Reflections for Memorial Day

One of the powerful things about Memorial Day is that we live in a community and an America that is worthy of sacrifice. Many feel, for good reason, the foundational ideals of our Republic are in peril. Continue Reading...

Review: Grant’s Final Victory

This country suffers no shortage of heroic tales. For the Union soldier who served under Ulysses S. Grant, there certainly was no greater leader. Often referred to by detractors as “a butcher” for the wake of Union dead left after his victories, he took the fight to the Confederacy. Continue Reading...

The High Cost of War

Justin Constantine has written an excellent piece on the high cost of war in the Atlantic titled “Wounded in Iraq: A Marine’s Story.” Constantine, who was shot in the head in Iraq, notes in his essay, Blood and treasure are the costs of war. Continue Reading...

Happy 235th Birthday to the Marines

Today is the 235th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. The PowerBlog has some excellent tributes to the Marines in the archives. They are certainly appropriate to highlight today: The Few, The Proud, The Marines Review: Joker One Film Review: Taking Chance Here is an excerpt from my post “The Few, The Proud, The Marines:” When I worked for U.S. Continue Reading...

Avatar, WALL-E, and Hybrids

I saw the latest blockbuster Avatar last night, and the early plaudits are true: this is a visually stunning masterpiece of “hybrid” cinematography, a “full live-action shoot in combination with computer-generated characters and live environments.” Continue Reading...

Veterans Day Review: As You Were

Washington Post reporter and author Christian Davenport has told a deeply raw and emotional story in his new book As You Were: To War and Back with the Black Hawk Battalion of the Virginia National Guard. Continue Reading...

Review: Joker One

It is appropriate that Donovan Campbell offers an inscription about love from 1 Corinthians 13:13 at the beginning of his book, Joker One: A Marine Platoon’s Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood. Continue Reading...

Two words of praise and one of caution

I’ve been on record more than once regarding my own doubts and criticisms of the precise political pronouncements made by various church groups, especially offices and branches seemingly representing the institutional church. Continue Reading...

Combat and Conversion

U.S. Marines pray over a fallen soldier “Foxhole conversions are not real Christian conversions,” and, “It is virtually impossible for Christians to serve in the military and remain faithful.” These are the words of a professor I experienced in seminary. Continue Reading...