It has become routine in October for some Christian schools to send out letters warning parents about the evils of Halloween, and it has…
Basic Questions on Alternative Medicine (Gary P. Stewart, 1998)
Books / Pluralistic World / Spirituality / Work and Rest
Place yourself in this situation. You have been told you have an illness for which conventional medicine does not have a known or desirable…
Engaging New Atheists: Agreeing with Christopher Hitchens
The early 21st century has introduced puzzling cultural cross currents for the traditional Christian. On the one hand, many postmodern young adults are unabashed…
Engaging the New Atheists (III): Resources
For those who would like a few resources to help think through the claims of the New Atheists, I will suggest three. The first…
Discernment Exercise: How Committed is Too Committed?
In a report published in Harper’s (January 2016, p. 53-62), “The Ultimate Terrorist Factory: Are French prisons incubating extremism?” journalist Scott Sayare tells how…
Discernment 101: An Explanation of Discernment
If anything is certain for Christians today, it’s that we find ourselves living among people who do not share our deepest convictions and values.…
Discernment 101a: Always Begin Objectively
The process of Christian cultural discernment involves asking a series of questions that allow us to deepen our understanding of whatever it is we…
Discernment 101b: What’s obvious might not be
Some people act as if pluralism isn’t simply a fact of life. Instead, they are offended when movies do not depict the values they…
Discernment 101c: Liking it or Getting it
In an increasingly pluralistic and technological world like ours, hardly a week goes past without the possibility of being confronted with some new artifact…
Discernment 102: How to Disagree Agreeably
I don’t know very much,” James Agate is recorded as saying, “but what I do know I know better than anybody, and I don’t…