By Scott Keith –
*Dear Readers:
Mrs. Rachel Francisco is the author of this blog. She is the wife of Dr. Adam Francisco and mother of four. I consider it an honor to take the opportunity to give up my regular spot to give others a “shot” at making their voice public.
Rachel has done so beautifully here. I ask you to consider her words and leave her feedback. In my opinion, she is a natural writer. Her words should not be ignored
By Jeff Mallinson –
This week, I have the privilege of speaking at the Christ Hold Fast Conference in Orlando, Florida. I’ll be talking about the ways in which Luther’s call is for us all to become theologians of the cross. This is no mere academic concept. It is a revolution in the way we think about religion and theology itself. Theologians of glory seek to reach God through their own effort. Theologians of the cross receive the grace of God, accomplished by Christ alone. All of this is outside of us, and insists that there is no good speculative theology: we must approach the divine only through the Incarnate One who was crucified for our sake.
By Daniel van Voorhis –
I am not a sociologist nor am I a theologian. So please, if you could answer my question down here at the level of a guy wondering: why does it seem that so many conservative gentlemen (or many who want to revive a culture of some refinement) seem like misogynists?
Alright, I just rolled a grenade out by using the “M” word. No one likes it. I could have used the “F” word and wondered why some are afraid of it- but that debate has played itself out.
It seems to me that theological and political conservatism has attached itself to a kind of Mad Men swagger.
By Jaime Nava –
When I was a buzz-headed lad growing up with my similarly shorn siblings, we would all gather around the Nintendo and play some of the most frustrating games I have ever seen. Granted it could be that we were too young to actually understand a specific game like, say, Metal Gear. It could also be that some games were just too incredibly difficult. People actually have a term for this: Nintendo Hard. These were games that were so difficult they were nearly impossible. It was the kind of thing that caused many a kiddo to hurl the remote control in an original rage quit. Games like Contra and Double Dragon come to mind. To be honest, I can’t recall all of them; but Nintendo was hard, okay?
By Caleb Keith –
This year upperclassmen at high schools around the country will partake in a new round of SAT testing. The major difference from previous iterations is an emphasis on reading comprehension. Students will be facing a more thorough integration of moderately advanced language including words like anthropology, Madagascar, and femur. Use of proper language is the binding feature of the high school disciplines.
By Joel Hess –
Americans eat like animals
“Whoever is slothful will not roast his game.” Proverbs 12:27
What you do around food betrays what you think about yourself and the world, your weltanschauung as the Germans like to say. As Solomon observed above, the fool cannot wait to roast his catch. He just digs right in…like an animal. Don’t be a fool.
By Jeff Mallinson –
What do we mean when we call something good or bad, whether in aesthetics or ethics? These days, it seems that children tend to have a quicker and more genuine response. The rest of us these days, find locating goodness, truth, and beauty far more problematic.
By Jaime Nava –
In a plethora of video games armor is a thing. Many times it’s like the Medieval era with different pieces for the head, feet, hands, chest. There are of course other accessories too. In many games, although the armor’s properties are identical, it looks completely different between the male and female characters. Even worse, when it is worn by female characters it is often skimpy and revealing.
By Jeff Mallinson –
“If it were easy someone would have explained The Way to the ruler,” so says the ancient Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi. He was right. Even with educated advisors, experts, and commentators, no one really seems to know what’s going on. The nations rage. World leaders seem incapable of keeping up with complex conflicts of our age.
By Daniel van Voorhis –
The Jagged Word has its first scoop of the new year! We tracked down these, well, unflattering pictures of some of the hottest stars on the planet RIGHT NOW! Whether it is celebrities in their “not quite ready for summer” beach bods or an “A”-lister stopping at the local market in jeans and hoodie, we have, over the next few pages, discovered that some of these celebrities are JUST like us!
By Bob Hiller –
King Solomon, or was it Roger McGuinn, once said, “There is…a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” This week is a time to laugh and dance in Los Angeles as the NFL is returning. On the same day in 1946 that the Cleveland Rams were relocated to the City of Angels, the NFL owners voted 30-2 for a time to pluck up the St. Louis Rams and for a time to plant them back in Los Angeles.
By Graham Glover –
I’m a stubborn person. According to my wife, I have a tendency to be too stubborn. “You need to lighten up” she says from time to time.
I admit that I could “chill out” of some things. I’m no care-free, fly by the seat of my pants type guy, but I know that life doesn’t always need to be so serious and intense.
However, on one issue I will not budge
By Daniel van Voorhis –
It is the first day back to school, or the day of a job interview or meeting, or a first date. Maybe it is just going to a party with people who dig talking about things that intimidate you? We might be nervous on all sorts of levels. This anxiety comes from a number of sources. Will I fit in? Will I say the right thing? Will I be dressed appropriately?
By Scott Keith –
Recently, I had a discussion with a good friend regarding the nature of beauty. He recalled a frequent argument he has had with another friend. The nature of their argument sought to answer if music can be categorized into bad, good, better, and best. In other words, can it be said that Bach is better than the Beatles or that the Beatles are better than Bach?
By Jaime Nava –
For you Windows users who click on the blue “E” to access the internet, you’d better get ready. At the middle of this month, if you’re not using Internet Explorer 11 (the latest version), then you won’t receive technical support from Micro$oft for your browser anymore. What kind of impact does this have?
By Jeff Mallinson –
Urgency leads us to wake up and get busy. That’s not a bad thing. Ours is an era of urgency, because of the increasingly rapid speed of change in technology, the economy, politics, and international strife. Nonetheless, urgency can distract us from threats that, while far ahead on the horizon, may be more important than the things that are right in front of us.
By Scott Keith –
“The ritual of an Inklings was unvarying. When half a dozen or so had arrived, tea would be produced, and then when pipes were well alight Jack would say, ‘well has nobody got anything to read us?’ Out would come a manuscript, and we would settle down to sit in judgment upon it––real unbiased judgment, too, since we were no mutual admiration society: praise for good work was unstinted, but censure for bad work––or even not so good work––was often brutally frank. To read to the Inklings was a formidable ordeal.”
By Caleb Keith –
It is the dawn of a New Year, and the internet is filled with recaps of this 2015’s biggest news stories. Disasters and happy endings flood social media as everyone waits for the blank slate that is the new year.
By Cindy Koch –
Imagine a world where the tensions and distinctions between man and woman have disappeared.
By Daniel van Voorhis –
One of the great ironies of holding the moniker “the man about town” is that I really dislike parties and being out and about in groups of people.
