Ransom Fellowship - Articles

Reclaiming Toothpaste

2012-02-22T00:00:00Z

“Dude!! You need to chill!” I don’t ordinarily talk like this, calling someone “Dude.” It’s pretentious for a woman my age. But it seemed appropriate at the time. I had to shout to get Denis’ attention because he was flipping out.

Phlox: A Natural History and Gardener's Guide (James H. Locklear, 2001)

2012-02-20T00:00:00Z

Phlox is a fine book, and even if it doesn’t make you a gardener it will give a reason to be glad, a reason to be grateful, a reason—61 reasons, actually—to look with greater care at the plants we tend to brush by without a second glance.

Resolutions Not Made

2012-02-20T00:00:00Z

I’d like to be a better listener. Sometimes I think that the best single phrase summary of my life would be “learning to hear.”

Comfort Ye My People: A Solace for Any Man's Heart

2012-02-20T00:00:00Z

I sometimes wonder about the meaning and worth of what I do. Or have done. I often feel small and insignificant. Perhaps I should have gone to law school or herded sheep. Sometimes I complain that all I do is grind coffee beans and update my status on Facebook.

Friends With Benefits (Will Gluck, 2011)

2011-12-27T00:00:00Z

Here the nature of the relationship—friend with benefits—plays the role of protagonist. Willing cynicism, feigning cosmopolitan sophistication, lamenting one’s emotional brokenness… none of this changes the embodied fact that sex is always more than sex. Sex creates an emotional bond.

A Beautiful Woman

2011-12-27T00:00:00Z

The Hebrews pictured Wisdom and Folly as women (see, e.g., Proverbs 3-9), a metaphor sometimes assumed to be merely misogynist and so dismissed in an age that knows better.

The Imperfectionists (Tom Rachman, 2010)

2011-12-14T00:00:00Z

Arthur’s cubicle used to be near the watercooler, but the bosses tired of having to chat with him each time they got thirsty. So the watercooler stayed and he was moved. Now his desk is in a distant corner, as far from the locus of power as possible but nearer the cupboard of pens, which is a consolation.

When Musicians Raise Questions About Faith (IV)

2011-12-14T00:00:00Z

Enter Monsters of Folk. Their music doesn’t just grab your attention—it demands that you pay close attention. The music matches the message as well as any band I have ever listened to.

The Discerning Life: Internalizing the Scriptures

2011-12-14T00:00:00Z

"We live today in a world impoverished of story; so it is not surprising that many of us have picked up the bad habit of extracting ‘truths’ from the stories we read..."

Notes From Toad Hall Gift List 2011

2011-11-14T00:00:00Z

Each year Margie makes a few suggestions you might consider giving to someone you know and love. True, you won’t find them equally appealing, and, yes, her tastes are probably questionable (although who doesn’t need Common Prayer?)

The Conspirator (Robert Redford, 2010)

2011-10-27T00:00:00Z

The belief that there is one set of rules that apply equally to all our citizens, regardless of race, sex, or social standing, has never been as true in practice as we like to pretend it is.

The Cross and the Wide World

2011-10-27T00:00:00Z

“If we prove ourselves good citizens of His here [on earth],” Polycarp wrote to the Philippians in the second century, “we shall reign with him hereafter, if we have faith.” Faith and works together.

Discerning Life: God, Jehovah, and Allah

2011-10-20T00:00:00Z

Some will object to the notion that Christians, Jews, and Muslims are members of the same household or family, while others will be comfortable with this language, insisting that semantics should not stand in the way of learning from one another. Praying with the Earth is written so as to be acceptable to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim believers.

True Grit (Coen Brothers, 2011)

2011-10-20T00:00:00Z

True Grit is a classic western with all the elements of the journey story. Both Rooster and Mattie (and LaBouef to some degree) develop in the movie, not just in our eyes as revealing character they already contained, but as changing, learning to trust others, learning humility, learning friendship. Even as they persevere in the face of repeated challenges, they begin to trust each other, realizing they cannot do alone everything worth doing in life.

