In the United States, if you are conservative theologically, you will tend to be conservative politically. But in Europe, conservative Christians are often liberal politically. Their ideology is called Christian Democracy, a movement that did much to form the modern European welfare state.
Some in the Black Lives Matter protests are condemning America's founding. But the civil rights pioneers, such as the late John Lewis, believed that their cause was the fulfillment of the American founding, so that the promises of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights would finally apply to everyone.
Though Lutherans are accused of submitting uncritically to government authorities, the Magdeburg Confession spells out a Lutheran theology of resistance to tyrants. This was the basis of John Ponet's "Short Treatise on Political Power," which John Adams preferred to Locke as a guide for the American revolution and the American founding.
The Lutheran Witness, the magazine of the LCMS, has a new internet presence, including a blog that draws on a number of contributors, including yours truly.
There have been many cultures and civilizations that no longer exist. Some were destroyed by their enemies. But some destroyed themselves, through what historians call "social cannibalism" or "cultural suicide." Is this happening to America today?
Congress is investigating Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon for possible antitrust violations. Pro-business Republicans and free market conservatives are among their critics. This is because corporations can become so big and successful, thanks to free market capitalism, that they undermine free market capitalism.
People used to sing at work, at play, and in their families. Music was not just an individual performance but a collective experience. Plato believed music played an essential role in education and character development. Anthony Esolen explains why, discussing how music can give a positive form to our passions.
Kanye West is running for president. His proposal to pay women $1 million for every baby is no more expensive than the COVID-19 bailouts, the Green New Deal, or Medicare for All. He could attract both evangelicals on the right and identity politics advocates on the left. Just as a protest vote, he could siphon off voters from both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, perhaps tipping the election.
A poll has found that 63% of religious Americans believe the COVID-19 epidemic is a sign from God. Indeed, it is. The question is, what does it signify? Some answers to that question.
John Ruskin says that we admire certain professions--soldiers, physicians, pastors, and lawyers (?)--because of their self-sacrifice for others or for a higher cause. But "Merchants," he says, are perceived as operating out of self-interest. This is the doctrine of vocation, but Ruskin misses how "Merchants" too can love and serve their neighbors.
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