George Bailey and Mary Hatch For those who enjoy the classic film "It's a Wonderful Life": Have you ever wondered about how Mary is portrayed in the alternate world in which George Bailey never existed? Bizarrely perhaps, she winds up an "old maid" - closing the library on Christmas Eve. Wouldn't she have married someone else and lived a great life? This essay examines that question, showing that Mary is the greatest hero in this story. Intentional, purposeful, and wise throughout, she makes George into the man he becomes. In his darkest moment, she’s what makes him want to live again. … [Read more...] about Mary’s Heroism in “It’s a Wonderful Life”
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Zechariah, Mary, and Trust
For those of us following the Christmas story, we see an amazing pair of dialogues in Luke 1. Zechariah and Mary are each visited by the angel Gabriel. Each is told of a miraculous birth to occur. One will be John the Baptist, the other Jesus Christ. Each asks what sounds like a similar question. But Zechariah receives a rebuke and Mary sings a Magnificat. What's the difference? Z's question stems from a posture of distrust and Mary's from a posture of trust. There's a world of difference between How shall I know this? (Zechariah) and How will this be? (Mary). One says "I don't believe … [Read more...] about Zechariah, Mary, and Trust
Live Not By Lies
Dreher's thesis in Live Not By Lies is that Western society, and America in particular, is sliding towards a soft totalitarianism. A totalitarian state is "one that aspires to nothing less than defining and controlling reality." Soft totalitarianism appeals to pleasure and comfort more than threats of pain and punishment. It's more Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and less George Orwell's 1984. This soft totalitarianism, argues Dreher, will be supported by a nexus of big business (Fortune 500 companies and others), big tech - social media, and consumer habit data collection mechanisms in … [Read more...] about Live Not By Lies
Living Life Backward
One of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was to "begin with the end in mind." It's in this same vein that Pastor David Gibson exhorts us to live life backward. We must allow the inescapable reality of our death to dictate how we live: "Death can radically enable us to enjoy life. By relativizing all that we do in our days under the sun, death can change us from people who want to control life for gain into people who find deep joy in receiving life as a gift." Gibson draws from the mysterious book of Ecclesiastes to unpack his theme. The book can be thought of as one, … [Read more...] about Living Life Backward
Isaac Newton on Intelligent Design
"But though these bodies may indeed persevere in their orbits by the mere laws of gravity, yet they could by no means have at first deriv'd the regular position of the orbits themselves from those laws...This most beautiful System of the Sun, Planets and Comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful being." Isaac Newton, General Scholium from the Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1729) More in this great lecture: https://youtu.be/64WpGhpjkHg … [Read more...] about Isaac Newton on Intelligent Design
Josh Harris “Not Writing a Book or Starting a Podcast”
On July 17 the former best-selling author and pastor Josh Harris announced that he was separating from his wife. On July 26 he confirmed that this separation was in fact a divorce and--in bigger news--that he no longer considered himself to be a Christian. On July 19, in between Josh's two instagram announcements, Sojourners published a long interview with Josh Harris. I know from experience that interviews like this are completed months in advance. The timing of their publication is often designed to maximize exposure. The interview included this exchange: Villarreal: You say in … [Read more...] about Josh Harris “Not Writing a Book or Starting a Podcast”