Quincy's Top 100 Novels: Novels 100-91

 

Why Christians Should Read Novels: I believe it is significant that one of the primary ways that God has chosen to communicate Godself to us is through story. From the first page of Scripture, we are brought to the realization that God wants us to see Who He is by inviting us into the narrative that He is creating in the world we know. In the Bible there is poetry, there is history, there is storytelling – and in many cases – there is fantastical imagery inviting us into a world that is far greater than what we can see with our physical eyes. Notably, when God Himself comes to earth as a human being in Jesus, He chooses – most often – to communicate what He wants people to know in parables – stories He makes up to convey timeless truths about Himself and about ourselves. I believe that all great stories give us insights into our existence in a way that mirrors the storytelling that God Himself does. We are, after all, made in God’s image, as sub-creators in this universe of wonders He has placed us in as His representatives. So, it should be no surprise to Christians to find human beings – even those who are not believers in Jesus – creating stories that display truth about life, the world, humanity, love, God, and everything in between; all of this can bring us closer to our Lord Jesus if we bring it to Him, with minds taken captive to Him and thoughts made obedient to His Will.

In this series, I will be going through my current list of top 100 novels I have read. I fully expect this list to grow and change over the course of my life, and I hope you, friend reader, will help me grow it by recommending books I have overlooked to me after you read my selections. I have tried, especially over the past decade of my life, to diversify my novel catalog, looking for books written by folks who are not white men of European descent, but I’m sure my list as it currently exists still slants that way. Fortunately, my reading of great literature has HELPED to show me the need to seek culturally and ethnically diverse stories. To qualify for my list, a book has to be either a continuous fictional narrative or a series of short-story form fictional narratives. Additionally, each author can only have one entry on my list (other books written by an author that I’ve read will be listed in parentheses following my favorite title from each writer).

100. The End of Baseball by Peter Schilling, Jr. (Adult language and substance-abuse situations)
Summary: In an alternative universe version of 1944, maverick baseball owner Bill Veeck buys the Philadelphia Athletics, ditches the team’s white players, and fills it with stars from the Negro Leagues.
Analysis: For me, baseball is a primary conduit for reflecting on the meaning of life, as I find the sport endlessly fascinating as a daily exercise in struggle, pain, joy, victory, failure and redemption. I find that Schilling’s novel does an exceptional job illuminating how fame is fleeting and triumph in this world is always mixed with sadness, all while highlighting the amazing stories from Black baseball players whose talents our nation’s racism robbed us of fully appreciating.

99. Track Series by Jason Reynolds (Appropriate for pre-teen/teen readers)
Summary: In this young-adult series, Reynolds traces the stories of four members of an urban track team, including their challenges at home, school, and in their sport of choice.
Analysis: These books are excellent choices for adults to read with their children, as the stories are exciting and funny, while also bringing up important aspects of our society to discuss in ways that are not preachy or verbose. Reynolds knows how to tell a good story for people of all ages, but especially teens, and, if you’re like me, these books will help you understand backgrounds and environments with which you may not have been especially familiar before reading them.

98. In His Steps by Charles Sheldon
Summary: A pastor and his congregation begin aligning their lives with Scripture by asking the basic question, ‘What would Jesus do?’
Analysis: A bit ham-handed at times, this novel’s earnest nature and willingness to confront honestly evils of all kinds in our world stands the test of time, in my opinion. I’ll openly acknowledge that the narrative can be a bit sappy and preachy at (many?) points, but the question that it asks believers and non-believers alike and the framing of those questions in the stories of characters you can’t help but care about make it more than worth a read and a re-read for me.

97. Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
Summary: Russian fathers born of the mid-19^th century deal with the changing perspectives of their sons as they come to the forefront during the beginning of the late 19^th-century.
Analysis: Ever wondered why your parents don’t understand you? Or, why your kids are so weird? Turns out Russian writers have been asking those questions for at least 150 years. This novel is a surprisingly quick read and deftly handles the bankruptcy of nihilism while asking some difficult questions about the feudalistic system that was hanging on in Russia at the time, all while portraying dads and sons realize the importance of their bond. Jesus gave us the greatest version of this story in the Parable of the Prodigal Son – Turgenev only adds his own special spin on the tale. When it comes down to it, we are all trying to imagine ourselves back home and picturing how our fathers might welcome us or reject us when we get there.

96. There, There by Tommy Orange (Adult language and substance-abuse situations)
Summary: We follow various Native American characters as they deal with the violence, poverty and discrimination, while seeking to be faithful to ties of family and love.
Analysis: It is hard for me not to spend every moment when I encounter a story of Native Americans feeling absolutely heartbroken over how they have been mistreated. The miracle of this book is that Orange spends no time blaming or attacking, simply offering a lament and prayer for hope for his people, all packaged in a compelling narrative that will keep you turning pages to see what meaningful resolution can be possible when there is so much pain. This is the story of the people whom God loves and the world has rejected – a story which should call Christians back to their roots as a faith for the marginalized instead of a faith that oppressed and rejected Native Americans (and others).

95. Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (Written for pre-teen/teens, but I’d advocate a child being 13+ to read it due to its complexity).
Summary: The Baudelaire orphans experience a chain of disasters as they seek to uncover the mystery of their parents death while fending off the dastardly villains of a secret society seemingly desperate to enact their similar demise.
Analysis: There is something to be said for a series that is extremely clever, unfailingly funny, and frequently poignant that is written to assure that life is very, very hard and everything is not always going to turn out all right – because all of this is TRUE to real life. In my opinion, this series is severely underrated; not only is it imaginative and well-plotted and populated with Dickens-like characters who will stay in your consciousness forever, it asks questions that we all ask when we deal with tragedy, pain, and loss. This is a children’s story if it was written by the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes.

94. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (Also read: Here I Am, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) (Adult language and situations).
Summary: Two narratives are woven together as a character of Ukrainian-Jewish descent seeks to discover and write the history of his grandparents.
Analysis: I appreciate how inventive, funny, and different Foer’s stories are, but I realize not everyone will. I find it hard to believe this story wouldn’t move most readers to cry, laugh, and wonder about the meaning of life, and about how our ancestor’s trials make us who we are. There are questions about generational pain and suffering in the middle of hilarious hijinks that span generations. For Christians, and for all people, I believe it is important to understand and appreciate with love and respect the story of the Jewish people, and this novel is a great story that also helps with this effort.

93. Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Marukami (Adult language and situations)
Summary: A Japanese man uncovers the truth about himself, his wife, his wife’s family, a neighbor girl, and a missing cat in a labyrinthine story of self-discovery and love.
Analysis: I enjoyed Marukami’s story because of how hard it made me think. He is able to be funny, deep, mysterious, and direct all at the same time. The primary theme seems to be about how humans take the wounds they both sustain and inflict and craft distinct identities that provide them space to live, love and endure. Jesus’ nail-scarred hands remind us of the importance of understanding this concept.

92. The Good Father by Noah Hawley (Also read: Before the Fall) (Adult language)
Summary: A psychiatrist’s son is suspected of shooting a candidate for President.
Analysis: Hawley is my favorite writer for television, and he does incredible work here in crafting a story that explores the guilt that parents experience for the actions of their children, and the lengths to which a person will go to protect and redeem their son. There is no limit to a father’s love – that’ll preach.

91. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love – short story collection – by Raymond Carver (Adult language and situations)
Summary: Stories that showcase Carver’s ability to use as few words as possible to leave a reader’s mind to confront ideas of love, loss, companionship, and depression.
Analysis: For me, reading a good short story is like entering a boxing match, different than the more baseball game/chess match experience of a good novel. Few are as good as Carver at delivering those blows, leaving you gasping on the canvas, reevaluating the decisions that left you feeling this way. All of this is a good thing, just to clarify. Jesus does the same thing in His parables that often leave His hearers breathless and angry.

(This blog was originally published on my friend, Wes George's, website: squintinginthelight.org. Please check it out for lots of great content!)

Quincy's Rankings of U.S. Presidents

Since I was 9 years old, I have loved reading about the U.S Presidents. On my own, I memorized the order of the Presidents and I can still weirdly recite that order today. I made it my goal to own and read a biography of every U.S. President, and I completed that goal in 2023. With this in mind, I have undertaken to rank the Presidents based on four categories: (1) Leadership - essentially, were they able to get things done? (2) Policies - essentially, did the policies they promoted further the good of the country? (3) Character - essentially, did they display high moral character in personal and public life? (Note: Presidents who were slave-owners could not score higher than 2 in Character). (4) Legacy - essentially, did their presidency influence the country positively and does their time as President have a positive, lasting influence today? For those who were tied in their ranking scores, I tried to evaluate who was the better president in general as objectively as I could to break the ties. So, each number represents where I think each President ranks out of the 40 who completed at least 2 years of a term.

If I have a bias in this list, it's towards Presidents who were able to further the good of the country by finding a middle ground that created an environment in which life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness could thrive under law. So, please don't believe that I hate your favorite President because I ranked him too low. I'll also say that the more recent the Presidency, the more difficult it is to rank that Presidency accuracy, so I'm sure that as I read more and more time passes, some of these grades will change.

I hope this list will encourage someone to do some reading on the lives of the Presidents, and, most importantly, inspire us to look for inspiring, moral, effective leadership in future Presidents. As I updated this list for this year, I realized anew some of the futility of it. The vast majority of men on this list have glaring flaws; actions or character traits that lead us to look at their legacies with skepticism and even disdain. So, while recognizing that you could justly argue for every slave-owning President to be at the bottom of the list, that as many great things as FDR did, his running Japanese internment camps tarnishes all of the good he oversaw, and so on... I have tried to give each person their due credit for noteworthy accomplishments while not ignoring the harm they did to the nation. 

Presidents listed in following order...

Rank Name Leadership Policies Character Legacy Total

 1-40                    5-1             5-1        5-1       5-1         20-4

THE BEST OF THE BEST: We were fortunate with the leaders who came to power at the crucial moments of both the U.S.’s founding and its being put asunder in the Civil War. Lincoln’s incredible abilities to unite his political rivals and keep those under him focused on the goal of preserving the country and ending the forces that threatened to divide them. Lincoln loses one point for the repeated suspension of habeas corpus, but this is more of a sad necessity of being a War President than anything else. He also executed Dakota Indians in the Dakota War. He did try to commute as many executions as politically possible, but this is a character mark. Lincoln was did not always hold the right views, but he virtually always found his way to the truth through his experiences; he was an expert manipulator and I am of the view, historically-speaking, that he always had as his intention to accomplish abolition, but he used any rhetorical tactic he could to keep people at the negotiating table. He is known as the Greatest President for a good reason. Washington’s ability to lead without coming close to dictatorial status is crucial. His decision to voluntarily stepping aside after his second term single-handedly established the nation as a democratic republic. Washington was a slave-holder, but he did decry slavery and release his slaves in his will. This is a commendable sign that he at least recognized a great evil in his life.

1. Abraham Lincoln 5 4 4 5 18

2. George Washington 5 4 2 5 16

ELITES: Each President in this section lead the country at an absolutely elite level, but each had their flaws.  FDR took drastic steps to help the citizens of the country escape from the Depression and, then, to defeat the threats posed by the Axis powers in World War II. With that said, Roosevelt cheated on his wife, created a Japanese prison camp, and paved the way for some big government initiatives that remain somewhat unwieldy, while also helping millions. Monroe united the yet fledgling nation in an unprecedented fashion and established an expansive identity for the United States under one of the most skilled cabinets ever assembled. Monroe was an unrepentant slave-holder who made no move toward abolition. Coolidge supplied moral leadership when Harding died, and his fiscal policies seem to have sparked some booming economic times – however, those times were followed by the Great Depression and much debate has ensued as to how much Coolidge was to blame for that event. Coolidge also had a surprisingly good record speaking for racial equality, but failed to stand up against a racially-motivated immigration bill from Congress, perhaps because of depression that besotted him after the loss of his young son to blood poisoning. 

