Suspicion of a text is easy. Trusting is hard.
Archives for April 2023
Commonplace Book #262
Socialism is not socialization; it is not the proletariat in power; it is not even material equality. Socialism, grasped in its essential aspect, is the progressive actualization of the idea of liberty and justice among men: an innate idea that […]
Two thoughtful Christian conservatives today on aid for vulnerable families and single-payer healthcare
I want to highlight two thoughtful and compassionate articles out today that present Christian conservative arguments for caring for the most vulnerable among us. First, Leah Libresco Sargeant in The Dispatch argues that at the moment, while policies to aid […]
The never-Trumpers, the semi-fascists, and the rationalizers
Over at The Bulwark, Nicholas Grossman breaks down the GOP into three categories: TO UNDERSTAND WHY THIS SEGMENT of Republicans is so DeSantis-needy, let’s briefly revisit the typology of the GOP following its crackup. Donald Trump’s election and presidency split […]
Justin Jones and Justin Pearson in historical context
Over at The Washington Post, historians Ansley Quiros and Anthony Siracusa connect the recent removal of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the Tennessee legislature to the early civil rights movement in Nashville. Here is a taste of their piece: […]
Ideas in progress: Jeremy Sabella on the theological legacies of the Cold War
What is the focus of your current book project? What are the big questions that you are investigating and the main stories that you hope to tell in this book? This book is tentatively titled, The Politics of Original Sin: […]
REVIEW: Ignorance Is Bliss?
Choose what you know wisely
Sean Feucht continues to confuse the Kingdom of God with the United States of America
We blogged about this over the weekend. Sean is still at it. This time he is in Austin (the second video is from Feucht’s Tulsa comments, the one we wrote about over the weekend). In Christian theology the “King” is […]
Don Lemon is out at CNN
What a day for cable news! Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News. Don Lemon is out at CNN. Here is Lemon’s tweet: Does Lemon’s firing have anything to do with this or this?
Elizabeth Stice on payphones, today in Front Porch Republic
Arena regular, Elizabeth Stice, has an insightful essay today in Front Porch Republic on a subject that you likely have not thought much about recently: payphones. A quick taste: If you ever used a payphone, you probably haven’t done so […]
Tucker Carlson and Fox News part ways
Here is the Associated Press: Fox News said Monday it has “agreed to part ways” with Tucker Carlson, its popular and controversial host, less than a week after settling a lawsuit over the network’s 2020 election reporting. The network said […]
Abraham Lincoln and democracy
Here is Lincoln scholar Allen Guelzo at National Affairs: Lincoln’s “idea of democracy” only establishes what democracy is not, or at least what it cannot include. He never offered a more thoroughgoing definition of what democracy is. But it’s not […]
How Charles Stanley and the Southern Baptists handled the media
Charles Stanley died last week. He was the senior pastor of Atlanta Baptist Church for nearly half a century, a television preacher, and a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Over at Get Religion, veteran religion journalist Terry Mattingly […]
Chris Christie: “An imperfect kamikaze candidate”
Today at Current we are featuring Marvin Olasky’s interview with Atlantic writer (he was at The New York Times at the time of interview) Mark Leibovich. Last weekend The Atlantic published Leibovich’s interview with former New Jersey governor and potential […]
What does J.D. Vance want?
University of Chicago historian Gabriel Winant asks this question in a recent longform piece at N+1. It’s a stinging criticism of Ohio’s GOP United States senator. A taste: WHAT MORE DOES J. D. VANCE WANT? With the Yale degree and the […]
Commonplace Book #261
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” –George Santayana “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” –William Faulkner “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” –F. Scott […]
Evangelical roundup for April 24, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? GOP candidates meet with Iowa evangelicals. More here. The role of evangelical Christianity in Venezuela’s 2024 election. Conservative evangelicals in the Church of England reject the Archbishop of Canterbury. The New York Times obituary […]
THE OLASKY FILES: Mark Leibovich on D.C., Politicians, and Journalists
Dollars, decadence, and dissatisfaction plague the nation’s capital. What’s a journalist to do?
Get ready for more of the Mandela Effect
“The Mandela Effect” is a term to describe a strange cultural phenomenon. Sometimes there is something which a big number of people seem to remember, only it apparently never happened, or it was different than we remember. The classic example […]
Commonplace book #260
The removal of the monuments may reduce pressure on city governments by temporarily quieting racial anger. But it will not make the two races less divided or less prejudiced. It will not improve the worldly lot of any black person […]