The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)

2011-09-16T00:00:00Z

“The medium is the message,” i.e., how the story in The Tree of Life is told is what the story is about. Life often seems beautiful, but is apparently random and disjointed. Rarely does it make sense to us as we’d like it to. In this regard Malick’s film is certainly honest, if not encouraging.

NEW!! Margie's Stuff: Collections of Essays, Audio Recordings, and Recipes by Margie Haack

2011-09-14T00:00:00Z

"Margie's Stuff" is a new sub-site of Ransom Fellowship that gives access to her work and writing: enter here

Alison Krauss: Paper Airplane (2011)

2011-09-14T00:00:00Z

I am not a musicologist nor am I a musician, so this is just a wild guess but I would not be surprised if most music the world over celebrates love or mourns its loss. Nothing else comes so close so quickly to touch the human condition in all its joy and pain.

Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Hannah Arendt, 1963)
An Ordinary Man (Paul Rusesabagina, 2006)

2011-09-14T00:00:00Z

Eichmann was not a monster, Arendt says; he was “a clown.” He had a “horrible gift for consoling himself with clichés.”

The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)

2011-08-16T00:00:00Z

Occasionally films are released for which money and effort seemed to be poured into everything but the story—Avatar (2009) comes to mind—and the fact the story is the primary point is painfully obvious, but Terrence Malick uses the screen more like a painter would a succession of canvases.

On Keeping On

2011-08-16T00:00:00Z

May those who need work find it, and may more opportunities for meaningful employment open up. May true leaders arise who are willing to tackle the big issues, instead of using rhetoric to merely ensure their own political advantage. And may we live lives of deep thankfulness for whatever we receive.

Media Bias and Nurturing Wisdom

2011-08-16T00:00:00Z

It would be very comforting to take solace in the idea that whichever perspective rankles us the most must have been the result of willful manipulation of facts by the media outlet in question. This sort of thinking leaves us in our happy-place where our own ideas are firmly rooted in reality and where contrary opinions are maintained only through ignorance and deceit.

Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee Boy (Carlos Eire, 2010)

2011-07-28T00:00:00Z

ire tells a story that is as painful as it is hopeful, a narrative that is unlike anything I have ever experienced and yet accessible because it partakes of the essential vitality of what it means to be human in a badly broken world. It is a story that needed to be told. And it is a story that must never be forgotten.

The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010)

2011-07-19T00:00:00Z

Anyone who watches The Social Network and can’t relate to the pain of Mark’s failed relationships is either a liar or has led a charmed life.

Leaving All, Gaining All

2011-07-19T00:00:00Z

Gay people are not uniquely broken—that’s a position we share with every other human who has ever lived, or will live—but we are, nonetheless, broken. And following Jesus means turning our backs on a life of sexual sin, just as it does for every other Christian.

The Glory of God (Morgan and Peterson, 2010)

2011-06-28T00:00:00Z

This is theology written from a high view of Scripture, embedded in the grand tradition of orthodoxy preserved in the church over the last 2000 years.

The Museum of Innocence (Orhan Pamuk, 2008/9)

2011-06-28T00:00:00Z

Tensions are real, cutting through neighborhoods and families, and no one is certain how to reconcile the opposing perspectives in the wider society. This tension, animating debate and unease in Turkish society, becomes deeply personal in The Museum of Innocence. Kemal, the young protagonist, is about to be engaged to Sibel, does not want to live in a world bounded by religious regulations but finds the autonomy of modernity strangely unsettling.

Summer Shorts

2011-06-03T00:00:00Z

In a moment of general regret my husband said: “I’m sorry.” He was looking at me with tears in his eyes. I thought he was referring to the way he ignored me when I asked him to read another version of this letter. But, no, his apology was about our IRA. “You deserved so much better than this. I haven’t made any money at all for us.” I could’ve said something gooshy, but without thinking, I chose to be wry. “Ah, but You deserved so much better: A woman who could diet and have sex everyday.

Considering Arguments Against

2011-05-19T00:00:00Z

If I want to hear the best, the strongest argument against Christian faith wouldn’t it be better to read something written by a thoughtful disbeliever, rather than reading a summary of their thinking filtered through the mind of a believer in the midst of a sustained argument for the faith?

