Exploring Books, Life, and Writing
Some 230-plus years ago, thirteen colonies were unhappy with the mother country. So the leaders of these New World governments gathered in Philadelphia to debate, discuss and bargain. Finally, they cobbled together a unanimous vote (with one abstention–New York!). As all school children know, the momentous day in 1776 on which the colonies declared independence was July the 2nd.
July the 2nd? Wait a minute. Don’t you mean July the 4th?
Continue reading “Happy 2nd of July, America!”
With so much bad academic writing, we cry, “Paragraphs, paragraphs everywhere, and not a word to read.” Yet much academic writing is refreshing and worth savoring. Take Kevin Vanhoozer in Jesus, Paul and the People of God:
Continue reading “Stylish Academic Writing 4: A Cup of Cold Water”
Why are some academics so addicted to bad writing? Why do they churn out passive verbs like promises from a politician? Why do they multiply abstract nouns like mosquitoes in summer? Why can’t they escape from the jungle of jargon? And maybe most important, why can’t they be funny?
Continue reading “Stylish Academic Writing 3: Why So Bad?”
Is my writing flabby or fit? Am I a lean, mean writing machine, or have I invaded heart attack territory? I went to Helen Sword’s WritersDiet Test to find out. And find out I did.
Continue reading “Stylish Academic Writing 2: WritersDiet Test”
Helen Sword rips the veil off one of the worst kept secrets in all of academia: Most academic writing is just plain awful. Jargon-filled, abstract, impersonal, sleep-inducing.
Continue reading “Stylish Academic Writing 1: Good News, Bad News”
More and more I am convinced that the doorway into understanding the New Testament is the Old Testament. It’s not a new idea. I think Jesus had something to do with it. But it’s one of the reasons we made this a major feature in our recently released LifeGuide in Depth series, including A Deeper Look at James, that my wife, Phyllis, and I wrote. An example can illustrate the point.
Continue reading “The Wisdom of Solomon”
Dallas Willard went to be with his Lord this morning. Many people will miss his strong, gentle wisdom, remembering him as someone who was soaked in the presence of Christ. He was a beloved friend and writer to many. We enjoyed publishing a number of titles by Dallas (1935-2013), especially one of his signature books, Hearing God.
Continue reading “Remembering Dallas Willard”
In an era of extreme, vitriolic rhetoric, when someone offers calm, straightforward fairness, it is like a cool, refreshing breeze on a hot, muggy day. That is what Gerald Rau provides in Mapping the Origins Debate on the very contentious issue of evolution and creation. He offers a model not only of clarity in thought but of civility in presentation.
Continue reading “Mapping the Origins Debate”
Fifty years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. issued his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” responding to local clergy who felt King and others were moving too quickly, too disruptively in advancing civil rights. To mark the occasion, IVP has published Ed Gilbreath’s ebook short Remembering Birmingham, which puts King’s letter in historical context and offers reflections on its significance then and now.
Continue reading “Remembering Birmingham”
Here’s a doom-and-gloom article about the publishing industry with a twist: it might not all be doom and gloom.
Despite the continual stream of stories about authors making $10,000 a month or more on self-published ebooks and in the process crushing traditional publishing out of existence, Evan Hughes in Wired magazine (April 2013) says there’s another side of the story.
Continue reading “The Silver Lining on Doom and Gloom”