Noah Webster & the Wisdom of Earlier Ages

  

I spent a number of years researching Noah Webster, who became the subject of my doctoral dissertation. He’s known primarily for two things: his Speller, which taught Americans to read and write correctly; his dictionary, a monumental effort of about twenty years of his life, and which defined terms in the context of his Biblical worldview. Webster started out his career as a devotee of the Enlightenment, that movement of the eighteenth century that gave far more credit to human… Read more »

Lewis: Unique in God’s Eyes

  

One of the great truths I find in Scripture is that God has made each individual unique, distinct, and for particular purposes. Yes, He follows a pattern in how human beings may look, but He is infinitely creative. When we stand before Him after this life, we won’t be part of some nameless, faceless mass of humanity that gets lost in the crowd of some heavenly choir; we will be close to Him on an individual basis. C. S. Lewis… Read more »

Russian Belligerence/American Weakness

  

The Russian Bear is sharpening its claws again. Vladimir Putin is doing his best to resurrect the old Soviet empire. His strategy of “protecting” Russian-speaking peoples has just landed him the Crimean Peninsula that legally belongs to Ukraine. Will he be satisfied with Crimea only? Why not the rest of Ukraine? After all, it used to be in the Soviet orbit. Rumors are now circulating that there are others who need “protection,” such as Russians living in the Baltic countries… Read more »

The Preacher & the Presidents

  

In preparation for my upcoming year of sabbatical when I will be doing some research at presidential libraries, I’ve been reading as much as I can about those who were spiritual advisors to presidents. The obvious first choice for study is Billy Graham. Recently, I finished a book that provided some really excellent and even profound insights into Graham’s relationships with presidents from Truman to George W. Bush. Elegantly written by journalists Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, The Preacher and… Read more »

John Jay: Christian Statesman

  

How about a little wisdom from one of America’s Founders today? Most people are not too familiar with John Jay, but he was central to almost every major event of the Founding. Jay served in the Continental Congress, was one of the principal leaders in the debates leading to Independence, was elected president of Congress at one point, and was appointed one of the peace commissioners who negotiated the end of the American Revolution. Afterwards, he, along with James Madison… Read more »

Finney: Dealing with Unjust Accusations & Trials

  

In his Revival Lectures, Charles Finney writes about the indications that one is filled with the Spirit. There are a couple of these that have always been difficult for me. Perhaps you may find a portrait of yourself as well in these words: If you are filled with the Spirit, you will not find yourself distressed and galled, and worried, when people speak against you. When I find people irritated and fretting at any little thing that touches them, I… Read more »

Lewis: Refreshment on Our Journey

  

Humans seem to want constant happiness and a sense of absolute security. Neither of those is attainable in this life. According to C. S. Lewis, we should be glad that they aren’t. He tells us why in The Problem of Pain: The Christian doctrine of suffering explains, I believe, a very curious fact about the world we live in. The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but… Read more »