In my advocacy for recovering the productive household, the first question I’m asked is, “Is it possible?” But there is a second, sometimes hiding in first, other times expressed, and it is this: “Is it desirable?” I think we all live short of the ideals we live for–so failure to fully perfect an ideal doesn’t strike me as a fatal blow. It is the question of desire, is this worth the effort? or, is it even nobel to try? that... Read more
I think most people assume stories make difficult things easier to understand. That’s why preachers should use them, it is believed. They illustrate. I don’t think that’s quite right, it isn’t the reason Jesus spoke in parables. We have his word on that. 10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to... Read more
Long-suffering readers, I apologize for the infrequent posts as of late. It has been a busy time. The good news is there are a number of good things to share. I’m on The Dean Abbott podcast. The first is I was interviewed by fellow Patheos blogger, Dean Abbott for his podcast about my book, Man of the House. I think it went pretty well. You can listen to it right here: I’ve been asked to speak at the next Touchstone... Read more
What follows are the reflections of a high school senior on the national gun violence walkout by public school students. I’ve not published his name, although he gave me permission to do so. That was my editorial decision. – A few weeks ago, my school, RHAM High School, participated in the nationwide demonstrations against the senseless violence that occured at Parkland, Florida in February. Most high schools in Connecticut, from what I’ve been hearing from classmates, had some sort of... Read more
What follows are some concluding remarks to a talk I am delivering at Eastern Nazarene College tomorrow (4/5/18). The whole talk will hopefully be published somewhere in the near future. Preachers rarely excel at writing fiction. Not many try, but those who do are often accused of preaching under false pretenses. (For atheists preachers do nothing but produce fiction–we’re the greatest story-tellers of all time. But you know that’s not what I’m getting at.) Now, I think most of us... Read more
Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton often says more than she means to say. Such was the case in India the other day. She said something to the effect that women who vote Republican are in the thrall of the men in their lives, implying that her politics, naturally, serves their interests better. If only men would stop pushing these women around they’d vote for her and people like her. That’s deplorable, many conservative women have been saying since, and stating in... Read more
I don’t hate public schools because I am a Christian, I am a Christian, in part, because I have always hated public schools. Before I go any further, I must say I have known many public school teachers and many of them are wonderful people. But almost without exception these teachers have been kept from sharing what makes them wonderful. They’ve had their mouths taped shut, and their hands tied, by secular bureaucrats and the NEA. Back to me. From kindergarten... Read more
It's pretty simple to explain the turn to Socialism among the young. It's fear. Read more
First, if you want to reach men, it helps to be a man. Read more
I’ve come to see that Harry Potter truly is a Trojan Horse in one respect–and it’s pretty damning. Read more
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