Here I defend the autonomy of our religious institutions against traditionalist establishmentarians. My Tocquevillian observations include with a brief comment on the film Philomena. If you read the book on which the film is based, you can see that the facts damn Irish clericalism well . . . . Continue Reading »
“In cases like Craig Biggio’s (74.8% of the vote) should the Hall of Fame round up to the required 75%?” asked an ESPN poll of its readers. And as you may have guessed, a big majority of 69% said yes. Which only proves that 69% of people who vote on baseball matters on the ESPN . . . . Continue Reading »
God’s word to the woman in Genesis 3:16 continues to fascinate me. Yesterday I argued that in contrast to rationalist projects like Plato’s, it aims to deepen the difference between male and female rather than minimize it. For in Scripture difference and otherness are not things to be regretted . . . . Continue Reading »
At the end of December the New York Times and Foreign Policy published pieces on African Pentecostalism, deliverance, and the demonic. Co-authoring the Foreign Policy article, Jill Filipovic and Ty McCormick focused on the relationship between Pentecostalism, witchcraft, and traditional African . . . . Continue Reading »
They think the way you solve things is by electing the right people. It’s nice to elect the right people, but that isn’t how you solve things. The way you solve things is by making it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing. -Milton FriedmanLet me share some . . . . Continue Reading »
Most of the talk about the Robert Gates memoir has been about his criticism of Obama and Clinton. Fair enough, but it is striking that Gates is much more harshly critical of Congress and yet these attacks on Congress have not produced much surprise, outrage, or even pushback. Our . . . . Continue Reading »
Fr. Joseph Wilson has let us publish his “Rite of Blessing Automobiles,” or rather the rite produced some years ago by Diocese of Ostergothenburg as a addition to the Book of Blessings, of which the assiduously document-collecting Father Wilson had a copy. Here, thanks to him, is . . . . Continue Reading »
Well, since we’re on a roll into despondency this week, how about this chart, showing the Rise of the Independents?Note the how last year’s numerous and fundamental failures of Obama and his brand of liberalism translated into almost no further depression of Democratic . . . . Continue Reading »
I’m still trying to understand God’s word to the woman in Genesis 3:16, connecting the difficulties of childbirth, the woman’s desire for her man, and her man ruling over her. In the narrative context of Genesis, this connection clearly looks forward to the patriarchal households of Genesis, . . . . Continue Reading »
Next summer, July 28 to August 1, 2014, the Witherspoon Institute (where I direct the Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution) will host its third biennial Church and State Seminar. From our website description:This five-day seminar will examine the relationship between religion and . . . . Continue Reading »
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