Classic Curriculum

A story on a college which has reset a more traditional curriculum. I could get behind the general idea, at least!

The Future of Books

Here it is. Be very scared.

The $10,000 degree and other cheaper options

Here’s a helpful survey of college costs and some of the potential solutions to lower the cost of higher education. Disruption to follow.

Stagnationism?

An interesting essay on the prophets of stagnation. Tyler Cowen’s book (mentioned) was a pretty interesting read. In one sense, he argues more for limits on economic growth, not that life is getting horrible – so perhaps his conclusions aren’t as far from the essay as one might think. It’s worth thinking about what the future might look like, to be sure!

Wow!

You have to see this to believe it. At least I hope so!

The Innocence of God

I’ll be covering God’s attributes in class soon. This reflection on God’s innocence by Simcha Ficher adds another one to my list I’d love to talk about. Here’s a part:

God is also innocent, but not because He is lacking anything.  God’s innocence comes from the other extreme:  His goodness is so complete that there is no room for anything foul or nasty.  He is not deceived; He is not blinded.  He simply admits only the durability of goodness, and treats evil and perversion like the worthless, pointless nothing that it is.

Children are innocent because they cannot comprehend evil.  God is innocent because He sees evil for what it is:  something to wash away and be done with.  And this is why He accepts our lousy, lacking, insincere prayers, our grasping petitions, our grudging penitence, our half-baked praise, and our inattentive adoration.  It’s not because we’ve deceived Him, or because He’s somehow pathetically grateful for the crumbs we throw His way.

No, our prayers are good because God is good:  our prayers are acceptable because God is innocent.  His all-encompassing innocence transforms our spiritual insincerity into something true and complete.

Vulgar Grace

From an interview with John Blase, who helped with a memoir by Brennan Manning, author of The Ragamuffin Gospel:

There’s a phrase used late in the book – vulgar grace – ‘a grace that amazes as it offends.’ We stole that from Robert Farrar Capon. That phrase haunts me…I’m not sure we understand grace as much as tremble before it.

Boundaries and Confessionalism

As someone who is sometimes annoyed by limits confessionalism creates (when we agree 90% or more….), this is a helpful discussion by D. A. Carson and Tim Keller. A couple of things I liked:

1. Clarifying the difference between centered and bounded sets (an idea that is not appreciated enough!)
2. Recognition of different kinds of relationships and confessional standards; there is not a one size fits all
3. The need to still hold people accountable and to be ready to think clearly both about particular actions and their implications

Definitely worth a read.

Jesus in a Pirate Hat

This is quite an excerpt.

Innovation in Education

An essay on Clayton Christensen’s The Innovative University. Thinking about the future can be scary….