Tag: literature
Donna Tartt: Beautiful Windows Into the Transcendent
A few years back I developed a passage from Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club arguing that, despite making us feel as if we’re the centre of attention, social media does little...
No More Fridays With Fred? No More Friedrich Nietzsche?
Earlier this year I had the opportunity to present a talk on Friedrich Nietzsche at KRUX, a Christian Study Centre out in Stellenbosch that “disciples young adults through theological education,...
Reflections on Fatherhood From 'The Road'
After reading a passage from The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, in a sermon, someone came up to me afterwards and said, ‘I couldn’t put that book down.’ But before you...
Fridays with Fred: Nietzsche, Fyodor and Meteors
Friedrich Nietzsche is often associated with nihilism. This might be because of the assonance between Nietzsche and nihilism. However, that association is also a good indicator that someone hasn’t read...
Doodle: What Is Man? Dostoyevsky Answers
Chances are, reading the title of this doodle, you could complete the question: “what is man,” as Psalm 8:4 continues, “that you mindful of him, the son of man that...
You'll Never Live a Life Worthy of the Gospel
In Philippians 1:27 Paul exhorts Christians to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. Following that he fills out the picture of such a life. It is marked by...
Is Your Theology Pastoral or Pilpul?
When you walk through the front door of our home you’ll be confronted by my theological library. There you’ll find—if I do say so myself—some outstanding works: Herman Bavinck’s Reformed...
Doodle: Was J. R. R. Tolkien an Anti-Semite?
Towards the close of The Watchmen, a newspaper editor suggests to his senior that they should run a story about Ronald Reagan running for president in ‘88. The senior replies,...
Stories Are for So Much More Than Escapism
If anyone is willing to sponsor it, I’ll embark on a PhD in literature tomorrow. My question: when did we start treating literature as escapism? This question obviously applies to...
John Ames' Advice Against Defensiveness
Good advice is gold. That is, it’s as rare as it is precious. Unfortunately, the church is often a sanctuary for bad advice. In the same way that fugitives of...
A Guide to Good Writing for Those Who Can't Write Good
One of the characters in Marilynne Robinson’s Home describes preaching as, “parsing the broken heart of humankind and praising the loving heart of Christ.” I’ve often considered this a fitting...
It Is Such a Secret Place, the Land of Tears
“I did not know how to reach him, where to catch up with him. It is such a secret place, the land of tears.”
Preacher, Don't Miss the Wood for the Trees
We’ve all heard the old saying, ‘don’t miss the wood for the trees.’ Unfortunately, like many idioms it is invariably misused and misunderstood. A particular issue with this idiom stems...
Marilynne Robinson's Model Fathers
I’ve made a point of not crying in public. Perhaps my masculinity is too fragile. Maybe I’ve wrongly associated tears with weakness. Either way, this commitment recently made for an...
Doodle: The Best Books from 2022
Last week a friend shared the 26 Best Fiction Books in 2022 with me, published by The Times. Since I’m not a subscriber, this was all I got to read:...
Is Reading Fiction a Waste of Time?
Despite growing up before the advent of smartphones, streaming services, and YouTube, I read essentially no fiction until my early 20s. Sadly, this wasn’t because I was more invested in,...