Jesus in the Details
 
Last December the results of a poll taken in the U.K. revealed that only 12% of adults in Britain have a detailed knowledge of the Christmas story – and that the figure drops to 7% for those in 18-24 age range.  Culture warriors will hear the results as one more call to take up arms and drive the heathen from the schoolrooms and courthouses of our land – after all, the British are usually just a few years ahead of us when it comes to such things.  Continue reading →

Not My How and When
 
C.S. Lewis refused to read a daily newspaper saying it was a waste of time.  He said that he heard all the news of the day at the pub each evening and if something of lasting importance happened, someone would write a book about it and he might consider reading it.  Lewis, of course, was keenly interested in the world around him and his critique of modern culture in his classic The Abolition of Man is still widely quoted for its amazing insight.  He just didn’t waste time with the newspaper. Continue reading →

Christmas Gifts with a Theological Twist
 
I am infamous in our family for being the only member who refuses to come up with any kind of Christmas wish list.  I’m sure a good therapist could ferret it out, but for some reason I just don’t pay much attention to the whole gift side of Christmas.  And, frankly, I’m also a lousy gift-giver, and that’s really not such a good thing.
 
That being said, I have some suggestions for your gift-giving this season. Continue reading →

The for which and the to whom of Thanksgiving
 
The TV commentators at the Thanksgiving Day parades are sure to ask it, and if the score is too lopsided, so are the announcers for tomorrow's NFL games.  "So, John, what are you thankful for?" Al may ask sometime in the third quarter. 
 
"What are you thankful for?" probably will be asked millions of times around family tables across the land.  It's a good question and the answers many and varied.  But there is a companion question that doesn't get asked so often in our God-avoiding culture:  "To whom are you thankful?" Continue reading →

Things that Change and Things that Don’t Change
 
In the days immediately following September 11, 2001, we were told repeatedly that “things will never be the same again.”  And in many ways that counsel was wise and true.  Our world is a very different world than it was on September 10, 2001.  But in other ways it is the same old world.  Not much has changed and what has changed is rooted in things long before 9/11 and far from the World Trade Center.  Continue reading →