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50 Summer Reading Suggestions

The following is a list of favorite works of imaginative literature compiled by a literary snob. Unlike similar lists you won’t find anything as daunting as Finnegan’s Wake or as faddish as whatever Oprah is shilling to her book club. In fact, on first glance the inclusion of children’s books . . . . Continue Reading »

Pediatricians Reject Female Genital Cutting

The American Academy of Pediatrics does not condone female genital cutting. If on reading that statement your first thought was, “Was that ever in question?” then you are, in my opinion, both (a) morally sane, and (b) behind on the news .* The American Academy of Pediatrics has . . . . Continue Reading »

Being “Spiritual”

I’m in the slightly uncomfortable position of pointing this morning to the new “On the Square” without being able to use the word “commend,” since I wrote it. (My parents were big on “Don’t point to yourself” and the lesson stuck.) So: please read . . . . Continue Reading »

How Millennial Are You?

Knowing how much many people like this sort of thing, here is the Pew Research Center’s How Millennial Are You? quiz. (It’s in the middle of the page.) I scored, in case anyone’s interested, a 19, compared to the Baby Boomers’ 11 and the Millennials’ 73.  I . . . . Continue Reading »

Sydney Bristow v Chuck Bartkowski

All this talk about Lost has bored me. So much silly philosophizing and mixed up theology makes for interesting viewing for the average audience, but not so much for me any more. And John Locke did not wake up with Suzanne Pleshette to end the series (as I had hoped). All this for a story that never . . . . Continue Reading »

Wilberforce and Discipleship of the Mind

As an example for Christians who seek profound impact on their culture, few leaders equal William Wilberforce (1759-1833). A British politician converted to Christ in his mid-20s, he devoted the rest of his life to two grand passions, the more famous of which (especially since Michael Apted’s . . . . Continue Reading »

Why Evangelicals Love the Jews

[Note: Cross-posted from the First Thoughts blog.]“Why do evangelicals love the Jews?”For years I’ve seen that question asked—albeit almost always indirectly—in various forms. Sometimes it comes from Christians who are skeptical of Zionism; other times from appreciative . . . . Continue Reading »

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