Blog 3 Columns

Do Barn Weddings Diminish the Solemnity of Marriage?1
- Culture
- May 15, 2018
A headline in The Atlantic caught my eye the other day. “Why is Everybody Getting Married in a Barn?” the article asked. I had to laugh, because I’m pretty sure I’ve had a similar question put to me at least once in the last year. Clearly there’s something of a trend going on, and if
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‘You Are Not Special; You Are Not Exceptional’: Why David McCullough Jr.’s dose of reality to young people is important 0
- Culture
- May 15, 2018
David McCullough Jr. is a high-school English teacher and the son of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough. In 2012, his “You Are Not Special” graduation speech went viral. His speech is more relevant than ever, and not just for new graduates. McCullough tells the graduates, “You are not special. You are not exceptional.” He continues,
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The Childhood Quality That’s the Best Predictor of Health, Wealth, and Happiness 0
- Culture
- May 14, 2018
If you were presented with the opportunity to instill one, and only one, quality in your children, what would it be? Perhaps, like Solomon of old, you would be tempted to choose something like a long life, or great wealth, or even freedom from harm for your offspring. After all, what parents don’t desire happiness
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How to Respond to the Incel Movement 0
- Culture
- May 14, 2018
Adam Lee of Patheos manifests a law and order response to what he calls “The Threat of Incel [Involuntary Celibate] Terrorism”: “The mindset of toxic entitlement can’t be appeased. …. [We should] support #MeToo and other movements that amplify the social and cultural power of women. The more people are used to women exercising power
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Do Millennials Really Love Socialism?0
- Culture
- May 14, 2018
The millennial generation is taking a lot of heat lately, with even some of its members a bit shame-faced about their values, habits, and much else. Most troubling to the economically literate are surveys revealing millennials’ high level of comfort with socialism: at least one poll suggests a majority might prefer to live in a socialist or communist society. Since many in
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Are Atheists Rejecting the Wrong God?2
- Religion
- May 14, 2018
As a theist, I often sympathize with people who call themselves atheists. For when they describe the god in whom they disbelieve—who usually turns out to be a vindictive ogre, or some sort of super-alien—I find myself agreeing that I don’t believe in that deity either. Indeed, before there can be useful discussion of the question whether
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Airbnb’s Co-founder Has Been Innovating since He Was a Kid 0
- Culture
- May 14, 2018
One of the key ingredients of a great entrepreneur is the ability to constantly ask yourself, “how can I make this better?” This is a question Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia has been asking himself his whole life. And it was this innate desire to innovate and improve on existing models that has taken Airbnb from
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Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Should Change Their PR Once the Honeymoon’s Over 0
- Culture
- May 11, 2018
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year: Great Britain’s Prince Harry is marrying American actress Meghan Markle on Saturday, May 19. The news coverage has mostly been glowing. Does the media never get fed up with the term “fairy tale?” Apparently not. But when they get back from their honeymoon,
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Study: Climate Change Skeptics More Eco-Friendly Than Believers 0
- Science
- May 11, 2018
It’s usually assumed that climate change skeptics simply don’t care about the environment. If they did, as the reasoning goes, they would accept the science that climate change is primarily man-made and support government measures designed to curb it. But a recent study has found that climate change skeptics are actually more likely to engage in
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Do Barn Weddings Diminish the Solemnity of Marriage?1