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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
After six seasons and ninety-four episodes, Sex and the City ended its run in February 2005. But like a case of genital herpes, the show refuses to go away. DVDs of all six seasons line the walls of every video store in the country while HBO continues to beams encore episodes into millions of . . . . Continue Reading »
Earlier this month I spoke at a conference on the theme of intellectuals and terrorism at Ariel University, Israel’s major center of higher education in Samaria—that is, across the so-called Green Line demarcated by the 1967 borders. Ariel trains many Arab students in Israel; the campus . . . . Continue Reading »
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 »
[Note: Although I originally posted this last year, I thought it was worth reposting during this graduation season.] While it could be argued that youth is wasted on the young, it is indisputable that commencement addresses are wasted on young graduates. Sitting in a stuffy auditorium waiting to . . . . Continue Reading »
[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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