Twilights

With the Thanksgiving break, I didn't get a chance to do a Twilights feature last week. "Twilights" have nothing whatsoever to do with the hideously bad set of vampire books and movies that have bewitched tens of millions of young ladies who possess no taste, so do not be confused. The word is just short for "Twitter Highlights." Five or ten interesting things I've gleaned from my Twitter feed over the past week.

1. I'm delighted to see that a group of very fine people have translated and published Herman Bavinck's little book, Het Christelijke Huisgezen (The Christian Family). Check it out here.

2. New York Times columnist Ross Douthat wrote a very important piece last week called, "The Liberal Gloat." He digs underneath the new Democrat coalition and just happens to inconveniently notice that it is built on societal decline.

3. Jonah Goldberg joins him in saying something must be done about the decline of the American family.

4. While I'm pointing out important opinion pieces, I tweeted last week a link to what I believe is the most important piece I read in 2012: Yuval Levin's "The Hollow Republic." Deeply digest that one.

5. Media ignorance of all things Christian and scholarly is alive and well. The UK Telegraph breathlessly reports the really, really, really uninteresting old news that Jesus was not born in the year zero.

6. Oh, while I'm on the topic of Christian and scholarly, this is a series you should read if you're interested in the formation of the Christian canon. You might also enjoy Michael Kruger's blog.

7. Why not one more? John Lennox's little book, Seven Days That Divided the World is a really excellent read. When I want to convince somebody that not everyone who doubts the young earth, 24-hour day view of creation is some kind of a liberal sell-out, this is the book I send them to.

8. Speaking of faith and science, in The New Republic the eminent Alvin Plantinga reviews Thomas Nagel's recent book on the topic. Anybody who tells you that the naturalism of neo-Darwinism is a settled matter only doubted by intellectual Neanderthals is... well, either lying, misinformed, or an intellectual Neanderthal.

9. Is there a woman in your life who likes women's magazines? How about buying her a subscription to a new one that might be edifying and uplifting, for once?

10. Finally, I think I'll stick with making a video my #10 entry. Here is Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse's opening statement in a recent debate on same-sex "marriage." I'd bet she brings up a few things you hadn't thought of.

Dr. Morse's opening statement at the Conversation on the Definition of Marriage, held at Skyline Church, July 29th, 2012, the best 10 minute statement as to why Marriage is Between a Man and a Woman.

TwilightsBrian Mattson