Being Serious About Playing

2011-05-19T00:00:00Z

When was the last time you were serious about playing? Or more specifically, when was the last time you went snow sledding? When was the last time you raked some leaves and then jumped in them?

Loving Accountability or Burdensome Legalism?

2011-05-18T00:00:00Z

Being accountable isn’t what we wake up every morning to have—we wake up yearning to be autonomous. Being autonomous is the default mode, being intentionally accountable comes only with wisdom shaped by grace.

Hindrances to Communication

2011-04-17T00:00:00Z

Being fallen means our minds are never fully dependable, and our autonomous hearts are always attracted to whatever ideas seems to make us the center of the universe, even though it sets us adrift to be, in Walker Percy’s memorable phrase, lost in the cosmos.

Trust and Safety

2011-04-15T00:00:00Z

“By nature the heart is like a troubled sea, casting forth the foam of anger and wrath. Now meekness calms the passions. It sits as moderator in the soul, quieting and giving check to its distempered motions.” - Thomas Watson

Psalms in the Dark

2011-03-30T00:00:00Z

After supper on Wednesday I began my third Sudoku with a jaunty confidence. Two and a half hours later Denis begged me to please come to bed.

The Reason for God: Questions for Discussion (II)

2011-03-30T00:00:00Z

Ransom Fellowship has prepared detailed reflection and discussion questions for each section and chapter of the book.

127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2010)

2011-03-23T00:00:00Z

According to this movie, it’s not that “Please help me” is more significant than “I love you.” Rather, “Please help me” is itself a form of “I love you.” The two cries belong together.

The King's Speech (Tom Hooper, 2010)

2011-03-23T00:00:00Z

The King’s Speech is rated R because of a scene in which Lionel encourages Bertie to curse extemporaneously. The result is one of the most delightfully vulgar things I’ve ever seen on film.

Winter's Bone (Debra Granik, 2010)

2011-03-23T00:00:00Z

Ree Dolly is a woman of the land; she knows her world, and longs for no other.

The Arabs (Eugene Rogan, 2009)

2011-03-23T00:00:00Z

Bound by a common identity grounded in language and history, the Arabs are all the more fascinating for their diversity. They are one people and many peoples at the same time.

Poetry: Fireflies and Dust

2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

Make College Count: A Faithful Guide to Life and Learning (Derek Melleby, 2011)

2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

This is not a book by someone who has burrowed away into a library and done research but someone who has read widely, sunk deep roots into Scripture, reflected wisely, and hung out with young adults, listening, learning, talking, and praying.

Of Pilgrims and Fire: When God Shows Up at the Movies (Roy Anker, 2010)

2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

Within the human’s relentless curiosity, though, the most urgent question of all is the one about what will happen to one’s own self, fragile and mortal, and for what reasons and purposes it will happen. That is the deep mystery to which stories speak.

Listening to Critics: when musicians raise questions about faith (III)

2011-03-11T00:00:00Z

There is in all of us a deep yearning for freedom, a freedom that we know is our true destiny even though we can’t quite name the slavery that has us in its grip and that has torn the freedom from us. We wish to be ourselves and to be free—a double grace that always seems just a little out of reach.

Offhanded Joy

2011-01-30T00:00:00Z

One reason God made children is because they’re gifted at making offhanded joy in the midst of some pretty intense circumstances.

Over the Rainbow

2011-01-25T00:00:00Z

Something died in the guts of our house. As it ripened and decayed, Denis searched for it in among the cobwebs hanging behind the furnace and over the walls of the ancient stone cistern of the basement.

What The Bleep Do I Know?

2011-01-24T00:00:00Z

“Are you from the Unitarian Church?” A small, dark-haired woman drinking a soy latte and holding a copy of Enlightenment magazine smiled encouragingly at me. Others seated around the table at Dunn Bros Coffee shop stared at me and waited.

Church centered, not church occupied

2011-01-22T00:00:00Z

I agree with Cyprian (200/210-258) who said that an individual “cannot have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother.”

Tsunami Crash

2011-01-21T00:00:00Z

My husband may have had cause to find a concubine. Of course, I would have ignored the cause and made him my ticket to martyrdom followed by sainthood.

