In the first part of this essay, I described how the twenty-first-century discovery of the oldest paintings on earth in Indonesia – including the Sulawesi warty pig – illustrates the main points of Darrel R. Falk’s On the (Divine) Origin of Our Species.Darrel R. Falk. On the (Divine) Origin of Our Species. (Wipf and Stock Publishers,…

Cave paintings and rusty ochre brushstrokes appear on the cover of Darrel R. Falk’s recently  published book, On the (Divine) Origin of Our Species.Darrel R. Falk. On the (Divine) Origin of Our Species. (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2023). These earliest examples of art call out to us today. Falk describes the European cave paintings in the…

This past year, I have seen headlines flash across the start page of my Microsoft browser’s newsfeed that featured articles about the supposed chemical origin of life. Was it the result of aliens seeding our planet billions of years ago – a theory called Panspermia? Or an asteroid bombardment with trace amino acids and nucleic…

Halfway through the school year, I was asked to step into the elementary school principal role in an acting capacity to cover for a medical leave. I am sure it must have felt like a jarring experience for our teaching team to have their leader abruptly taken from them, or worse-yet, like one of the…

“Our textbooks today are much more focused on practical things.” The student’s comment, offered in a class on world language pedagogy as we discussed historical examples of language textbooks, stood out as requiring more response than I quite knew how to pack into the moment. It was true and it was false, depending on the…

“Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.”  2 Corinthians 12:14 (NIV) Earlier this month, the…

What is now jointly named Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day should serve as a reminder to Christian scholars. Some of our past brethren in the universities and Church used their power and intellectual abilities to justify the enslavement and mistreatment of Native Americans. But this day should also remind us of a noble band of Christian…

Bright Hermon, with the dayspring on thy brow, and silver streamlets leaping round thy feet,— Shout forth thy ceaseless praise!                                                   —Horatius Bonar, 1881, Hymns of Faith and Hope You would hardly think that observing the hippopotamus in Africa near the southern extent of the Great Rift Valley would somehow be connected to Mount…

Glanzer and Smith’s new book Stewarding Our Bodies: A Vision for Christian Student Affairs opens with a bold claim: “Christian student affairs professionals currently neglect students’ bodies” (11). Reflecting upon disturbing data that suggest as much, Glanzer and Smith argue that Student Affairs Leaders (SALs) should be instrumental in facilitating college students’ development in this…

Today, I want to commend to you a new documentary that was released on October 4 in select cities: Leap of Faith. The movie is directed by Nicolas Ma and produced by Morgan Neville, both of whom were involved in making the wonderful 2018 documentary on Mr Rogers, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (Here I’ll also shout…