Top Five Blogs from 2012

This week marks the year anniversary of the Brilliant and Beautiful Blog. One year ago I decided to add my voice to the cacophony that is the Internet, and in my first-ever blog I explained why.

Traditional Theology, Apologetics, and the Gospel: Or “Should we be traditional theologians?”

In an interesting article by the philosopher Scott Shalkowski, he asks, “How much stock should we invest in traditional theology?”[1] I think the answer to this question has interesting implications related to apologetics, the gospel, and the nature of theology.

The Antidote to Shallow and Narrow Lives: or My Favorite Books of 2012

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “If only one had time to read a little more: we either get shallow and broad or narrow and deep.”[1] In this age of video, it is easy to become either “an inch deep and a mile wide”—experts of nothing, commentators on everything—or one-dimensional sycophants, people who think only of self, imagine the history of the world to be the scope of their lives, and constantly seek the stream of experience to feed their selfishness.

Lessons from the Hobbit

With J.R.R. Tolkien’s birthday tomorrow (January 3^rd), I can’t help but turn to one of my favorite tales, The Hobbit, to share a few of my favorite moments in the loveable adventure of Bilbo Baggins. To “prepare” for the movie, I recently re-read the book to my 6 and 9 year-old sons, and found many rich passages to give us insight into life, and I’ll share a few highlights in this post.

C.S. Lewis, the Moral Argument for God, and the Gospel

In the conclusion of his famous Critique of Practical Reason, Kant famously said, “two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and reverence… the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.” Years later, C.S. Lewis picks up this Kantian insight and formulates an argument for God based on the reality of a Moral Law.

Talks

Click here to listen to talks by Paul

Favorite Books of 2023

January 1, 2024

Fueled by the conviction that stories sustain us because we were made to be nourished on the good, the true, and the beautiful, I determined to read one fiction book a month for this past year. And I read some very good stories! In addition to fiction, I have benefitted greatly this year from some solid works in philosophy, theology, biography, and spiritual formation. Without further ado, here are my favorite books read in 2023. As is custom, in my book log, I record the book title, author, and date completed, along with a one sentence description. This has been my practice since 2009. My book log now includes 635 entries. This year I read 43 books.

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Favorite Books of 2022

January 3, 2023

I love to read. Of course, being a professor helps. I get to read as part of my job. That’s good. But I also love to read for the sheer pleasure of it. When it comes to fiction, I love entering into secondary worlds and journeying along with the characters of the story. Often non-fiction reads like a good story too: life is life, story is story, and often the two kiss (a loose paraphrase of one of my favorite nonfiction stories of the year, All that is Sad is Untrue). (more…)

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Favorite Books of 2021

January 10, 2022

I love to read. It’s partly why I’m an academic today. What could be better than reading, writing, teaching, and learning every day? Reading books awakens me: to truth, goodness, and beauty. I try, each year, to read broadly. This year, I managed to read 47 books. I’ve been recording every book read in a book log for over 10 years now. Whenever I finish a book, I list the date finished, the title, author, and a one sentence summary of the book. As has become my custom, I offer to you my favorite reads of the past year in philosophy, apologetics and theology, fiction, and non-fiction. (more…)

Posted in Sample Post 1, BRILLIANT AND BEAUTIFUL BLOG