Joe Carter

Ted Turnau explains why and how Christians should engage popular culture : Popular culture works not by blurting out a message, but through appealing to the imagination. A television show does not simply convey a message, such as ‘Life is meaningless, so have all the fun you can while you . . . . Continue Reading »

From Frederick Buechner’s  Listening to Your Life : From the simplest lyric to the most complex novel and densest drama, literature is asking us to pay attention. Pay attention to the frog. Pay attention to the west wind. Pay attention to the boy on the raft, the lady in the tower, the . . . . Continue Reading »

The General Convention of the Episcopal Church Diocese of New York recently authorized the creation of a joint task force to “Assess the threat to religious freedom posed by the activities of the [Institute on Religion & Democracy (IRD)] and related groups” and to “Develop . . . . Continue Reading »

I’ve heard of orthodox Jews who become rappers (see: Matisyahu ) but Shyne is the first rapper I’ve heard who has become an orthodox Jew. In 1999, Shyne (born Jamal Michael Barrow), his mentor Sean “P.Diddy” Combs, and Combs’ then girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, were involved . . . . Continue Reading »

John M. Ellis argues that the current clamor to “Defend the Humanities!” is dishonest and misguided: There was a time when “save the humanities” would have been an appropriate cry, but that was years ago, when they were being dismantled in one department after another and . . . . Continue Reading »

After an overzealous editor attempted to rearrange one of Winston Churchill’s sentences to avoid ending it in a preposition, the Prime Minister is said to have scribbled in reply: “This is the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put.” Churchill was confident about his writing style and knowledgeable enough to recognize that the “rule” against preposition-stranding was a convention of usage and not an inviolable grammatical standard… . Continue Reading »

The Obama Administration’s token Republican wants to make sure that no one can use a cell phone in a car : Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said using a cell phone while driving is so dangerous that devices may soon be installed in cars to forcibly stop drivers — and potentially . . . . Continue Reading »

This past weekend a group of fifty Catholic bishops and sixty priests attended a conference to discuss how to discern of an individual is truly possessed by a demon and how to conduct an exorcism when needed. Reflecting on the meeting, Baptist theologian Albert Mohler explains why there no . . . . Continue Reading »

They don’t get it either. A few months ago I complained that the House Republicans were out of touch with the conservative movemen t. Turns out that many of the leaders of the Tea Party are too . A gay conservative group and some Tea Party leaders are campaigning to keep social issues off the . . . . Continue Reading »

Critics on both the left and the right have found a common enemy in Walmart. Those on the left hate the company because it isn’t unionized while conservatives complain because it undercuts mom-and-pop retailers. But the strangest criticism I’ve ever heard is that is contributes to obesity . . . . Continue Reading »