In Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut demonstrated the absolute absurdity of everything, that the world is just one meaningless act after another. (A review of Cat's Cradle is here.) What then? His next novel presented a challenge. Does he simply double down on the meaninglessness of everything or is there some way out of this trap? That novel was God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. Vonnegut’s universe is still meaningless. But, a meaningless universe creates a … [Read more...] about How to Love Your Neighbor
Christianity
The World is Watching the Church
Sometimes a book from a half-century ago is the best way to see the problems of the modern age. Francis Schaeffer’s The Church Before the Watching World is a book like that. Schaeffer begins by noting there are two seemingly conflicting principles governing the church: 1. “the principle of the practice of the purity of the visible church in regard to doctrine and life,” and 2. “the principle of the practice of an observable love and oneness among all true Christians regardless of who and … [Read more...] about The World is Watching the Church
You Are a Creator
Imagine you were going to describe God to someone. What is the first thing you would say about God?Compare your answer to this: what is the first thing the Bible tells us about God? God is a Creator. Dorothy Sayers' The Mind of the Maker is an extended reflection on this idea. Like many a Great Book it roams all over the place, but for a moment, think about her central thesis. If we want to understand the Trinitarian God, we can begin by thinking about the creative … [Read more...] about You Are a Creator
The Quest for Answers
During graduation weekend, I gave a talk encouraging the students to never cease asking the important questions in life. Questions like: Does your life have a purpose? What is a Good life? A student stopped by the next day to talk about it. She was worried. How could she possibly ever find a definitive answer to hard questions like that? My student’s question is an interesting one, but not for the reason she imagined. In the final chapter of Dorothy … [Read more...] about The Quest for Answers
Hopes About Eternity
Hope is one of those virtues about which we don’t often think. Somehow, it doesn't even seem like a virtue. We talk a lot about how to love more or be more faithful or trustworthy or just. But hope? Indeed, it seems a bit strange to imagine encouraging people to have more hope. Hope is one of those things that silly optimists have, right? Level headed realists and practical pessimists surely don’t need hope. Life is what it is. Life is a … [Read more...] about Hopes About Eternity
Why Creation Matters
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Why does this matter? From the debate over this sentence, one would think the whole purpose of this sentence, indeed the whole purpose of the first two chapters of Genesis, is to fight a war over evolution. However, such a fight completely ignores the theological importance of that sentence. Set aside for a moment the question of the age of the earth and evolutionary mechanisms. For a moment, imagine that … [Read more...] about Why Creation Matters