Faith Reminds Us of the Limits of Politics Cherie Harder Thursday, June 9, 2016 Editors' Note: This article first appeared in Patheos online and is part of the Patheos Public Square on Faith and the Election. You can find the article here. Faith inevitably shapes politics. It cannot be otherwise, as faith speaks to
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Valuing Vocabulary Cherie Harder Friday, May 20, 2016 "Political chaos is connected with the decay of language... one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end." —George Orwell. The institution of “Newspeak”—a flattening of language to collapse moral, aesthetic, and analytical distinctions, and reduce the sublime, beautiful, brave, kind,
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Noise, Hell & Healing Cherie Harder Wednesday, March 2, 2016 There is a certain appropriateness to Super Tuesday falling mid-way through the Lenten season – an illustration of the attention-grabbing demands and distractions of the world around us in a time traditionally dedicated to spiritual reflection. If Lent encourages silence and solitude, presidential campaigns
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A Shocking Lack of Solitude Cherie Harder Wednesday, January 21, 2015 "All of man’s troubles stem from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone." -- Pascal It is a truth long acknowledged that it is not good for man to be alone. But new research suggests that our aversion to solitude
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Reading, Reflection, and Redemption Randy Robertson Thursday, May 29, 2014 Dilemma: A Forum For Transformation in Prison Here in the Tomoka maximum security prison outside Daytona Beach, roaring car engines from the distant superspeedway call out to the inmates inside during race weeks. The sound of swaying palm fronds past the razor wire can
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The Greatest Story Ever Told Cherie Harder Friday, April 18, 2014 The power of story is getting unlikely attention. In a fascinating collaboration, literary scholars and neuroscientists have teamed up to explore the physiological impact that stories have on the human brain. A recent Wall Street Journal article by Allison Gopnik entitled “Want a Mind Meld?
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Readers, Viewers, and Players Cherie Harder Monday, February 24, 2014 "We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us." - Marshall McLuhan Sometimes sales data can provide useful insights into what we as a society value, and how we are changing. Compare, for example, sales of last
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The Singularity of Grace Cherie Harder Monday, December 23, 2013 In What's So Amazing About Grace? author Phillip Yancey recounts: During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of
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Thinking About Thanksgiving Cherie Harder Tuesday, November 26, 2013 "In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 The Bible is not subtle in its calls for thanksgiving. Repeatedly, urgently, and throughout its many books the reader is urged to "give thanks to the Lord, for
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Evening Conversation with Andy Crouch Cherie Harder Thursday, October 24 2013 The Trinity Forum recently hosted an Evening Conversation with Andy Crouch -- editor of Christianity Today and author of "Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power." In the talk, Crouch talked about how, from the beginning, God has a plan to move things from good, to
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