Rudyard Kiping’s poem, “The Gods of the Copybook Headings,” is a powerful and poignant challenge for our cultural situation today. Kipling wrote the poem in 1919 in response to the cultural despair after World War I when so many began rejecting the moral and religious truths which had undergirded European civilization. We need to hear […]
Archive of posts tagged culture
P. D. James and the “restless desire for change”
Brad Green recently posted this significant quote from P. D. James, the famous British novelist. James takes aim at our society’s “restless desire for change.” It reminded me of Paul’s warning against “youthful desires” (2 Timothy 2:22), which several scholars suggest may refer to a penchant for the novel. This quote is worth contemplating: “We […]
Defining Greatness
I just heard that the “world’s most interesting man” is a guy known for recent beer commercials. Must not be a very interesting world. I am blessed to know some very interesting people so I don’t believe the pronouncement. In fact this pronouncement reminds me of a comment from C. S. Lewis in a different […]
Should Churches Be as Friendly as a Bar?
Mark Galli has a good article by this title in Christianity Today. He interacts with a recent survey and those fretting over its results which suggest people do not view churches as being as friendly as bars. He raises good questions about the assumptions of those who fret this. He comments: Could it be that […]
The Holiest Day of the Year
The flap over the Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad has been interesting and particularly revealing. About a week ago I heard a guy on ESPN complaining about it (his name has escaped me) and I remember thinking, “He is making a religious argument.” He was essentially arguing that the Super Bowl was sacred space that […]
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism
Christian Smith has written a brief article condensing his research on the religious beliefs of American teenagers. It is well worth reading. He argues that the functional religious of American youth (which as he says they learned from the adults around them) is “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.” This is the functional religion even though many identify […]
Ken Myers on Titus and Cultural Engagement
In the recent issue of Touchstone Magazine Ken Myers’ article “Waiting for Epimenides” draws from the letter to Titus lessons for cultural engagement. This is a good article both in its handling of Titus and in its observations of the current church scene. Here are some quotes: “A passion for Christian maturity is easily obscured […]
