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What Phil Robertson Gets Wrong

One brief remark on the Phil Robertson fiasco . I understand and share all the concerns about religious liberty, which Rod Dreher , Russell Moore , and Mollie Hemingway have done a good job (as usual) of articulating. But just because someone quotes 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and is opposed to same-sex . . . . Continue Reading »

Impeachment Day

Fifteen years ago today the United States House of Representatives impeached William Jefferson Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice. At the time, many believed that the Republicans in the House would lack the guts to do it. Despite the President’s shameful conduct with a White House . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 12.19.13

Elected Representatives Wesley Hill, Books & Culture Book Hunting in the New Dark Ages Paul D. Miller, The City An Interview with Richard Rodriguez Scott Timberg & Richard Rodriguez, Salon Dominicans Caroling in DC [video] Dominican House of Studies College: Not for Everyone Rachel Lu, . . . . Continue Reading »

Excuses, Excuses

The first time human beings have a conversation with God in Genesis they are making excuses, trying to shift the blame for what they have done. Taken with the proper skepticism, the excuses are very revealing: they tell us a great deal about what went wrong in humanity’s primal disobedience. They . . . . Continue Reading »

A Liturgy, a Legacy, and an Anglican Band

During my doctoral program at Oxford, my wife and I had the good fortune of attending a wonderful Anglican church. Located just across from Christ Church, St. Aldate’s has a history going back to the twelfth century and St. Frideswide, which spoke to me given that I was writing on the canons . . . . Continue Reading »

Frank Wolf, American Hero

I don’t often find myself shouting “amen” to the opinions of the editorial board of the  Washington Post . And my list of heroes is scarcely crammed with politicians. But today a hero of mine who happens to be a politician was praised in a  Washington Post  editorial. . . . . Continue Reading »

The Bad and the Beautiful

Re-reading War and Peace in recent weeks, I have been reminded of one of the most monumental pieces of miscasting in the history of the motion picture industry. For those who have never read the novel, a central part of the drama depends upon the fact that one of the major characters, Pierre . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 12.18.13

Swing Low Christopher Benfey, New York Review of Books Mormons and the New Statement on Race John Turner, Anxious Bench Raising the Awesome Child Diane M. Hoffman, Hedgehog Review It’s Time to Return to the New Critics Micah Mattix, Public Discourse The Desolation of the Imagination Fr. . . . . Continue Reading »

The Serpent’s Lie

When the serpent first speaks in Genesis, the woman is eager to correct him. His opening speech is probably best construed, according to many modern scholars, as an incomplete subordinate clause: in Robert Alter’s translation “Though God said, you shall not eat from any tree of the . . . . Continue Reading »

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