Posts by Joel Arnold
What will be left when the dust settles?
At the outset of the present quarantine, everything was bizarre, electric, and controversial. People filled their time arguing over lethality, R₀ rates, and balancing lives with dollars. But the shock, the novelty and the drama are wearing off now. What about when quarantine just turns into a long, dull wait? Managing terror is one thing.…
Read MoreWhen Viruses Loom Larger than God
I (like you, no doubt) am tired of thinking about COVID-19 already, though my browsing history might betray me. I’ll abstain from taking a side on whether COVID-19 merits the panic it has created or not—the question belongs to epidemiologists for now, handed off to historians soon after. Of greater interest to me has been…
Read MoreSmart Machines and Foolish People
An interesting law suit developed in 2016 between the electric car maker Tesla and a Korean man who bought one. That’s because Tesla offers a self-driving mode where the car is supposed to recognize walls and park itself. The plaintiff was inside his car when it drove through the garage wall, destroyed several structural posts,…
Read MoreFind Your Passion? Or Live for a Greater Cause?
I try not to make a habit of this, but I’m going to start out by telling you a lie. It’s a lie that you already know and might already believe. It fills advice columns, podcasts, self-help books and Disney movies. Like the most insidious of lies, it even beckons us to make it the…
Read MoreWhat do you think happens when we die, Keanu Reeves?
The Late Show is hardly a bellwether for the state of America’s philosophizing or the condition of its soul. Except when it is. Several cultural commentators have observed that in the last two elections, some of the most blunt, honest discussions of our national situation came, sadly enough, through comedians. We expect them to break…
Read MoreEmbodying Masculinity in a World that Rejects It
I received an invitation to speak for a weekend conference for men, discussing our roles in the family and the church. Topics like this kill me. The preparation quickly turned into an exercise in personal conviction and repentance. How do I speak on being a good husband and father when at every turn I see…
Read MoreBrexit and the Coming of the Last Days
The non-ending Brexit story propels me back to the time when the European Union introduced the Euro. It was a dramatic first at the time—multiple countries casting their fates together under “ever increasing union.” In many people’s minds the EU was about to eat our lunch, not unlike the way many Americans view China today.…
Read MoreWhen the Doctor Says to Terminate
Unsurprisingly, politics regularly brings abortion back into the public discourse. Brazen politicians today publicly defend partial birth abortion and worse. Some even disgustingly advocate so-called “after birth abortion”. Of course, “killing unborn children” is hardly the way most Americans would prefer to describe it. It’s more persuasive to focus on the really vexing examples—the stories…
Read MoreBibles are not talismans. It’s about the words.
There’s a very striking story about a man who never learned to read but who had a well-worn Bible. Someone asked him why the pages were so worn and his answer was that since he couldn’t read it, over the years he thought he might as well count the words. It’s a fantastic sermon illustration…
Read MoreYou Don’t Want to Have a Megapastor
The news just hit that another fabulously popular megapastor has been fired, apparently because of a long-standing, toxic culture of absolute power. I’m not very old, but I’ve already watched three cycles of this—a pastor who becomes THE guy to listen to, builds up a huge following, and then disintegrates in a blaze of glory.…
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