Larry Taunton, founder and executive director of the Fixed Point Foundation, seemed almost breathless as he entered the Sunday school classroom at Highlands United Methodist Church to sign books and speak, passionate about the Christian principle he terms “common grace.” His book The Grace Effect spans two years, beginning and Read more…
If you think the Super Bowl is just a big football game featuring large, sweaty men repeatedly colliding with one another, consider this: last year’s game drew 111.3 million viewers, making it the most watched event in U.S. television history vi— for the third year in a row. According to Read more…
During the holiday season, Amazon released a new commercial. It depicts a Catholic priest and a Muslim cleric meeting for a cup of tea in what appears to be the priest’s home. It all looks very friendly with smiles, laughter, and even a close-up of the priest patting the imam’s forearm Read more…
Christians Have Waged Their Own Holy Wars” was yet another annoying headline, this one in the Miami Herald. It seems that every time someone is beheaded, shot (by children, no less), or burned alive by ISIL, there is this inevitable handwringing over the violent history of — Christianity. Confused? So am I. Precisely Read more…
How often do self-righteous football commentators have occasion to lament the behavior of modern players: Chad Johnson‘s reality show and “Ocho-Cinco” publicity stunt; Adam “Pac-Man” Jones’ nightclub incidents; Michael Vick‘s dog-fighting hobby; and the never-ending soap opera that is Brett Favre. The modern athlete is, they say, selfish, all about the money, and Read more…
In July 2012 I was speaking at a youth retreat in the mountains of Tennessee when I received a call from CNN. It seemed that Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy had publicly commented on the issue of same-sex marriage and now the gay mafia were out to destroy him and his Read more…
(CNN)– I first met Christopher Hitchens at the Edinburgh International Festival. We were both there for the same event, and foremost in my mind was the sort of man I would meet. A journalist and polemicist, his reputation as a critic of religion, politics, Britain’s royal family, and, well, just about Read more…
(CNN) – My favorite Christmas movie is, unquestionably, Frank Capra’s 1946 feel-good flick “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed play George and Mary Bailey, a happy couple living a life of genteel poverty in the small American town of Bedford Falls. George is a kind and generous man. Read more…
Until recently, I had never seen A&E’s hit series Duck Dynasty. Given all the long beards and the “Sharp Dressed Man” opening theme song, I had mistakenly assumed it to be a reality show about ZZ Top. Judging from the headlines, however, I am in a minority. According to A&E, the series Read more…
One difficulty reviewing Larry Alex Taunton’s new book—The Faith of Christopher Hitchens: The Restless Soul of the World’s Most Notorious Atheist—is deciding on a genre. While the back of the book categorizes it as “Biography/Autobiography/Religious,” I’ve decided it primarily belongs to a time-honored American storytelling tradition: the road trip. Christopher Read more…