Articles for tag: G.K. Chesterton

June 14, 2020

Open for Business . . . No Laughing Matter?

By Alan Scott In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis in April, I met a good friend at a restaurant because we could. We needed to. But nobody else was there. I felt fear and dread still creeping through the streets as I trekked toward our favorite eatery. A masked host seated us at properly distanced chairs outside on a patio. Apparently, innumerable state restrictions allowed restaurants to open, but with all the fun taken out. It was weird. But sitting outside in the warm sun and laughing wasn’t weird. I thought of Paul’s great theological words, “Rejoice in the

December 31, 2015

Christian Standard

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

The Spiritual Discipline of Play?

By Joe Boyd Last week I sat across from a good friend and trusted adviser at a LaRosa”s Pizzeria in Cincinnati. (He”s also a clinical psychologist, so I can sometimes get therapy for the price of a pizza.) I was telling him all the good things that were causing anxiety in my life: my growing kids, growing business, and growing church responsibilities. He looked at me and asked, “What are you doing for fun?” Almost without thinking, I replied, “I don”t have time for fun at this time in my life.” His look said it all. I knew the glaring

November 30, 2015

Christian Standard

Culture & Public Square Race

Why White Christians Just Don”t Get It

By Brian Jones If you”re angrier with rioters for looting and pillaging than with the event that preceded it””the killing of an unarmed black man by police officers””there”s a really good chance you just don”t get it. Let me explain. One of my favorite memories growing up was going to the police station with my grandfather, who was a Franklin County sheriff in Columbus, Ohio. He pretended to lock me up in cells, fed me prison food, introduced me to all the guards, and allowed me to sit in his cruiser and turn the siren on. My grandfather was a

October 29, 2015

Christian Standard

Apologetics & Worldview

Choosing the Best Story

By Joe Boyd The world is a dangerous place. Issues like extremist terrorism, systemic racism, and constant political backbiting seem insurmountable. As a Christian, I believe there is a way through God to a better future. But how? Where is that way? And how do I walk in it? I”ve come to believe that the kingdom (the Way of Jesus) comes in only one form: story. The problems I see associated with the world today all boil down to the big stories, the metanarratives we all live within. For many people, the biggest story they live inside is their personal

March 19, 2012

Christian Standard

Colleges & Seminaries Organizations & Events

What Good Is a College Education These Days?

By LeRoy Lawson With ever larger numbers of college alumni running the country, and not doing such a good job of it, what good is a college degree, anyhow? Are colleges just cranking out more dumb people with diplomas? A friend recently asked my opinion of the “dumbing down of America.” He was referring to the general agreement that, in spite of record numbers of college graduates out there, Americans as a whole appear to be less civil, less informed, less able to reason, and less articulate than ever. (Even the term “dumbing down” is evidence, isn”t it? Is there