If you share my concern about the spiritual, intellectual and creative impoverishment of American culture, consider what two stuffy academics in Oxford, an American philosopher and Dutch art historian reveal about the nature of cultural transformation. The long shadow cast by authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, philosopher Francis Schaeffer and art historian Hans Rookmaaker, is due in large measure to the excellence, integration and synergy of their intellectual, spiritual and creative work. Rather than dumbing down for a lowest common denominator, each challenged people to elevate their intellectual game.

(Dick Staub is the author of “The Culturally Savvy Christian” and the host of The Kindlings Muse (http://www.thekindlings.com). His blog can be read at www.dickstaub.com)