Forgetfulness and the Gospel

The inimitable Russ Moore spoke at chapel on my campus (Union University) last week.  He preached from Deut. 24: 14-22, making a fascinating link between caring for the least among us and the local church, using orphans / adoption as the illustrating framework for his message. As I . . . . Continue Reading »

Is That Painting By Monet or a Monkey?

Have you ever looked at a piece of abstract art and thought, “”My monkey could have painted that.” (What do you mean you don’t have a monkey? What are you, some kind of philistine?) Some enterprising researchers decided to test to see if people could indeed tell the . . . . Continue Reading »

A Childhood Ruined by Ayn Rand

About the best thing that can be said about Ayn Rand is that few people take her seriously. Although her books are still widely read, Rand’s pseudo-religious cult—Objectivism—is largely ignored or disdained even by the fans of her work. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the . . . . Continue Reading »

Jane Austen’s Guide to Being a Gentleman

In the latest addition to my Jane Austen Theorem*, Mark T. Mitchell explains how Jane Austen teaches us to be a gentlemen: Austen’s gentlemen (I’m thinking especially of Darcy here) understand the call of duty; they are committed to family, reputation, propriety, and self-control. To be . . . . Continue Reading »

Does Islam Require Killing Apostates?

In an article today for Public Discourse , prominent Muslim scholar Abdullah Saeed argues that the hadith of Islam (the sayings and actions attributed to Muhammad, the second most important source after the Quran), do not support the practice of execution for conversion from Islam to another . . . . Continue Reading »

On Pop Music

Breathes there a man with a soul so dead that he only listens to music heard first when he was in high school?Evidently, yes, if my experience is any guide. Give me a phone or IPod and I can tell you the age of the owner with more accuracy than Sherlock Holmes granted a walking stick. There are more . . . . Continue Reading »

Send Us Your Students, Yearning to Be Fellows

On Friday, our assistant editor Kevin Staley-Joyce, once a junior fellow himself, posted a note about the magazine’s Junior Fellows program . I join him in commending to your attention the notice to the right and in asking older readers to forward it to any college senior or recent graduate . . . . Continue Reading »