I see that former-Senator Mark Hatfield has died, and one image repeatedly comes to mind—the one of his walking quietly into a Wednesday night service in downtown Chicago, unnoticed by most everyone. But let me back up. I first met Senator Hatfield when I was working under a National Endowment for the Humanities grant while …
Well, the Princeton Review was released. After looking through the rankings, I am astonished at all the things they surveyed. The positives: best college library, best financial aid, best career services, best campus food, etc. Then the negatives: least happy students, least religious students, least accessible professors, etc. It’s a thorough list. And, of course, …
Wheaton College as “Least Gay-Friendly”: A Game of Words Read More »
Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, wrote extensively on marriage and his thoughts have had a considerable influence on Christian reflection on human love. In this extract from Marriage and Virginity: The Excellence of Marriage, Augustine underlines the importance of marriage as a creation ordinance that is intended to hold society together and stabilize future generations. Every …
Augustine on Marriage: The First Bond of Society Read More »
When did it become unpopular for a baby to have a gender? Being a new father, my attention has been drawn to the many instances of parents’ seeming to downplay or even hide the gender of their children. The supreme example came to light a few months ago when a Canadian couple gained publicity for …
Jonathan Raugh’s article at The Atlantic, “Caring for Your Introvert,” caused a mix of emotions for me. I went from pumping my fists to rolling my eyes. It’s a slightly tongue-in-cheek defense of why introverts are misunderstood and, therefore, mistreated. And since I’m an introvert (married to an extrovert), I resonated with much of what …
I Don’t Struggle with Pride, I’m Just an Introvert Read More »
According to a team of British scientists and ethicists, experiments to “humanize” apes should be carefully regulated and certain experiments banned. In its report, Animals Containing Human Material, the working group begins with the obvious claim that “animals are not humans.” They then worry about three types of animal-human research. The first would be the …