My wife once told me a story from A Tale of Two Cities. It took place in a small village outside of Paris in the late 18th century. The French Revolution had not yet begun, and the townspeople were living under oppressive poverty. One day a large cask of wine was being unloaded from a …
Author Archives: aquinas
Aristotle’s Guide to Weight Loss
Last week I posted some thoughts regarding virtue ethics. The previous week I wrote disparagingly about Clean Eating. Since then, a lot of people have asked me about the connection between diet and virtue. OK, Tom Hanks is right. No one has asked me that. But still, it’s a question I’d like to engage. …
Is Spontaneity a Virtue?
Imagine a young woman being pursued by two suitors. The first is staid and predictable. He’s consistent, punctual, and perhaps a bit boring. The second is spontaneous. He tends towards the unexpected and adventurous. Our young woman considers a life with each of these men. She imagines that the first is a safe choice. He …
Clean Eating
Seven years ago, 3 teenage boys took a joyride in a small aluminum boat they’d stolen from an uncle. The boys lived on the Tokelau Islands, a small remote pacific atoll governed by New Zealand. The boys were familiar with the ocean and its dangers, but that familiarity couldn’t restrain their youthful desire for adventure. …
Flash Review: Into the Wild
I first read Into the Wild as a teenager. I was working at a Christian bookstore at the time, selling copies of Left Behind and The Prayer of Jabez in a shopping center off the highway. On breaks I would walk across parking lots and past chain restaurants to the Barnes & Noble to read John Krakauer’s account of …
Flash Review: The Supper of the Lamb
At times, reading Robert Capon’s The Supper of the Lamb feels like being shown around a quaint cooking shop by its aged proprietor. He strolls with you through the aisles, offering delightful, unsolicited advice on culinary implements: If you never sharpen your own knives, you will no doubt prefer stainless ones; but if you are …
What Happened to Lewis and Chesterton?
In his autobiography, G.K. Chesterton, the great 19th century British author, describes a formative early experience. “The very first thing I can ever remember seeing with my own eyes was a young man walking across a bridge. He had a curly moustache and an attitude of confidence verging on swagger.” The man, we’re told, was …
The Problem With Margaritaville
Currently under construction in Daytona Beach, Florida is a development called Latitude Margaritaville. When it’s finished next year, it will have about 7,000 homes available to buyers 55 or older. This isn’t a new concept; gated communities for seniors have been around for a while. What sets Margaritaville apart is that it is (to quote …
The Domestic Trap
I have recently felt sympathy for an adulterous woman. Such feelings are ill advised, I know. Proverbs says that the adulterous woman is bitter as gall and that her house is a highway to the grave. It says to stay away from her. Yet I can’t help being drawn in as I read Melissa Matthewson’s …
Preacher, Don’t Tweet
I would like to say a word against preachers tweeting. But before I do, I have two things that I need to disclose. 1.) I occasionally preach at Denton Community Church. 2.) I am on Twitter as @bwdaskam. I make no claim as to the quality of the sermons, but my tweets are indisputably of …