Book Review: Truman

Truman wasn't the greatest president. He wasn't the smartest. He had no elite education. He was a failure in his civilian career. He made quite a few mistakes in office. But his saving grace was this: he was a man of conviction. In everything that he did, Harry S. Truman endeavored to do it well.

As a bankrupt farmer boy, Truman had great ambition. He wrote to his fiancee that his goal was to be the governor of a state, a seemingly unimaginable position for someone like him. He had never been in "high society". He was a very poor speaker. He had no political connections. His farm soon failed. He tried shopkeeping and failed at that too.

David McCullough is one of the best historians of our time and his book Truman is a massive masterpiece. His strong opinions shine through but without bias towards conservative or liberal viewpoints. He clearly detests Joe McCarthy or J. Edgar Hoover, but avoids making judgments about Eisenhower (a Republican) and his rivalry with Truman (a Democrat).

10 Problems with the Avengers

Instead of writing another review about how awesome the Avengers is, I thought it would be more fun to examine some logical flaws in the plot that you might have overlooked. :) Also, I thought it would be fun to borrow a bit from Mark Twain's critique of the Deerslayer series.

WARNING: This may contain spoilers!

Thoughts from the Shower: Compassion and Political Philosophy

The Tuesday series now has a name! Or at least a working name! If you can think of a witty way to integrate the concept (random profundities that reveal themselves to me while showering), I'll use your name.


I've decided to write this article in the form of a mini-play, so enjoy!

Did Miracles End with the Apostles?

I've grown up in churches that believed, at least in theory, that miracles happen even in the present day. However, through the last few years, reading theology books and discussing the topic with others, I came to realize that my assumption was a point of controversy in the church. There are many people who do not deny the reality of miracles but relegate them to the time of the apostles and the first-century church. Today, I'd like to address this "error" and examine this phenomenon in a bit more depth.

1. Is there Biblical Support for the Charismata ending?

But it's a handy term referring to all of the "gift": tongues, prophecy, miracles, signs, exorcism, etc. The Bible itself talks about all of these things happening during the time of the Apostles. They healed the sick (the cripple), cast out demons (Paul and the sons of the rabbi), prophesied over people (Ananias and Sapphira), and spoke in tongues. But according to those terming themselves cessationist, all of these died out with the closure of the Biblical canon. In other words, when the Bible came into its final form, the gifts simultaneously ceased in manifestation.

However, what Biblical support is there for this position? Did not Jesus command the disciples to do all of these things in the Great Commission? Did Paul or any apostle even hint at the cessation of the gifts? Why then did Paul write for so long about how we must utilize spiritual gifts if these sections are irrelevant for the last 1800+ years? The only passage that I have ever heard quoted is 1 Cor 13:8-12:

I'm Back!

It's been a long time since the last post. Since February, I've won three debate tournaments, competed in Science Olympiad, finished 3 AP exams, got elected president of the honor society, and had amazing experiences in every way - spiritual, intellectual, and physical. I'll probably do some hindsight posts eventually.

It's the time of year when TV networks reevaluate their show lineups and cancel series and revamp others.  For now, everything is in flux for next year till the fall. The one constant for this blog will always be the successful "Conversing on Controversy". We'll be doing that every Thursday without fail. Everything else is up in the air.

This is going to be the "Great Summer Experiment". I'm going to try different things so prepare to be surprised. From June 20th through August 1st, I'm going to Minnesota for Debate Nationals and then India and Israel. I'll do my best to keep you posted about my travels as well as hopefully photo-blog it.

Tuesdays are random, but I'm going to try doing op-eds. As always, I'm open for guest posts so feel free to chime in. If you are a fellow blogger and would like to do a blog v. blog debate, I'd be delighted.