A book review of mine on Mark Lilla’s The Shipwrecked Mind: On Political Reaction (New York Review of Books) appeared a while back in the journal Commonweal. I thought Anxious Bench readers might also have an interest. Herewith: The problem with being a public intellectual, the late Jean Bethke Elshtain once quipped, is that over time one tends to become more “public” and less “intellectual.” Fortunately, this does not apply fully to Mark Lilla. Unfortunately, to a degree it does.... Read more
I have now watched the whole of the PBS documentary series on The Vietnam War. While I have lots of comments and criticisms, I acknowledge the near impossible task faced by the film-makers in trying to cover such an enormous range of material, and so many viewpoints. But I do make one critical point, about the war’s unpopularity. I would argue that, in terms of public attitudes, the Vietnam War was not so radically different from other American conflicts. What made... Read more
It was the morning of October 16, 1893. The day dawned bright and frosty, and excitement was in the air with just two weeks remaining of Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition. It was also the opening session of the World’s Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, organized in conjunction with the world’s fair. The Memorial Art Palace was adorned with flowers, international flags, and a banner depicting the Union’s motto: “Christ for the world.” Susan B. Anthony and other dignitaries ascended the platform,... Read more
Last Friday, 29 September 2017, we lost another World War II veteran. Out of the more than 16 million men and women who served in the American armed forces during World War II, less than 600,000 survive in 2017. More than 300 die every day. As the Veterans Statistics page from The National WWII Museum in New Orleans reminds us: “Every day, memories of World War II–its sights and sounds, its terrors and triumphs–disappear. Yielding to the inalterable process of... Read more
As he begins work on a spiritual biography of Charles Lindbergh, Chris wrestles with one of the most troubling aspects of the famous aviator: anti-Semitic and white supremacist comments made on the eve of World War II. Read more
I recently spoke at an excellent conference held at Hong Kong Baptist University, on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. One paper at this event, by the distinguished Australian scholar Peter Harrison, raised many questions for me, and specifically made me think about the often-discussed issue of the relationship between the Reformation and Early Protestantism on the one hand, and on the other, the rise of science and modernity. Let me stress here that this blogpost is in no sense... Read more
“In the West … early Christianity has lost its history.” That powerful statement demands some explanation. I have been working on early Christian history, chiefly in the era between the closing of the New Testament and the time of Diocletian – say, the second and third centuries. One sobering lesson to learn from all this is how very partial indeed is our knowledge of what was actually happening in this era, and how much probably is lost forever. Robin Lane... Read more
What happens when a religious establishment implodes? In his magisterial Darkness Falls on the Land of Light, Douglas Winiarski traces the maturation and then collapse of New England’s Congregational order. Winiarski begins with the “godly walkers” who presented themselves for church membership in the first several decades of the eighteenth century. Churches had loosened their expectations for membership, ministers preached sermons on righteous living and devotional practices, and men and women joined churches in large numbers. Although many individuals remained... Read more
How evangelical individualism justifies the use of torture Read more
Controversy is nothing new to America's national anthem. Historically, Christians have been among its staunchest critics and defenders. Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In