In a chapter on providence and politics in The Providence of God: Deus Habet Consilium , Charles Mathewes contrasts a modern ” ex nihilo ” view of human action with the view that human action is “responsible,” not only in the sense of moral responsibility but also in the . . . . Continue Reading »
There’s a great deal to like in the work of Nicholas of Cusa, but William Cavanaugh ( The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict ) places him at the beginning of an unfortunate genealogy that develops into the modern conception of religion as a generic . . . . Continue Reading »
Mark Lilla makes little effort to disguise his contempt for the Tea Party movement ( New York Review of Books , May 27). His contempt is contemptible, and his charges that the Tea Partiers have “anarchist” tendencies and are animated by “anger” are off-base. A few . . . . Continue Reading »
Caitlin Flanagan asks in the June issue of The Atlantic why girls are today looking for “the kind of super-reactionary love stories that would have been perfectly at home during the Eisenhower administration?” Her answer is that teenage behavior is shaped by “the mores and . . . . Continue Reading »
Everyone who knows Lord Acton knows his most famous claim, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The context is less well-known. That sentence appears in a letter, written on April 5, 1887, to Mandell Creighton. Acton had written a critical . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION The Spirit is the “Paraclete,” a Greek word often translated as “comforter.” But the Spirit doesn’t just soothe us. When the Comforter comes, He comes to convict (John 16:8-11). The Spirit is the Spirit of discipline. THE TEXT “These . . . . Continue Reading »
J. Budziszewski’s The Line Through the Heart: Natural Law as Fact, Theory, and Sign of Contradiction is about the best and most accessible defenses of natural law one could hope for. At the micro level, J. Bud’s arguments, rejoinders, and observations are sharp, often witty. . . . . Continue Reading »
A number of scholars in the past few decades have studied the parallels between the Song of Songs and Egyptian “love poetry.” These parallels are questionable, but even if we assume they are there, it doesn’t prove the case that several of these scholars want to make - . . . . Continue Reading »
Does the church have a finished, changeless confession? No. Will it ever? No. Because the Head of the Church is a living Lord, and being alive means having the capacity to surprise (Jenson). As the living Lord, Jesus speaks through and to His church according to her . . . . Continue Reading »
PROVERBS 28:22 Though this verse uses different terminology from Proverbs 28:20, it overlaps with that previous proverb. In both cases, there are observations about the relationship between wealth and hastiness. Verse 20 indicates that the one who makes haste to become rich, who chases . . . . Continue Reading »
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