Pope Francis and the Barbarians

September 17, 2015 By Max Lindenman

Eager to glimpse the big picture of Francis’ pontificate? Frustrated connecting the dots from soundbyte to soundbyte? Read Constantine Cafavy’s poem “Waiting for the Barbarians,” which Rod Dreher was kind enough to contextualize for readers. Cafavy describes the government and citizens of an unnamed city waiting for the arrival of some unnamed barbarians. Their mood is less purely apprehensive than you’d expect. With the emperor wearing his crown and the consul and praetors their jewelry, the rulers are making their... Read more

My Brain Bug Meets Dem Dry Bones

September 16, 2015 By Max Lindenman

Hearing Ben Carson quote Proverbs on humility and fear of the Lord inspired me. There he was, a neurosurgeon and liberator of conjoined twins, a former professor of medicine, synthesizing faith and science and burning The Donald with truth in charity. I decided I must find a favorite Bible verse of my own. That I don’t have one already might come as a bit of a shock, but I’m Catholic, not evangelical. Our theological disputes rarely turn into games of... Read more

For Rosh Hashanah: The Jewish Earworm

September 14, 2015 By Max Lindenman

Being Jewish isn’t always a picnic. I got my first inkling of this when I was about nine. My father and I were walking near his house in Westfield, New Jersey, when he fell into conversation with a neighbor, a man in his 70s, still strapping, with a snowy, Tip O’Neill quiff and a golf-course sunburn. After a few minutes, they introduced themselves. Then, cocking his head ever so slightly, the man asked my father, “What kind of name is... Read more

Blank Slate: Free Tattoo Removal Helps Strip off Badges of Sin

September 13, 2015 By Max Lindenman

One evening in Moscow, I happened to glance at the hand of the man I was drinking alongside. Tattooed into the fleshy part between thumb and forefinger were five dots, arranged exactly like pips on a die. This guy was the most harmless-looking Russian I have yet to meet – he reminded me of George Costanza – but the tattoo meant he’d spent time, not merely in prison, but in odinochka, or solitary confinement. One man, four walls. I never... Read more

9/11 and Conversion

September 11, 2015 By Max Lindenman

I’ve tried to tell this story before but I’ve gotten it wrong. So I’ll try again. It’s that important. In August of 2001, more or less on a whim, I visited San Francisco for the first time. My mother and Bob flew out from New York to meet me, so the visit became a family reunion, which worked out nicely. When you don’t know anyone in town and are stuck doing the touristy things, having your parents around blesses the... Read more

“I’m A Christian, but…but Nothing.”

September 10, 2015 By Max Lindenman

Buzzfeed’s latest viral video, titled “I’m Christian, but I’m Not…,” features five spruce twentysomethings who look ready to hop into the nearest van and solve a mystery. Instead, they profess their faith, but they begin by describing themselves in the world’s terms. “I’m not homophobic,” says one. “I’m not close-minded,” says another, as the rest assure viewers they’re not “unaccepting,” “judgmental,” or “uneducated.” In a subsequent round, the subjects explain how they’re gay, “queer,” feminist, love Beyonce, and aren’t afraid... Read more

Pope Francis, Refugees, and the Big Levitical Beach Party

September 8, 2015 By Max Lindenman

What irks me most about the guy is his grin, which is roguish, the mark of a born schmoozer. In my world, if you’re a Somali refugee and you want me to give you a cigarette or buy you something from the Circle K, your job is to appeal to the better angels of my nature by looking abject or stoical. Either one will do; I’m not picky. But affecting an Errol Flynn smirk is out of order. If you’re... Read more

Merkel, Orban and Europe’s Christian Soul

September 6, 2015 By Max Lindenman

My wish, farfetched though it may sound, is that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had invoked the name of Jesus Christ when she took the lead in re-settling this new wave of African and Middle Eastern refugees. Pledging that her country would be able to accommodate all 800, 000 of the refugees expected to arrive by the end of the year, at no extra cost to taxpayers, she’s emerged from Europe’s burgeoning crisis smelling like a rose. Newsweek has called her... Read more

Kim Davis and the Wild Leap of Faith

September 4, 2015 By Max Lindenman

To all appearances, when Kim Davis, claiming to act “Under God’s authority,” imposed a ban on marriage licenses to gay couples, she was effectively placing herself on a par with Louis XIV – inexcusable, considering her clerkship wasn’t even in Bourbon County. Consequently, even many conservative commentators are calling her a loose cannon. For whatever it’s worth, the Liberty Counsel, which is representing Davis free of charge, is making the case that she wasn’t always so reckless as she seems.... Read more

For the Syrians: At Last, A Poster Child

September 3, 2015 By Max Lindenman

It’s impossible to guess how many people have seen the photo of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old refugee from Syrian Kurdistan who washed up, dead from drowning, on a beach at Bodrum, in Turkey. Originally published through Turkey’s Doğan News Agency, it’s circulated through the Associated Press and MSN, being picked up along the way by the UK’s Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail, among many other outlets. Visitors to YouTube can watch a three-minute slideshow where photos of the boy in... Read more