Jonah Goldberg: Russell Kirk who, despite his brilliance and erudition, was never my cup of tea, offered “Six Canons of Conservatism.” (I’ve edited them down, but you can follow this link to read them in their entirety.) 1. Belief in a transcendent order, or body of natural law, which rules society as well as conscience. . . . True politics is the art of apprehending and applying the Justice which ought to prevail in a community of souls. 2. Affection... Read more

Wade Burleson — I’ve seen very few willing to state the matter so boldly and to point the finger not only at false thinking but also at the condition of marriages in the SBC: How can the divorce rate in every state in the union be declining while at the same time the Southern Baptist divorce rate is accelerating? Because divorce rates are in the culture at large are declining, if Southern Baptists were “accommodating culture,” then our divorce rate would be also declining. Pay close attention... Read more

You may well remember the images of the Amish after the senseless slaughter of the children at school — offering compassion to the shooter’s family and making it clear that they would not seek revenge. The same spirit of the Amish, which is the Spirit of Jesus, the cross, and the way of life of those who follow Jesus, is seen now in the witness of the Christians of African Methodist Episcopal in Charleston: Source: A Northerner bows, deeply, to... Read more

There is a reason, perhaps less in importance but perhaps just as insidious, why Christian communities of faith need to stop in their tracks and post a new life-sign about the end of racism in the Church. That reason is the growing, venomous, and potentially culture-crushing development in the USA of White Nationalism. Perhaps you don’t know about it, and I confess I didn’t until I read Vanderbilt University’s Law School professor, Carol M. Swain’s book, The New White Nationalism... Read more

The image by Brian Snyder, Reuters: Read more

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who places fathers in families: We commend to your continual care the homes in which fathers and families dwell. Put far from them, we pray, every root of bitterness, the desire of vainglory, and the pride of life. Fill them with faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness. Knit together in constant affection those parents who have been made one flesh. Turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children... Read more

In the church calendar we are in “ordinary” time, and this is the prayer for today: Almighty God, You have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, That we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,... Read more

By Jason Micheli: Gabriel– I discovered this photo the other night, scrolling through the computer and finding others like it that, having been snapped, disappeared into the cloud. Unseen by me. Or, the scab always tells the truth: I was too busy to notice. I cried big, eyelash-less tears when I double-clicked on it and watched us maximize the screen together. I didn’t realize Mommy had taken the picture, or possibly it was X who stole into the bedroom and... Read more