Is an unwanted pregnancy an example of "involuntary servitude," so that the anti-slavery amendments in the Constitution give a constitutional right to abortion? That's the new legal argument being put forward by pro-abortion activists, equating pregnancy with slavery.
Contrary to what we have been told, "Ring around the Rosie" is NOT about dying of the plague. But it can help us meditate on Ash Wednesday.
It is often assumed that slaveholders imposed Christianity on their African slaves and that separate black churches were the creation of white Christians who didn't want black people in their congregations. It turns out, those assumptions are wrong. While the slaveholders were pushing a religion of pure law, slaves were evangelizing each other with the liberating Gospel of Christ. And they started their own churches as spiritual and cultural havens.
The different strains of Christianity have different approaches to politics, based on their assumptions about theology and church polity. Baptists focus on individual liberty. Methodists seek social perfection. Calvinists criticize the culture and want to take it over. Lutherans. . .well, that's a little complicated. (A free post) Read more
We are told that you can have morality without belief in God. This is true, up to a point. But some of our actions do reflect our worldview or philosophy of life. And some moral actions are predicated on belief in a transcendent moral truth, grounded ultimately in God. Such as the principle of human equality.
A number of prominent conservatives, including some conservative Christians, are openly homosexual. How should congregations and conservative organizations deal with this issue?
I have always been an apologist for boredom. So I appreciate Matt Labash for arguing that we have become so overstimulated that a dose of boredom--or, as Thomas Merton describes it, doing nothing and sitting still--can help us.
Church musician Jonathan Aigner calls "Of the Father's Love Begotten" a "perfect hymn." What does that entail? I would say, doctrinal truth and devotional richness expressed in moving poetry and beautiful music. What are some other perfect hymns?
Religious conversion generally has to do with spiritual transformation, personal commitment, theological conviction, and the like. But we are now seeing conversions to make a political statement. And yet, these too can grow into genuine faith.
A leaked FBI document reporting on "Radical Traditional Catholics" indicates that the agency is defining conservative Christians as a terrorist threat, to the point of recommending that churches be infiltrated by FBI informants.
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