Joseph Knippenberg

I’m blessed to have the opportunity to teach my class on ancient and medieval political philosophy this semester. Right now, we’re reading and discussing Aristophanes’ Clouds , which (for those who haven’t read it) is a comedic presentation of a “pre-Socratic” . . . . Continue Reading »

I have mixed emotions about Troy University’s plan to offer faith-based campus housing . On the one hand, it seems like the careful kind of accommodation of faith in a public setting that I favor: The five-acre property is leased from the university by Troy’s foundation, a private, . . . . Continue Reading »

The First Amendment Center recently published its annual survey of the ” state of the First Amendment .” I wish I could say that I was heartened by all the findings, but I’m not. Consider these results: Only 10 percent of the respondents stated that freedom of religion was . . . . Continue Reading »

A state judge in New Hampshire has ruled against a recently enacted program that would have provided tax credits to businesses that contributed to scholarship organizations similar to those in the Arizona program upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011. There are a few things about the opinion . . . . Continue Reading »

Adjunct faculty at Pacific Lutheran University have persuaded the National Labor Relations Board that they have the right to vote on whether to be represented by the Service Employees International Union. While the Supreme Court has held that religious institutions are generally outside NLRB . . . . Continue Reading »

The Romeike family, about whose case I previously posted , has lost its latest round in the federal courts . In a unanimous ruling , the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Obama Administration’s contention that the Romeikes are not victims of persecution. The question is not . . . . Continue Reading »

That title is the motto of my university and the basis of a final exam question I asked the sophomores in my “Great Books” core course. The answers were interesting (in a disheartening way). The students “get” making a difference (a phrase added to our motto a little . . . . Continue Reading »

Roughly a year ago, I wrote about the Davidson College Board of Trustees’ reconsideration of its requirement that the College’s president be a Presbyterian. Well, the board has reaffirmed its requirement , explaining that “the Reformed Tradition values considered to have . . . . Continue Reading »

Permit me to connect what I take to be the dots between recent posts on John Milbank and by David T. Koyzis . For fun, you can also take a look at this post by Koyzis on another site. We have made an idol of choice, regarding it as the logical concomitant of our “natural” freedom. But . . . . Continue Reading »

As I’ve mentioned before , I’m leading a seminar on the family and political thought. There are seven of us all told, five smart and accomplished young women, a sharp young man, and their cranky middle-aged professor. We’re finishing up by reading the . . . . Continue Reading »