I know the American Civil War happened, but I’m not too sure when, how, or whether it ended. That question was in my mind recently when I visited Georgetown, Kentucky, with its lovely old main street. Near the courthouse stands a monument to the trial of people accused in a sensational event of the era, the 1900 assassination of Governor William Goebel. Now, political killings happen, and are often the work of deranged loners. On this occasion, though, the assassination... Read more
Are Christian colleges uniquely positioned to revitalize our nation’s intellectual life and contribute to cultural bridge-building in this era of political and social polarization? If you ask Christian scholars, this would seem to be the case. In Inside Higher Ed, Tal Howard argues that America’s Christian colleges and universities “are now well positioned to save not only liberalism from self-parody but also conservatism from the maw of populist demagoguery.” And in a bold assertion (recently quoted by my own college... Read more
If you ever have the chance, visit the church of St. Bartholomew the Great in London. St. Bart’s, as it is affectionately known, stands in Smithfield, just outside the old London wall. I recommend a Sunday morning walk to it from St. Paul’s Cathedral. Go about 9:45 a.m. to hear the Cathedral bells; you can even grab a coffee. Then head down St. Martin’s-le-Grand and cut left through Postman’s Park (a delightfully Victorian monument to unsung heroes). Take a right... Read more
Five great films about World War I to help you mark the war's ongoing centenary. Read more
This may seem like a silly question, but how much influence has modern communication technology had on us? That is actually a surprisingly hotly debated issue right now. The implications are vast – for society, politics, religion, and dare I say, for human consciousness. It is widely acknowledged that real incomes in the US have been stagnant or declining since the 1970s, and the resulting discontent does much to drive political alienation. On the other hand, you might object that... Read more
We are hearing a lot this year about the centennial of the First World War, and time and again, we hear what a “futile” and “meaningless” struggle that was. Obviously, then, by extension, US entry into that war – which we commemorate next month – must have been a tragic blunder. This is for instance a recurrent theme in multiple reviews of Michael Kazin’s recent book about anti-war movements of that era, War Against War: The American Fight for Peace,... Read more
Douglas Winiarski’s Darkness Falls on the Land of Light begins with the story of two couples in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. In the winter of 1748-1749, Hannah and John Corey withdrew from Sturbridge’s Congregational church, were baptized, and united themselves to a Separate congregation. The couple had belonged to the Sturbridge Congregational church for around seven years, but by the fall of 1748, Hannah Corey believed that God was telling her to “come out from amongst them.” (Coincidentally, the passage was a... Read more
Donald Trump did not win an election on November 8, 2016 — he won 30 elections, out of 51. Read more
Five reasons why Christians should learn to think historically about their past. Read more
I received much feedback from a piece I wrote for Inside Higher Ed. So, permit me the liberty of reprinting it for Anxious Bench readers. The original appeared here. It has been widely hypothesized that the type of identity politics nurtured on elite secular campuses helped produce the backlash that swept Donald Trump into office as president. “Fox News and other conservative media outlets,” wrote Mark Lilla in The New York Times, “make great sport of mocking ‘campus craziness’ that... Read more
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