Slaughtered Sons

by Mathew Block

We like the story of angels proclaiming peace on earth and good will toward men. But we too often forget a darker side of the Christmas story: the slaughter of Bethlehem’s infant boys. Continue Reading »

27 Dec 2014

The Silence of Jesus and the Voice of the Apostles

by Wesley Hill

Marilynne Robinson repeats the conclusion that Jesus had nothing to say about homosexuality. But that conclusion severs the connection between Jesus and his specially commissioned apostolic witnesses. Continue Reading »

12 May 2014

Defining Jesus

by William Harmless

Around 318, Arius, a popular pastor in Alexandria, Egypt, clashed with his bishop, Alexander. The point of contention touched—and continues to touch—the very heart of the Christian faith: Is Christ God, or not? The problem was this: How could Christians call Christ “God” and call the . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Oct 2012

Jesus's Challenge: Stand and Deliver

by Elizabeth Scalia

Both of my sons are wordsmiths and the elder one has a particular facility for delivering groan-inducing puns with such lightning speed that even as you roll your eyes, you can’t help but be a little impressed—or terrified—by how dexterously his brain can associate many things with many other things… . Continue Reading »

7 Aug 2012

The Trial of Jesus

by J.H.H. Weiler

For the last four years, I have been conducting, at New York University’s School of Law, a seminar on the trial of Jesus. The Wall Street Journal inveighed against it as educational inanity: if not exactly corrupting the youth, then at least leading them astray and squandering their tuition . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jun 2010

Bailing out the Problem of Evil [6]

by Frank Turk

The last time we mentioned that if Joseph had never been sold into slavery, he would have never been in a position to become what he became.And the wily atheist — the one who admits, btw, that even he might be willing to suffer for the sake of something, like being part of the 60 million who . . . . Continue Reading »

25 Feb 2010

Bailing out the Problem of Evil [1]

by Frank Turk

The problem is what to do about pain. See: the common argument here — which Loftus plainly uses to dismiss God — is that all pain ought to be stopped whenever possible. A universe with suffering in it precludes the Christian God (he says), so the onus is now on John or anyone else who sees pain to stop pain.
Continue Reading »

12 Feb 2010

Jesus was crucified

by Frank Turk

It’s obvious, I hope, that I’m writing here for people who say to themselves, “There is something irresistible about Jesus.” For some of you, that’s a point which you make into an ideological cathedral — a point of doctrine which lines up in an acronym that summarizes the faith, your faith. For others, it’s a nagging thought — as you work out your faith on your own, you keep coming back to this Jesus, and you can’t make sense of him all the way, but you also can’t accept everything he says because it seems somehow too hard to live that way, or too complex, or too simple, or merely out of your grid of experience. Continue Reading »

27 Jan 2010

A Different Kind of Party

by Frank Turk

It’s funny because Linus makes the grave reading of Luke 2 for Charlie Brown and says, “That’s what it’s all about, Charlie Brown,” and we feel like something really important® has been said by Dollie Madison cakes and Coca-Cola. But Luke 2 isn’t in a vacuum. The matter of what happened on the night in question in the city of David when there was no room in the inn is not really about anything – unless there is something more to this child than a birth in poverty into an indifferent world. Continue Reading »

18 Dec 2009

Veiled in Flesh the Godhead See - Are We Sure About That?

by David Wayne

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than to start an argument by attacking one of our favorite Christmas hymns.“Hark the Herald Angels Sing” has that one line “veiled in flesh the Godhead see,” and I just thought it would be fun to nitpick that  . . . . Continue Reading »

16 Dec 2009