Reading for Preaching
A River Runs Through It and Other Stories
Norman Maclean’s father was a Presbyterian minister who, at one point reflects on helping people. “’Help,’ he said, ‘is giving part of yourself to somebody who comes to accept it willingly and needs it badly.’ But ’we can seldom help anybody. Either we don’t know what part to give or maybe we don’t like to...
“Men Behaving Badly”
Tripp reviews Catherine S. Manegold, In Glory’s Shadow: Shannon Faulkner, the Citadel, and a Changing America, a book about a young woman’s application to the Citadel, her rejection, and what life inside that place is all about. It started as a citadel for wealthy Charlestonians who were afraid of Northern attempts to take away their...
“Affirming Ourselves to Death”
In the name of compassion we’ve been out there affirming everybody. We hardly dare disagree with anybody for fear we’ll look like we’re condemning people. E.g. Laurence Tribe had once rejected cloning, or had leaned that way. But in a Times op-ed piece he stated his “second thoughts.” Why second thoughts? Because rejecting cloning might...
Preaching Connection: Compassion