Category: Christians & Culture

Commentary, from a Biblical perspective, on current events that are primarily cultural. There may be some overlap with politics and government, but the emphasis is on broader societal developments apart from politics, which also includes analysis of specific individuals.

Christians in Politics: A Lewisian Caution

  

One of the highlights of the coming year for me will be the Oxbridge Conference sponsored by the C. S. Lewis Foundation. I’ve never attended this particular conference before. “Looking forward to it” seems too mild a description for what I am anticipating. This will be my third Lewis Foundation conference and, as before, I will presenting a paper in the Academic Roundtable portion of the conference. The theme overall is “Surprised by Love: Cultivating Intellectual Hospitality in an Age… Read more »

What God Has Called Me to Do

  

I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. I do, however, conduct a daily assessment of God’s direction in my life. That, I think, should be the real resolution for all of us. Writing this blog has been a part of God’s direction for me for nearly twelve years now. The goal is the same as when I started it in 2008: dedication to Biblical principles in life, whether that be with respect to our personal relationship with Christ, commentary on the… Read more »

The Ministry God Has Given Me

  

All of life, for a Christian, is a ministry. We are all called to different types of ministry, yet everything we do is to be done for God’s glory as we spread His truth. My ministry is teaching. I love to teach straight from Scripture, I love to teach things derived from Scripture (such as my C. S. Lewis classes), and I also love to teach in my particular field of expertise, which is American history and government. That last… Read more »

A Time of Refreshing

  

Last week, I attended a C. S. Lewis conference in Montreat, North Carolina. It was a welcome respite from my regular routine of teaching and grading. To be clear, I love teaching (not so much the grading), but there are times of refreshing when one can simply sit and listen and take in what the Lord wants one to hear. This was one of those times. Some of the most accomplished Lewis scholars were there as presenters. In the photo… Read more »

There Is a Time to Speak

  

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a message on Facebook saying that I was going to take a break from commenting on Donald Trump. My rationale was that no one is going to be convinced to examine their unalloyed support of a man who doesn’t deserve to hold the highest office in the land. I hoped for a respite. Yet Donald Trump doesn’t give anyone a respite. Shortly after my stated desire to ignore him, he was credibly accused… Read more »

“We Make Men without Chests”

  

One book I always include in my C. S. Lewis course is his Abolition of Man. It’s a weighty book, and I sometimes wonder if my students will be able to grasp its message. Yet I also believe it is worth requiring it because the message is so relevant, even more so today than when the book was published during WWII. The overall theme is the replacement of the natural law God has implanted within his creation with whatever new… Read more »

Screwtape’s Agony Is Our Reward

  

My students finished reading C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters this week. The final letter includes one of the most profound insights Lewis has ever offered as to what happens when a Christian dies. Even though it is described through the eyes of a demon (or perhaps because it is described in that way), one can get a glimpse of the glory that awaits those who have found the narrow path and remained faithful. Wormwood’s “patient” has died in a… Read more »