Handel's Messiah

2011-01-20T00:00:00Z

To be too busy for good music is to be too busy.

Revolution in the Air: The songs of Bob Dylan, 1957-1973
Still On the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1974-2006 (Clinton Heylin, 2009/10)

2011-01-18T00:00:00Z

It is the poets who have always provided a way to sort the significant from the meaningless, a way to see the glimmers of light hidden in the shadows of our dark world.

Reading the Word: Calvin on offense

2011-01-11T00:00:00Z

Loving weaker sisters and brothers must be such a priority that we willingly forgo our freedom for their sake. This does not mean, however, that we are therefore at the mercy of all who might claim “offense.”

The Discerning Life: Loving People

2011-01-10T00:00:00Z

In The Mark of the Christian, Francis Schaeffer insisted that love was to be the essential, primary characteristic of Christians, actually setting us apart from the rest of humanity.

Calvin and Culture: Exploring a Worldview (David W. Hall and Marvin Padgett, 2010)

2011-01-10T00:00:00Z

The gospel has in fact motivated God's people to care for widows and orphans, to build hospitals, to paint and sculpt, to oppose tyranny, to take God's Word to the ends of the world.

Away From Her (Sarah Polley, 2006)

2011-01-06T00:00:00Z

It is one thing to be alone and lost; to be within sight of home and safety and not have memory to recognize it is to be lost without hope of finding our way.

The Discerning Life: Should Christians wear this sh**t?

2011-01-06T00:00:00Z

It is so easy in our freedom-of-speech country to flippantly speak out against authority and those in positions of leadership. This nonchalant attitude has so influenced the church to a point that we don't think twice about what we say (or wear) when it comes to Christ.

Science, Creation and the Bible: Reconciling Rival Theories of Origins (Richard F. Carlson and Tremper Longman III, 2010)

2011-01-05T00:00:00Z

If, therefore, we are to learn lessons from the past, it is neither for conservatives to deny the evidence of nature, nor for liberals to deny the evidence of Scripture, but for all of us to re-examine our interpretations of both

Bible Reading Program for Slackers & Shirkers

2010-12-23T00:00:00Z

I have cheated, skipped, lied, and given up on every other Read-Through-The-Bible-in-a-Year program. Although it may take two years, this is the only one I can do.

Lost Sparrow (Chris Billing, 2009)

2010-11-18T00:00:00Z

Chris Billing is an unassuming man, a journalist and documentarian who cares enough for the truth that he is willing to pursue it even at personal cost.

Get Low (Aaron Schneider, 2009)

2010-11-18T00:00:00Z

Get Low admirably scratches the itch without satisfying it. It stirs up the dust just enough to make us curious. It’s a tale that needs to be told. Would that more filmmakers, especially those who are believers, learn to tell it as well.

Talking Can Be Wrong

2010-11-18T00:00:00Z

Words can hurt. Having childhood tears dismissed with sarcasm, “real men don’t cry,” proved that to me early in life. Even truthful words can hurt.

Snow (Orhan Pamuk, 2002)

2010-11-18T00:00:00Z

The story of Snow is deceptively simple, the plot animated by dialogue in a small town cut off from the rest of the world by a snow storm that blankets the landscape in white.

American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood (Marc Eliot, 2009)

2010-11-18T00:00:00Z

Clint Eastwood is one of the master storytellers of my generation, and I am grateful for the hours of conversation he has prompted through the films he has made. His movies like his life are a reminder that we live in a world where injustice is rampant and where the yearning for justice that resides deep inside is loudly insistent. Something is wrong, we know it, and we hope for something better. It’s called redemption. In one way, that’s all Clint Eastwood is about.

Belief: Readings on the Reason for Faith (Francis Collins, 2010)

2010-11-18T00:00:00Z

Occasionally a book is published that provides us a shortcut so we can dip into a variety of works quickly. Francis Collins, geneticist, director of the National Institutes of Health, and author of The Language of God provides us with just that in Belief: Readings on the Reason for Faith. He draws together excerpts from the writings of 32 thinkers reflecting on belief, reason, and faith giving us a rich variety of essays to prompt reflection—and perhaps more reading as we go back to the original to read more.

