Joe Carter

Can we be more moral than Jesus? Every evangelical I’ve ever known would consider the question absurd. With Jesus as the standard for moral conduct, it should be impossible to be more moral than he”our Redeemer. However, what we claim to believe is often at odd with our actions. For instance, while my fellow Southern Baptists consider Christ to be the Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos, we would not consider him fit to serve as a trustee for the Southern Baptist Convention… . Continue Reading »

Ross Douthat makes the case for hell : Atheists have license to scoff at damnation, but to believe in God and not in hell is ultimately to disbelieve in the reality of human choices. If there’s no possibility of saying no to paradise then none of our no’s have any real meaning either. . . . . Continue Reading »

Rod Dreher is enthusiastic about the new movie Of Gods and Men : In 1996, Islamic terrorists waging civil war in Algeria kidnapped seven Trappist monks from the Tibhirine monastery, held them hostage for weeks, then murdered them. If you see this event, as I did at the time, as another sad chapter . . . . Continue Reading »

Yes, it’s weird but true: A surprisingly large number of American evangelicals have a fascination with Amish romance novels. Eric Miller explains why: The land of the free, it turns out, has been rough on people seeking freedom, including evangelicals. Torn between competing visions of . . . . Continue Reading »

Although I’m an Anglophile, all the talk about the royal wedding has so disgusted me that I’ve been tempted to say something nice about the French. Fortunately, before I gave in during a moment of weakness, I found this gem from the 1940s that reminded me why I admire our cousins across . . . . Continue Reading »

Over thirty years ago, Larry Kramer, a Pulitzer-nominated playwright, screenwriter, author, and homosexual-rights activist, made a name for himself by criticizing the gay community’s culture of promiscuity. In a recent interview with Salon.com (warning: contains crude language), Kramer once . . . . Continue Reading »

Many of the religious liberty cases that come before the Supreme Court concern relatively trivial matters. Richard Garnett, a professor of law and associate dean at the University of Notre Dame, reports on a case that actually matters: The Supreme Court’s religious-freedom decisions are . . . . Continue Reading »

In today’s On the Square , David Mills explains the way in which we are all like James Slattery (aka “Candy Darling”), a transvestite star of Andy Warhol’s famous Factory: According to the New York Press reviewer, Beautiful Darling ends with a quote from his diaries: . . . . Continue Reading »

With the release of her book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and her article in the WSJ on ” Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior ,” Yale Law School professor Amy Chua ignited a debate about what constitutes “successful” parenting. Pamela J. Nielsen considers the question from . . . . Continue Reading »

Sign of the Times of the Day: A state-funded sex education website in Massachusetts tells teens an abortion is “much easier than it sounds,” “more common than you might think,” and “safe and effective, though some people may experience temporary discomfort.” Read more . . . . Continue Reading »