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
Euclid The study of Euclid’s Elements serves as an excellent example of the contemplative learning process. Proposition 5, an early proposition in the text, marks a turning point for most students, where they must not only identify a chain of equalities (something akin to a hypothetical syllogism), but do so in transposition. Whereas students needed only identify equality by imposing … Continue reading The Poetics of Faith and Learning, Part 1
Stories are so much more than spoonfuls of sugar which help the moral medicine go down. Because all of God’s activity has the structure of narrative, stories are the habitat in which ethical realities exist. As water is to fish, so is narrative to ethics. For this reason, stories play an integral role in our moral education, and … Continue reading Well Wrought Stories and Moral Judgment
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
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
What is a German’s favorite negative number?
Continue reading “Mr. Spun’s Truly Terrible Awful Jokes: #12”
What did the whale have to say about being beached? Continue reading “Mr. Spun’s Truly Terrible Awful Jokes: #10”
“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.” … Continue reading Disdain
After a last minute pardon from the governor, what was the journalist overhead to say? Continue reading “Mr. Spun’s Truly Terrible Awful Jokes: #8”
What happens to the naughty students at Hogwarts?
Continue reading “Mr. Spun’s Truly Terrible Awful Jokes: #11”
Same & Other 