Colonel Jessep was right about something else. He told Lieutenant Kaffee that Santiago’s death, “while tragic, probably saved lives.” In scripture, suffering and salvation share a connection. Seeing it requires a deep and wide understanding of salvation.

Colonel Jessep was right about a few things. Setting aside his gross arrogance, Jessep was correct in correcting Lieutenant Kaffee. There is a luxury in not knowing some things. There is truth we cannot handle. For Christians, the question of why God allows suffering is one of those truths. The practice of Lent helps us…

American Christians are generally a happy lot – but don’t act very holy. Surveys indicate American believers behave about as badly as those who don’t attend church. There are all sorts of contributors to this calamity, but how many consider architecture’s role?

Adults are big babies. So says Mark Johnson in his fabulous book, The Meaning of the Body. Johnson says babies are born into the world as squirming creatures. This is how they learn. So do adults – which seems to explain why so many get so little out of their education.

With Steven Spielberg’s film “Lincoln” expected to garner many Academy Awards, it’s worth remembering why the 16th President of the United States proved to be so persuasive. Lincoln’s appeal lies in his use of a rhetorical device – a pattern of speech that’s almost impossible to use anymore.

On this date in 1790, the Religious Society of Friends, better known as Quakers, petitioned the U.S. Congress for the abolition of slavery. They were mostly ignored. Parliament reacted in similar fashion to British Quaker abolitionists. What went wrong?

When a young woman asked Benjamin Franklin what the Constitutional Convention had achieved, he replied: “A republic, Madame – if you can keep it.” Franklin recognized the American experiment in self-government could fail. But it was Thomas Jefferson who recognized what failure might look like.

U2’s Bono says he’s learning “a humbling thing” – the importance of capitalism. He’s actually playing catch up. The same goes for Whole Foods co-CEO John Mackey, Bill Gates, and Michael Porter. They’re all catching up to Christianity’s take on capitalism.

“The instant I saw the picture my mouth fell open.” When James Watson first saw X-ray diffraction pictures of DNA, he sensed he was on to something big. When Iain McGilchrist observes how the human brain’s two hemispheres operate, he feels the same way. What does he see?

When Mohan Srivastava discovered a couple of old lottery tickets, he wondered if he had any winners. Tickets became treasure when he discovered they revealed a code. Jesus said people treasure the kingdom when they discover it. The gospel is a code waiting to be discovered. Why then do so few Christians today evangelize this…