Andy Unedited
Exploring Books, Life, and Writing
One of the besetting sins of churchgoers throughout the ages has been to take verses out of context. We show disrespect for and do damage to the Bible when we act like it is a grab bag of timeless truths we can rummage through at will. We mislead others and ourselves about what the authors …
In the last century millions were killed in genocide, a hundred million in armed conflicts, fifty million more in political purges. Has Jesus, acknowledged as the most influential person in world history, really made any difference? Thomas Cahill begins to answer this question in Desire of the Everlasting Hills by considering the written record of …
Is democracy worth fighting for and even dying for? Does it need greater goals than itself? What should be the shape of our social order? In an era gone by, Christian thought leaders believed they had a public role in answering such questions, and the public thought they did too. In 1943, as the Allies …
Benjamin Dreyer is the Stephen Colbert of grammar, style, and punctuation—informative while always being cheerfully acerbic. When he tells us in Dreyer’s English to never use actually, it is “because, seriously, it serves no purpose I can think of except to irritate.” When offering examples, Dreyer also gives us cause to smile. Honorary titles should …
We seem to live in unusually contentious times. Tensions between established ethnic groups and against new immigrant groups seems on the rise. Many wonder if peace and justice still have a place in our future. In The Soul of America, Jon Meacham says the lens of history can offer a corrective perspective. Our current situation …
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 …
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?
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% …
Freedom of religion seems like it has always been foundational to America. As Brandon O’Brien tells in Demanding Liberty, however, this was long in doubt and has regularly needed defense even since it was enshrined in the Bill of Rights.