In an era when so many churches are rocked by sin and scandal, Billy Graham was respected by both Christians and non-christians for his integrity.
In an era where sexual harassment is rampant in seemingly every sphere of life, Billy Graham vowed to never spend time alone with a woman who was not his wife, mother, or daughter.
In an era where many of our most famous pastors live in mansions, Billy Graham vowed to not live lavishly. (more…)
I still remember the first time I ever talked to Johnnie. He was helping plan a philanthropy for his fraternity, and he called me after I had volunteered to do stand up comedy at the event. He was so enthusiastic, that I had a hard time understanding him. Johnnie had never heard my routine before, but he was so excited and complimentary that he made me feel like I was Jerry Seinfeld, or some other famous comedian.
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Click here to read “The Opposite of Loneliness” by Marina Keegan
This afternoon, while finding excuses not to read for class, I happened to come across an article which featured the picture of a lovely young woman. I found out that she was a recent Yale graduate who died last week, a mere five days after graduating from the prestigious institution. I read the article, noted what a pity it was, but barely gave it a second thought.
Marina Keegan was riding in a car with her boyfriend in Massachusetts when the young man lost control of the automobile. Keegan died at the scene of the accident, her boyfriend was hospitalized and released shortly after. She had been set to move to New York next month to begin writing for the New Yorker. As an undergraduate, she had been an active force on campus.
I was very saddened to learn this morning of the death of the great writer Christopher Hitchens. For over a year, I had paid close attention to his battle with cancer, knowing all along that it was going to be a fight which he would ultimately lose. The end came yesterday for the 62 year old Hitchens. In this day and age, that seems young. He had hundreds of thousands more words left to be written, but it was not meant to be.
He was a brilliant man and a wonderful writer. I certainly didn’t agree with everything Hitchens said (most notably, his outspoken atheism), but I respected his mind. Even when I disagreed with what he said, Hitchens forced you to evaluate your beliefs, a gift that so few writers have.
In the chasm created by the death of Hitchens, the world has one less intellectual giant, but his writing will live on forever. While he did not have the benefit of long life, the prolific volume of his work was that which the average person could not have produced in several lifetimes.
jrb
Steve Jobs changed the world.
Of the billions of people who have walked the earth, there are very few for whom such an epitaph could be written. For Steve Jobs, it cannot be denied. (more…)
