The Cast of Christmas Reassembles for Easter
Take the wise men to the Emperor’s palace. Wash their hands in water. Get them to say something about truth. Does anyone know any good Jewish jokes? The one about a carpenter who thought he was a King? The one…
How Reading the Bible Can Make You Liberal
Fear not! This isn’t another tirade on the proper mixing of religions and politics. It is instead a brief commentary on yet another odd academic study. To wit, the 2007 Baylor Religion Survey in which Americans were asked, among other…
Living on the Other Side of the Line
One of the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer’s “Schaefferisms”—terms he coined that he was particularly fond of– was “the line of despair.” If you want to understand it as he meant it, you will need to read a little of his…
Schaeffer, Franky, and Bachmann
This month there have been three articles published, each of which deals with three persons, one of whom—the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer—was a friend and teacher of mine. The articles in order appeared in The New Yorker (“Leap of Faith”…
Discussion questions for The Tree of Life
What lingers in your mind after your first viewing of The Tree of Life? If images, which ones? If events, which events? If words, which words? Early in TOL we hear Mrs. O’Brien in a voice-over say, “The nuns taught…
A Picture in Need of Words: a review of The Tree of Life
Remember the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words?” It’s not true. Take Terrence Malick’s latest film, The Tree of Life, for example.
The Nativity
Among the oxen (like an ox I’m slow) I see a glory in the stable grow Which, with the ox’s dullness might at length Give me an ox’s strength. Among the asses (stubborn I as they) I see my Saviour…