Right here above my desk at home is a section of books by Christopher Hitchens, close at hand since they often repay revisiting. The titles will seem eclectic, but in fact there is a tight logic that threads them together: books on Thomas Paine and Mother Theresa, Henry Kissinger and Thomas Jefferson, the Clintons and…
Ruth Abbey’s review of a new little book by Charles Taylor and Jocelyn Maclure (Secularism and Freedom of Conscience) opens with an interesting observation: Readers hoping for a condensed version of Taylor’s 2007 tome, A Secular Age, will not find it here. I find that intriguing precisely because I think I’m writing that hoped-for book!…
For those in the West Michigan area, just FYI:
Today I continue my “Lessons from Saul Bellow” over at The Twelve blog. Here’s the opening couple of paragraphs: As you’ll note from my recent Perspectives article, “A Peculiar People,” I’ve been thinking a lot about the dynamics of immigration and how that intersects with my own experience of being an immigrant–and being Reformed. That’s…
Earlier this year I mentioned my rejuvenating time with the Society of Vineyard Scholars. One of the movers and shakers behind SVS is Caleb Maskell, a bright, passionate, all-around-great guy studying the history of American religion at Princeton University and deeply involved in Vineyard urban missions and church planting. A few months ago, Caleb and…
A couple of weeks ago I noted the launch of The Colossian Forum website. On the front page is a short film introducing TCF; we’ve also created a longer (8 1/2 minute) film that delves into some of the themes in more depth. You might find this a helpful conversation starter in different contexts. More…