3. Franklin D. Roosevelt 5 3 3 4 15

4. James Monroe                4  4  2  5 15

5. Calvin Coolidge 4 3 4 3 14

ELITE GROUP:  Grant committed to reconstruction, crushed the Klu-Klux Klan, and provided stability for a nation seeking to heal after the Civil War. However, his misplaced loyalty to army friends allowed rampant corruption to seep into his administration, though his own awareness or involvement in it seems to be negligible. He also abandoned the cause of Reconstruction toward the end of his second term.  McKinley led a reformed government with a moral conscience he brought to bear on all affairs of state, but his reach sometimes appeared a bit limited. However, when all said and done, his presidency set the pattern for a more responsive and active chief executive, a legacy that continues (with pluses and minuses) today. His assassination unfortunately cut short a Presidential career that might have seen him rise to the top 5. Eisenhower had a huge influence on the development of new technologies and the highway systems. He also governed from the center and reading about his years of power makes one pine for that kind of even-handed political dealing.   Eisenhower's open faith was refreshing, but he could have used to be more mindful of the importance of not mixing church and state. Eisenhower's administration's record on issues of race was also very poor.  In both cases, however, I am confident that with the benefit of historical perspectives on their failings, each man would have been able to see and correct many of the errors that beset them and lead the country effectively. 

6. Ulysses S. Grant 3 3 4 3 13

7. William McKinley 3 3 4 3 13
8. Dwight D. Eisenhower     3  3  4  3 13

RESPECTABLE LEADERS: This group of capable men had their share of turmoil, but weathered the storms to carve out meaningful legacies. Obama was a model of an excellent dad and husband and endured plenty of criticism unfairly because of his race, but his steady leadership helped the country pull out of a Recession and saw the capture and killing of notorious terrorist Osama bin Ladin. His attempts to address the broken healthcare system and address climate change issues stand out as prescient. Obama often failed to negotiate effectively with a Republican Congress and the long-term effects of his reliance on increased executive powers and the failure to find a way to address the national debt leave his legacy an uncertain factor. I also deducted points for his promotion of drone assassinations and inability to come to the table for sensible compromises with conservatives, especially on abortion issues.   Harrison’s personality was a bit too abrasive to win him many political friends, but his presidency saw some important anti-trust laws passed, six more states be admitted to the Union, and a strengthening of the Navy which would be crucial for later years. Harrison also pushed for measures to preserve racial equality, but nothing was accomplished because of his inability to navigate the political world. John Quincy Adams was less politically adept than his father, but had great ideas including a national highway system and federal encouragement of the study of astronomy. His was mostly a failed Presidency, but his passionate attacks on slavery as a congressman after his Presidency and defense of the Amistead case dramatically helped his character and legacy ratings. Arthur was a political hack thrust unexpectedly into the Presidency, who showed an undiscovered conscience in continuing the reforming efforts of his predecessor and standing up for the rights of the oppressed with limited political sway. Though one of the most intellectually-gifted of Presidents, Madison was limited by the communication methods of his day in his turbulent and sometimes disastrous management of the War of 1812. However, he recovered quickly by finding leaders he could trust and reaching compromises for the good of the country. His leadership solidified the workability of the Constitution he designed and led directly to the prosperity of the Monroe era of Good Feelings. Madison was also a slaveholder, which lowers his character score. Truman deserves immense credit for holding the country together after Roosevelt's passing and bringing order to the post World War II world. He attempted to stand up for racial equality also, but his decisions to drop the atomic bombs and to enter the war in Korea were terrible (if understandable) mistakes that uniquely alter his legacy and prevent a top 10 finish.

9. Barack Obama             3  3 4  2 12
10. Benjamin Harrison    3  3  4 2 12
11. John Quincy Adams 1 2 5 5 12

12. Chester A. Arthur 3 3 3 3 12
13. James Madison          3  4 2 3  12

14. Harry S. Truman        4 2  4 2  12

UNEVEN PERFORMERS: LBJ certainly had his high-points – working for racial equality, attempting to use the federal government’s powers to help people in need, reforming immigration, and working for civil rights progress – and also his low-points – prolonging and intensifying the Vietnam War, deceiving the public in regards to the war (a HUGE demerit here), and personal infidelity to his wife. Roosevelt Teddy makes his appearance in this category, just as he does on Mount Rushmore. TR was a strong leader, without a doubt, and his dealing with corruption and support of the National Parks system had far reaching effects. However, a thorough examination of his record leaves one with the impression of a man who had a more style than substance AND left a dangerous legacy of cult of personality leadership that focused on an expansive federal government. I’m not sure I’d have the guts to say that to his face, however, and he was able to make deals to accomplish an agenda without sacrificing his principles, a key to effective leadership. He espoused some racist beliefs that guided some of his policies, and that is reflected here as well.  Reagan was able to pull the nation through the Cold War, to work with the opposite party to enact needed compromises and to set the country up for an economic recovery. However, trickle-down economics is not an effective strategy for long-term growth, and Reagan was inattentive to the cries for justice from people of color and other minorities, overseeing a good degree of harm to those communities, whether intentional or not. He also promoted a neo-populism that has had continued disastrous effects. Cleveland’s style of limited government provided steady leadership that saw the country through some tumultuous years in two non-consecutive terms at the turn of the 20th Century, but the laissez-faire nature of what he did resulted in some financial problems nationally. And his personal dealings were not always morally circumspect. Kennedy was easy to like and inspired a fervent following of a populace believing in an optimistic form of government that fairly represents its constituents, but made some youthful, prideful mistakes, and his philandering lost him significant points in the character category.   Jefferson was a slaveholder who raped and had children with one of his slaves, and while his pushing the nation toward recognition of states' rights while also overseeing nation-building efforts like the Louisiana purchase deserve a noteworthy place in terms of legacy, he was also a very hands-off administrator which led to factionalism. John Adams’ personality, skills and character were absolutely crucial to the American cause during the Revolution, but his uncompromising nature and prickly manner hindered his effectiveness as a President. However, he was avowedly against slavery, he stood up for the separation of church and state, and he established the Presidency as a force to be reckoned with even after Washington’s retirement.

