Knuckleball! is a hit you shouldn’t miss

As a kid, I remember playing catch with my Dad when he would throw peculiar pitch that didn’t spin like the others — it sort of floated in the air without spinning and seemed like it would never get to my glove. It was, of course, a knuckleball — a pitch that goes against everything … Read more

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

Voter ID and Voter Ego

Last week, I got my Virginia voter registration card in the mail. My wife’s card also arrived on the same day. So did the card above, which is neither mine nor my wife’s. The address is correct, but the name (blurred intentionally in the photo) belongs to a previous owner of my house. A previous … Read more

2011 in cities

It’s that time again, so here’s a record of all the cities, towns, hamlets, or dots-on-a-map in which I’ve spent at least one night this year. A slow year for sleeping travel was my 2011: Chattanooga, TN Kingsport, TN Lynchburg, VA Nashville, TN Woodbridge, VA Washington, DC cf. 2005/1999, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010.

Why you shouldn’t skip the boring parts

Christmas readings at churches and homes will rightly include a heavy dose of Luke 2 (for the birth narrative), and Matthew 2 (for the visit of the magi). Even Isaiah’s prophecies about the coming Immanuel may make an appearance, but there’s one Christmas-related passage of Scripture that’s more likely to be skipped over. You know … Read more

Sandlot foreign policy

Strange business is the saga with the Obama administration and that downed drone aircraft recovered by Iran in Iranian territory. It’s bad enough that Iranian officials are using the whole thing as a publicity stunt, but now the Obama Administration is asking Iran to return the drone: U.S. President Barack Obama, in a session with … Read more

Names: they are a changin’

“…And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.” (Genesis 1:19, ESV) Over at First Things, read my latest musings on a culture that changes its names: This week, the Southern Baptist Convention announced it is launching yet another committee to examine changing its name. The goal is to better reflect the fact that, … Read more

Blogs, trees, & sounds in the woods

If a blog falls in the woods, and no one is around, does it make a sound? Probably not, although a podcast might. At any rate, if anyone is still out there, keep your eyes peeled. You just may begin to see things around these parts again…