Church and State

November 08, 2019

Conscience for life in fiction, Newman, and Acton

I’m just about halfway through my third reading of Umberto Eco’s marvelous first novel The Name of the Rose. Every time I return to it I find something new. It is a murder mystery set in a medieval monastery but it is also so much more. Continue Reading...

September 19, 2019

Sohrab Ahmari’s biggest mistake

The debate between Sohrab Ahmari and David French has sparked a useful conversation about the means and ends of liberty. In that discussion, both men make valid criticisms and both sometimes fall short, but a recent column by Ahmari reveals perhaps the most glaring error in his perspective. Continue Reading...

September 17, 2019

Rev. Ben Johnson at Natl Catholic Register: Praying to the true ‘King of Israel’

The week after Donald Trump tweeted a message proclaiming himself the “second coming of God,” I decided to say a prayer to the “King of Israel” (although quietly, since my bishop encouraged me to pray so softly that no parishioner would hear me). Continue Reading...

September 12, 2019

Political idolatry: A Lutheran view

Is faith in politics “another Gospel”? A distinguished Lutheran scholar has weighed in on the matter, clearly delineating a Christian’s duty as a citizen from his duty to the Christ and his fellow body of believers. Continue Reading...

September 11, 2019

Can a big bad state deliver us from evil?

Thirty five years ago the American novelist Thomas Pynchon asked the question, “Is It O.K. To Be A Luddite?” The occasion was the then 25th anniversary of C.P. Snow’s Rede Lecture, “The Two Cultures of the Scientific Revolution,” which argued, way back in 1959, that our culture was increasingly polarized into “literary” and “scientific” factions unable to understand each other. Continue Reading...

August 28, 2019

Michael Novak and the ‘crisis of capitalism’

Jordan Ballor recently brought to my attention this remarkable passage from Michael Novak’s The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, “Our moral and cultural traditions have not kept pace with our economic possibilities. Continue Reading...

August 19, 2019

Scholars discover Locke manuscript arguing for the toleration of Catholics

Kimberly Uslin reports on the discovery of a of previously unknown manuscript by the philosopher John Locke at the Greenfield Library at St. John’s College: According to Walmsley and Waldmann, this was the first major discovery of new work by Locke in a generation. Continue Reading...

August 05, 2019

Letter from China: Civic virtue without freedom?

I spent most of July traveling to various parts of the People’s Republic of China. Although I made brief trips to Hong Kong in 2000 and Beijing in 2016, I have never experienced anything remotely similar to this more extended stay. Continue Reading...

July 01, 2019

Letter from Rome: American vs. European Nationalism

Last month’s Sohrab Ahmari-David French debate was the more recent skirmish about the meaning of American conservatism. Acton’s Joe Carter has helpfully compiled a reading list without appearing to favor one side over the other. Continue Reading...

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