“In an experiment at Stanford University known as the ‘marshmallow’ test,’ four-year-olds were brought into a room one by one. On the table in the room was a marshmallow. Each child was told, ‘You can have this marshmallow now if you want. But if you don’t eat it until after I get back from running …
Fully Qualified
I was watching Barack Obama talking about something or other on the news tonight, and two things struck me about it. First, given the history that America has with race issues, the fact that Barack could be occupying the position he occupies right now is really remarkable. And the second thought is the reason for …
Don’t Want Anyone to be Caught Flatfooted
Because it would be bad to be caught flatfooted. The paperback edition of Leepike Ridge is due to be released one week from today.
A Culture-Wide Case of the Fidgets
“Those of us who do not hunger for such extreme stimulation can still find plenty of entertainment in the endless shopping malls, restaurants, fitness clubs, tennis clubs, golf courses, gambling casinos, porn shops, strip clubs, movie theaters and late night television. This is the world of the big M’s: the Mall, McDonald’s and MTV” (Richard …
You’re So Vain . . . No, Not You
Okay, so here we go. I have posted the first chapter of Evangellyfish here. I hope, as circumstances allow, to post a new chapter every Monday until I run out of them. Now the book is already written, and so before I post a new chapter, all I need to do is a little bit …
Calling Covenant Fathers
“Today, the whole trend is against authority, against maleness, against Christianity, against covenant, against law. You have to find the strength that’s much greater than your own if you will be a covenant father, but it remains the need of the hour” (Steve Schlissel, Christian Culture in a Multicultural Age, p. 156).
Ananias and Sapphira Must Have Been Liberals
One of the constant refrains that provide the background noise to our contemporary political debates is the idea, oft repeated, that liberals are open-hearted, generous, ready to share, while conservatives are pinched souls, close-fisted, and skinflinty. The problem is that we have a lot of data on this, and the data shows, in remarkably broad …
Hatred Directed Upwards
“Egalitarianism, the prevailing and acceptable religion of our generation, teaches not a love of equals but a hatred of superiors” (Steve Schlissel, Christian Culture in a Multicultural Age, p. 146).
Thump Thump Music
“A guilty conscience, such as our generation has, often tries to drown out consciousness in order not to be aware of the pain of guilt. Drugs, booze, and the pursuit of deadening pleasures of all sorts, the constant thump-thump music or the ubiquitous narcotic of television—all are ways to drown out the guilt of consciousness, …
The Fallen Booth of David/Amos 9
INTRODUCTION: We come now to the conclusion of Amos, at least in the form of going through it passage by passage. Next week we will look at the book as a whole, and then some applications—Amos for Americans. THE TEXT: “Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of …