21 Questions for a Prospective Wife

Given the nature of the case, these are not necessarily questions that someone might ever get to ask. A young man is coming to a father because he knows his own intentions, and he is inviting questions. He should be surprised if the young lady’s father had no questions. He is asking to be asked; …

A Crisis That Does Not Need a New Federal Agency for It

“So this is a doomsday book with a twist: an apocalyptic scenario that can best be avoided not by more government but by less—by government returning to the citizenry the primal responsibilities it’s taken from them in the modern era” (Mark Steyn, America Alone, p. xxix).

A First Step Toward the Novel

“Daniel Defoe, a working class Puritan, was something of an early gonzo-journalist. Hearing about a man who had just been rescued from a desert island, Defoe decided to make up an account that might appeal to the tabloid readers of his day. The result was Robinson Crusoe (1719). This tale, one of the best adventure …

21 Questions for a Prospective Suitor

A father in my congregation has asked me what sort of questions a father should be asking a young man who wants to court his daughter. It is one thing to affirm that fathers should be active in protecting their daughters, but it is quite another to figure out what sort of specific questions are …

Just Do the Math

“Demographic decline and the unsustainability of the social-democratic state are closely related. In America, politicians upset about the federal deficit like to complain that we’re piling up debts our children and grandchildren will have to pay off. But in Europe the unaffordable entitlements are in even worse shape: there are no kids or grandkids to …