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition (Daniel Okrent, 2010)

2010-11-18T00:00:00Z

Last Call provides us with a lively opportunity to reflect anew on what shape our citizenship should take, especially when our neighbors hold convictions very different from our own. To what extent should my beliefs—whether religious or moral—be assumed to be for the common good?

The Civil Wars: Poison and Wine (2010)

2010-11-18T00:00:00Z

The Poison & Wine EP consists of only four songs, and it makes you yearn for more. The vocals are clear, the melodies lovely, the harmonies effortless, and the performance is simple yet sufficient for the songs to make their way into your heart.

The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology (Kevin J. Vanhoozer, 2005)

2010-11-12T00:00:00Z

Wheaton College theologian Kevin Vanhoozer proposes that Christian faithfulness includes what he calls canon sense. It’s practical biblical wisdom for choosing and living faithfully in a fallen world, demonstrating grace even in novel situations. Like common sense, it is learned in living, with a mentor who sees and lives life in deeply biblical categories and for whom faithfulness is a way of life. Canon sense is what attracted me to Francis Schaeffer in the Sixties.

Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)

2010-09-02T00:00:00Z

Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an Extractor, a thief who makes his living by entering the dreams of others and stealing their ideas. It is quite a lucrative business, but for him it has several downsides: it’s dangerous and, thus, exciting (for us if not for him); it cuts him off from his family for reasons you should learn only by watching the movie; it is confusing. The last in Nolan’s opinion may be the worst.

Discernment 301: From Story to Drama

2010-09-02T00:00:00Z

Like the exiles in Babylon we find ourselves in uncharted territory as the culture in which we are ordained to live becomes more pluralistic and post-Christian. Uncharted in terms of a list of proof-texts that provide rules for every circumstance, that is, but not unscripted. We have a script and can learn to live in it so completely that we see everything in terms of it—even issues and questions that go beyond the details of the script. Anything less cuts us off from God’s word of grace—and whether this involves being reactionary or being non-committed and withdrawn, as we are reminded in the opening poem of the Psalter, both lead to spiritual drought, not human flourishing. This is what C. S. Lewis was referring to when he said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” Just as the exiles in Babylon could know they had not been abandoned by God, so we can live in the assurance that the love of God as expressed in the living Word, the Lord Christ and in the written Word, the Scriptures, is unchanged, and will remain so, world without end.

Postville I: Undocumented Workers, Immigration & Justice.

2010-09-02T00:00:00Z

Everything changed for Postville on a morning in May.

Listening to Critics: When Musicians Raise Questions About Faith (II)

2010-09-02T00:00:00Z

Really good music, of every genre, is always about more than mere entertainment. The musician expresses realities that are best communicated through metaphor, sound, poetry, and the allusive beauty of art. When we truly receive the music rather than just casually listen, we end up seeing more deeply into life, in part or in whole, for blessing or for curse.

Postville II: The Discerning Life

2010-09-02T00:00:00Z

Many Christians (and non-Christians) argue that the word “illegal” before the word “immigrant” tells us all we need to know. They are, by definition, criminals.

Youth In Revolt (Miguel Arteta, 2010)

2010-07-12T00:00:00Z

Based on the irreverent coming-of-age novel by C. D. Payne and directed by Miguel Arteta, Youth in Revolt, doesn’t begin there—with the revolt. Instead it starts benignly, in the bedroom retreat of a teen who knows he’s a misfit.

Bored By Life, By God

2010-07-12T00:00:00Z

I’ve been thinking about what we Christians experience when we read Scripture. On the one hand, we believe it to be God’s revelation of himself, the Story of redemption in Christ that is unfolding in space and time. It is the telling of a gospel, Kevin Vanhoozer says, that “displays a goodness than which nothing greater can be dramatized.” On this creedal level, it’s dramatic.

