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A Pause To Reflect

Good for President Obama for seeking congressional authorization for a strike on Syria. Among other things, it will give the administration more time to come up with a coherent strategy that has a plausible chance of advancing American interests. The current strategy of focusing outrage on Syrian . . . . Continue Reading »

It’s Always Been the Same, Same Old Story

“Families exist to die,” says Peter J. Leithart, cheerfully pondering the departure of his children in today’s On the Square . As every nineteenth-century Russian novelist knew, the surface cracks and the old chasms reappear. Fathers become traditionalists who think that their way . . . . Continue Reading »

What Do You Learn with a BA in English?

Adam Gopnik, in the New Yorker, has written a column entitled ” Why Study English? ” But, in today’s On the Square , Micah Mattix points out that the question he is really concerned with is “why read literature?” Studying English is a very different beast: One of the . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 8.30.13

How to Interpret Biblical Genitives Justin Taylor, Between Two Worlds Mapping the Global Muslim Population Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project How Did You Become a Writer? Brian Doyle, American Scholar A Stark but Realistic Picture of the Middle East Edward Pentin & Samir . . . . Continue Reading »

Discipleship for Wayfarers

I recently talked with Matt Woodley of Preaching Today about how pastors might approach the topic of homosexuality in sermons and other parish teaching opportunities. (The interview is available for free, but you might have to register at the site to access it in its entirety.) For those who have . . . . Continue Reading »

Against Symbolic Killing

I find myself more and more disturbed by the moral implications of President’s Obama’s approach to Syria. He speaks of “sending a message” and firing a “shot across the bow.” This is a dangerous way of thinking about war. There are times when military force can . . . . Continue Reading »

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