What’s my job as a professor? Give me a minute to explain. My job, as a professor, is to hold a mirror up to myself and my students, asking each one of us to be honest about our beliefs. We may not agree with each other. But to appreciate others’ points of view, without necessarily
Before I open a book, this is what I do. Give me a minute to explain. Thomas Aquinas wrote “A Prayer Before Study” where he prayed, “Grant to me keenness of mind, capacity to remember, skill in learning, subtlety to interpret, and eloquence in speech. May you guide the beginning of my work, direct its
Preparing students for what they will face. The final exam will be on the streets of life. Give Me a Minute to explain. I am convinced that students do not have full understanding of their education until they must defend themselves against intellectual attacks or prepare a defense of their positions or build lasting contributions
How do you argue? Do you argue biblically? Find out what and how here (2 minute vid + text + Links). Dr. Mark Eckel is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration at Liberty University. Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website) and interprets
Don’t take my word, listen to a teen who knows firsthand, the results of educational cancellation and self-censorship. Watch our Truth in Two to find out why hearing all points of view is essential (+ text & link). Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website).
Trust in academic experts OR The One in whom is hidden all the treasures of knowledge? Watch our Truth in Two on the “folly of experts” (full text below). Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in
How do we pass on what has been given to us? We carry the fire to the next generation. This is how we see our job at Comenius (1 min vid + text + QR code). Use our QR code here to donate to The Comenius Institute. Pictures: Josh Collingwood, Snappy
Thought control comes in many forms, But always with the same result. Find out why by watching our Truth in Two (with full text and Afterword). Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1
Termination* My responsibility Is not to proselytize Nor to prescribe But to offer ideas Thoughts that germinate, Breaking concrete, seeds The smallest, most compact Focused amount of change Inserting by its nature Not the will of the deliverer But the possibility, The explosive nature, Of a proposal A suggestion A
My 41st year of teaching began this week. Here are my takeaways. 1. I was designed to teach. I love to teach. I was made for teaching. 2. Each class I teach is a charge, a commitment to a body of students. I take that duty seriously. 3. My one-word philosophy of education remains the
This speech was delivered during the 2025 Research Week Awards Ceremony (30 April 2025). Many thanks for the kind invitation from Jeremy McGinness, Associate Dean, Research, Instruction, and Collections. Further thanks is owed to Dr. John Eller whose three-volume biography of Ray Bradbury I mined for background information. In addition, I thank The Ray Bradbury
What to say and how to say it. Give me a minute to explain my approach to social media. Here are seven of my approaches to social media. (1) I will *never* apologize for communicating a biblical mindset. (2) I will seek to begin with Scriptural doctrine applied to life. (3) My starting point will
Do you eat salt with your friends? Give me a minute to explain. I titled my talk to a men’s group, “Eating Salt Together: How Men Become Friends.” I got the idea from Aristotle who said, “Friendship requires time and familiarity, men cannot know each other till they have ‘eaten salt together’ until each has
How can God’s Word benefit public health? Give me a minute to explain. The Bible is good for people. It seems that Harvard University might agree! The question is raised, “Is religion a determining factor of public health?” Yes, says Harvard Public Health. “Documentation suggests that weekly religious service attendance is longitudinally associated with lower
Dreading those potential disagreements over politics, culture, and other issues that might come up at the dinner table and other family events? Here are 10 Proverbial principles that will help you engage in lively conversation without losing your Christian witness. “All I wanted to do was argue.” So said a student enrolled in my public
I love Jesus. I love my country. I see no reason why one should be conditioned by the other. From time to time, I read articles from a brother or sister in The Faith which try to label what I accept as true as an “ism” (some call it “Christian Nationalism”). So, during this election
I love the study of politics and politicians (my favorite politician is Vaclav Havel. My personal perspective is that (1) I bear responsibility as a citizen to participate in my culture’s prosperity for a productive future for all (read Jeremiah 29:1-7), (2) as a U.S. citizen I have been given the privilege of voting for
What will our country look like in 2028? I believe that neighbors should care for neighbors. Government’s role and responsibility to protect its citizens so that citizens can carry out the work of helping others: something each of us does with our families, for instance. Government is responsible to maintain landowners’ opportunity to care for
Democratism: Democracy as Religion* I employed an exercise with students in high school to compare the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1787) and the American Declaration of Independence (1776). Side by side, it is easy to see the differences. The American Declaration includes references to a transcendent being the source of freedoms. The
13th and final episode in our Summer 2024 series, “With What Will You Replace It When It’s Gone?” Find out what it will take to maintain freedom against tyranny. Watch our last Truth in Two. Dr. Mark Eckel is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration at Liberty University. Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find
Are you a YouTube commercial, advertising your beliefs? Give me a minute to explain. Sports teams and race car drivers wear the names of advertisers on their uniforms. And I wonder what kind of advertisements are seen on us? How have we been influenced by groups, organizations, institutions, or communities? How do our views of
What would you do? How far would you go? Give me a minute to explain. The word “commitment” reminds me of a scene in Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars: “To protect her Jewish friend, a Christian girl tears from her neck a gold chain bearing a Star of David and clenches it in her fist
Decision making can be difficult. Give me a minute to suggest three questions that could help. How to respond and when to act are hard to know for certain. Here are three questions to ask yourself (1) CAN I? What is your time and place in the world. What vocational gifts have you been given?
