Jay Michaelson, in The Daily Beast, proclaimed on Christmas Day that there is a decrease in the numbers and influence of Christians in America, but that the “war” on Christianity is a myth. I’m not sure the war on Christianity […]
Evangelicals
More on the Whole ‘Judeo-Christian’ Meme
In my post four years ago, “9/11, Ten Years Later” I talked a little bit about the concept of ‘Judeo-Christian’. I’d like to expand on it. As my source says, the meme ‘Judeo-Christian’ originated in the United States after World War […]
James K. A. Smith and the Pentecostal World View
Is there such a thing as a ‘Pentecostal philosophy’? James K. A. Smith says there is. They don’t necessarily talk about it in ways we are accustomed to, but he says they have one. And here are its major elements […]
Does Jesus Oppose the Death Penalty?
For some reason it is hard for people, including even most evangelicals, to imagine Jesus supporting a death penalty for any sort of crime. On the other hand, if He claimed to be God the Son, “I and the Father […]
Heterosexual Cohabitation and The Church – After Obergefell
The historic church, evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox, has taken a dim view of ‘cohabitation,’ which used to be called ‘shacking up’ or ‘living in sin.’ The faithful churches in fact generally try to deny the Sacrament to those in cohabitation. […]
Our Adventure in Ethiopia
In March of 2015, our family and some friends took a 3½ week trip through Ethiopia, one of the most unusual of sub-Saharan African countries. Ethiopia is exceptional in two ways; It became a Christian culture in the 300s, whereas […]
If I Were Muslim: Why Do Muslims Hate Jews Nowadays?
Our friend Hillel Fradkin has sent out a fascinating article on the relationship between Islam and German nationalism. In two world wars both types of German nationalists, both the relatively mild sort of the Second Reich and the pathological ones […]
Hasn’t it Always Been Babylon?
Rod Dreher, one of our favorites on this site, has written a column called “From Israel to Babylon” of which the sources are largely drawn from the Southern Baptists. The younger Southern Baptists expect to be a religious minority, which, […]
Living with Same Sex Marriage
Several of the Federal circuit courts have found that the Fourteenth Amendment, which became part of the Constitution in 1868, requires the states to validate same sex marriage as equal with opposite sex marriage. Of course, I think this would […]
No, “New Urbanism” and “Smart Growth” are Not the Same
There are two political movements in urban development that have a lot of overlap but are not the same. ‘New Urbanism’ advocates the legalization and building of communities resembling the 19th century American town, with a fair number of single […]