Rich Lowry argues that a successful challenge to Trump’s dominance of the Republican party can only come from the right, from someone like Gov. Ron Desantis, who shares Trump’s ideas but convinces voters that he could implement them more effectively. Read more
There are many kinds of conservative politics, just as there are many kinds of conservative theology. One strain of both is opposed to the American ideals of freedom, the rights of the individual, and Constitutional government. The “Integralists,” who oppose both the Enlightenment and Protestantism, seek to make Catholicism the basis for civil government, something the Reformers utterly rejected. Read more
Mary Eberstadt argues that the decline of the family and of the church–the traditional sources of our sense of identity–have led to a loss of identity. To compensate, people in their anguish are trying to create new identities for themselves. This has led to the rise of identity politics. Read more
The doctrine of the Trinity is back in vogue among liberal theologians, but they replace the creeds’ emphasis on “being” with a social trinity in which God is a community. Strangely, some evangelical theologians have also adopted this new view of the Trinity. Both sides then use the social trinity as the foundation for their political emphases, whether of the Left or the Right. Read more
Though President Biden campaigned on his ability to bring the country together, his rhetoric is polarizing, serving not to persuade but to antagonize those who disagree with him. As do his policies that seek to coerce and punish. A writer contrasts his leadership style with that of fellow-progressive Barack Obama, who preferred the “nudge” to the “mandate.” Read more
Churches took one approach to relating to the culture when it was pro-Christian. It took a different approach when the culture became religiously neutral. But what approach should it take when the dominant culture is actively opposed to Christianity? Read more
Some internet “influencers” on TikTok or YouTube earn more money than the heads of America’s biggest companies. They do so by virtue of their personalities, racking up large numbers of followers, and being paid to use products in their videos. Is this a genuine vocation, in the Christian sense of the word? Read more
The Wall Street Journal has a story “When You’re Burned Out at Your Job, But It’s Also Your Calling.” The focus is on nurses trying to function during the COVID epidemic. But burnout can happen in all vocations–not just economic, but those in the family, the church, and the state. Reflections on what to do. Read more
A new study shows that having a strong faith is correlated with positive mental health. But an insecure, anxiety-ridden attachment to God is accompanied by poorer mental health. A discussion and critique of that study and the way it was reported. Read more
Being “religious” involves a set of transcendent beliefs and experiences shared with other people. Being “spiritual,” in the sense of being spiritual but not religious, involves the pursuit of transcendent experiences in isolation. On the deepest level, though, spirituality needs religion. Read more
