Christians as a “Creative Minority”
I came across a great quote today from Pope Benedict which presents a way of thinking about living an authentic Christian life in our modern, western world:
We do not know what the future of Europe will be. Here we must agree with Toynbee, that the fate of a society always depends on its creative minorities. Christian believers should look upon themselves as just such a creative minority, helping Europe to reclaim what is best in its heritage and thereby to place itself at the service of all humankind. (See the whole article by Benedict here.)
Toynbee was a British historian who looked at history as a series of rising and falling cultures. In his understanding, cultures are shaped by the particular challenges their culture faced. The role of the “creative minority” was to offer solutions which addressed the challenges of the times. There’s a very interesting and long discussion to be had regarding how this works, however, I have kids to take care of so I’m going to cut it as short as I can. Continue reading “Christians as a “Creative Minority””
Perfect election scenario
We are very conflicted over this year’s election. On one hand, we’d really like Obama to win the nomination and the election, because we think it would be good for the nation. It would go a long way towards healing some of the distrust and anger between black and white America if we can demonstrate that we are willing to elect a black man as … Continue reading Perfect election scenario
What does evil look like?
Really, the lastest atrocity of Al Quaeda speaks for itself: Two women described as mentally disabled and strapped with remote-control explosives — and possibly used as unwitting suicide bombers — brought carnage Friday to two pet bazaars, killing at least 91 people in the deadliest day since Washington flooded the capital with extra troops last spring. . . the bombs were detonated by remote control. And … Continue reading What does evil look like?
I love Little Bear
One of the joys of having my two daughters is being able to watch Little Bear on Noggin with them. Somehow, I completely missed Little Bear with my sons, which is a shame. It is such a wonderful show – like the classical music of the cartoon world. It’s literature for the preschool set. This was one of the stories I watched with my girls … Continue reading I love Little Bear
Unpopular Public Schools in Nevada
The Las Vegas Review Journal recently ran an article about a survey of parents in Nevada and their attitudes towards the state’s public education system. This is crazy: Just 11 percent of Nevada residents who responded to a recent survey on educational issues said they would send their children to public school if they had the freedom to choose any available option . . . … Continue reading Unpopular Public Schools in Nevada
Any professional writers out there?
I’m in need of a little help. I have recently begun building a freelance writing business. Several months ago, I was hired to be a regular contributing writer for a start-up Christian Lifestyle magazine which is available in 30 states in Walmart, Borders and other national outlets. I’m not making money doing it, but I figured it’s a real magazine with good production values, run by people who, business wise, know what they’re doing and that it would serve as a good launching point to begin marketing myself to other publications.
At any rate, I got a copy of the magazine with my first column in it. And those of you who have some experience probably know what I discovered. Continue reading “Any professional writers out there?”
The Carnival of Homeschooling Is Up!
If you are homeschooling or interested in homeschooling, be sure to stop by the Carnival of Homeschooling hosted at Life on the Road. It’s a trip around the homeschool blogosphere without having to spend hour searching for something interesting. Of particular interest to me was a review of the latest Caldecott award winner – The Invention of Hugo Cabret. These sorts of awards have gotten … Continue reading The Carnival of Homeschooling Is Up!
Infant “Container Syndrome”
I love Dr. Sears. When my oldest son was a couple of months old I found a copy of his The Baby Book and felt like I had found a kindred spirit in parenting. I remember reading a part in his book about how unnatural it was for us to put our babies in carriers, swings and strollers. He spoke of babies cuddled by plastic … Continue reading Infant “Container Syndrome”
Praise God!
Wendy’s has decided to stop running those awful commercials with guys wearing red pigtail wigs. The world just became a little better place to live in. Continue reading Praise God!
A prayer to begin your day with
As my family and friends who read this blog already know I was raised Catholic. I stopped considering myself Catholic over a decade ago because I believe the RCC to be in error on a great number of issues. However, I do think that the Catholic Church has managed to hold on to some old wisdoms about and tools for the Christian faith which most Protestants aren’t well aware of. An example of this would be some of the old, stuffy prayers which Evangelicals in particular tend to scoff at. While praying from the heart is essential, using a written prayer can be like giving a lover a love poem written by Shakespeare or Elizabeth Barret Browning rather than writing your own. Continue reading “A prayer to begin your day with”
The Upside Down World 