“It’s a free country.” You used to hear that a lot. Mind if I have the last piece of pie? “It’s a free country.” Mind if I smoke? “It’s a free country.” Too bad it has receded from everyday lingo, replaced by the ubiquitous, meaningless, “Whatever.” Something has been lost. “It’s a free country” was more than just whatever, it was, “Yeah, I mind. But I ain’t gonna stop you.” Isn’t that where the rubber hits the road in a truly free society? … Continue Reading»
At my age you’d think sophomoric questions no longer matter. Likely they wouldn’t if I hadn’t slept through religion, logic, and philosophy when I was an actual sophomore (the real action was over at history, journalism, and political science). Besides, it is my age. These things take on a keener edge as time advances. What I need for this discussion, though, is about five other pastors and two six-packs, maybe three. But, you’ll do in a pinch … Continue Reading»
The Church’s liturgy has inspired great choral music for centuries. Unfortunately, that part of Catholicism’s cultural memory has been somewhat misplaced in recent years. One reason why is the widespread misapprehension among liturgists that 21st-century congregations can only “hear” music of the Andrew Lloyd Webber genre… . Continue Reading»
In their April 12 statement on religious freedom, Our First, Most Cherished Liberty, the U.S. Catholic bishops “address an urgent summons to our fellow Catholics and fellow Americans to be on guard, for religious liberty is under attack.” Among the bishops’ critics is Nicholas Cafardi, former dean of Duquesne Law School, who wrote a particularly skewed account of the bishops’ statement… . Continue Reading»
Some years back I visited several Christian schools to help a friend’s widow choose where to send her four young children. While touring a large evangelical school, the principal showed me to the auditorium where the school choir rehearsed Joy to the World in preparation for the upcoming Christmas concert. At the conclusion of the song, the choir director instructed the children that Joy to the World didn’t apply for today, it was a “millennial hymn” because “Jesus doesn’t reign today.” The choir director’s comment would be non-controversial in many, perhaps even most, American evangelical churches… . Continue Reading»
One of the more vexing issues facing Evangelical pastors today is premarital sexual ethics. Simply put, we pastors are not quite certain how to counsel singles and teens regarding appropriate boundaries. Of course, we clearly teach that sexual intercourse should be reserved for marriage. But beyond this, there is no consensus among Evangelical clergy about where the boundaries should be drawn. Instead we tend to push the burden of this question back onto singles. One pastor typifies the counsel regularly given by Evangelical clergy … Continue Reading»
Of all the comments made following the tragic shooting in Aurora, perhaps the most piercing were those of Peter Bogdanovich, the Hollywood director: At first, some of the people [at The Dark Night Rises] thought it was part of the movie. That’s very telling. Violence on the screen has increased tenfold … Today, there’s a general numbing of the audience. … Continue Reading»
Declaring the novel dead has been a kind of parlor game in the literary world for a century. Every now and then a prominent critic will proclaim anew that fiction as we know it is finished and offer a vision of what’s to come. A few years ago Lee Siegel did the honors with a New York Observer op-ed that argued contemporary fiction is culturally irrelevant, hermetic, and crassly commercial… . Continue Reading»
Do entrepreneurs sacrifice their religious liberties merely by seeking a profit? That question would have stunned our Founding Fathers, most of whom were businessmen as well as statesmen. George Washington owned a large for-profit farm. So did James Madison… . Continue Reading»
The cross is the most familiar symbol of Christianity worldwide, but nowhere is this iconography as crucial or entrenched in the culture as it is in Armenia. Thousands of khachkars, or cross-stones, dot the mountains of the world’s oldest Christian nation, revealing both the art of spiritual expression and its modern desecration… . Continue Reading»
