Spanier. Even back then, there seemed to be a circling of the wagons. The President’s last words were telling. He was not nearly as concerned with the crimes committed as he was with the bad press that Penn State had gotten for their players’ crimes.
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The Dragon’s Tooth on “All Things Considered”
N. D. Wilson is a great writer, and he has a new novel out titled The Dragon’s Tooth. He was interviewed recently on the NPR program “All Things Considered,” and you can listen to the audio below or download it here. [audio:http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2011/11/20111110_atc_08.mp3] The book is fantasy-fiction on the order of C. S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia.” According to the report, here is what the book is about:
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Penn State and Nebraska Pray Together before Game
The players of Penn State and Nebraska came together at midfield for prayer before today’s game. Nebraska’s running backs coach Ron Brown led the teams, and you can watch it above.
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A Good Night for College Football in Louisiana
It was a good night for college football in the Bayou State. My Louisiana Tech Bulldogs beat Ole Miss in Oxford to improve to 6-4 on the season and to become bowl eligible. Ole Miss is in the doldrums this year, but it is still nice to see the Dawgs get a win over an SEC opponent. The Bulldogs are number 2 in the WAC right now. We face the number one team, Nevada, next Saturday in Reno. It will be a big game, and I’m confident that the Bulldogs can pull out the win. We have not won the WAC since our first year in the conference in 2001.…
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Thom Rainer on the Penn State Scandal
Thom Rainer has a really helpful article about the Penn State scandal. He speaks what should be common sense: It is inconceivable to me that someone could witness sexual abuse and then simply report it and leave it to their supervisors. The right response is to intervene by force at the moment, and with the police immediately thereafter. The rest of this article has some practical advice for churches to help them protect children against predators:
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Tony Dungy Comments on Penn State Scandal
Tony Dungy comments on the scandal at Penn State: I believe the University had no other choice in this matter than to accept his resignation or force him to step down. I think they made the right move in ousting the President of the University as well. When something of this magnitude happens I think everyone in a leadership position is responsible… I also think this is a reminder to all of us that we have a responsibility to hold each other accountable, no matter what. It doesn’t matter if it is a subordinate, a co-worker or your boss. If something is taking place that is wrong, we have to…
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Joe Paterno’s Firing Was Necessary and Right
Joe Paterno’s immediate firing was a sad, difficult decision on the part of Penn State’s board of trustees. And it was also the right decision. Children were horribly abused, and those with the power and moral authority to stop it sat on their hands.
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How To Give an ETS Paper
Thanks to Justin Taylor for highlighting this excellent post by Fred Sanders, “How To Give an ETS Conference Paper.” All first-timers should read Sanders’ advice very carefully and get to work implementing these suggestions before next week. There’s still plenty of time. Here’s Sanders’ outline:
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Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind
Matt Hall had many positive things to say about Mark Noll’s book Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind. He also has some critiques, and this one stood out to me. He writes, Noll’s book at times rings of the most strident and elitist forms of evangelical condescension. I’ll admit that as a Southern Baptist I easily grow weary of constant screeds against my denomination’s supposed pervasive intellectual backwardness and disinterest in developing anything even close to a respectable life of the mind. With all the respect to Noll I can muster, these caricatures are not only unhelpful but also tired and inaccurate. The last 20 years have seen…