To live in the modern Western world is to live where the public square is determinedly secularized. The players in the square in America,…
Living On the Margins
I don’t have any way to know this for certain, so it’s only a guess, but if I guessed which album I’ve returned to…
Just What Are We Doing?
Early in America’s War for the Greater Middle East, Andrew Bacevich relates a simple yet striking fact. “From the end of World War II…
Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson, 2014)
A story of justice and redemption The title I’ve chosen for this review is the subtitle of the book, Just Mercy I am eagerly…
Music Born of Faith
Most people have heard the music of Arvo Pärt—even if they are unaware of it. It has been featured in the soundtracks of numerous…
Oak Leaf
Oak Leaf A poor outline of parched lips. A blunt spearhead, blood-rusty and brittle with age, long past its ripeness to pierce someone’s side.…
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
(Mira Nair, 2013)
In our globalized and pluralistic world, opposing views of life and reality can collide, resulting in distrust, and even, sadly, violence. How I see…
Into the Wild
(Sean Penn, 2007)
Some movies are like cotton candy, others like granola. Some are sweet but vacuous; others more demanding but more nutritious. Sean Penn’s cinematic adaptation…
The Barbarian Invasions
(Denys Arcand, 2004)
This Academy Award winning film (Best Foreign Language, 2004) is quirky, surprising, well-crafted, and designed to prompt discussion, if not sharp debate. The story…
Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant? (Preston Jones, 2006)
In 2006 Preston Jones, a contributing editor to Critique, published a book with Greg Graffin called Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?…