Learning Evangelism from Jesus (Jerram Barrs, 2009)

2010-07-12T00:00:00Z

In Learning Evangelism from Jesus long-time L’Abri Worker and now Covenant Seminary professor Jerram Barrs walks through the Gospels to let us watch Jesus interact with people, some devout, some questioning, and all lost. His expositions are simple, direct, careful to honor the text, and always with an eye to letting us see Jesus more clearly so we can know what following him actually looks like.

Souls in Transition (Christian Smith, 2009)

2010-07-12T00:00:00Z

Scholarly, carefully researched, and clearly written, Souls in Transition should be read and discussed by Christians who are concerned for the spiritual welfare of the postmodern generation. If I had my way I’d make it required reading for parents, church elders, pastors, teachers, and youth workers.

The Radical Disciple (John Stott, 2010)

2010-07-12T00:00:00Z

Over the years, John Stott’s writings have nourished my soul. His faithful exposition of Scripture, always beguilingly simple, never fails to engage my heart and mind, and always spurs me on to greater obedience and fuller adoration. Now he comes to old age, and he ends his life as he lived it, namely, well.

None Other Lamb, None Other Name: In a Broken World, a Quiet Confidence

2010-07-12T00:00:00Z

It might seem paradoxical, especially today, that a hymn of such gentle sensitivity can be evoked by a vision of the unleashing of God’s final judgment. “None Other Lamb” contains no hint of pride or smirking triumph, neither the elation of one satisfied they are on the right side, or the glee of someone perversely anticipating the writhing of the damned. Instead Rossetti finds comfort in this One who can open the scroll, finding confidence not in her ability to believe but in the Lamb in whom her confidence rests, quietly certain that her Lord, not her suffering and the brokenness of the world, will have the final word.

Avatar: A Review (James Cameron, 2009)

2010-05-11T00:00:00Z

Avatar’s unabashed nature-worship has already been round the block a few times in Hollywood in films from Star Wars to The Lion King. While pantheism’s box-office appeal has been proven, philosophically it’s still lite beer.

Avatar: A Reflection (James Cameron, 2009)

2010-05-11T00:00:00Z

Why has evangelical theology allowed itself to be identified with a political vision that is so horribly “un-green,” so unresponsive and irresponsible about our place in the world?

Glimmers of Light

2010-05-11T00:00:00Z

Most often Light comes not as people would like—such as pure light spread sky-wide in bright neon dazzle— but refracted though an altogether different prism, one simultaneously more ambiguous and more personal, by means of touch or embrace, image or sign, glimpse or gaze, sound or music, beauty or horror, meeting or coincidence, forgiveness or blessing.

Questions for Lost People

2010-05-11T00:00:00Z

Often, Walker Percy says in Lost in the Cosmos, the sense of our predicament arrives in pangs of disappointment that stretch across our entire existence. That is, if we stop being distracted long enough to notice.

A Serious Man (Coen Brothers, 2009)

2010-05-10T00:00:00Z

A Serious Man is loosely based on the book of Job, but instead of three friends, Larry seeks advice from three rabbis: Rabbi Scott offers him a monologue about seeing God in a parking lot; Rabbi Nachtner, a story about a dentist who finds the words “Help me” engraved in Hebrew on the back of a patient’s lower incisors. Rabbi Marshak quotes Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick: “When the truth is found to be lies, and all the joy within you dies.”

Drive By Truckers: The Dirty South (2004)

2010-05-09T00:00:00Z

This album puts a human face on a social stereotype. Like William Faulkner’s depiction of the Bundrens and Snopes, the band uses Southern regionalism as a window on the universal longings of the human heart.

A Guided Walk through The Institutes

2010-05-06T00:00:00Z

Last year a friend heard that I was re-reading John Calvin’s Institutes, and wondered why I would take the time. He said it was a “very confusing” book.

There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2008)

2010-05-05T00:00:00Z

There Will be Blood is a brutally honest, brutally violent film. Greedy souls are dissected in plain view on the screen, hard souls for whom truth is a weapon, wealth is a god, and power is embraced in an unrelenting push to win, regardless of the cost.

Notes Gift List 2009

2009-12-10T00:00:00Z

Here are the Christmas 2009 gift suggestions from Toad Hall. Books, CDs and a bit of iron. Enjoy.

