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The Verdict on Judgment

“Who am I to judge?” asked Pope Francis in 2013, when questioned by a reporter about an alleged “gay lobby” within the Vatican. The rhetorical question became a flash point—both for those who hoped that it signaled a new approach toward those with homosexual attractions, and for those . . . . Continue Reading »

Seeing the Whole

A few years ago, I visited Albi, a small town in southern France famed for its Cathedral of Saint Cecilia. Constructed of the rose-colored brick typical of the region, the building was begun in the thirteenth century, about a hundred years after the Albigensian Crusade against the region’s . . . . Continue Reading »

The Diseasing of Judgment

Students clamor for “safe spaces.” Protesters smash windows and political leaders insist on saying that it’s important to hear their “voices.” Parents speak of children’s behavior as “unhealthy,” avoiding moral terms. We tend to think of these as recent developments, which have come . . . . Continue Reading »

Who Are We Not to Judge?

The precepts of the Lord are pretty clear—What’s right or wrong is plain enough to see.And yet the question that we often hear,Is who are we to judge what shouldn’t be.It seems the ban on judgment trickled downFrom other people to the deeds performed;To say, “that’s wrong,” will . . . . Continue Reading »

Last Things

Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things that Matter Mostby jerry l. wallsbrazos, 240 pages, $19.99 The opening sentence of this book declares that it “deals with the most important questions you will ever think about.” Jerry Walls—a philosophy professor at Houston Baptist . . . . Continue Reading »

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