What does it mean to be a success? Give Me a Minute to explain. Do millions of followers on social media make one successful? What of the business people, actors, entrepreneurs, or athletes who seem to have it all? Can we judge celebrities by the front covers of Vogue or Forbes? We often think of
Email Title: Ice, Fire, Can’t, Prep, 1, 2, Tesla, Consent, Structure, GenBio, Nay, Good (10 January 2025) Being without electricity is unexpected in 21st Century America. When you’re stuck at home without heat or hot water (not to mention coffee!). This is no small thing in the modern world. This happened to me in a
In this new year, how should we make our way? Give Me a Minute to suggest an answer. A young colleague asked for some guidance toward his future in higher education. He grappled with what to include in his resume. I sent him something I have been including with my resume for twenty years called
What happens when people make laws dependent upon the “will of the people?” Watch / read our Truth in Two to find out (2 min vid + text) #11 in our Summer 2024 series, “With What Will You Replace It When It’s Gone?” Dr. Mark Eckel is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration
When care for commitment is gone, someone somewhere will take, what we are too bored or too apathetic to protect. Find out why by watching our Truth in Two. #7 in our Summer 2024 series, “With What Will You Replace It When It’s Gone?” Dr. Mark Eckel is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical
Are U.S. citizens all committed to American ideals? Why would such unity be important for a nation? Find out by watching / reading our Truth in Two (2 min vid + text) #6 in our Summer 2024 series, “With What Will You Replace It When It’s Gone?” Dr. Mark Eckel is Executive Director of the
Why is Moses’ portrait central to all 23 lawgivers reproduced in the U.S. House of Representatives? Find out why this is a good reminder for July 4th week by watching our Truth in Two (2 min vid + text). #5 in our Summer 2024 series, “With What Will You Replace It When It’s Gone?” Dr.
NOTE: Earlier this week I published the first in a new series of one-minute videos titled, “Give Me a Minute.” The initial entry is “Status Viator.” The present outline here is a practical example of what I meant in the video Status Viator: My Christian Walk and its Influence on What I Am Made
Having one’s name changed can mean changes in his future. Find out why name changes matter by watching our Truth in Two. Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at
To preserve any kind of future, You plant what you want to harvest. To find out how, watch our Truth in Two (full text below). Don’t miss the “Afterword”! Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people
Honoring a memory should prompt us to Do something about it. Why remember Frederick Douglass to celebrate MLK? Watch our Truth in Two (full text below). Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1
What sports can tell us about planning for the future Watch our Truth in Two to find out how (full text below). Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching
The public reading by a child hushed the voices of everyone that day. Find out why Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address matters for Memorial Day (full text follows). Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university
Clear thinking and communication necessitates three important stages. Find out what they are by watching our Truth in Two (full text below). Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at
“In every human Breast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom.” – Phillis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley contributed the first publication by an African American in 1773; a book of “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.” What attracted me this past week to Wheatley and her writing was a letter she
“How do I know if it’s the right thing to do?” This question has been asked often by students in my four decades of teaching. Many years ago (first published online in 2009) I developed what I call “The S.P.U.D. Test.” I was using it again this week in classes. Perhaps this work page will
Helping students to understand the outcomes of their assumptions. These are comments I send to each student after they have written their final project for one of my classes. The lines of thought deal with issues of anthropology, sociology, and economics based on the movie “Parasite” (Joon-ho, 2019). Most students write about class, capitalism, discrimination,
Quotes About, Concerns For, Comments On, & Encouragement Toward Education It’s the end of the semester for most of us teachers. Robin, my wife, is retiring from full time teaching in May. Final papers and grades are due soon. Perhaps this is why I decided to focus on education this week at MarkEckel.com. On this
Research from my Reading Click on the Hyperlinks for the Page Mark Wahlberg, a committed Catholic AND Hollywood film star, is dedicating himself to Faith Based Movies to “Serve the Lord” Thomas Sowell, one of my favorite intellectuals, is profiled in the article Tragic Optimist. Here is an excerpt from the article telling the story
