Why I’m Not Excited About Austin Petersen

Last updated on: May 20, 2016 at 11:27 pm By Esther O’Reilly

As the numbing reality has set in that Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, many conservatives are frantically casting about for a third choice. Google searches for libertarian party candidates have sky-rocketed, and one name in particular has been generating a lot of buzz: Austin Petersen. Like other libertarian candidates, Petersen had about zero name recognition a month ago. Now, none other than Glenn Beck has officially endorsed him (after having campaigned hard for Ted Cruz). Historically, libertarian candidates... Read more

What Bono Doesn’t Get About Christian Art

Last updated on: May 17, 2016 at 10:07 pm By Esther O’Reilly

Last month, The Message author Eugene Peterson filmed a short conversation with Irish rocker Bono to discuss the Psalms. I know, it sounds like a Christian satire headline, but yes, this really happened. For younger readers who may be drawing a blank on “The Message,” it’s a Bible paraphrase that uses self-consciously casual language/colloquialisms. To give a sample of what this sounds like, here’s Peterson’s paraphrase of a repeated refrain of David’s from the Psalms: “Why are you down in the... Read more

CD Review: The Favorite Hymns of Fanny Crosby, by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

Last updated on: May 10, 2016 at 9:25 pm By Esther O’Reilly

Fanny Crosby is the most prolific hymn-writer in church history—so prolific that no matter what sort of hymns project an artist records, one or more of her tunes is bound to find its way onto it. So, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound reasoned, why not go all the way and just devote a whole album to nothing but Fanny Crosby tunes? This is a natural choice after they were included on a project putting some of her unpublished lyrics to... Read more

5 Films Every Christian Should See (Summit cross-post)

Last updated on: July 28, 2018 at 2:05 pm By Esther O’Reilly

As you might have noticed, I haven’t even tried to keep up with the latest crop of Christian films, the most recent being God’s Not Dead 2. (Alas, if you were waiting with bated breath for my review of that one, y’all are on your own.) But it has gotten me to thinking: If I were to create a list of five films every Christian should see, what would it look like? Apparently, Summit Ministries was interested to know what it would... Read more

Dear Conservatives: Now Is the Appointed Time

Last updated on: May 3, 2016 at 11:27 pm By Esther O’Reilly

Greetings, dear readers. This little blog hiatus turned out to be longer than I intended, but as it happens, the timing of this post seems rather apt when juxtaposed with the last one. As I write this, Ted Cruz has just suspended his presidential campaign, essentially guaranteeing Donald Trump the Republican nomination. Even a pessimist like myself must confess that as bad as I thought tonight would be, I didn’t think it would be this bad. I could say that a... Read more

This Election is Not About Beating Hillary Clinton

Last updated on: April 15, 2016 at 12:04 am By Esther O’Reilly

Despite the fact that Donald Trump is poised to sweep his home state of New York and plausibly several other New England states in its wake, the surge of Texas senator Ted Cruz has given actual conservatives reason to be cautiously optimistic. His well-oiled delegate collection machine has been cleaning Trump’s clock in recent non-primary states like Colorado and North Dakota. Furthermore, if Trump fails to clinch the nomination outright, Cruz’s team has loaded The Donald’s delegate slate with double agents... Read more

The Faith of Ronald Reagan

Last updated on: April 8, 2016 at 11:38 pm By Esther O’Reilly

A couple of months ago, I was inspired to dig into Ronald Reagan’s personal diary, which he kept almost daily during all eight years of his presidency. It’s a fascinating chronicle of the great and small, dull and momentous moments that make up the life of a president. It also gives real insight into Reagan’s character and personality. We get a vivid sense of his quick wit, his canniness, and his utterly sincere love for the American people. We also... Read more

Not Without Witness: An Easter Reflection

Last updated on: March 27, 2016 at 9:36 pm By Esther O’Reilly

…[A]nd then, suddenly, we come down to the resurrection of Jesus. It’s so petty, it’s so trivial, it’s so local, it’s so earth-bound, it’s so unworthy of the universe. — Richard Dawkins Easter Sunday is the Christian’s yearly reminder that our faith is unlike any other. Where other religions traffic in the elusive and the intangible, Christianity is planted firmly in the concrete. No other religion places the stakes so high. The Apostle Paul wrote that if Christ did not rise... Read more

We Call This Friday Good

Last updated on: March 25, 2016 at 12:20 am By Esther O’Reilly

The wounded surgeon plies the steel That questions the distempered part; Beneath the bleeding hands we feel The sharp compassion of the healer’s art Resolving the enigma of the fever chart. Our only health is the disease If we obey the dying nurse Whose constant care is not to please But to remind of our, and Adam’s curse, And that, to be restored, our sickness must grow worse. The whole earth is our hospital Endowed by the ruined millionaire, Wherein,... Read more

Movie Review: Risen

Last updated on: July 28, 2018 at 2:05 pm By Esther O’Reilly

How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth? — Sherlock Holmes After hearing good things about the new Christian film Risen, I finally got the chance to see it for myself this week. Offering a fresh twist on the Easter story, it walks through the aftermath of Jesus’ resurrection from the perspective of a Roman tribune named Clavius. Clavius is tasked by Pilate to find Jesus’ missing corpse... Read more