‘He Himself Carried the Fire’ by Kevin D. Williamson

‘He Himself Carried the Fire’

But step away for a moment from the manger scene at the Christmas pageant, which surely does not smell like a real barn smells, and dwell for a moment in the world of real people: the terrified young woman, her uncertain husband-to-be, the worried politician, the simple shepherds and great holy men alike wondering in the backs of their minds if they were maybe kidding themselves, if they might possibly have it all wrong, if they’d misunderstood something along the way. “Be not afraid.” 

Beautiful retelling of an ancient story with a message for me in my own fear and insecurities.

Why There Is Never A Flight 93 Election For Faithful Christians by Lyman Stone

Why There Is Never A Flight 93 Election For Faithful Christians

Now, particularly in this Advent season, faithful Christians basically have one, and only one, eschatologically important task: wait! There is no further war to fight. Christ is coming back, and when he does, it will be like bringing a nuke to a knife-fight. There’s just no contest against the agent of all creation.

For a Christian, there are no stakes in a cosmic sense for anything we observe in the news: Christ will come victorious. Our job is to endure in hope, and share that hope with others.

This is a necessary correction to my personal temptation to become overly invested in politics.

Black Protest Has Lost Its Power by Shelby Steele

Black Protest Has Lost Its Power

What they missed is a simple truth that is both obvious and unutterable: The oppression of black people is over with. This is politically incorrect news, but it is true nonetheless. We blacks are, today, a free people. It is as if freedom sneaked up and caught us by surprise.

Once again Shelby Steele speaks needed truths in this day of racial tensions.

24 Quality Christmas Books To Read Instead Of All The Smarmy Garbage by Anna Mussmann

24 Quality Christmas Books To Read Instead Of All The Smarmy Garbage

Of course, taste in picture books is somewhat subjective. None have lasted through the centuries yet. My criteria is as follows:

1. The author should (clearly) love the English language...
2. The illustrations should demonstrate skill and care...
3. The books should avoid dumb inaccuracies...
4. The books should convey truth, not sentimentality or mush...

Good stuff to keep in mind for the future grandkids!

The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone by Bryan Caplan

The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone

Lest I be misinterpreted, I emphatically affirm that education confers some marketable skills, namely literacy and numeracy. Nonetheless, I believe that signaling accounts for at least half of college’s financial reward, and probably more.

A college professor who believes the main value of a college degree is signaling to employers that this person has the requisite characteristics and says nothing about the requisite knowledge. Hmmmm....Is college just an expensive, giant "ticket" to a job?

There will be no winners in the Supreme Court’s wedding cake case by Greg Weiner

There will be no winners in the Supreme Court’s wedding cake case

In Masterpiece Cakeshop , LGBT advocates can hope for a pyrrhic victory at best. Conscientious objectors to same-sex weddings may be pressed into service, but only at the long-range cost of intensifying their opposition. A vindication of religious liberty, meanwhile, would tarnish that value, however unfairly, with the taint of discrimination.

A plea for civility and humanity in the midst of the chaos where all sides lose.