Marshaling the Arguments for Marriage

Ryan Anderson, editor of the Witherspoon Institute’s Public Discourse and a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, has done yeoman service in providing an overview of some of the many arguments made by amici curiae in briefs submitted to the Supreme Court in its two upcoming marriage . . . . Continue Reading »

Redating Lewis’ Conversion?

I have to question Alister McGrath’s insistence (linked in this morning’s First Links ) that the date of C.S. Lewis’ conversion “clearly needs review.” Lewis recounted in his autobiography Surprised by Joy that he converted to theism—not Christianity, . . . . Continue Reading »

Don’t Raise the Minimum Wage

My colleague Jared Pincin and I have taken to the pages of the Newark Star-Ledger   to make an ethical case against President Obama’s proposal to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00: In addition to the economics, think of what the minimum wage says ethically. It tells . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Square Today

R. R. Reno on the future of conservatism : American conservatives need to return to first principles. Tax rates are not irrelevant. Restraining government spending may be good policy (and a fiscal necessity). But our goal is limited government, not limited taxation. The sign of success is a free . . . . Continue Reading »

Neither Presumption nor Despair

Many of you have thought much more deeply and carefully about sexual orientation change efforts than I have, and none of what I say here is meant to minimize the complexity of that discussion. But I just wanted to note that my understanding of the character of  hope  leads me to approach . . . . Continue Reading »

Turfan and the Christians of the Silk Route

Some years ago, I published  The Lost History of Christianity , which traced the early expansion of Christianity into Asia and Africa, as well as Europe. For perhaps a thousand years, Christianity flourished at least as well in Asia as in Europe, and that when we focus wholly on the Western . . . . Continue Reading »

Is Batman Bored?

A few more thoughts on wonder and contemporary culture, if you’ll bear with me. Wonder as a sought-after object (as opposed to a manner of apprehending what is found) becomes, perhaps, just another way of curing boredom— Walker Percy wasn’t advocating a Russian assault on Greece so . . . . Continue Reading »

Relevant Religion and Human Desires

Sometimes it takes a nonbeliever to speak truth to believers. This time it comes from the “not even religious” George Jonas in Canada’s National Post : Searching for one-size-fits-all religion . Amidst calls from some Roman Catholics that the new Pope toe their own line rather . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 3.11.13

Re-dating Lewis’ Conversion Alister McGrath, ABC Religion & Ethics The Orthodox Surge David Brooks, New York Times Cardinal Gibbons and the Stormy Conclave of 1903 Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic If the Church Is Hypocritical, Is Anyone Else Guilty? Tom Wright, Guardian The War on . . . . Continue Reading »