In college one of my majors was broadcasting. As my classmates and I studied the media we learned, from the southern scholar Richard Weaver, that there are certain words or phrases that carry good thoughts or feelings beyond their literal meaning, and certain phrases that carry negative associations in the same way. ((See Joseph A. […]
Sculpting Mount Rushmore
February 17, 2014 by · 1 Comment
In a recent TV interview, LeBron James said that when his career is over, he would be on the “Mount Rushmore” of NBA players. For James, the four greatest are Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Oscar Robertson (until one of them moves in order to make room for James). This prompted members of […]
Feeling the Love
January 30, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
I recently heard a sermon where the preacher repeatedly asked members of the audience if they felt close to God, if they felt saved. The thrust of the message seemed to be that people should feel a certain way. There were at least four problems with this appeal. First, it was difficult to know whether […]
Movie Night: You Can’t Take it With You
January 23, 2014 by · 3 Comments
In morality “plays” (whether on stage, in books, or on screen), we often are blessed by clear examples of what to do or what not to do. We see ourselves or others in characters. The best fiction, from Greek tragedies to comic books, is so well-written that it causes us to authentically sympathize with characters […]
Whose Law Did the Nazis Violate?
January 6, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
Those who argue for the existence of God based on human morality have often cited a particular statement by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson. His statement is particularly relevant because it came in the trial of Nazi war criminals at the close of World War II. The Nazi leaders had argued that they were […]
Batman and Your Enemies
December 26, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
I enjoy studying about philosophy and about super heroes, and so I bought an appropriate book. It’s Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul, part of Blackwell’s “Philosophy and Pop Culture Series.” ((Ed. Mark D. White and Robert Arp (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2008).)) It explains how one can understand various aspects […]
God’s Morality and Ours
October 31, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
One of the challenges to biblical morality, and one which has spurred much interesting discussion in values, is the so-called “Euthyphro dilemma,” which goes back to the Socratic dialogue called the Euthyphro. ((See Caleb Colley, “Why is Good Good?,” http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=3601 (2010).)) The dilemma goes like this: Why is something good? Is it good (1) because […]
Movie Night: No Highway in the Sky
October 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
From time to time I will write articles here to discuss movies that promote Christian ideals in one way or another. These movies are worth watching not only because they are well made, but also because they are worth our careful consideration in light of truths from Scripture. I suppose James Stewart is on many […]
Kentucky Sports and the Handshakes
October 14, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
One of the most bizarre sports stories I have seen recently carries the following headline: “Bad sports: Kentucky school teams told not to shake hands after games.” ((CBS News, http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57606614/bad-sports-kentucky-school-teams-told-not-to-shake-hands-after-games/ (2013).)) According to the story, there have been more than two dozen postgame confrontations among high school athletes in Kentucky during the past three years, and […]
Aristotle and Linda Ronstadt on Earthly Honors
October 7, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Sometimes a point is so obvious that people from extremely diverse backgrounds readily understand it. Thus natural law theorists point to moral commonalities among broadly diverse cultures and historical periods as evidence for the reality of the natural law. ((e.g., J. Budziszewski, What We Can’t Not Know (Dallas: Spence, 2003).)) This article is not designed […]