PLGRM

I like to think of myself as that person who is informed. I enjoy learning things, and am scared of not knowing.

As such, I’ve subscribed to a fair number of magazines and journals over the years. Some, I’ve enjoyed; others, not so much. But it is rare that I love every single issue of a publication.

Not so with The Point.

I am proud to say that I own every issue of this journal that is still in print. I’ve even scoured places like eBay to find back issues (I’m only missing print copies of the first two).

The Point is a “humanities review.” Not law. Not literature. Not weekly events. It is a pondering of the discipline of the “humanities,” which the Encyclopedia Britannica defines as:

…those branches of knowledge that concern themselves with human beings and their culture or with analytic and critical methods of inquiry derived from an appreciation of human values and of the unique ability of the human spirit to express itself.

Regularly in the magazine, there are several essays around a similar question. Questions like “What is beauty for?” “What is college for?” What is the military for?” What is sex for?”

One of my favorite articles in the last couple years has been “On Political Fiction,” which posits that art is inherently a-political. If art becomes political it ceases to be art and become propaganda. This idea has been hugely influential for me, and it helped me solidify a theory about preaching that I’ve been struggling to clarify since my seminary gradutation.

And that is the value of The Point. I find that I am learning about thoughts and ideas in one area that inform and influence my work in other areas. It’s like being in a liberal arts study group. Beyond just learning facts, I feel like I’m more wise when I’m done reading it.