A Necessary, Neglected Conversation

by Jordan Zajac

“It is undeniable that religion informs public life, and we need to regain a sense of the ways in which this dynamic operates.” I scribbled these words in my Moleskine. Continue Reading »

15 Jun 2016

First Things, a Lifeline

by R. R. Reno

Ideas have consequences. They are also vehicles of truth, and of uplift. Continue Reading »

8 Jun 2016

Shying Away from Mercy

by Stephanos Bibas

Though mercy is a Christian virtue, our post-Christian society shies away from relying on it. Lenient criminal sentences, pardons, and debt forgiveness all seem to undercut the demands of justice and public safety. We now speak the language of rights, instead of mercy, to justify helping the needy. Social programs have displaced Christian charity, and generic ­do-gooder benevolence has sup­planted mercy.
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2 Feb 2016

Civil Society, Church, and State

by David T. Koyzis

Civil society does not represent an effort to “fix” something, whether it be the overweening state or the corrosive market. To think that it does is to miss the point.
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15 Oct 2015

Pauline “Demolition”

by Richard J. Mouw

We, a small group of theological educators, went to a Demolition Derby—a real one, with cars, and then trucks, smashing into each others in a muddy arena, and more than a thousand people watching from the grandstands. Continue Reading »

11 Aug 2015

Public Chastity, Private Chaos

by Mark Regnerus

Americans’ public and private lives are on a collision course. Our social system—the one we publicly engage daily—still unwittingly encourages and rewards chaste behavior (though perhaps not speech). Privately, our lives bespeak an emerging chaos, regardless of what we personally hold to be good or true or ideal. In other words, American life is becoming sexually bipolar. Continue Reading »

28 Jan 2015

We Have Never Been Modern

by Peter J. Leithart

Bruno Latour’s 1993 We Have Never Been Modern is a neglected masterpiece. Its argument is compressed, the terminology idiosyncratic. Latour is witty, ironic, and funniest when he’s outraged. It’s not an easy book, but it’s worth the effort. As a diagnosis of us “moderns,” it’s more penetrating, and rings truer, than many better-known works. Continue Reading »

19 Dec 2014

Public Morality’s Last Stop

by Collin Garbarino

Why did a British fund manager receive such a stiff penalty for failing to pay for his train tickets? Are we compensating for a truncated understanding of integrity? Continue Reading »

18 Dec 2014

What the Midterms Mean for Social Conservatives

by Brandon McGinley

I’m never more of a partisan than on election night. All my misgivings about the Republican Party dissolve and I become like a sports fan tabulating my team’s essential statistics. Then Wednesday arrives, and the spasm of partisan enthusiasm fades into a renewed realism. Continue Reading »

6 Nov 2014

How to Succeed In Politics As a Businessman By Really Trying

by Pete Spiliakos

A certain Georgia Senate seat has a strange and revealing recent history. 2008 was the ultimate Democratic wave year, but the Georgia Senate seat remained in Republican control after a runoff election. 2014 is shaping up to be a Republican wave year, but Republicans are left hoping to retain that same Senate seat based on President Obama’s unpopularity. The Georgia Republicans have gone from being able to resist a Democratic wave to depending on a Republican wave. Much of this variance from national trends has to do with the particular weaknesses of Georgia’s businessman-turned-politician Republican candidate: David Perdue. Continue Reading »

30 Oct 2014