On writing, books, tech, and faith
Greetings! Check out the opening of this article from The Chronicle of Higher Education about ideological biases in social science: "Last summer in these pages, Mordechai Levy-Eichel and Daniel Scheinerman uncovered a major flaw in Richard Jean So’s Redlining Culture: A Data History of Racial Inequality and Postwar Fiction, one that rendered the book’s … Continue reading Ideological Science and the New American Dream
Sometimes I think about a response I received after telling someone about heaven. We had been discussing how we talk to our kids about death (which sounds morbid, but as all parents know, children are remarkably candid about these matters), and I mentioned that the story I share with my children is entirely shaped by … Continue reading Christianity Doesn’t Work That Way
David French summarizes a tension I often feel between my faith and my politics: "I’ve always been conservative. In the left versus right context, I’ve always considered myself a man of the right—the Reagan right. But when the extremes grow more extreme, and the classical liberal structure of the American republic is under intellectual and … Continue reading The Involuntary Moderate
“Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” ~Joanna Weaver There is nothing so easy in the world as finding angry people on the Internet. They are in comments and posts, videos and memes, comics and photos, essays and tweets. And partly for good reason: there are awful things happening … Continue reading Bitterness, Wrath, and the Problem with Biblical Counselors
In his column this week for The Atlantic, David French relates an incredible story of grace in the face of suffering and opposition. His wife Nancy, who is a victim of sexual abuse, was giving a talk at a local college about loving one's enemies. When the floor was open to discussion, someone in the … Continue reading Mercy in the Public Square
I'm ruminating on this wholly unexpected observation from Robert Eggers about his latest movie 'The Northman': "This sounds super uber-precious, but I think it's hard to do this kind of creative work [directing] in a modern secular society because it becomes all about your ego and yourself. And I am envious — this is the horrible part — I'm envious of medieval craftsmen who are doing the work for God."
A dialogue between Madame Hohlakov and Elder Zossima in 'The Brothers Karamazov' provides a troubling yet vital portrait of what it means to love others. It is a portrait that flies in the face of the reward systems of social media.
Hundreds of years ago, the English theologian John Wesley wrote a moving commentary on the radical, self-sacrificial love commanded by Jesus Christ. It's remarkable how reading this passage today shows a stark contrast between biblical love and the type of love touted in the shallow memes of social media.
As theologian Don Carson points out, the church does not consist of natural friends; it consists of natural enemies. It is not a social club for dewy-eyed companions but a broken community of individuals who need help. There is therefore a certain sense in which one should *expect* conflict in a church---and to be extremely wary when there is none.
To forgive is to cancel a debt, and to cease feeling anger towards a wrongdoer---whether or not they have repented. Wouldn't this go a long way in breaking the hate cycle that infects our divided culture, both in person and online? The question is fraught with complexity, and yet perhaps no one in history was better equipped to answer it than Martin Luther King, Jr. It's worth reflecting on his insights as we honor his legacy and look ahead at 2021.
Richard Rabil, Jr. 