Wielding cookies and conversation for the common good
Archives for October 2023
A blessing of unicorns: a weekly roundup
This week’s roundup includes Israel, museums and archaeologists behaving badly, surprises of ancient source survival, and the challenges of homemaking.
Monmouth University (NJ) will build a new building for The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music
Here is Chris Jordan at The Asbury Park Press: This building is born to educate. The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music announced on Wednesday, Oct. 18, that a new center on the campus of Monmouth University will […]
Election denier Sidney Powell just flipped
This is huge. Sidney Powell was “in the room where it happened.” She is now working for the prosecution in the Georgia election fraud case against Donald Trump and others. Here is CNN: Former Donald Trump attorney Sidney Powell has pleaded guilty […]
Evangelical roundup for October 19, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? Evangelicals in Jordan call for “peace and justice” in the Middle East. Iowa evangelical kingmaker Bob Vander Plaats is now endorsing school board candidates. Shane Claiborne stays on message: How a “Charismatic Baptist” became […]
Ethical dilemmas and targeting civilians in war
In our discussions of civilians in war, whenever we start sounding like Julius Caesar writing about the Gauls, in terms utterly devoid of all sympathy and compassion, this should give us pause.
What Has Faith to Do with Biography?
Elisabeth Elliot was not just a subject to write about. She was a writer to emulate.
Historian Jane Kamensky is the new president at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
Kamensky comes to Charlottesville from Harvard University’s history department. Here is the press release: CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the private nonprofit that owns and operates Monticello, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jane Kamensky, Ph.D., as […]
What is it like to be Nebraska GOP Congressman Don Bacon today?
Don Bacon represents Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district. Yesterday he was the first Republican member of Congress to refuse to vote for Jim Jordan as Speaker of the House. And then this happened to his wife: Here is Jordain Carney, Sarah […]
Former Southern Baptist seminary president Adam Greenway’s $11k espresso machine was actually only $5,952.67
OK, I feel much better now. 😉 Back in June we called your attention to the drama at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. It appears that president Adam Greenway was a big spender. He spent $1.5 million […]
Missouri senator Josh Hawley wants a “Christian Democracy”
Josh Hawley believes that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. He supported the insurrectionists on January 6, 2021 and then tried to raise money off it. He is a regular speaker at Christian Right and political conferences. And he supports […]
UPenn administrator: “Students spouting ideological catchphrases have revealed their moral obliviousness and the deficiency of their educations”
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel is a physician and vice provost for global initiatives and a professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Here is a taste of his New York Times piece: “The Moral Deficiences of […]
REVIEW: Elisabeth Elliot: Missionary, Writer, Booklover
The life of an austere evangelical celebrity takes on warmer hues in this new biography
Ideas in progress: a conversation with Robert Erle Barham on parenting, writing, and writing while parenting
“My kids wake me up to marvels all around—especially since they themselves are such a source of wonder.”
Israel-based progressive intellectuals and peace activists call for a “return to a politics based on humanistic and universal principles”
Several dozen Israeli-based academic progressives and peace activists have signed this letter. They are correct to suggest that the usual identity politics we often hear coming out of colleges and universities seem hollow in the wake of October 7, 2023. […]
David Mills loves Pittsburgh
When he was an editor at Touchstone Magazine, David Mills published a longform piece I wrote on the perils of providential history. He is now the associate editorial page editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And he loves his adopted hometown. […]
“Just war” evangelical leaders issue a statement supporting Israel
The letter calls for “the salvation and peace of the people of Israel and Palestine.” It distinguishes between the people of Palestine and Hamas. It also invokes Just War theory. Here is Bob Smietana at Religion News Service: Addressing policymakers […]
Conor Friedersdorf: “Students for Pogroms in Israel”
If you haven’t seen it yet, The Atlantic writer Conor Firedersdorf has written a critique of student activists who are “excusing murder and kidnapping” in Israel. Here is a taste of “Students for Pogroms in Israel“: Across America, millions of […]
Speaker of the House George W. Bush?
As of the publication of this post the House of Representatives has been without a Speaker for 13 days and roughly 17 hours. Later today, the House will convene to vote on Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan’s candidacy. Last night, Kentucky […]
Ukraine Will Be a Long War
Is America ready to see it through?