I was the old style of Religious Right, and I make no apologies, but I don’t consider myself to be a Christian Nationalist. This is, however, a distinction that is probably too subtle for the media to understand. I am […]
Religion
Bringing Back the Great Commission?
Just the other day I was behind a car that had painted on its rear, “Smile! Jesus loves you!” I am not sure that the person who did that was really evangelizing, also known as obeying the Great Commission (Matthew […]
Was It Early Medieval Catholic Family Law That Made the Western World Unique?
Joseph Henrich argues that the Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic world got its uniqueness from family codes imposed by the Church in the Early Middle Ages. The key parts of these codes were not restrictions on same-sex marriage or […]
Ronald J. Sider (1939-2022): On a Most Conscientious Believer
Despite his weaknesses and economic errors, Ron Sider was a true believer, one who did not care about being ‘trendy’ or ‘cool’ or appealing to any establishment, whether the ‘woke’ establishment of our society or the bourgeois establishment of the […]
What Can We Do About Polarization?
There are many ways of dealing with the current political polarization. But, Fukuyama says, the best is to hope for yet another realignment, where a section of the electorate changes parties and gives one party a clear majority. A friend […]
Give Us Barabbas
In exchanging Jesus for Barabbas, the people chose a practical terrorist over The One who did not seem likely to fulfill their political dreams any time soon. The big news in Jerusalem the night of that first long-ago Good Friday, […]
Book Notice: David Brooks, The Road to Character
David Brooks, in his recent book, The Road to Character, makes a distinction between two kinds of virtues and tells us we need to be more concerned about ‘legacy virtues’ and not just the ‘résumé virtues’ that give us success in […]
Individual Responsibility in Ezekiel
The heresy of ‘critical theory’ has revived ideas of guilt inherited by, or inherent in, groups, such as genders, races, or economic classes. The Prophet Ezekiel has some choice things to say about all this. In our time there is […]
More on Christian Faith and Land Use: The Issue of Profiling
The big moral issue behind intentional racism, classism, and the like is the issue of ‘profiling’. Should we assume that, because of people’s appearance, color, or income, they would be more or less likely to do certain things? Or be […]
Vigen Guroian on Politics vs. Witness
Orthodox theologian Vigen Guroian tells us that orthodoxy of community is a better witness than politics. I agree. But the Religious Right was originally triggered into politics partly by a fear that they would lose their freedom to function in […]