One can judge the character of an author by his self-deprecation. Immediately, in the introduction to Faith, Reason and Beyond Reason, Mark Boone makes clear he does not know it all. Knowledge (epistemology) is the framework for Boone’s book, yet his first paragraph admits how much he learned from a student. Were I a screenwriter,
Dave Beck honored me by asking if I would write the foreword to his book. Here is my reflection on his memoir Fragments. Find his book here. Professor’s offices in older buildings are quite small. David’s 8 x 10-foot space was where we first met. The discussions we had knocked down walls, opening literary vistas before
When I first began teaching Christian high school students in the 1980’s I would often reference First Testament teaching on “the remnant,” reminding students that Christians are never far from persecution. Students were exposed to names such as Justin Martyr, Origen, Irenaeus, or Tertullian and texts such as “The Epistle to Diognetus,” Pliny’s letter to
When I was a boy, I wanted to be an astronaut. My favorite TV program was “Lost in Space.” I remember fervently praying that I would be allowed to be someone who could travel to distant stars. [I became a theologian instead. Some may see a connection there. 😊] Coupled with my space odyssey, I
“Tech Execs Require Nannies to Sign Contract Barring Screens,” was an article I introduced in a course I teach entitled “Reading, Writing & Inquiry.” The students were stunned to learn that Silicon Valley leaders do not allow their own children to view anything on screens during the day. Students astutely noted, “they must know something,
My review of Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell by Jason L. Riley (New York, NY: Basic Books. 2021. 291 pp. $30. Hardcover.) will appear in an upcoming issue of Christian Education Journal. A legacy of ideas generates generational impact. For a long time, I have wondered if my own ideas would be lost to the
There are only two choices. Give me a minute to explain. “Humanly speaking,” “not necessarily,” and “it does not automatically follow” are phrases we use to admit our best plans, policies, and practices are ultimately outside our control. Our individual, limited viewpoint – we are all fallen, fallible, finite – leaves us with only two
Weather is constantly changing. But we don’t like change. Give Me a Minute to explain why. In her letters Flannery O’Connor stated, “All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and change is painful” O’Connor’s ideas track with biblical truth. Grace is an undeserved, God-given gift, rescuing us from sin; but we like
The natural world comes from The Supernatural God. Give me a minute to explain. Did you know it takes all of your over 600 muscles plus your brain to make your body run? The human body plan explained by exercise scientists is fascinating! Did you know that the stealth fighter-bomber design was patterned after the
If you were shown a miracle, would you believe? Give Me a Minute to explain. The story is told of the deaths of two men, one rich, one poor. The rich man, who thought his life was a result of his work, found himself in torment, separated from God. The poor man, who believed that
Why is the idea of “warp and woof” important for everyday life? Give Me a Minute to explain. I agree with Augustine who said, “We love Truth when it suits us, but hate Truth when it accuses us” and with Os Guinness who said, “If we do not have integration with truth in the whole
In celebration of life for mother and child with the Pro-Life Movement. Give Me a Minute as I consider four points for life. Everyone has a theology, an operating system for life. I believe all views should have at least four points to consider, about when life begins. All should be: (1) Considerate of the
How do you know the Bible is real history? Give Me a Minute to explain. Dr. Luke knew “what was real.” The good doctor gives the precision, the detail we come to expect from doctors. Luke 3:1-6 is a case in point. Luke chronicles the historic exactitude of John the Baptist’s mission and message into
Talking about God means we are talking about everything. Find out why by watching or reading my one-minute explanation. G. K. Chesterton, famed Christian apologist, saw the basic problem of God and reality. Chesterton said, “You cannot evade the issue of God: whether you talk about pigs or the binomial theory, you are still talking
To acknowledge life as a gift of God, one’s whole focus and concentration must be shifted from themselves to One outside themselves. Gratitude focuses one’s attention upward. Thankfulness is of preeminent importance. Disciples of Jesus as Lord bow the knee to their Sovereign Savior both in response to Who He is as well as what
Dreading those potential disagreements over politics, culture, and other issues that might come up at the dinner table and other family events? Here are 10 Proverbial principles that will help you engage in lively conversation without losing your Christian witness. “All I wanted to do was argue.” So said a student enrolled in my public