15. Lyndon B Johnson    3 3  2 3 11
16. Theodore Roosevelt 3  3  3 2 11
17. Ronald Reagan         3  3 2 3 11

18. Grover Cleveland 3 3 2 3 11
19. John F. Kennedy       3  3  2  3 11
20. Thomas Jefferson     4  3 1  3  11
21. John Adams            2 2 5 2 11

REPLACEMENT LEVEL:  George W. Bush was able to prevent large-scale follow-up attacks in the aftermath of 9/11 but missed some clear warnings that preceded it. That and the now clear illegitimacy of the War in Iraq, a lack of concern for certain minority groups, his reckless increase of the deficit, and the financial recession of his terms’ later years lessen his score. I will say that I find myself to be mostly a compassionate conservative, a philosophy he promoted - but also failed to embody in many cases. His score is improved by many effective initiatives for world relief that not only saved lives but helped with national security. Polk was a slave-holding President, which dramatically decreases his character score, and he entered an unnecessary war against Mexico. However, he was able to navigate numerous challenges and restore the nation to financial stability while ultimately bringing in new states. Hayes, meanwhile, was a moral paragon, but also suffers from a lack of tangible results. He stood for reform, bravely held to a vow to seek one term, but made no attempt to support Reconstruction efforts and remained stymied from pushing any notable agenda due to his one-term vow and a very sketchy electoral process that empowered him. George H.W. Bush attempted to continue the policies of the Reagan administration from a more centrist perspective. His administration won the Gulf War, but their nation-building and foreign interference led to conflicts in later years, including those when his son was President, and questions about his moral character have emerged in these later years. Carter’s moral fiber bumps him up on this list, but he was not a particularly effective President. His commitment to his own ideas often seemed to keep him from recognizing the best policies and practices to keep the U.S. safe and prosperous. He did broker a peace between Israel and Egypt that remains in place to this day, and, from almost all accounts, is a very good person. Harding doesn't get credit for some excellent moves to stabilize the federal government and help the marginalized because his administration was so incredibly corrupt and he was a moral failure. Woodrow Wilson held abhorrent views on race and suffered from some dictatorial tendencies, but he navigated the nation through World War I and influenced increased involvement by the Federal Government in the lives of its citizens, for good or ill. 

22. George W. Bush             2  2 4 2  10
23. James K. Polk                 2  2  2 3 9
24. Rutherford B. Hayes       2 2 4 1 9

25. George H.W. Bush 2 2 3 2 9

26. Jimmy Carter 2 1 4 2 9
27. Warren G. Harding         2  3 1 2 8

28. Woodrow Wilson            2   2 2 2 8

BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE MEDIOCRE: Van Buren was a political savant with a real rags-to-riches story who failed to show as much aplomb in the White House while facing financial crises and the burden of living into Jacksonian principles. He was not a friend to abolitionists or First Nations peoples, but his opposition to slavery in his post-White House years is worth noting. Taft essentially became President because Theodore Roosevelt wanted him to be President, halfheartedly attempted to promote the progressive cause, and then lost re-election only to become a good Chief Justice. Ford was a good and honest man who mistakenly pardoned a twisted and dishonest man. However, he provided just enough stability to the office of the President to allow the nation to begin to recover a sense of trust in its Executive Branch. That’s about all he did, but it’s probably all he could have done. Jackson advanced the cause of the common citizen. However, his support of slavery, terrible treatment of Native Americans and general lack of political negotiating skills are huge blemishes on his record. Clinton ranks a lot higher on many other lists, but, I cannot point to many specific accomplishments of his administration, and he seemed to draft off of strong economic models built by his predecessors. He certainly was an expert politician, but his moral lapses are well-documented, and their legacy continues to bear sordid fruit today. Additionally, he was a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein and we have yet to understand the full extent of that connection. Biden helped the nation stabilize after a pandemic and an insurrection but failed to effectively compromise and communicate to build something sustainable and emphasized his personal power over the good of the country, refusing to transition out of the campaign in early 2023 and to allow his VP to distance herself from the disastrous lack of popularity of his administration. Finally, his preemptive pardons to end his administration sets a terrible precedent for the future of executive overreach. Hoover was an immensely talented statesman who knew how to find proper compromise solutions both parties could agree to... but he failed to recognize the signs of the oncoming Great Depression and his efforts to push back against it were futile. 

