What are you reading, watching, thinking about this week? As usual, here's a few which have been on our mind. Let us know your thoughts on any/all of them. If you have items you'd like us to consider for the top five, add them in the comments or send them to Tom or Mike. 1. The Collapse of Higher Education: Seth Godin on the coming melt-down in higher education: For 400 years, higher education in the US has been on a roll. From Harvard asking Galileo to be a guest professor in the 1600s to millions tuning in to … [Read more...] about Week in Review: Commonplace Edition
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Recognizing the Messiah
As I mentioned in Week in Review: Behold the Man Edition, I have been unable to put down Brian Godawa's Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story & Imagination (Downer's Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009).* Below is a quote relevant to Holy Week.** One of the reasons why the Jews of the first century did not recognize the visitation of the Messiah was because even they took the Bible too literally. Indeed, they were expecting a military or political king who would crush Rome (Dan 2:44-45), restore the nation … [Read more...] about Recognizing the Messiah
Remembering Updike
I feel I am closest to God when writing. You're singing praises. You're describing the world, as it is. And even if the passages turn out sordid or depressing, there's something holy about the truth -- John Updike, commenting when interviewed for NPR's 'Tell Me A Story,' as reflected upon by the host, Marjorie Leet Ford, March 31, 2003.* Over breakfast this morning, I read the NY Times article A Relentless Updike Mapped America's Mysteries. In addition, I watched the brief, but stimulating October 2008 interview of … [Read more...] about Remembering Updike
A Faith and Culture Devotional
New from Zondervan, A Faith and Culture Devotional seems custom-made for ESN members. Edited by Kelly Monroe Kullberg (of the Veritas Forum, Finding God at Harvard, Finding God Beyond Harvard, and, most recently, InterVarsity's Women in the Academy and Professions) and Lael Arrington (host of the radio show The Things That Matter Most), the devotional is designed to be read daily for 15 weeks. Each week, there is one reading from seven different subject areas: theology, history, philosophy, science, literature, arts, … [Read more...] about A Faith and Culture Devotional
The End of Art
Nearly everyone cares — or says he cares —about art. After all, art ennobles the spirit, elevates the mind, and educates the emotions. Or does it? -- "The End of Art" by Roger Kimball, Copyright (c) 2008 First Things (June/July 2008). How about The End of Art? Take some time to reflect upon and discuss this article with friends, family, and the blog over Thanksgiving break. To tease you a little, here's the conclusion after ruminations on Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Jones, Murray, modern/postmodern art (to drop a … [Read more...] about The End of Art