Some of you who read this blog know that we have been keeping track of this story. See our coverage here and here. Here is the latest from MLIVE: GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Calvin University president who stepped down […]
Archives for April 2024
An early American historian on Michael Douglas’s portrayal of Ben Franklin
Last month we called your attention to Franklin, an Apple TV+ miniseries staring Michael Douglas as Poor Richard. Today, we call your attention to historian Joseph Adelman’s review of Franklin at Slate.Com. Here is a taste: Key to the show’s […]
Why is Cornel West broke?
Edward Carson, a history teacher and Dean of Multicultural Education at The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, Mass., recently wrote this on his Facebook page: Cornel West and I are no longer on speaking terms. I am still a fan and […]
What is trending this week at CURRENT?
Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Way of Improvement Leads Home blog: Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Arena blog:
A Search for Spiritual Certainty
Sometimes it’s hard for a young boy to understand the mystery of faith
Blessing of Unicorns: 1929, children and parenting, C.S. Lewis, and levitating saints
This week’s roundup includes articles on 1929 in detective fiction, our “family unfriendly” society, C.S. Lewis, and saints who really flew!
What is happening at Valparaiso University?
Valparaiso University, the Lutheran college in northwest Indiana where I taught from 2000-2002 as a Lilly Fellow in Arts and Humanities, is considering cutting majors in German, Spanish, Global Studies, Music, Astronomy, International Relations, Theology, Theology and Ministry, and Philosophy. […]
Evangelical roundup for April 11, 2024
What is happening in Evangelical land? Conservative evangelicals want Trump to do more on abortion. I have never heard of Josh Garrels, but he is apparently a “prominent Christian musician.” The Red Letter Christians think he may be a coward. […]
Joan Baez: Quaker Maiden
“To sing is to praise God”
Nancy French, Ghosted—a conservative, interrupted
Nancy French’s memoir is a story of God showing love to the weak and redeeming creation while also calling fallible people to restore justice already here on earth.
Cornel West announces his running mate. It’s Melina Abdullah
In case you forgot, the Black intellectual Cornel West is running for president as an independent. Today he chose his running mate. She is Melina Abdullah, a professor of Pan-African Studies at the University of California-Los Angeles. Here is her […]
What has happened to National Public Radio?
By this point some of you have seen Uri Berliner’s piece at The Free Press: “I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust.” The subtitle: “Uri Berliner, a veteran at the public radio institution, says […]
LONG FORM: Realism and Restraint, at Home and Abroad
A call for a Christian realism worthy of the name
Are we experiencing a realignment?
The landscape of American politics and our electoral mechanisms make a traditional realignment a near impossibility.
Should we fear “collectivism?”
Over at Jacobin, Luke Savage explains and counters the Right’s misunderstanding of “collectivism.” Here is a taste: Contrary to what the Right asserts, the Left is not animated by a rigid determinism that seeks to stamp out the individual or […]
Happy 3rd birthday to CURRENT! Will you consider helping us make it to our 4th?
More than three years ago, Eric Miller, Jay Green, and I talked about starting a journal of opinion and commentary. We imagined publishing a daily essay and transferring my nearly fifteen-year-old blog, The Way of Improvement Leads Home, to the […]
The NAIA: Only “student-athletes whose biological sex is female” may participate in women’s sports
Here is CNN: The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics voted to adopt a new policy Monday that effectively bans transgender women from participating in most of its women’s intercollegiate sports programs. The NAIA, an athletic association consisting of 241 mostly small member colleges and universities as of 2023, governs intercollegiate athletics for more than […]
REVIEW: Permanence, Memoir, and Memory
On acknowledging pain without sacrificing hope
The art of living: Beryl Markham
The Art of Living is an occasional series about people who seemed to know something about living.
Trump takes a pro-choice position on abortion. Tells everyone to “follow their heart.” Some evangelical leaders respond, but most show no outrage.
This morning Donald Trump announced that abortion was a decision best left up to the people in the states. Watch: Two quick thoughts: The Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America came out quickly this morning with this: “We are deeply disappointed […]