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.

This Was Never a Neutral Culture

  

Tim Keller is a well-known Christian pastor, bestselling author, and mentor to rising Christian leaders. He planted Redeemer Presbyterian Church in the heart of Manhattan in 1989, and it has grown to more than 5,000 worshipers per week in an area that is considered rather inhospitable to the Gospel message. He stepped down from his position as senior pastor in 2017 to focus more on training church leaders. In 2020, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but he continues to… Read more »

Perelandra: Genesis & Impact

  

I’ve been hard at work developing my course on C. S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy, and just completed my preparation for teaching the second book, Perelandra. This mythical novel, which at least one critic said should have been written as a poem rather than in prose, tells the story of an unfallen world (which we call Venus), a temptation for its first inhabitants to follow in Earth’s fateful path of rebellion against the Creator, and the attempt by a chosen earthling… Read more »

The Silent Planet Is Silent No Longer

  

Some tasks are more pleasant and gratifying than others, to be sure. One of the tasks that I enjoy is developing courses for adult education at my church. And when I can develop a new one on a C. S. Lewis topic, I do it with relish. That’s definitely the case with the latest course. After developing and teaching “The Screwtape Letters,” “Mere Christianity,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and “C. S. Lewis on Life, Death, and Eternity,” I now have… Read more »

For By Your Words . . .

  

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure…. Read more »

The Lewis Impact on American Christians

  

Last month, I went to the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College to do research for a proposed book on C. S. Lewis’s views on history. I also took advantage of the visit to hear Dr. Mark Noll give a lecture on Lewis’s interactions and influence on Americans. This was the second of three lectures Dr. Noll is doing on the subject. The third will be this coming March 17, and I will be there again doing the same… Read more »

A Timeless Word

  

One practice I’ve incorporated into morning devotions is to read excerpts from devotional works throughout the history of the church. They are varied, ranging from the very early years to twentieth-century followers of Christ. Most recently, I’ve been reading selections from the journal of John Woolman, an American Quaker of the eighteenth century. At the end of the reading this morning, I was struck by his comments after meeting with fellow Quakers who owned slaves. Woolman was passionately opposed to… Read more »

A Journey into Unfamiliar Territories

  

Regular readers of my blog know that I am in the process of developing a course at my church on C. S. Lewis’s “Ransom Trilogy.” Although I’ve taught the third in the series a number of times, I’ve never attempted to cover all three, but I’m looking forward to helping tell Lewis’s tale to those who are unaware of it and who don’t know the underlying themes that Lewis explores. The background that led to Lewis writing the trilogy began… Read more »