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A King in Israel

Israel is a Jewish state but has not succeeded in defining just what that means in a national constitution. Although the 1948 Declaration of Independence called for the enactment of a constitution within months of the state’s inception, nothing has been achieved beyond a fragmentary “Basic . . . . Continue Reading »

The Killer Instinct

A friend of mine, in her college days, had a bumper sticker that offered this peaceful counsel: Don’t Buy War Toys. Once, she and a companion were stuck in a traffic jam on the highway, next to several young men in a pickup on their way home from deer hunting. The traffic was creeping along, one . . . . Continue Reading »

Noah's Raven

“Noah . . . sent forth a raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth” ”Genesis 8:6 He loosed the window latch And then he loosened me, My grim cavort The first report, Now made belatedly. From gopher wood and thatch I plied by eye and wing, The ruffled weather, . . . . Continue Reading »

Religious Freedom and the Supreme Court

Justice Clarence Thomas has observed that the Supreme Court’s decisions and doctrine having to do with religious freedom, church“state relations, and “religion in the public square” are in “hopeless disarray.” What accounts for this mess? The causes, no doubt, are many: For example, the . . . . Continue Reading »

How Pedophilia Lost Its Cool

The reason that the monstrous crime of pedophilia matters is simple: In an increasingly secular age, it is one of the few taboos about which people on both sides of the religious divide can agree. It remains a marker of right and wrong in a world where other markers have been . . . . Continue Reading »

A Charitable Endeavor

To understand Catholic charities in the United States today, we need to remember two simple facts. First, the Catholic experience in America has been different from the Church’s history in Europe. Second, while the founders’ belief in religious liberty remains deeply ingrained in the American . . . . Continue Reading »

What Marriage Is—And What It Isn’t

Everyone agrees that marriage, whatever else it is or does, is a relationship in which persons are united. But what are persons? And how is it possible for two or more of them to unite? The view typically (if often unconsciously) held by advocates of liberal positions on issues of sexuality and . . . . Continue Reading »

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