29. Martin Van Buren           2  1 3  2 8
30. William Howard Taft 1 2 4 1 8

31. Gerald Ford               2 1 4 1 8

32. Andrew Jackson          3  2 1  2 8

33. Bill Clinton                  3  3  1 1 8

34. Joe Biden                    2  3  2  1 8

35. Herbert Hoover 1 1 4 1 7

THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL: These five Presidents ruined their respective chances at making a positive impact on the nation and world through their leadership of the executive branch of government. There are Presidents from the 1850’s and 1860’s, 1910’s, 1970’s and 2010's on this list. They all have in common a lack of legacy, as none receive much respect from historians or political analysts. Here you will find Tyler who was a slave-holder and eventually joined the Confederacy. Despite accomplishing the annexation of Texas and establishing a hold in the Pacific, Tyler's appalling commitment to white supremacist thinking tainted every accomplishment of the first Vice President to take over for a President who died in office. And Tyler was the best of this bad bunch, which includes a crook who promoted nationalist ethnocentrism (Nixon), an inept pushover (Pierce), and an incompetent, racist mountebank (Johnson). The bottom of this list deserves extra scorn, so here we go: Buchanan heavily influenced the Dred Scott decision and sped the country down the road to the Civil War with zero attempts at exercising real leadership. Fillmore also was a weak-kneed political flunky who did nothing to combat the issues threatening to tear the Union of the States apart. Finally, the worst President in U.S. history in my view is Donald Trump, a man who traffics in jingoism and populist nationalism, incited a riot on the U.S Capitol after losing an election as a direct challenge to our system of democratic elections, and who has showed little effort to work for compromises for the common good of the country, instead simply seeking to consolidate power. He began a second term by issuing 400 executive orders and handing broad responsibilities over to an unelected billionaire in a dangerous acceleration of executive power, was a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein, threatened to invade Greenland, defended his special agents shooting a soccer mom and a nurse in the head, installed an anti-vaccine person as head of health and human services, and is openly attempting to exert unprecedented influence and control over the next election. Finally, he elected to begin a war in Iran that has, so far, resulted in a worse deal for the U.S. than the one he discarded upon entering office and increased global influence and power for the very people he attempted to remove from power in Iran.

36. John Tyler                 2  2 1  1 6
37. Richard Nixon 2 2 1 1 6
38. Franklin Pierce 1 1 3 1 6

39. Andrew Johnson 1 1 2 1 5

40. James Buchanan       1  1 2  1 5
41. Millard Fillmore       1  1  2  1 5

42. Donald J. Trump     1  1 1  1 4

INCOMPLETE GRADES – Combined, these Presidents did not even serve a total of two years. It seems, unfair, then to judge their abilities and policies. It is especially sad in the case of Garfield and Harrison, as both displayed moral courage to enact positive changes in government, both pushing back against their respective era’s electioneering and spoils systems. Garfield’s support of the plight of black citizens makes his assassination most poignantly tragic. 

1. James A. Garfield

2. William Henry Harrison

3. Zachary Taylor

Now Is the Time to Call Your Congressperson

The United States is at legitimate risk of having our military personnel ordered to invade and conquer Greenland.

For years, this would have been the opening sentence to a fantasy or science fiction novel. Perhaps, it would be the starting point of a movie starring Sylvester Stallone or Idris Elba or Vin Diesel where they are a military commander who goes rogue to stop a U.S. President drunk on power. Or, alternatively, where Greenland is controlled by an alien life form that loves cold weather and wants to take over the world and where Stallone/Elba/Diesel are the only one who can stop them. Call the movie "THE ICEMAN COMETH" or something like that.

I am here to tell you that we are living in a reality somehow wilder than this subplot, but still terrifyingly true. President Trump and his administration seem to be legitimately contemplating the feasibility of invading Greenland for the purpose of taking it from Denmark and making it a U.S. Territory.

Let's start with some basic facts:

-There is - currently - an active U.S. military base in Greenland.

-I understand that Greenland, situated in the North Atlantic, is an important strategic point for preventing unwanted Russian operations there, in Europe and in North America.

-There is no indication that Greenland is unwilling to discuss increasing U.S. military presence and operations in their nation.

-Personally, I don't think it is necessary or fiscally-sound policy, but if President Trump wants to see what offer he can make in terms of money to convince the nation of Denmark to sell Greenland to the United States, with the consent of the residents of Greenland, and have Greenland become the 51st state or our territory in some manner... that's his prerogative. I find it a Quixotic idea at BEST, but with congressional approval and the consent of Denmark and Greenland, this is the ONLY constitutional manner to accomplish this policy goal.

-If the United States invades Greenland, NATO will cease to exist as we know it. Europe - our historical friends in the embrace of democratic principles of government, civil rights, personal freedoms, and a large portion of our cultural and religious heritage - will consider the United States as much of a threat and aggressor as they do Russia. We will be further down the line toward the worldview of Russian Premier Vladimir Putin's belief that the world should be divided into territories owned by or subservient to Russia, territories owned by and subservient to the United States and territories owned by and subservient to China. If you fear one-world government, the invasion of Greenland is a huge step towards something as close to that as we have ever been in our world's history.

-Our brave military personnel would be asked to be prepared to commit violent acts against a peaceful, democratic nation which has never threatened or even opposed the United States. There will be no going back from this... which will remove all doubt that the United States is not a liberator of the oppressed. They are an oppressor of the free.

I am sorry to have to tell you this, but you NEED to email and call your U.S. Senators and U.S. representatives and tell them that they must do everything in their power to prevent the military invasion of Greenland. RIGHT NOW. You need to pray that our Joint Chiefs of Staff maintain the moral courage to resign in protest if asked to approve this invasion. You need to pray that President Trump is bluffing on this and realizes - whether now or soon - that a military invasion of Greenland is untenable.

War is a tremendous tragedy. Invading a sovereign nation should be a last step measure to prevent the clear and eminent loss of innocent lives. There is not a reason for the United States to invade Greenland and you need to let your elected representatives know this. This is not about if you voted for President Trump or support him. If that is the case, please assume that he is just getting bad advice from Stephen Miller and you need to help him wake up and realize that by having other people in Washington D.C. communicate that to him. But, please, let's all agree - invading Greenland, taking over a sovereign, democratic nation, is a terrible, terrible idea that violates every principle we hold dear as Americans.

Redemption Cubed

“If he now failed, this world would hereafter be redeemed... not by a second crucifixion: perhaps -- who knows -- not even a second Incarnation... some act of even more appalling love, some glory of yet deeper humility. For he had seen already how the pattern grows and how from each world it sprouts into the next through some other dimension. The small external evil which Satan had done [on Mars] was only a line: the deeper evil he had done on Earth a square: if Venus fell, her evil would be a cube -- her Redemption beyond conceiving. Yet redeemed she would be.” – C.S. Lewis, Perelendra
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Proctor walked down the cavernous hall, his every move causing echoes that seemed endless. Another level of this building with no sign of life, another disappointing development in the attempt to make contact with another civilization. Clearly, there had been a civilization here, but it had been a long time since there had been a living being from that culture with whom contact could be had.

