On this day in 1878, ThomasA. Edison invented a practical incandescent lamp in his laboratory at MenloPark, New Jersey. “The longerit burned,” he said, “the more fascinated we were…there was no sleepfor any of us for forty hours.”
Johnson’s Latest
In 2003, when Paul Johnson published his massive and magisterial Art: A New History, he announced it would be his last book. Since then, he has published by my count, eleven new books. Thanks be to God. The new books have mostly been …
The Louisiana Treaty
The United States Senate ratified the Louisiana PurchaseTreaty by a vote of 24-7 on this day in 1803. The vastregion encompassed more than 800,000 square miles of territory and comprisedpresent-day Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota west of the …
From Depths of Woe
William Cowper (1731-1800), the pastoral English poet, collaborated with the curate John Newton in publishing the Olney Hymns—a classic collection of Evangelical and Reformed hymns. Cowper who generally wrote about simple pleasures of countryli…
2011 Ragnar Relay
On November 4-5 we’re running 200 miles across the state of Tennessee, in about 36 hours, with 12 runners and two support vans, all for one great cause. Once again, “Team Sum Ergo Zoom” will be taking on the 2011 Ragnar Relay. Just as we di…
Better to Be Underestimated
Known for his witty style, the amazingly prolific author G.K. Chesterton wrote in many genres, including fiction, biography, poetry,theology, history, as well as a myriad of essays. He was one of the most belovedwriters in England during the first part…
What to Remember When Reading the Bible
1. Remember the one, centralstory: the whole Bible is about just one thing. The pattern of creation, fall,redemption, and restoration runs throughout the Old and New Testaments.2. Remember that the Bibleis its own best commentary. The Word interprets i…
True Delight
“He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.” Psalm 147:10-11
Oxford and Tolkien
Few provincial cities anywhere are more crowded withincident and achievement than the English University city of Oxford. In a shortstroll visitors may pass the house where Edmund Halley discovered his comet;the site of Britain’s oldest public museum, t…
Free Agents and Non-Partisans
“It appears to us that a Christian minister cannot keep himself in the true path of consistency at all, without refusing to each of the parties all right of appropriation. . . He who cares for neither of two rivaling political parties is the onl…
Over My Morning Joe
“What are the objects of mathematical science? Magnitude and the proportions ofmagnitude. But in the foolishnessof my youth, I had forgotten the two chief magnitudes: I thought not of thelittleness of time and I recklessly thought not of …
Sorrow, But for a Time
“There are no crown-wearers in Heaven who were not first cross-bearers on earth.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon”You will not be carried to Heaven lying at ease upon a feather bed.” Samuel Rutherford