Evangelical Writers

I read this article about Christianity and literature. I agree that Evangelicals have tended ignore art for arts sake and focused too exclusively on books and records with obvious utilitarian purposes (perhaps the problem is not so much the dearth of evangelical artists, but the lack of support, or market, they have received). I wonder where Wendell Berry would fit into this? I know little about him, but from what I read, he seems to be a devout Christian and a first-rate writer. He does not dress like a typical evangelical. He is thoughtfully critical of the American church's support of an international, consumer oriented economy, not to mention our support of modern technology. I doubt he thinks highly of blogs. But "Evangelical" is a theological and not a political term. He does not constantly quote scripture, but read his essays, you will see his views are bathed in it.

Of course, I don't know if Mr. Berry would apply that label to himself. But let's suppose he is. What I find refreshing about his work is no evangelical organization or business has trumpeted him as our Gospel warrior against the rest of the world. He is not our cultural David, slaying the giants of popular culture with his literary rocks. Rather, he is a champion of God's creation and biblical community, two things we have tended to ignore. His poetry should be appreciated, and his admonitions should be thoughtfully and prayerfully considered.

Perhaps there are good Christian writers among us, if only we took time to read them.

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I spent some time catching up on David Brooks, today. I wanted to catch up on Nicholas Kristof, but he appears to be on book leave.

I resisted the allure of "Times Select" as long as it existed. I've been reading the New York Times for free ever since my college gave away newspapers in the vain hopes that the budding Internet generation would become subscribers. When they stopped serving papers in plastic stands under the neon lights of dorm lobbies, I discovered that I could get the Times delivered to my inbox, and the reading continued.

Many of my conservative friends hate the Times for its left-of-center bias. I like it because it tends to find stories on cultural and international themes that I fail to find in other American papers. And biases, as long as they are not obnoxious, are challenging and healthy if you can recognize them. (As an aside, and I speak as someone who enjoys writing but has no training in journalism, I do believe journalists should write without bias as much as possible, but I find it difficult to imagine them succeeding 100 percent)

Of course, I enjoyed reading those who had no need to hide their biases. Columnists like Kristof and Brooks exposed my mind, coming into its own in the worlds of politics and public debate, to increasingly varied vantage points. I particularly liked these two, not because I necessarily agreed with their politics, but because they both seem more reflective than their peers. Brooks integrates philosophy, sociology and history in his columns better than anyone else I've read. Kristof explores his subjects more literally, writing not just about, but from under-reported corners of the world (he received a Pulitzer for his columns from Darfur, when most were focused on Iraq).

Then the Times started charging for their star columnists. I refused to buy. Practically, my worlds of students, mission and non-profit have not left me much in the way of disposable income. As a matter of principle, there is so much information and entertainment available on the Internet, I saw no reason to pay for a little bit more (relatively speaking). I missed them, don't get me wrong. Occasionally an enthralling title with a teaser line next to that orange-coated, stylized "t" would tempt me to reach for my credit card. I would look longingly at the opinion section of my NYT email before scrolling up to the international headlines section. At least it helped me read more actual stories rather than opinions about them.

This week, my resistance has paid-off. "Times-select" is no more. The powers that be realized that you make money on the Internet not through credit card grabbing gateways but through advertising. Too many readers came to the Times website searching for columnists, only to leave when the hat came out.

Of course, they picked a strange time to quit. Brooks is on a break and Kristof is on book-leave. Oh well. We'll be re-acquainted Soon.

Now, if only the ESPN website would get rid of that ridiculous "insider" section.