To be a disciple is fundamentally to be a learner. But while a geometry student submits his mind to a proof or theorem, a learner of Christ is called to submit his whole being to God. And while the student may come to internalize a truth, the disciple can come to embody God’s presence. This is because both Learning and discipleship happen through a process of poetic formation. In … Continue reading The Poetics of Faith and Learning, Part 4
In a post on sexuality, I tried to describe reproduction in light of the double bond of love which it uses to weave the human family together. But it must be noted that the tapestry of history and of humanity is tangled and ravaged by death, resentment, violence, and rejection. One need only think of the difficulties of a … Continue reading Platted and Woven, Part 2: A New Sort of Enmity
When the Hairy Hooligans are ambushed aboard their ship, their captors announce a plan to execute Stoick, the head of the viking tribe as well as his heir. It is at this moment in Cressida Cowell’s How to be a Pirate (from her How to Train a Dragon Series) that Hiccup steps forth in heroic loyalty to his father. … Continue reading On the Power of Asking Questions
I am driving 8 hours today to Michigan to attend the 51st annual Medieval Conference in Kalamazoo at Western Michigan University. I’ll be presenting a paper on Beowulf! After that, I get to swing by Holland Michigan to see some old friends. a picture from a recent participatory viewing of the Princess Bride at church, … Continue reading Off to Storm the Castle
This lecture was given Thursday, April 21, 2016 at Cornerstone Church in Franklin, Tennessee. It was part of a lecture on speaking and seeking the truth in love. The first half was a presentation by Mark Hays of Classical Conversations. The second-half was presented by me as the following lecture: Introduction There is a lot to … Continue reading To Speak the Truth in Love: A Lecture on Rhetoric in Plato’s Gorgias
A liberal arts education, like love, is best when it is useless. ‘Useless’ is a philosophic term which refers to that which is enjoyed for its own sake, that which has purpose, value, and meaning in and of itself. Joseph Pieper discusses the useless on page 41 of his essay In Defense of Philosophy. What he refers to as “philosophy,” he elsewhere refers to … Continue reading In Defense of the Useless, Part I
Same & Other 