Ideology

Ideas
Mark Eckel

Institutionalization

I am tired of rigid thinking. Give me a minute to explain. Our biggest public problems are often not just a single law or regulation, but rather the institutionalized mindset that prevents sensible changes from happening. You and I know a thing or two about “institutionalization.” Institutions are important. I esteem them as necessary structures for

Read More »
Ideas
Mark Eckel

My High School Nickname

    When I was in high school my nickname was Padre. I was always preaching. During football season, my teammates would mock me, until they needed someone to block the middle linebacker. I wood-burned the name Padre into my lacrosse stick. But it wasn’t until I was introduced to Francis Schaeffer that my preaching was

Read More »
Ideas
Mark Eckel

The Entity

Can A.I. become ‘god’? Give me a minute to explain. Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise, meets an evil Entity in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. The hero calls it, “An anti-god that thinks it’s God.” “The Entity” – notice the capitalization – of the sinister agent known as “AI” (artificial intelligence) is given a

Read More »
Ideas
Mark Eckel

How Much I Don’t Know

Why do I own so many books? Give me a minute to explain. 5,000 books. That is the approximate number of volumes I own. Stating this fact is not a matter of arrogance but one of humility. Every time I open a book I discover again how much I do not know. Often as I

Read More »
Ideas
Mark Eckel

Tell It Slant

I am an honest, transparent unicorn. Give me a minute to explain. Being honest sometimes gets me in trouble. I see the raised eyebrows or the eyes that go wide when I make certain statements or question what is culturally accepted. I don’t always think the way others do. I tend to come at things

Read More »
Ideas
Mark Eckel

Living our Mission

Everyone should have a mission statement. Give me a minute to explain. Recently, I was able to help someone online with their personal mission statement. As I said in my Personal Faith Statement, I have been given the responsibility to “guard the good deposit given to me with the help of the Holy Spirit” according to 2

Read More »

Categories

Recent Posts

Scientists in Christian History

Science is helped by history. Give me a minute to explain. After discovering the third law of planetary motion, Johannes Kepler prayed, “Sun, moon, and planets glorify Him in your ineffable language!  Celestial harmonies, all ye who comprehend His marvelous works, praise Him.  And thou, my soul, praise thy Creator!  It is by Him and

Read More »

How to Destroy a Library

The artillery opened fire at 10 p.m. Using bracketing salvos, measuring the precise range of their volleys, spotters began to report direct hits. The structure imploded from the heat generated from the incendiary shells, created by igniting the contents of the building. Stained glass shattered. Sections of the roof collapsed. Walls caved in. People escaped

Read More »

The Lie

Nothing has changed. Give me a minute to explain. Corruption comes from the lie in Genesis 3:4-5, “The serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of the forbidden fruit, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” In

Read More »

Out of the Barrel of a Gun

Who will be in charge? Give me a minute to explain. “Who is the number one god?” In the 1996 movie The Island of Dr. Moreau, the beast people revolt against the godlike scientist, taking over the island. In fits of rage, the beast people, once controlled by electric shocks, now rule. Done with Dr.

Read More »

Make Your Voice Memorable

When it happens, you know it. Give me a minute to explain. The delivery of any kind of oral presentation is unique. Singing our national anthem happens all the time. However, Whitney Houston’s 1991 Super Bowl performance surpasses all others. Wartime addresses are essential for their time and place. Yet some transcend the moment, such

Read More »

Cultural Suicide

Take the blue pill. Destroy reality. Give me a minute to explain. Richard Weaver’s book Ideas Have Consequences has reverberated through my life every time I read it. You don’t need to scan any further than the introduction to see Weaver’s concern: men have dismissed transcendence, universal ideals, logic, realism, objective truth, and original sin.

Read More »