Andy Unedited
Exploring Books, Life, and Writing
This fall I’m releasing my new book, Write Better. To help celebrate that, we’re giving Andy Unedited a big facelift. What’s the new book about then? Writing is hard work. So in Write Better I want to make the job easier, especially for nonfiction writers, and help them do it better. I’ve loved words, reading, …
How frustrated are you? Really, how frustrated are you with the culture, the government, the economy, the church, your world, your career, your life? If you are a lot, you are a candidate for becoming a true believer. In his classic book The True Believer Eric Hoffer unpacks the dynamics of mass movements–who they attract, …
In a world of extremist language on all sides, what saddens me most is Christians who fail to speak with grace, humility, wisdom, and love. In short, who fail to act like Christ. No, actually, what saddens me most is when I fail to. Alan Jacobs puts his own advice into practice in How to …
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company has been a family-owned and operated business for over a hundred years, reflecting the unique visions of its two long-time leaders–William B. Eerdmans Sr. and Jr.
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In the last few years I’ve started a habit. A simple habit. And I have been a bit surprised how helpful it has been. This is the habit.
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Why are Americans so at odds with each other? Why have so many people entrenched themselves in opposing camps, viciously vilifying each other? What has turned us into a nation of Us vs. Them?
Is cable news responsible? Did the Russians do it? Does it go back to Newt Gingrich or the Robert Bork confirmation?
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The world is better than you think. Really? Really. Consider these–all based on UN statistics:
- Life expectancy has risen worldwide from 31 years in 1800 to 72 years in 2017.
- No country in the world has an average life expectancy of less than 50 years today.
- The percentage of undernourished people has dropped from 28% in 1970 to 11% in 2015.
Philosophy, notoriously, can be abstract and obscure. Yet philosophy is also a noble effort to grapple with some of the most difficult and pressing questions humans can face. What is the good? What is real? How can we know and be certain?
In A History of Western Philosophy C. Stephen Evans provides a model of conciseness and clarity in telling the story of Western philosophy from the days before Socrates to the present. As much as is possible Evans uses plain language to briefly tell the story of each key figure and of their ideas. Obviously, some passages can be hard but that is due to the difficulty of the material not the style of the author.
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Who rejoices over one sinner who repents? We all know the answer. Or do we?
When the Pharisees complained about Jesus hanging out with irreputable tax collectors and sinners, he told them three stories. First, the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep to find the one that’s lost. Then the woman with ten coins who searches for one. Finally, the father and his two sons.
At the end of the second story, after the woman finds her coin, she asks all her neighbors to celebrate with her. Jesus concludes, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).
So who is rejoicing?
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Fifty years ago next week, a manned spacecraft for the first time entered orbit around another celestial body–the moon.
The year 1968 had been a harrowing one for the country and the world. It began with the devastating Tet Offensive in Vietnam and was followed by the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The “Prague Spring” was crushed by Soviet tanks in August with the tumultuous Democratic National Convention a week later.
Weary and worn, we were ready for some good news. That night, Christmas Eve, the crew of Apollo 8 sent a message to everyone on earth in what has been called the most watched television broadcast in history. Here is what they said:
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