Daniel Harrell

Daniel Harrell is senior minister at Colonial Church in Edina, Minnesota, and author of Nature's Witness: How Evolution Can Inspire Faith (Abingdon).

As we know, “let there be light” were the first words out of the Lord’s mouth in the beginning. However, few people have taken this literally since, like the Lord, the universe is thought to be infinite with no definite beginning. But then along came Albert Einstein and Edwin Hubble, who theorized and confirmed how galaxies were receding away from each other over time.
December 16, 2013

So it turns out that losing is good for you after all. According to social scientists who study these things, all those participation trophies kids receive for just showing up are not inspiring them to succeed. Instead, the ceaseless praise only protects kids from failure—so that once it inevitably appears, they are so demoralized that the next time it comes close they choose cheating rather than risk failing again. The gospel has always understood the critical importance of failure in the path to true life.
December 9, 2013