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Near the end of World War II, Winston Churchill remarked of war-torn England, "We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us." Churchill understood buildings as more than pretty pictures on souvenir postcards. We learn many things from the bricks, stone, mortar, sidewalks, streets, and plazas in many cities. Our buildings, rooms, corridors, streets, […]
Euclidian zoning has several economic effects. These effects can be seen clearly in cities with exclusionary zoning like Detroit. The first effect is felt immediately, and the second effect becomes more evident as economic conditions change. The first effect of exclusionary zoning is to create a high bar for entry into a neighborhood. It says […]
You're pregnant! It's a boy!" This is one of the sweetest reports a woman can receive in her life. The notice that she is going to be a mother, to have a child of her own, is a potent joy. These tidings were like angels singing to Eve after Abel was stolen from her. It […]
Several years ago, when a friend recommended the television show 24, I went to my local video store (back in the day when there was such a thing) and found the relevant section. I noticed that the first few episodes were checked out, so I grabbed an episode halfway through the first season in order […]
What do we know of Rahab the prostitute? In the Old Testament, her name occurs only in Joshua 2 and 6. (The other references to Rahab ‘e.g. Psalm 87:4′ are not to Rahab the prostitute. The names are spelled differently in the Hebrew.) In the New Testament, Rahab is mentioned in three somewhat prominent passages: […]
The story of the excavation of Jericho, the site of Joshua's famous battle, has long symbolized the tensions that can arise between archaeological explorations and faithful readings of the Bible. The story begins at the dawn of the twentieth century, when some European scholars first undertook a formal scientific excavation of the site. Perhaps not […]
To modern readers, there is an ethical problem with the biblical commands found at various points in the Old Testament to wipe out the Canaanites. Why would Israel's God, the God of Jesus Christ, order his own people to kill another people group’even a sinful people’in order to take their land? Several factors can help […]
Addressing over a thousand Israeli school children, University of Tel Aviv professor George Tamarin told a story of "General Lin." Using religion as a pretext for "ethnic cleansing," the general, who presided over the Chinese kingdom three millennia ago, ordered a massacre of men, women, and children throughout China. When asked for their response, only […]
I find it impossible," says N. T. Wright, "to imagine a growing and maturing church or Christian doing without the Psalms. And that is why (to be frank) a fair amount of contemporary Christian music has worried me for some time" (165). In this latest offering from Tom Wright, both individual Christian devotion and corporate […]
Why Cities Matter: To God, the Culture, and the Church, by Stephen T. Um and Justin Buzzard, announces a lofty goal on its back cover: To be "a comprehensive analysis… [that] answers questions including why cities are so important, what the Bible says about cities, how to overcome common issues and develop a plan for […]
In July of this year, the parody news network The Onion ran an article titled "Unambitious Loser with Happy, Fulfilling Life Still Lives in Hometown." It was a marvelous piece of satirical journalism focusing on society's disdain for people who "settle" for a "boring" life of meaningful relationships and healthy work-life balance. As someone who […]
