In today's culture, there is no greater sin than to be a phony. No offense to the lawyers out there, but Holden Caulfield said it well: “Lawyers are alright, I guess —but it doesn't appeal to me", I said. "I mean they're alright if they go around saving innocent guys' lives all the time, and like that, but you don't do that kind of stuff if you're a lawyer. All you do is make a lot of dough and play golf and play bridge and buy cars and drink Martinis and look like a hot-shot. And besides, even if you did go around … [Read more...] about Writing a Christian Personal Statement: Part 3
What Shall We Remember?
For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to take my girlfriend for a date through the Pulitzer Prize photography exhibition in Philadelphia. She is much more artistically-minded than I and we had talked before about visiting a gallery or museum sometime. I love photography and thought that the exhibit would be a classy and apt hybrid between our interests. What I had forgotten was that the Pulitzer Prize is awarded for photojournalism, which meant that though each shot was notable for composition and … [Read more...] about What Shall We Remember?
Babies and Bethlehem
Few things arouse human emotion as strongly as babies do. They are one of the few remaining cultural icons of innocence, operating with the simplest and purest of human feelings. They cry when upset, they sleep when content, and their waking activities revolve around eating, pooping, and discovering that they have arms and legs. A baby's desires are not complex. And yet, as any parent knows, this does not mean that caring for them is an equally simple task. In fact, the inverse is true; the more primitive and … [Read more...] about Babies and Bethlehem
On Technology, Thanksgiving, and Patience
[Originally written in 2007 for a campus publication while I was in medical school; it has remained disquietingly relevant.] We have become impatient, unfulfilled, and perpetually fixated on the future. We have filled our lives with so much hardware and noise that it makes us wonder if we too will waste away into a dull obsolescence. I had never been to a Black Friday shopping spree before. The thought of camping out for hours in the chilling pre-​​dawn night always seemed perverse to me . . . but that … [Read more...] about On Technology, Thanksgiving, and Patience
Writing a Christian Personal Statement: Part 2
My essay for admission to medical school was brutally honest. I talked about my low GPA, my relationship with my parents, my obsession with the problem of suffering, quotes from my personal journal, and how it was all driven by a radical faith in Jesus Christ (and images in my head of suffering children). It was my attempt at being really, really honest and was the product of many careful hours of meticulous revision. Note: Click here for Writing a Christian Personal Statement: Part 1. It was also really, really … [Read more...] about Writing a Christian Personal Statement: Part 2