Month: July 2013

Live a life of gratitude, but don’t forget about duty

My perception of the Christian community today is that we are largely imperative driven. We major on the ‘ought to’ and ‘how to’ with little regard for that which makes us ‘want to.’ But the...

/ July 31, 2013

Dancing lessons from Pope Francis

On Monday, on a flight from Rio de Janeiro back to Rome, Pope Francis talked with reporters for over an hour. At one point, he was asked about the “gay lobby” in the Vatican and...

/ July 30, 2013

All the science fiction I read was wrong

Everyone knows the basic premise. There’s a problem in the universe and The Big Bad Government is at the heart of it. Star Wars has the sith-ruled Galactic Empire, 1984 has the mind-controlling Big Brother,...

/ July 29, 2013

The importance of stupidity, singleness and Sunday school

“The importance of stupidity in scientific research,” in the Journal of Cell Science is an old article that will comfort any aspiring scientists. In fact, anyone who has ever felt lost, asked a question or...

/ July 26, 2013

Word Counts and Other Distractions

I’ve wasted hours upon hours looking up word counts. Finally, I made a list. I want to share what I’ve found so that you won’t waste time looking yourself. Here are the numbers on highly-praised...

/ July 25, 2013

The Bright Side of an Unchristian Nation

An unchristian nation I have never subscribed to the view that the United States is a Christian nation. It isn’t now, and I submit it never was. It’s true that many of the founders were...

/ July 24, 2013

‘Animals Inside Out’ and 10 Facts About the Way Their Bodies Work

You have probably heard of the “Body Worlds” exhibit that travels from museum to museum around the world. If you haven’t, here’s the gist: Cadavers have been stripped of skin to reveal what goes on...

/ July 23, 2013

Audio evidence from the Zimmerman trial for the death of Trayvon Martin

The trial of George Zimmerman, accused in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, has once again lifted debates of race relations, gun policy and the legitimacy of state laws to the highest levels in...

/ July 22, 2013

A Public Faith

This morning, Park Community Church in Chicago held a public baptism of 103 of its members in the waters of Lake Michigan. The event drew perhaps 500 spectators, mostly church congregants, at 7:00 a.m. to...

/ July 22, 2013

Pakistan, Baseball, and Joe Biden

“Malala’s forgotten sisters” is a piece in Foreign Policy that made me want to go to Pakistan and do something, anything, about the abuse and forced marriages of the country’s daughters. Seventy percent of Pakistani girls are...

/ July 21, 2013