Christ, conspiracy, and code

A big thanks to The Gospel Coalition for running my thoughts on Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code as part of their “Reading for Worldviews” series: Conspiracy theorists may operate under the guise of seeking truth, but in reality they’re driven by cynicism. Any new revelation casts further doubt, and truth becomes separated from the … Read more

Books you should read in 2009

It’s a new year, and it’s as good a time as any to evaluate your personal reading curriculum for the year.  Two of the books listed below I had the privilige of reading in manuscript form, and one I’m only halfway through myself — so even I have some reading to do… The Road, by … Read more

Civility as putdown

Civility is important — even necessary — in a society that seeks to be known as civilized. But, there are times when civility can go the wrong way. Walker Percy provides an excellent example in his novel The Thanatos Syndrome, where the protagonist (psychiatrist Tom More) encounters an old janitor with whom he’d had familiar … Read more

Family Driven Faith

It’s ironic that within the evangelical church — a people who by and large claim their ultimate authority to be Scripture alone — it is tradition that is often the most difficult thing to change. Voddie T. Baucham Jr.’s book, Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with … Read more

Battle of the dead Russian writers

Fred Sanders examines the opposing worldviews of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy: In fact, I have long thought that there are basically two kinds of people in the world: Tolstoy people and Dostoevsky people. Sanders quotes literary scholar George Steiner on the differences between the two authors: “Dostoevsky, advancing into the labyrinth of the unnatural, … Read more

Novels of Night and Shadow

Even the most robust readers in the world take the time to do some reading that is more recreational in nature. While I do not count myself within the realm of the world’s most robust readers, I do frequently engage in recreational reading. In the past year or so, I’ve found myself drawn to the … Read more

Seeing Through Cynicism

I have a confession to make: I am a cynic (though I’m skeptical about the fact). Well, if I’m not a bona fide cynic, I do at the very least have a common tendency to be cynical. My undergraduate major was Advertising, and I studied subjects like persuasion, and targeted communication. When you’ve been trained … Read more

Books you should read this summer

It’s summer — the season when kings and princes go off to war, and citizens depart for the beach. High schoolers are introduced with much shock to the reality that they have assigned reading over the summer. Those of us that didn’t get the memo that summer wasn’t for reading compile lists. Here’s mine: Mark … Read more