The controversy surrounding the “Gospel of Judas” raises significant and important questions for intelligent Christians.  How are we to understand this document?  What does this text suggest in terms of theology?  How do we put the entire question into context?

The Christian Church has always understood learning to be a central priority of faithful discipleship, and Christianity can claim deep reservoirs of learning, scholarship, and education.  Furthermore, the rise of the university and the spread of educational opportunity were driven by Christians and by churches who saw a commitment to learning as necessary to Christian growth, evangelism, and the inculcation of Christian truth in every new generation.

These are the best of times and the worst of times for classical music.  More music is available to more people than ever before.  The digital revolution has made more music available than at any previous time in human history, and available 24/7 at very low cost.  Musical performances silent for decades are now available in new digital editions.

The year 2007 saw the release of two important biographies of Albert Einstein.  Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson [Simon & Schuster] is my favorite work on Einstein.  Isaacson is CEO of the Aspen Institute and a former executive with CNN and Time.   His biography of Einstein is massive and comprehensive.  It is also well written and well organized.  Isaacson also took advantage of the availability of new Einstein letters and documents in his research.

As acknowledged by his friends and his foes, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of the most significant Presidents in the nation’s history.  While debates over his policies, actions, and legacy will surely continue, his leadership gifts continue to impress historians across ideological boundaries.

A particular emphasis upon the nature and structure of the church has been central to the Baptist vision.  In other words, ecclesiology is in many ways the chief contribution and distinctive of the Baptists.  Sadly, you would not learn that by observing many Baptist congregations.  Baptist ecclesiology has been eclipsed by pragmatism and undermined by neglect.

The makers of the modern mind are many, but few can match the influence of Sigmund Freud. Freud’s basic ideas have now become part and parcel of the contemporary mindset. His terms are now part of our vocabulary and his idea of the unconscious has formed much of the structure for the therapeutic culture all around us.

No one should underestimate the extent to which fundamental worldviews produce very different understandings of reality.  These different understandings of reality produce radically different perspectives on the real-life issues with which we are confronted.

I was very pleased to join host Bill Goodman for a conversation on “One to One,” Kentucky Educational Television’s interview program. Bill Goodman adds a great deal to the intellectual conversation in Kentucky, and I enjoyed the conversation. We discussed a range of issues, but also my new book, Culture Shift. KET expands its public service by making these videos available online after broadcast. The program was originally broadcast on January 27, 2008 and can be viewed here.