The Mirror Never Lies

We live in a culture that teaches us to protect ourselves from criticism. Some of us choose to hide behind a false front, presenting the world with an image that is different than how we feel inside. Some find fault in others...

What is Done in Darkness

When I was in high school, I was deathly afraid of public speaking. I had a project due in a history class that required that I make an oral presentation, and the closer the deadline came, the more I started to panic. I avoided the problem by cutting class—several times in a row. I'm not sure why I thought I could continue with it, but don't...

Not My Idol

The gods of ancient Rome and Greece didn't care if you lived a moral life. They only demanded that you honor them. Honoring them sometimes meant engaging in the same kind of highly questionable behavior they did. Socrates got in trouble and was branded an atheist because he pointed...

Me Too

One of the most surprising developments in the Weinstein sexual exploitation allegations is its effect in causing so many to come forward with similar allegations against other alleged abusers, and in particular, those in the Hollywood industry. Some have suggested that the courage...

A Refusal to Set Limits

Mainstream American culture shows an increasingly permissive attitude towards non-marital sex. Outside of a few ethnic subgroups (communities which have morals that are resistant to these changes) the percentages show a rapid and significant shift away from traditional Christian norms regarding sex over the last 40 years.

One Thing I Do Know

I was in San Diego with my kids last year, and we were spending the day in Balboa Park. As we were walking around, we noticed a table set up in the courtyard, run by a group of atheists. They were there to share their opinion on why Christianity was false. It was...

A Rest Remains

Imagine if you could have fun all day, from morning until evening. Not just contentment, but actual fun. Imagine if that fun didn't make any physical demands on you, aside from the attention it required. You don't even have to leave your bedroom. I'm not talking about television, but we may have found ourselves whiling away hour after hour when we unexpectedly fall in love with a...

Not Fade Away

The world around us is adapting to electronic media and information technology. How we think about community, experience the world, share our lives with others, communicate with the people we care about, value ourselves, and even consider what counts...

Gaming, VR, and the Heavenward Call

Have you ever spent a lot of time and energy (and maybe money) on something, and then later, for whatever reason, lost interest in it? I'm sure most of us who are Boomers* and Gen X wish we could take back and repurpose the many thousands of hours we have spent watching TV shows which, on rerun, seem incredibly dull, low-resolution and cheesy.

Shame on Me

Shame is a strange thing; it can be regarded in two completely different ways. If you search for it on Amazon, you will find hundreds of books to help you relieve yourself of it. It is the negative, convicting emotion that we have violated a moral standard. Psychologists provide guidance...

I Love You, Man

This Bud Light commercial from 1995 (it was the first in a series of commercials) made the expression, “I love you, man” part of popular culture. The thing that made the commercial so hilarious and compelling, at the time, is that you didn't hear guys say “I love you” much back then.

The God of Tomorrow

This quote, from one of C.S. Lewis's great works, is part of a letter written by the demon Screwtape to the junior demon Wormwood. The “Enemy” mentioned here is God. I have been worried about the future, at various points over the years. To such a degree that I have had difficulty doing anything else. I have some things...