7 Lessons on Values from The Fountainhead

I was 18 when I discovered philosophy. I asked my high school librarian for books to stretch my mind. She picked a couple, but only one stayed with me. It was The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand. This book did more than any other to open me to the world of ideas.

It is the story of Howard Roark, an architect who insists on following the integrity of his own vision. Against all outside obstacles, both material and ideological, he creates according to the standards he chooses. The story enthralled me. Not the kind of hero I expected, Howard Roark was purely self-interested. And, to my amazement, he was good. The Fountainhead did indeed stretch my mind.

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Sermon Topics that Can’t Be Skipped

 Dear pastors, These topics are too important to skip! In the last 50 weeks, have you preached these 50 crucial topics?

Please don’t go a year without telling your people what they need to know about each one. Any of the following could be a full sermon, or multiple sermons, but these topics can and should appear more frequently than that.

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“Self” on Trial: A Look at Christian Motivation

As Christian leaders speak out for missions, some have set up “self” as a bogeyman. I regularly hear pastors rail against “self.” Apparently, the lowest insult is that a person be “selfish.”

I don’t accept this understanding of Christian motivation. In fact, “right and wrong” are categories for guiding us in pursuing life; and for any individual man, this means: his own life. Therefore, “self-interest” (a.k.a. selfishness) is the very foundation of morality.

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