The communication device buzzed into life. “Proctor, find anything?”

“No indications of anyone having been here for quite some time, Captain, but this place looks like it was a library. Looks like some kind of data-ports set up along the walls.”

“That’s something, then. Any chance of using the L.D.T. (linguistic diagnostic tool) to see if we can decipher what kind of data we might be looking at?”

“Just about to check that out. I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything.”

Setting the L.D.T. on the screen closest to the hall entrance, Proctor switched it on, set it on “Download” and “Interpret” and watched the screed as the device tried to calibrate to whatever unknown language the apparently long extinct inhabitants of Planet 1016 had used to record the information stored in these data ports. Star Colony 14’s research team had been incredibly excited on arriving on the surface of the planet and finding what looked to be a city, but, the little exploring they had done had not turned up any residents of the city, either living or dead.

Suddenly, the screen lit up. Proctor gripped the side of the data-port eagerly, his hands nervously sweating within his space suit at the idea of reading communication from another intelligent species. “Captain, I’ve got some information here.”

“What does it say?” He could hear the excitement in her voice, as much as she was trying to sound in control and prepared.

“If you are reading this, then {UNKNOWN} has done the impossible. {UNKOWN} told us this would not be the end. He told us that He would find us even in the never-world. He has promised us that even non-existence will not separate us from His love. We don’t know how {UNKNOWN} could be telling the truth, but He has never been shown to be false before, and now that you read this, we know He has again kept His promises. …It’s uploading more information, Captain. Could this be some kind of religious journal?”

“Too soon to say. The device apparently doesn’t recognize the characters that compose name of this ‘Unknown’ person. Strange…”

“There’s more, now. I don’t know how much you know. Do you know of how the Presstant People fell in love with the non? How we learned to extinguish the light within us? Do you know how we conquered death and doing and being by pushing ourselves through the veil of life into the world where we never existed in the first place? We violated the laws of creation at a level that no law had ever been written against, because it was thought impossible that a people could ever become corrupt and lost enough to desire and pursue the moment before their reality was real? This is the story of the Presstants, however. We are forever bent from the pattern of right. We are constantly drawn to a darkness bereft of all hint of light. …It’s uploading again. Are you understanding any of this?”

“You were right when you said it sounded religious,” the Captain admitted. “And philosophical. How can someone go to the point of having never existed? And, who would want that?”

“Out of all first communications, what are the odds we’d hear something like this?” Proctor marveled, anxiously awaiting the next notification of further translation. The screen finally shifted to a new screen of words, which Proctor read. “{UNKNOWN} said He came from the Source of Existence and was Himself the Source. He said He would give us what we needed to return to the light, to rethread the unraveling of the very structure of our past, present and future. But, we didn’t listen. We refused to believe it was possible to be restored. And, so {UNKNOWN} has done the impossible. He has entered into the non-world. The One who has always existed and through whom all existence was formed has been made as though He never existed. He has taken this risk to find us on the other side, to meet us in the realm of non-being and create a new home for those who have forever severed the cords that anchored them to this life.”

The Captain took an audible breath, having apparently been listening in some form of suspended animation. “Wow. Does this sound like any religion you’ve ever heard of? Apparently, this ‘Unknown’ person is some kind of god? Some kind of god whom, I guess, no longer exists?”

Proctor, the world and planetary history expert on the mission, had little insight on this point. “It doesn’t quite fit any of the God narratives from the cultures I’ve studied.”

“God or mythical hero of some kind, how can we be reading about Him if he never existed?”

Proctor was silent for a minute. “Captain, have you ever gone there in your mind? To the point of non-existence, I mean?”

“I can’t say I follow, Proctor. I’ve thought about what it would be like to die before if that’s what you’re asking.”

“No, I’m talking about going to a place in your mind where you imagine what you would feel, what you would be if you had never existed.” Proctor’s voice began to shake, with fear or desperate need to describe what he meant, he wasn’t sure. “It’s a place of complete isolation and unbearable clarity. You see yourself in a terrifying third person-perspective, a character dependent on the whims of some unidentifiable author.”

The Captain took her turn to be silent. Then she gave a short laugh. “You history and philosophy experts are too deep for me. I’m just trying to complete this mission safely, and you’re asking me to imagine something that no one has ever experienced.”

Proctor ignored the newly lit screen for a second. “What if it’s possible to push into that space, Captain? To violate all laws of being, go to the other side and not exist anymore? And, what if God, whatever It is, was…?”

“Leaving all the ‘what if’s’ and philosophical gymnastics aside,” the Captain interrupted, “if a God who is the source of existence suddenly does not exist, then what would be left? How would we even be reading this report?”

Proctor looked down again at the screen. “Listen to this, Captain. If you are reading this, you must help us. The only way for us to exist, but most importantly for {UNKNOWN} who is the best of us, the reason for us to exist, to come back into the plane of reality is for you to remember. Remember the stories that have never been written. Imagine a faith in a Source who would do something unimaginable to bring you back from your state of despair and destruction. Dare to think the unthinkable. Enter a world of forgotten dreams. {UNKNOWN} will meet you there. {UNKNOWN} will carry us to that place, {UNKNOWN} will keep us there, and {UNKNOWN} will return us through you. Captain, that’s it. Captain…? Captain…?”

*************

Fletcher’s eyes fluttered open and he shut them tightly again to prevent the searing glare of the red sun from damaging his eyes. Again, he couldn’t remember the details, but he’d definitely had another dream about explorers in space. His mind must be longing to escape from the earth as it was left after the nuclear war. At least, that’s how psychologists had explained it; these vivid stories of the stars that disappeared upon waking were apparently a common experience for many post-war humans. Fletcher stood up and walked toward the church across the street, hoping to get some shelter. On top of the church steeple, he saw the familiar statue of the Heavenly Father, with the Mourning Dove carved resting on His shoulder. As he passed the entrance into the sanctuary he murmured, “In the Name of the Father and Spirit, Two-and-One, One-And-Two, I Come.” Behind him, the unrelenting heat of the sun raged on.

