Three hundred and five. That’s the number of people killed in the most recent terrorist attack in Egypt. The death tolls always tend to be higher in the eastern part of the world, or maybe it’s just that the ones with “only” double-figure death tolls don’t make it into American news. That’s just an insane number. I admit that when […]
With Black Friday now in the rearview mirror and the holiday season upon us, much will be said about the pervasiveness of materialism and consumerism in our culture. It will probably all be true. Even though European-American culture is the wealthiest and most affluent in the history of the world, we still crave more, and manufacturers are all too happy […]
We don’t like it when people speak highly of themselves. No matter who it is, whether it’s the President of the United States, or the most skilled athlete, or the most eloquent speaker, or the most compelling writer, there’s something about people talking themselves up that many of us find off-putting and obnoxious — even if it’s true. But even […]
We’ve all experienced it as children: We find ourselves in a situation where we’re tempted to do something we know we shouldn’t do, but we really want to do it. We justified and reasoned and convinced ourselves that it was okay to do it anyway, but we stopped short for one reason: We knew that if we got caught, we’d […]
If you didn’t hear, the world ended yesterday. Again. Not really. You might not have heard about it, because mostly it got the media silence it deserved, but another prediction of the end came and went this weekend. This time the culprit was the perennial phantom planet Nibiru, which was supposed to somehow destroy Earth again. (I suppose it’s also […]
Freedom. If you’re an American, it’s one of the defining terms of our national philosophy and a constant buzzword of political discourse. If you’re a Christian, it’s one of the defining terms of the New Testament, which Jesus says has set us free. If you’re an American Christian, freedom is a word we really love. That last part, about Jesus […]
A young prince is driven into exile by a wicked king, but, knowing it’s his destiny, later triumphantly returns to take the throne. A poor young man defeats a giant in combat. Someone has power to control the weather. A supernatural being offers someone the opportunity to make any request, and it would be granted. An evil creature deceives a […]
Our lives are based around hierarchy. When you become a member of any organization — a club, a council, a military, a government — the hierarchy is one of the first things you need to learn. You have to know who the head of the group is, who the influential people in the group are, and what they want. This […]
It’s really easy to be a Christian here in America. We take that for granted most of the time, I think. This is the most religiously devoted nation in the developed world. Our politicians proudly talk about their faith in God. I hear Christian music all the time, in stores and on the radio. When I go to a restaurant, […]
I don’t think anyone needs to be convinced that humans tend to be selfish creatures. We tend to do what benefits us and makes us feel good, even at the expense of others. Sure, we can be selfless and do great things, but it’s hard. Whenever we’re faced with a decision to do something good for someone that does not […]
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