Part of the genius of the Pixar animated movies is the oftentimes grim back story that sets the stage for the main characters and their escapades. Consider Pixar's 2008 movie, WALL-E. After decades of over-consumption at the ubiquitous "Buy N Large" stores, the population of Earth is sent cruising on an intergalactic spaceship while robots […]
The last time I spoke with John Updike-well, all right, the only time I spoke with John Updike-was in May 2008. He was in Washington, D.C., to deliver the Jefferson Lecture under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dr. Brian Lee was in charge of his schedule and kindly introduced me to […]
"Mercy and truth, my friends, have met together," said the General. "Righteousness and bliss shall kiss one another." This is a tale of grace-a breaking in of the not-yet into the here and now, a taste of glories to come and a sampling of forgiveness and love. It is a turning of the literal table […]
7. Parity Among all Professions:The Doctrine of Vocation Another of the culture-shaping aspects of Calvin's thought was his emphasis on the sacredness of ordinary vocations. Before Calvin and the Protestant Reformation, the doctrine of vocation or calling was thought to be exclusively for the clergy. However, his view of work as inherently dignified by our […]
According to Eric Schlosser's book Fast-Food Nation, only a generation ago in the United States three-quarters of its food expenses was spent on home-cooked meals, while today half is spent on restaurants-and mostly fast-food chains. This transformation has been referred to as "the McDonaldization of America." And it's now an essential part of what Francis […]
The following is a transcription of a lecture Ken Myers gave at someone's home—over dinner no doubt! For most of my adult life, I've been involved one way or another in trying to understand contemporary culture from within a Christian worldview. I've been interested in asking, "What in our culture makes the gospel foolishness?" In […]
That God takes a deep interest in food should come as no surprise. He created humans with the need for food. The first and last chapters of Scripture make references to food. The fall of Adam involved food. Israel's ceremonial law was largely centered on food. The Psalms frequently praise God for providing food. And […]
Word among established parishioners was that the death knoll for our parish was now ringing. This was it. The life-support system was about to be unceremoniously unplugged. And who would have thought it? After all, they brought in a young minister to turn things around, to get the contemporary service going, to give the young […]
Christian writers at their best seldom fail to mention that just as the Lord's Supper looks back to the Last Supper, so it also looks forward to the messianic meal in heaven, the wedding feast of the future, when Christ as bridegroom and the church as his bride will be united at the "marriage supper […]
White Horse Inn host Michael Horton recently had a special opportunity to talk about Christ in a post-Christian culture with James Gilmore. He is the author of several books, including Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want (Harvard Business Press, 2007) and The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage (Harvard Business Press, 1999), […]
As the editor and contributor, C. J. Mahaney begins the book Worldliness by posing the provocative question of whether 1 John 2:15 is still in our Bibles, or if we have, in true Jeffersonian fashion, simply cut out the beloved disciple's exhortation: "Do not love the world" (15). The reason for such a metaphorical excision […]
I do not believe that I am overstating things when I say that the Lord's Supper is not taken very seriously in many churches today. Most Christians have only the vaguest understanding of what they are doing and why when they partake of the bread and wine (or, more likely, the mini-crackers and grape juice). […]
What would cause an evangelical professor of philosophy at a well-known Protestant university and the president, as well as a member for over twenty years, of the Evangelical Theological Society to suddenly resign both his presidency and membership and return to full communion in the Roman Catholic Church? This is in fact what took place […]
Stephen Miller is described on the dust jacket of this curious book only as "the author of the bestselling book Conversation: A History of a Declining Art." All we know about Mr. Miller, then, is that he is a student of decline. The book under review here is primarily a study of the decline of […]
