Great Moments in Preaching

by David Mills

A classic, just found on the web: Alan Bennet’s sermon from Beyond the Fringe , on the text “Esau was an hairy man, but I am a smooth man.” I have heard sermons like this. . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2010 0

Creeping protestantism?

by David T. Koyzis

First Things’ “other” blog, First Thoughts, has editors listing the ten worst hymns and the ten best hymns. Whether this is a useful exercise is up to readers to judge. What is lacking is a set of criteria by which to judge what constitutes good and bad hymns. I note that most of . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2010 0

It’s Fun to Stay at the Y-Y-Y-Y!

by Meghan Duke

Following the old rule of thumb: “Y goes before C, except when C stands for something that could be embarrassing,” the YMCA—formerly known as the Young Men’s Christian Association—has decided to lop off the last three letters of its name and will now be known simply as . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2010 0

Lonely Guys

by Peter Lawler

Well, I finally saw two of the upscale movies of the summer. Neither was that great. Michael Douglas is the star of A SOLITARY MAN, which is nowhere near as good as A SINGLE MAN or A SERIOUS MAN. Douglas basically plays the same guy he played in WALL STREET and WONDER BOYS—a glib and . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2010 0

Hitler defines socialism

by Jonathan Jones

In the past few years, Glenn Beck and Jonah Goldberg have led the charge to popularize the notion that the governing totalitarianisms of fascism – centralizing, modernist, nationalistic, and willing to cooperate with the radical, internationalist Left, most notoriously in August 1939 – . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2010 0

Slouching Toward Secularism

by Kevin Staley-Joyce

When critiquing American churches, opinion writers often adopt a form of historicism even Hegel would just barely accept—a philosophic stance that no doubt drives their chiding of churches as “behind the times” or “on the wrong side of history.” The same gives them the gall . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2010 0

Why Is Hamlet So … Hamlet-like?

by David Mills

“The plot is a mishmash of disparate narratives; the expository opening scene, when soldiers on the night watch recount the tensions between Denmark and Norway, is deadening; and Shakespeare’s need to get Hamlet back to Denmark after his exile to England forces the playwright to resort . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2010 0

Fired For Being Catholic?

by Meghan Duke

Here’s the latest development in the ongoing story of Dr. Kenneth Howell , the former adjunct professor at the University of Illinois, who recently lost his job for teaching his students the Catholic Church’s position on homosexual acts in an introductory course on Catholicism. First . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2010 0

A Holiday Quiz

by David Mills

For those who like this kind of thing: The ultimate summer holiday quiz , provided by the Daily Telegraph . It’s actually sixteen quizes, two each in eight categories. The first three questions in “Art and Literature” are, for example: 1 Which 1851 novel was first published in . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2010 0

Why We Need the Dark

by Christopher Benson

Jesus taught that “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). As an anthropological and ethical statement, this is unequivocally true. But do we need physical darkness?In a National Geographic article entitled “Our Vanishing . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2010 0