Everything Is Broken

2009-12-07T00:00:00Z

Sometimes the simplest songs are best. I'm not thinking of simplistic music, the sort of mindless jingles that assault us in service of consumerist and religious propaganda. Quite the opposite--I'm thinking of music so finely crafted that it captures a richly nuanced slice of reality without wasting a word or a note.

Hidden Worldviews: Eight Cultural Stories That Shape Our Lives (Steve Wilkins & Mark L. Sanford, 2009)

2009-12-07T00:00:00Z

In a fallen and pluralistic world we are surrounded by beliefs, values, and presuppositions that we hardly ever notice. But noticed or not, they exert a subtle pressure for acceptance.

Bob Dylan, Christmas in the Heart (2009)

2009-12-07T00:00:00Z

Margie and I add to our Toad Hall collection of Christmas music by purchasing one new album each year. So, when I learned Bob Dylan was releasing Christmas in the Heart, this year's selection was guaranteed.

The Road (Cormac McCarthy, 2006)

2009-12-07T00:00:00Z

Hope In The Ashes: They are on a road, alone, surrounded by devastation, blasted by the cold. Houses stand empty, doors ajar, windows broken, floors and ceilings buckling from moisture seeping in from slowly disintegrating roofs.

Reign Over Me (Mike Binder, 2007)

2009-12-07T00:00:00Z

On September 11, 2001, Charlie Fineman was in a taxi en route to JFK airport to meet his family when he heard the first report of an airplane crashing into a building in Manhattan.

Faith At The Edge: A Book for Doubters (Robert Wennberg, 2009)

2009-12-07T00:00:00Z

Regardless of whether you have lived in the dark night of the soul or only heard of it, Faith at the Edge is a rich meditation on the reality that the God who promises to never leave can often seem, for many of us, frustratingly far away for frustratingly long periods of time.

Joyeux Noel! Great Music for the Celebration of Our Lord's Birthday

2009-12-07T00:00:00Z

What of the music of Christmas? Surely it is special, majestic, magical, sweet, peaceful. Suddenly, the ear hears wonderful melody, rich choirs, magnificent orchestras, a plethora of soloist styling’s providing a richness and tranquility often missing the rest of the year.

Heavy Metal In Baghdad (VBS.TV, 2007)

2009-12-07T00:00:00Z

Despite the enthusiastic fan base (albeit small) heavy metal is not a welcome musical style in Iraq. To hard-liners it represents an embrace of Western ideals and thus is frowned upon.

A Deadly Misunderstanding (Mark Siljander, 2008)

2009-12-07T00:00:00Z

Christians and non-Christians often find “bridges” into each others lives through aspects of the culture which they enjoy--films, books, music and literature. When a Christian is faced with developing a relationship with a Muslim we may first look for common cultural interests as well; in doing so, however, we miss the most evident “bridge” before us: Jesus Christ.

Pride of Baghdad (Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon, 2009)

2009-12-07T00:00:00Z

A real incident where animals escaped from the Baghdad zoo becomes the basis for an interesting parable about post-war Iraq.

What makes you afraid?

2009-10-10T00:00:00Z

Hardly a week goes by without some report identifying some threat in the food supply. Experts say that terrorist sleeper cells wait quietly, blending into the background until some nefarious command sets a deadly plan into action. Physicians are certain that given global travel, the question of a deadly worldwide epidemic is not whether, but when. So...What do you fear?

Not Your Average Comic Books

2009-10-01T00:00:00Z

Graphic novels that divulge rich histories and atrocities.

Listening to Critics: When Musicians Raise Questions About Faith (I)

2009-10-01T00:00:00Z

When I share someone’s music I not only hear some of what they are thinking, but gain at least a little sense, a brief glimpse of its significance to the deepest corners of their heart. And that level of communication is a precious gift.

A One-Way Trip Into Space

2009-10-01T00:00:00Z

Throughout history courageous men and women have eagerly set off to explore with no guarantee that they would return home safely afterwards.

A Wedding Homily

2009-10-01T00:00:00Z

You have asked me to muse on the meaning of marriage, and so I will. We take our place in the generations of your families who have over the years and centuries made their own commitments to marriage, commitments that of course have made this day possible.

