Defeat, Humility, Joy
In Christian Monasticism
A remarkable book about Russian monks, published last year by Pokrov Publications, reads like something from the middle of the 19th century. You feel transported back in time to the era of Russian faith that gave birth to Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, partly because it takes place almost entirely within a Russian Orthodox monastery. Yet, the…Read More
Christopher Buckley told a story on Morning Joe this week: George H.W. Bush went to visit Reagan in the hospital after he was shot by David Hinkley, and he found the bed and the room empty. A voice came from the bathroom, “I’m in here George.” He went to the door and found Reagan on…Read More
Jared Diamond, the author of highly successful books on human history, has written in his most recent book what strikes me as a wrong-headed commentary on religion — wrong-headed in a way that’s become increasingly commonplace these days among the anti-God cadre. It’s all about the irrationality of religious belief. Here’s a small, indicative sample:…Read More
Tycoon’s New Midlife Mission
In Cambodia
Scott Neeson’s life might have been something it would have taken an F.Scott Fitzgerald to capture. As it turns out, this tycoon’s story is more inspiring. It underscores, for me, how radically a human being can become someone nearly unrecognizable to the people who once knew him. I recently read a brief account of this remarkable…Read More
John Simmons tells a story about a nine year-old boy named Jesse who had some bar charts he wanted John to see. He was a student in one of Chicago’s troubled West Side schools. We’re talking here about a third grade boy who’s proud of a bar graph — something utterly remarkable — but to…Read More
