Groothuis on Tillich

I have reviewed Paul Tillich's Dynamics of Faith at Amazon. Why do I do these strange things? I read the book over thirty years ago.

Christmas Song

Second graders made to sing "Allah is God" in public school. But, of course, this is not unconstitutional, and to oppose it is "Islamophobic." Political correctness is killing our country.

This

In our postmodern, hyper-mediated, electronic atmosphere, we have exchanged embodied experiences for instant information packets--growing smaller all the time: from hand-written letter to e-mail; from email to facebook, from facebook to twitter; from twitter to...

Technology allows us to simulate the world without knowing it, without being in it.

Just like this.

Crazy Love

Francis Chan discusses his remarkable book, Crazy Love. I like this man.

How to Read a Book

As an owner of thousands of books and a reader of many of them, I offer a few pieces of advise on the art of reading a book. This is a lost art for many, given the dominance of image-oriented media today.

1. Read worthwhile books. These come in two categories: (A) Books that are in themselves worthwhile. (B) Books that are substandard but influential, nevertheless. I know nothing of "killing time" by reading. As Thoreau said, "You cannot kill time without wounding eternity." Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as to what books you should read and when. I cannot separate my professional reading from my pleasure reading. However, I will not read books I profoundly disagree with on Sundays, since that is a day of rest (not torment).

2. Always read with a pen or pencil in your hand. Annotation is part of the art of reading. The book should become your own. I underline, make comments, and put notes in the front of the book pointing out important points. I also cross reference important points.

3. Write in the front of the book when you started reading it and when you finished it. This gives you a sense of intellectual history. (Don't ask how many books I have not finished. Some do not deserve to be finished, though.)

4. Recommend books to others on as many topics as you can. Be a walking and talking annotated bibliography.

Unmasking the New Age (again)

US Today reported recently that "More US Christians mix 'Eastern,' New Age Beliefs." Sadly, many churchgoers are taking unbiblical beliefs with them and into the rest of their lives.

Much to my amazement, my first book, Unmasking the New Age, has been reprinted, now in the 23rd printing. 151, 863 copies are in print. It was published in 1986. While some of the players have changed, the basic issues concerning the New Age worldview (pantheism, monism, occultism, reincarnation) have not changed. If you want to understand the thinking of Deepak Chopra, The Secret, etc., and compare it with Christianity, this book can help.

Lectures on Religions

My 2007 lectures on Hinduism/Buddhism and Islam are available here. These were done for The Next Level Church.

The Examined Life

My review of "The Examined Life" (first published here) is only 1/6 on positive reviews at Amazon. This is probably because I give a Christian apologetic in the review. Perhaps you may want to weigh in, especially if you saw the film.

Monk!

America may be going down the drain, but we still have jazz history. Listen to an interview of Professor Robin Kelly on his new book on Thelonious Monk.

Colorado Senators for Abortion

Both of Colorado's Senators, Udall and Bennett, voted to table the amendment to the Senate bill that would have forbidden federal money to pay for abortions under the socialist health taker-over bill. The amendment was tabled, so it will not come up for a vote. The pro-death Democrats are on a roll; the juggernaut is mowing them down--the least, the last, the lost: the unborn.


America is tragically moving toward a European-style, socialist, federally-funded abortion "health monopoly" model. I am at a loss for words. What is next?

Nice Chop

"There are many things to dislike about smooth jazz—for example, everything"--from Jazz by Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux.

Obama on Afganistan

Oliver North on Obama's absurd Afganistan strategy. Note that Obama refers to himself 57 times in the speech. Great leaders are not narcissists.

"Naima"

Nine amazing minutes of John Coltrane at Antibes in 1965, near the end of his time with the classic quartet. Film footage of Trane is rare.

Award to Stephen Meyer

Dr. Stephen Meyer is rightly awarded the "Daniel of the Year" by World Magazine. Note that he, too, was influenced by Francis Schaeffer early on. This was true for so many of us egghead in the 1970s. (Meyer is a bit younger than I am: 52.)

"Intelligent Design and the State University: Accepting the Challenge"

My article from a 2008 issue of Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith is now on line.

"Obstinancy in Religious Belief"

An abstract to an old article of mine is now on-line. The article addresses a topic from C.S. Lewis.

For What It's Worth

My Amazon.com statistics:

Customer Reviews: 171
New Reviewer Rank: 8,003
Classic Reviewer Rank: 1,640
Helpful Votes: 2838

Another Scandal

Obama official promotes pornography in public schools. Who is going to hold this administration accountable for anything?