Entertainment dominates modern life. It is everywhere. And yet, Christians don’t seem to talk about it enough. We study doctrine and other key areas of Christian living, but a biblically sound, God-honoring theology of entertainment seems to be missing from the discussion. Oh, there’s plenty of reactionary discussion, i.e. whether […]
Home Away from Home
I recently returned to the United States after a year on the mission field. I grew up on that mission field, so it is coming to the U.S.A. that is always a bit of an adjustment. When people say, “Welcome home!” it usually doesn’t compute. However, when I was standing […]
Count the Cost–and Then Go!
When I was seven years old, my dad got sick. He never got better. I remember one day, years later, I was sitting upstairs in our house when a memory struck me. Daddy, healthy and strong, playing with me. Startled, I realized that my siblings (all younger than me), could […]
A Christian Philosophy of Writing Fiction: God’s Reality
In Part 1, What to Do with Sin, I discussed objectionable elements in fiction, and three reasons that writers tend to include them: for realism, for hedonistic purposes, and to further an agenda (for or against). Using principles from God’s Word, I evaluated whether or not these reasons are valid […]
A Christian Philosophy of Writing Fiction: What to Do with Sin
We all know good stories, the ones that endure, that break your heart and change your life—that get told and re-told across centuries, ones children beg for at bedtime. Stories are powerful. No one denies this. They strike deep, and they linger; they enchant, and they slap us with reality; […]
Forever a Foreigner?
It was the day of opening ceremonies for the new school year. Every student stood in the dusty school yard, dressed in white shirts and black or blue pants/skirts. The late morning sun beat down hot on the branches of the huge, spreading tamarind trees that overshadowed us. Several speakers […]