Category: Literature
Thoughts on Theaetetus: Volume II
Theaetetus is introduced by Theodorus, a teacher of geometery who praises Theatetus for being acute, manly, and above all, a man of unique and peculiar gentleness. But is Theaetetus, a man of some nobility, a good student? Theodorus praises him...
Thoughts on Theaetetus: Volume I
Every year or so I get the immense privilege of hanging out with Dr. Al Geier, mentor of Dr. John Mark Reynolds, student of Leo Strauss, and the nearest thing to Socrates I’ve seen yet. This year we’re reading the...
Lincoln as Literary Critic
On a recent reading of some of Abraham Lincoln’s letters and speeches, I discovered this interesting line in a letter to James Hackett, a Shakespearian actor: Some of Shakespeare’s plays I have never read; while others I have gone over...
On John and Homer
I wish I had thought of this. Leithart’s thoughts on the similarity between the Gospel of John and Homer’s Odyssey are, if nothing else, provocative: And throughout John’s gospel, Jesus is the elusive hero, the one born of the Spirit...
Ash Wednesday
Update: the rather humorous spelling error is fixed. Thanks, Jim! Today is Ash Wednesday, one of my favorite days in the church calendar. When I turned twenty-four this January, I joked with my students about having a “third-of-life crisis.” As...
“Life” by George Herbert
I had a birthday last week, and, as a part of the evening celebration, took a moment to “zoom out” on my life. The psalmist reminds us that human life is like grass, or clouds. It is brief and passes...
Narnia–Allegory or no?
Two questions from the Narnia front today. Is Narnia religious? The question is obviously significant from a marketing standpoint. Today’s Washington Times write-up quotes a Disney exec and a Zondervan exec offering opposing view points. On the one hand: Dennis...
Weighing in on Top Five Books for About-to-go-into-College Students
We’ll miss Mr. Matthew Anderson as he takes off on a very much deserved vacation this weekend. The way Matt pulled off GodBlogCon is inspiring. I’m proud to call him one of my friends. He had a great list of...
Five Books for College Students
Update: Rhett weighs in! Surprise choice: My Name is Asher Lev. I haven’t read it, but that’s a strong recommendation… I’m a bit behind these days, but feeling a bit vindicated. The bloggers over at OneTrueGodBlog are a bit slow...
Tolkien Again
No, I’m not going to resurrect the Bombadil discussion (see also here and here and here). The newsletter that I published it for has a new website, with all the essays. It’s a great looking site, and what’s more, available...