Matthew Milliner

The Pulitzer granted to Stephen Greenblatt’s The Swerve caused me to revisit R.R. Reno’s prescient First Things review , which suggests the book offers “a justifying mythology for America’s ruling elite.” The Swerve [blusters] again and again about the beauty-loathing, . . . . Continue Reading »

Earthly Visions: Theology and the Challenges of Art by timothy gorringe yale university press, 254 pages, $45 With religion’s expiration, the great artworks of the past had to be rescued—if only for the ecstatic feelings they might still evoke. Bloomsbury bohemian Clive Bell put it this . . . . Continue Reading »

I shall now snootily subvert “the year in culture” blog post genre by linking to one from 2004.  A wonderful essay by Una Cadegan in the Confessing History volume (which I reviewed over here ), brought my attention to Judith Shulevitz’s 2004 wrap up in Slate , where she wrote . . . . Continue Reading »

This year was the sixtieth anniversary of William F. Buckley’s God and Man at Yale .  Here’s a taste of the bracing new proposals for higher education reform from another Yale graduate, entitled Do It Yourself University : Most people no longer feel the need to visit a large, stone . . . . Continue Reading »

Christian complaints of being willfully misunderstood by secularists will win far more sympathy when those same Christians stop willfully misunderstanding contemporary art.  P.D. Young has some advice in that regard :   “If you cannot name five contemporary artists, you need put all . . . . Continue Reading »

In his much-discussed column last month highlighting Christian Smith’s much-discussed sociology of young adults , David Brooks laments that young adherents of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism aren’t even that moral.  “Morality was once revealed, inherited and shared, but now . . . . Continue Reading »

Those frustrated with the art world’s prohibition of non-ironic religious art might enjoy this lecture from art historian John Walford. Walford begins by quoting a contemporary art critic who asserts the non-existence of serious art by Protestant Christians.  Walford then goes on to . . . . Continue Reading »

Everyone is loving to hate Pastor Joe Nelms’ oft-viewed prayer to open a recent NASCAR event.  I couldn’t even find an articulate condemnation—something with conviction like, “High priest of consumerism breathes oil-addicted Empire’s last pious gasp.”  . . . . Continue Reading »

Amidst commentary on the passing of evangelical leader John Stott has been the occasional suggestion that Stott represented the propositionalist, logic-driven, “modern” evangelicalism of the past. For better or for worse, younger evangelicals today, on the other hand, tend to prefer . . . . Continue Reading »

Though not as good as it might have been (see Thomas Hibbs’ percipient review ), Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris is a refreshing step down from the nihilistic soapbox. The lesson—in case we’d miss it—is pedantically spelled out: Beware “Golden Age syndrome,” the . . . . Continue Reading »