We are the Reason I'm Depressed

(A person whose opinion I respect has told me that this post comes off as me being self-righteous and condescending. I don't know how else to respond except to say that it I do not see myself as being more righteous than anyone else and I don't look down on anyone who disagrees with me. I've been on the opposite side of the climate change debate and I certainly don't think I was a bad person because of it. But, I'm glad that people cared enough about me to appeal to my understanding of Scripture and my logic to help me come to what I believe is a better understanding of things. That's what I am trying to do below).

I have said something about myself for years now that I'm no longer sure is true, and that is that I'm a relentless optimist. I always believe that we're going to figure our way out of the messes we make, and find a way to become better, kinder people. But, to come clean with all of you, after the experiences of 2020-2021, I'm struggling to hold on to my relentless optimism.

I think that Christians are, at their core, pro-life. And, I don't mean that in the sense of where someone stands on policies around abortion, but that people who follow Jesus would do anything they could to help people live - whether they are unborn people or elderly people, whether they are innocent toddlers or prodigal sons of death row, whether they are soliders in the U.S. Army or Muslims in the Middle-East, Christians want people to live so that they can have a chance at redemption.

I have been struggling with anger and grief over the past year over the realization that many Christians whom I love and respect have been willing to believe lies about the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccines that were developed to end the pandemic. Rather than say, "Oh, hey, geez, 1-3% of people dying from an extremely transmissible disease is way too many people," some Christians were content to describe COVID-19 as a flu, to quote inaccurate statistics about its fatality rate, and some even laugh-face reacted to stories about people dying after refusing to believe COVID-19 was dangerous. Some even insulted my wife for being a nurse and saying that the pandemic is real and dangerous, and some mocked people for wearing masks, and, generally, acted about masks like spoiled children being asked by their parents to wear a jacket when it was cold outside. This has caused me immense grief. I have seen people get very sick and die from COVID. The death rate in the U.S. over the past year clearly shows how devastating the pandemic has been... and yet, many people whom I know love Jesus cannot seem to realize that this is serious. Jesus blessed us with scientists researching mRNA vaccines for decades who could put that research into action to give us a safe and effective vaccine so we could go back to a normal life... and people would rather find a YouTube doctor or a fringe Facebook post that backs up their fears about a vaccine than receive the blessing God has given us in the scientific and medical community that has researched and developed this vaccine.

All this makes me sad. It also makes me angry, but not so much at Christians, as at the sources of authority who have manipulated Christians into believing these dangerous lies. Many of the Christians who don't get the vaccine or don't wear masks are sincere, faithful followers of Jesus whom I love with all of my heart. Which makes the fact that we are so divided on something that seems so obvious to me even more distressing! And, my depression about the pandemic deepens when I think about another issue that is going to become more and more prominent every day of our lives in the years to come... climate change.

The United Nations released a report today on climate change and the future of our planet. It makes clear that human activity is a driving force behind the climate changes we are experiencing, and outlines what needs to happen to arrest those changes and save our planet. I was reminded of a great article from Jesus-lover and Scientist, Dr. Richard Lindroth, of BioLogos, on what we need to know about climate change. Dr. Lindroth, who very kindly did an interview with me last summer, shares about our need to embrace strategies that require mitigation, adaptation and suffering, saying that if we do enough mitigation and adaptation, we can reduce the amount of suffering that we all have to experience. BioLogos has many great writers on this subject, who talk about how to frame conversations on climate change, about why Christians should care about climate change, and what practical things we can do to help with climate change. I love BioLogos because the scientists who write here are believers in Jesus. They are not part of some Marxist/Socialist plot to take over world. They care about human life, human souls, and the planet God has given humans to steward.

I have felt for the past 18 months that the pandemic is a preview of how we will handle the climate change crisis. Many of us will take it seriously. We will try to listen to the government and experts on the sacrifices we can make to help. We will think about the precious sanctity of human life and try to do what we can to protect and preserve the planet that sustains that life. I hope I can be part of this group. But, some of the rest of us will continue to doubt scientists, and I fear I may find myself in this group. We will find scientists outside the consensus of the scientific community who say what our itching ears want to hear. We will refuse to hear the earnest plea of Christians who are scientists who ask us to see the theological and Biblical reasons to care about climate change. We will dismiss stories of climate change natural disasters, climate change refugees, and climate change-related causes for things like pandemics, famines and building collapses out of a desire to ignore the evidence staring us in the face that the planet is being negatively affected by human activity that we can change. Many of us will say, "The planet has always experienced change, this is nothing new," instead of saying, "If there is anything we can do that can possibly help save human lives, please tell me what it is, and I will do it." We will do so without intent to hurt anyone, but also without a sincere desire to have our beliefs challenged by scientists who understand the data and have spent lifetimes studying what it means (I am not one of these scientists, just to clarify).

Instead of being depressed about this, I know what I need to do. I need to work on my conservation habits. I need to eat less meat, ride my bike to work, go on fewer long trips, and do all I can to reduce my carbon footprint. But, the reason why the pandemic was so divisive is the same reason I'm experiencing apathy about doing things to combat climate change - this only works if at least 75-80% of us are on the same team, pulling in the same direction. If 40-50% of us can't even admit that there is a game being played, so-to-speak, we are all going to lose. THAT'S why people are angry when we don't wear our masks when asked to do so, and when we cite personal freedom (which, of course, we have freedom to do what endangers others) as our reason for not getting vaccinated. We are telling people that we are not on the team, and, in fact, we are playing for the opposing team. The same reality is going to take place with climate change, and I just don't know what is going to change that reality. THAT'S why I'm depressed about the pandemic and climate change.

