The Editors

Wesley J. Smith on the importance of ‘Living Dyingly’ : The late Christopher Hitchens wanted to be remembered for the excellence of his intellect. No doubt, those hopes will be met. As probably the best contemporary practitioner of the extended essay, he and the views he so . . . . Continue Reading »

Leroy Huizenga on ecclesiadicy : The ultimate issue for those who take seriously the question of which Christian communion they should belong to, I think, is not which ecclesial structure evinces the most holiness yesterday and today. Rather, the proper question is this: What structure has God . . . . Continue Reading »

George Weigel on the campaign between “Burke” and “Hobbes” : You likely think, gentle reader, that the 2012 presidential race is a contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. That, of course, is true, insofar as the names on our Nov. 6 ballots go. But the 2012 race for the . . . . Continue Reading »

Elizabeth Scalia on how our political idols won’t save us : The first time I observed American Christians creating idols of their ideologies was during the presidency of George W. Bush; I saw people put enormous faith in a president and his policies because—through their post-9/11 . . . . Continue Reading »

Peter J. Leithart on the dark side of gratitude : In The Gift, first published in the 1920s, the French ethnologist Marcel Mauss describes several Pacific Rim “gift economies.” Mauss argues that exchanges among these tribes are radically different from exchanges in money economies. In . . . . Continue Reading »

Russell E. Saltzman on banking on the fringe : The Liberty Dollar has turned out to be a precursor to the contemporary “community currency movement.” Liberty Dollars inspired a lot of wannabes who have produced an array of alternative if not exotic currencies: Lakotas, Texas Republics, . . . . Continue Reading »

George Weigel on coalition for religious freedom : All of these factors conspire (in the sense of “work together”) to make it very difficult to re-assemble the bipartisan coalition that passed RFRA. Given the positions that the Democratic Party espouses on abortion and same-sex marriage, . . . . Continue Reading »

James R. Rogers on business and the way of the cross : Providing a needy person with a job not only eliminates want for that person, it also creates the opportunity to multiply charity through the hands of others. Paul encouraged Christians to do “honest work” with their own hands, so . . . . Continue Reading »

William Doino Jr. on whether America is blessed by God : In 2008, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly released a survey on how Americans view their country’s relationship to God: “Sixty-one percent agree that America is a nation specially blessed by God,” it revealed, “and 59 percent . . . . Continue Reading »

Wesley J. Smith on our neurotic fear of suffering : Ironically, our many medical triumphs and the consequential receding of serious suffering from everyday experience created a concomitant terror of travail that threatens the morality of society. For example, when people actually did die in agony, . . . . Continue Reading »