Last spring when I was in New York I had really hoped I could score tickets to Tony Kushner’s play, The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism, but didn’t. (Most will know Kushner from Angels in America.) Especially for someone like me, who’s sympathetic to voices like Ross Douthat and Charles Taylor and John…
While I was in Australia I was interviewed by David Rutledge for “Encounter,” a program on ABC’s Radio National (think of it as the Australian equivalent of the BBC). Rutledge was engaged and curious, so the interview was really just a ranging conversation. They’ve now edited that interview, along with snippets from my New College…
The Colossian Forum is launching a new blog that should get some more energy in the coming months thanks to their recruitment of Matt Dodrill as a Junior Fellow. Truth in advertising: Matt is one of my former students, just graduated from Calvin College, and is now headed to Duke Divinity School. One of the…
The good folks at Duke’s “Faith and Leadership” magazine have just posted an article they invited me to write on the dynamic interplay between tradition and innovation. A snippet from the conclusion of my talk at the 2012 Q conference, the article focuses on how and why liturgical tradition can foster cultural innovation. Read “Tradition…
Last week our family enjoyed an evening at the Art Gallery of Ontario here in Toronto. (Note to large families: the museum is free on Wednesday’s from 6:00-8:30pm.) Earlier that day I had led a seminar on William Cavanaugh’s classic essay, “‘A Fire Strong Enough to Consume the House’: The Wars of Religion and the…
I absolutely love this Nicholas Nixon photograph from MOMA’s collection. Entitled simply, “Covington, Kentucky,” it’s a picture you can look at for hours and still feel something new and different. The composition is exquisite: those horizontal lines and shadows backing the smooth, light skin of innocent childhood in summertime; the young girl looking longingly at his…