So, I'm going to start small... if someone told me that I could cut my meat consumption by 40% and give Elliot and Auggie, our two toddler sons, a less dangerous future, I'd do it in a heart-beat. If someone told me that by riding my bike to work, I could save a child I'll never meet in an island nation threatened by rising sea levels, I'd do it without a second-thought. Now, I know that my small decisions don't have that power... we ALL will have to make sacrifices, together, as a team. But, if I want to be a relentless optimist, if I want to be a pro-life Christian, I need to worry about me doing what I can, first.

If you have read this, thank you. If you are still skeptical about climate change, please check out Skeptical Science which is a website designed to help those who are skeptical work through their questions and concerns. If you are interested in seeing how faith and science work together to glorify God, PLEASE visit BioLogos's website. Google practical ways that we can all help with Climate Change.

Books for Fans of the Lord of the Rings

My family and I have always been huge fans of the Lord of the Rings, as an exciting story, with rich and memorable characters, set in a world built with amazing depth, and filled with themes that inspire us to be better people. The only problem is that after you finish reading everything that Tolkien wrote, you wish someone else could write something similar. So, I've been searching my whole life for similar efforts by other authors, and I thought I would create an ongoing list of those resources which I have read and enjoyed.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis (Ages 9+)
I'm sure Tolkien was appalled by Lewis's use of allegory and somewhat haphazard world-building attempts, but I don't think any collection gave my imagination more scope and inspired me to be a better human being like the LOTR did more than Lewis's.

2. The Space Trilogy - C.S. Lewis (Ages 13+)
There is a brief moment where in Lewis's final work of this Trilogy, That Hideous Strength, he briefly makes the book a crossover with the LOTR. I imagine Tolkien didn't love that, but Lewis does a better job world(s)-building here, and his ideas, as always, are born of unparalleled genius.

3. Watership Down - Richard Adams (Ages 9+)
Who would believe that a book about rabbits would have such amazing world-building and be full of characters that inspire one to be a more courageous and noble human being? There is also a book called "Tales from Watership Down" that is well worth reading.
4. Time Quintet - Madeline Le'Engle (Ages 14+)
I would skip "An Acceptable Time" the concluding effort to this series, but there is a depth and resonance to this series that reminds me of the Lord of the Rings. It can also get creepy when needed, which is an underrated aspect of the LOTR.
5. Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket (Ages 11+)
Somewhat a satire, somewhat a fantasy, somewhat a mystery, Series of Unfortunate Events surprises you how it sucks you into its world and makes you feel immensely for its characters.
6. The Pendragon Cycle - Stephen Lawhead (Ages 15+)
Tolkien was always clear that the Lord of the Rings was meant to be set in a real world environment, even with its elves, hobbits, dwarves, orcs, trolls, etc. So, I find that some historical novels do a great job getting at the feeling of the LOTR, probably because they are based on a world that human beings have been building for many thousands of years. Lawhead's re-imagining of the Arthur legend is well-worth reading.
7. The Chronicles of Prydain - Lloyd Alexander (Ages 9+)
These books based on Welsh myths have a LOTR feel at several points, with a cuter, gentler Gollum-type character. Highly underrated. The 12 year old Quincy was thrilled to find these with a LOTR craving after finishing the Tolkien omnibus.
8. The Scions of Shannara - Terry Brooks (Ages 13+)
Slightly older Quincy was thrilled to find these books. I find some of the Shannara books that Brooks has written to be derivative of Tolkien, but this series has plenty of originality and some good world-building. I highly enjoyed them.
9. The Buried Giant - Kazuo Ishiguro (Ages 14+)
This book has heavy metaphor, but the metaphor is beautiful (I honestly think about it almost daily), and it has dragons and plenty of fantasy elements.
10. Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling (Ages 12+)
Rowling built a beautiful world under-girded with Christian morality. The issue of magic is important to keep in mind, but I think she keeps it effectively separate from the Satanic magic that actually exists in the world. If it offends you conscience, however, don't read it.
11. The Cadfael Chronicles - Ellis Peters (Ages 14+)
Amazing mysteries containing romance, swashbuckling sword fights, and a beautiful world of history. Also, Brother Cadfael shows us the heart of Jesus in how he responds to every situation.
12. Bloodstone Chronicles - Bill Myers (Ages 10+)
Highly allegorical, but very clever, original and fun for teens. I don't know that anything helped me understand the atonement of Jesus better than the second book in this series, and I think about the lessons of the last book in the series constantly.
13. The Trilogy - Henryk Sienkiewicz (Ages 14+)
It's dense, but there is a lot to like about these novels diving into the history of Poland's people. Romance, battles, good and evil. I need to re-read them when I have the chance
14. The Once and Future King - T.H. White (Ages 12+)
This is another great re-telling of the story of King Arthur, a story with which Tolkien was familiar. Archimedes the owl was a genius addition.
15. The Redwall Series by Brian Jacques (Ages 11+) - Jacques does a great job building a world and giving you characters to love. The series gets a bit repetitive, but definitely hits LOTR-type notes! Check it out!
16. King Raven Trilogy - Stephen Lawhead (Ages 13+)
I've always loved the Robin Hood legend, and Lawhead places it in its most realistic historical context here, and gives some good spiritual lessons to go with it. As always, he can write a stirring adventure with the best of them.
17. Earthsea Cycle - Ursula K. Le Guin (Ages 11+)
Le Guin built a beautiful world here, and the plot, but the characters are a bit shallow for me.
18. Wings of Dawn - Sigmund Brower (Ages 10+)
A great standalone adventure. I HIGHLY recommend it, and it has some great spiritual themes.
19. The Dun Cow Trilogy - Walter Wangerin, Jr. (Ages 12+)
A very unique allegory about the redemption of Christ as seen in the animal kingdom.

I will continue to add to this list as I explore other works of fantasy/historical/science fiction that remind me of the Lord of the Rings.