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Solzhenitsyn and the Russian Renaissance

In the early spring of 1953, a sickly Russian novelist, “covered with ice, out of the dark and the cold,” staggered forth from the Soviet Gulag, the constellation of Communist prison camps that stretched from Siberia to South Asia. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, ill with cancer, had once been a proponent of the system that condemned him to forced labor. Now he saw his nation’s “deep suffering,” like his own, as redemptive… . Continue Reading »

Population Planners’ Bad Math

Abortion advocates and population planners eagerly promote the idea that preventing births saves money. To the contrary and as was already demonstrated in a recent First Things article, the birth of anyone, poor or not, will yield substantial economic benefit. Specifically, in Texas the $11,000 Medicaid-birth cost will on average return $430,000, or thirty-nine times the investment… Continue Reading »

No Squishy Love

In his 1934 book, The Kingdom of God in America, H. Richard Niebuhr depicted the creed of liberal Protestant theology, which was called “modernism” in those days, in these famous words: “A God without wrath brought man without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” Niebuhr was no fundamentalist… Continue Reading »

In the World But Not of It

The Catholic Church betrays Christ’s call to love; “Its leadership works though domination, control, and punishment.” So wrote Fr. Bert Thielen, S.J., in a long letter explaining his decision to renounce the priesthood and return to the lay state of life. His letter saddened me. It was Bert who received me into the Catholic Church… Continue Reading»

Surveillance Technologies and Bible Prophecy

I try not to get caught up in the all-too-popular sport of Pat Robertson-bashing. For one thing, in the few times I have been with the Evangelical leader”one of those times for a leisurely luncheon meeting in his office at Regent Univeristy”I have found him to be an engaging and gracious conversationalist… . Continue Reading »

Streaming the Ancient Faith

When I tell people I am a convert to Eastern Orthodoxy, I often get a puzzled reaction. “Eastern Orthodoxy?” some will say. “What’s that?” Others will ask whether I actually mean the Greek or the Russian Orthodox Church, mistakenly believing that they are different denominations. In fact, whether Greek, Russian, or Serbian, all are part of the same Church… Continue Reading »

John Muir’s God of Nature

“Do you have something by Muir to read?” asked a friend as I made last-minute preparations to embark for Yosemite National Park. The thought had previously crossed my mind, but his encouragement spurred me to action. Like Muir in 1869, I was off for My First Summer in the Sierra. I am so glad… Continue Reading »

Small Steps Toward a Healthier Relationship with the Republican Party

In a deeply sobering article, R.R. Reno warns of the danger of faith becoming captive to political alliance: “First, religiosity now strongly correlates with partisan loyalty. Nones are overwhelmingly Democrat. Regular churchgoers, especially but not exclusively Evangelicals, trend Republican. This politicizes religion. Second, religious people are becoming more and more dependent on the Republican party to protect their interests… Continue Reading »

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