Ransom Fellowship - Articles

Reclaiming Toothpaste

Phlox: A Natural History and Gardener's Guide (James H. Locklear, 2001)

Resolutions Not Made

Comfort Ye My People: A Solace for Any Man's Heart

Friends With Benefits (Will Gluck, 2011)

A Beautiful Woman

The Imperfectionists (Tom Rachman, 2010)

When Musicians Raise Questions About Faith (IV)

The Discerning Life: Internalizing the Scriptures

Notes From Toad Hall Gift List 2011

The Conspirator (Robert Redford, 2010)

The Cross and the Wide World

Discerning Life: God, Jehovah, and Allah

True Grit (Coen Brothers, 2011)

The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)

NEW!! Margie's Stuff: Collections of Essays, Audio Recordings, and Recipes by Margie Haack

Alison Krauss: Paper Airplane (2011)

Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Hannah Arendt, 1963) An Ordinary Man (Paul Rusesabagina, 2006)

The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)

On Keeping On

Media Bias and Nurturing Wisdom

Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee Boy (Carlos Eire, 2010)

The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010)

Leaving All, Gaining All

The Glory of God (Morgan and Peterson, 2010)

The Museum of Innocence (Orhan Pamuk, 2008/9)

Summer Shorts

Considering Arguments Against

Being Serious About Playing

Loving Accountability or Burdensome Legalism?

Hindrances to Communication

Trust and Safety

Psalms in the Dark

The Reason for God: Questions for Discussion (II)

127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2010)

The King's Speech (Tom Hooper, 2010)

Winter's Bone (Debra Granik, 2010)

The Arabs (Eugene Rogan, 2009)

Poetry: Fireflies and Dust

Make College Count: A Faithful Guide to Life and Learning (Derek Melleby, 2011)

Of Pilgrims and Fire: When God Shows Up at the Movies (Roy Anker, 2010)

Listening to Critics: when musicians raise questions about faith (III)

Offhanded Joy

Over the Rainbow

What The Bleep Do I Know?

Church centered, not church occupied

Tsunami Crash

Handel's Messiah

Revolution in the Air: The songs of Bob Dylan, 1957-1973 Still On the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1974-2006 (Clinton Heylin, 2009/10)

Reading the Word: Calvin on offense

The Discerning Life: Loving People

Calvin and Culture: Exploring a Worldview (David W. Hall and Marvin Padgett, 2010)

Away From Her (Sarah Polley, 2006)

The Discerning Life: Should Christians wear this sh**t?

Science, Creation and the Bible: Reconciling Rival Theories of Origins (Richard F. Carlson and Tremper Longman III, 2010)

Bible Reading Program for Slackers & Shirkers

Lost Sparrow (Chris Billing, 2009)

Get Low (Aaron Schneider, 2009)

Talking Can Be Wrong

Snow (Orhan Pamuk, 2002)

American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood (Marc Eliot, 2009)

Belief: Readings on the Reason for Faith (Francis Collins, 2010)

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition (Daniel Okrent, 2010)

The Civil Wars: Poison and Wine (2010)

The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology (Kevin J. Vanhoozer, 2005)

Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)

Discernment 301: From Story to Drama

Postville I: Undocumented Workers, Immigration & Justice.

Listening to Critics: When Musicians Raise Questions About Faith (II)

Postville II: The Discerning Life

Youth In Revolt (Miguel Arteta, 2010)

Bored By Life, By God

Learning Evangelism from Jesus (Jerram Barrs, 2009)

Souls in Transition (Christian Smith, 2009)

The Radical Disciple (John Stott, 2010)

None Other Lamb, None Other Name: In a Broken World, a Quiet Confidence

Avatar: A Review (James Cameron, 2009)

Avatar: A Reflection (James Cameron, 2009)

Glimmers of Light

Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Hannah Arendt, 1963)
An Ordinary Man (Paul Rusesabagina, 2006)

Revolution in the Air: The songs of Bob Dylan, 1957-1973
Still On the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1974-2006 (Clinton Heylin, 2009/10)