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Decoding Jackson Pollock

From First Thoughts

Art historian Henry Adams contends that Pollock created Mural around his name , discernible as camouflaged letters and explains what it might mean: Pollock’s possibly writing his name in Mural testifies to an overlooked feature of his works: they have a structure, contrary to the popular . . . . Continue Reading »

The Clone Wars Heat Up

From First Thoughts

The latest issue of Wired Gregg Easterbrook has an brief article on why we should ” Embrace Human Cloning .” To call it an argument would be overly generous—Easterbrook is only given the space to compile a series of loose assertions. Still, such outrageous claims should not stand . . . . Continue Reading »

The Mythology of the New Atheists

From First Thoughts

Christianity Today reviews David Bentley Hart’s Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies : Much of Atheist Delusions reminds readers of the importance of remembering what Christianity has done for us—not just for the believer in personal salvation, but . . . . Continue Reading »

The Supercriminals of Sweden

From First Thoughts

If you need another reason to appreciate America, consider that our criminals are, as a general rule, rather dull and dumb. That seems preferable to Sweden where the supercriminals are wickedly smart and exhibit an excess of panache . STOCKHOLM — With cinematic flourish, the masked robbers . . . . Continue Reading »

Exulting in Monotony

From First Thoughts

For the past few years my friend David Wayne (aka, Jollyblogger ) has been a winsome model of the pastor-blogger. I’ve learned a lot from him and assumed I’d be reading his work for decades. But then last Christmas he discovered—at the age of forty-five—that he has stage four . . . . Continue Reading »

Crimes Against Clarity

From First Thoughts

Recently I gave a talk at the Christian Web Conference in which I argued that we often confuse clarity with profundity. I noted that one of Ernest Hemingway’s most profound stories was not only clear, but short enough to fit on Twitter: For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn. Hemingway is said to . . . . Continue Reading »