R. R. Reno

Letters to a Young Calvinist by James K.A. Smith Brazos, 160 pages, $14.99 Inspired by two very different predecessors”Christopher Hitchens, who produced Letters to a Young Contrarian , and George Weigel, author of Letters to a Young Catholic ”Calvin College philosophy professor James . . . . Continue Reading »

Iran, it seems, is experiencing a textbook case of conflict between the aggressive and absorptive power of the secular state and religious authority. In today’s Financial Times , Najmeh Bozorgmehr reports that Iran’s highest ranking cleric is getting sideways with the officially Islamic . . . . Continue Reading »

It was cold, very cold that New Year’s eve in the Adirondack Mountains, perhaps twenty below. A fine, imperceptible snow was almost hovering like a thin mist as I fumbled with the small backpacking stove, unable to manipulate the little knobs. So I took off my mittens, and the harsh cold of the frozen metal pierced through my thin silk inner gloves, making the tips of my finger almost instantly numb… . Continue Reading »

First Things attracts smart readers. The discussion of how we should present and read the bible in worship has been very interesting, bringing out some interesting differences. For example: chanting scripture vs. studied efforts to read the bible with nuanced emphasis. While a graduate student in . . . . Continue Reading »

Yesterday I argued for a hefty Bible at the lectern . Weighty truths, its seems to me, are fittingly stored in weighty tomes. That doesn’t mean that I’m opposed to pocket Bibles or bible verses that you can call up on your cell phone—or for that matter to any form of scripture. . . . . Continue Reading »

New York is digging out from a big snowstorm, which means a quiet day at the office, allowing me to catch up on some of my reading, including Verbum Domini , the Apostolic Exhortation concerning scripture and interpretation put out by Pope Benedict last fall. There’s lots of rich material . . . . Continue Reading »

It’s easy to step back and denounce the excesses of the Christmas season: the orgy of spending, too much food, too much drink, too many parties, and expensive ski vacations that bring aching credit card hangovers. Easy, but mistaken. Continue Reading »

Talk about cynical marketing! Columbia University Press has put out a slender book that represents itself as authored by Richard Rorty. The title suggests a topic of importance— Ethics for Today: Finding Common Ground Between Philosophy and Religion . But when you open the book (hopefully . . . . Continue Reading »

I’ve been rereading Lionel Trilling lately. I’ve long been a fan of his unique ability to write a meandering essay that nonetheless feels as though it has a singular focus. In any event, a recent editorial by Matt Franck in the Washington Post made me think of Trilling. Franck surveys . . . . Continue Reading »

“Empire” comes from the Latin imperium, derived from the verb imperare, which means to command. Thus an emperor, the man who governs by command rather than consensus or consultation. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the invasion of Iraq, America was in command, not absolutely and not everywhere … . Continue Reading »