The Weekly, March 4, 2024
Hi all,
I've been in DC for the past several days. I think this has been my favorite trip to the city so far. Wendell came with and we were able to stay with some friends on Capitol Hill and then we basically spent the entire weekend in that area. On Thursday after arriving we stopped by the National Archives, then on Friday we managed to get to the Air and Space Museum, Capitol, and Spy Museum all in one day. (We walked eight miles in the process, according to my phone.) Saturday I spent at the Presbyterian and Reformed Public Theology conference while Wendell hung out with some family friends of ours. We ended the day Saturday with seeing "Prince Caspian" at the Museum of the Bible. If you get a chance to go, you really should. I'd even say it's worth driving in a few hours to do it if you're within a reasonable drive of the city. The production is extremely well done, the folks who drafted it for the stage plainly understand Lewis's thought on a deep level (and know his wider works), and the whole thing just works incredibly well. I'd highly recommend it. It was also Wendell's favorite part of the trip—beating out the Spy Museum with a nine-year-old boy is no small thing!
There were many good moments on the trip. I think my two favorites were just seeing how absolutely locked in Wendell was during "Caspian" and then also a conversation he and I had while walking past the Capitol on Friday. During our visit to the Archives the day before I had pointed out to him some of the rights listed out in the Bill of Rights. So the next day we were walking by the Capitol and he saw a large group of protestors outside the building. He looked at me and said, "So, dad, that's freedom of assembly and freedom of speech." I was taken aback at how quickly he connected those dots before responding enthusiastically that that was exactly what that was.
Oh, also, I'd be remiss for not mentioning this: We got lunch Sunday afternoon at the Hawk n Dove on Capitol Hill. Wendell got the brioche french toast. He took one bite and immediately told me it was the best thing he had ever eaten. So if you're looking for brunch or even just a good lunch on the weekends on the Hill, Hawk N Dove has Wendell's approval, at least.
Reading
Books
Not much to report here—the past week was mostly prep for the trip plus actual travel. Not much time left for reading, sadly.
Articles
Adam Rubenstein on being a heretic at the NYT
Ryan Burge on the rise of the non-Christian evangelical
Clare Coffey on simple machines
Michael Sacasas on the secularization of the religion of technology
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Colbi Edmonds on Aaron Bushnell
Matthew Lee Anderson on the Alabama IVF ruling
Elsewhere
I'm likely somewhere over middle America as you're reading this. We flew out of DC early this morning and should be arriving home around lunchtime. So I'll leave things here for now. Thanks for reading!
Under the Mercy,
~Jake