The Butterfly Lovers, the Cultural Revolution, and the Hand of God
Recently I attended a concert of the Hangzhou Symphony Orchestra. A violin concerto called “The Butterfly Lovers” was a part of the program. My youngest daughter, …
Recently I attended a concert of the Hangzhou Symphony Orchestra. A violin concerto called “The Butterfly Lovers” was a part of the program. My youngest daughter, …
In the very earliest days of the New Testament and hardly before the ink was dry, the church already faced a pernicious error. Marcion of …
It’s entirely possible to write blog articles mechanically or artificially. This one is quite personal. My wife’s due date for our fourth child is today. …
Wouldn’t it be easier if we could separate the heroes from the villains? But we can’t. Heroism and villainy, virtue and vice, coexist—not only in a single individual at different times, but also in a single individual engaged in one endeavor.
Whatever else we would say about Luke’s story of the angels and the shepherds, it’s definitely memorable. But less clear is the point. Why did …
One day, out of nowhere, well-dressed men wearing expensive suits and dark sunglasses get out of Mercedes limos in a massive motorcade. They walk up …
There’s a very striking story about a man who never learned to read but who had a well-worn Bible. Someone asked him why the pages …
Each year at thanksgiving I feel a certain mental tension. If I go through the exercise of listing the things for which I’m thankful, I …
But when a bright star falls, we find it easy, respectable, and socially gratifying to share a post in which we register our rage against their sexual misconduct. It is much harder—and less flashy—to pray in private for the abusers and the abused. It is even harder to confess and forsake our own sins.
Four years ago today my family arrived at our new home in the Philippines. Everything seemed strange, opaque; a new, inscrutable reality in which everything …