What is the reason we educate children? Because of the role of the state and the support of schools with public funds, the most commonly accepted answer has become, “to create an educated citizenry.” Christopher Tollefsen acknowledges that this can be part of the purpose but pushes back . . . . Continue Reading »
In his latest New York Times column, Stanley Fish reviews The Disenchantment of Secular Discourse. The new book by law professor Steven Smith argues that there are no secular reasons, at least not, as Fish summarizes, “reasons of the kind that could justify a decision to take one course of . . . . Continue Reading »
Yesterday I linked to Rich Lowry and Ramesh Ponnuru’s excellent article on American exceptionalism , in which they say: To find the roots of American exceptionalism, you have to start at the beginning — or even before the beginning. They go back to our mother country. Historian Alan . . . . Continue Reading »
“I don’t believe in the Trinity,” my friend said. She and I were discussing the Christian doctrine that holds that one God subsists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Despite being a Christian believer, she rejects the doctrine of the Trinity. I was surprised and . . . . Continue Reading »
By now you may have heard about the Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko who has been sulking because he lost the gold medal to American Evan Lysacek. Plushenko has taken a fairly audacious strategy to elevating his claim to superiority: his website apparently announced that he has . . . . Continue Reading »
I knew Matthew Scully, the animal rights movement’s favorite conservative, would attack A Rat is a Pig is a Dog is a Boy. When he did, I expected him to respect readers sufficiently to disclose that I criticized (and praised) his book Dominion. He didn’t. I didn’t . . . . Continue Reading »
The Daily Telegraph reports on a breakthrough in brain science:For decades critics of modern classical music have been derided as philistines for failing to grasp the subtleties of the chaotic sounding compositions, but there may now be an explanation for why many audiences find them so . . . . Continue Reading »
According to the Washington Times , last week the Supreme Court set oral arguments for April 19 in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez , a case in which the University of California’s Hastings College of Law denied official recognition to the Christian Legal Society. The school refused to . . . . Continue Reading »
It is evidently the season for institutions of higher learning to select new presidents. We have recently heard announcements from Baylor University and Wheaton College. Now my own employer, Redeemer University College, one of a very few Christian universities in Canada, has just announced the . . . . Continue Reading »
R. R. Reno laments the civic failure of American higher education : Colleges and universities today manifest a paradoxical combination of remarkable success and abject failure. Vast resources and extensive funding for research have made our system of higher education the envy of the world—but . . . . Continue Reading »
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