Month: March 2014

March 24, 2014

Lorde, Poverty, and Envy

At Reason Thaddeus Russell argues that Macklemore and Lorde embody a kind of progressive cultural critique of capitalism, captured in the attack on “conspicuous consumption” made famous by Thorstein Veblen. Russell traces the “progressive lineage” of this critique: “Their songs continue a long tradition, rooted in progressivism, of protests against the pleasures of the poor.” Continue Reading...
March 21, 2014

A Call for a Renewed Theology of the Family

Over at The Gospel Coalition, Ryan Hoselton offers a nice summary of the key ideas in Herman Bavinck’s The Christian Family, which was recently translated by Christian’s Library Press. Hoselton begins by surveying the range of evils that “threaten the well-being of the home,” as well as the dire state of the cultural landscape as it pertains to such matters. Continue Reading...
March 21, 2014

Fr. Philip LeMasters on Orthodoxy and Partisan Politics

Today at Ethika Politika, I review Fr. Philip LeMasters’ recent book The Forgotten Faith: Ancient Insights from Contemporary Believers from Eastern Christianity. With regards to the book’s last chapter, “Constantine and the Culture Wars,” I write, … LeMasters does a good job in acknowledging the line between principles of faith and morality on the one hand, and prudential judgments that may not be as clear-cut on the other. Continue Reading...
March 21, 2014

Visualizing ‘The Forgotten Man’

In November of last year, we had the privilege of welcoming bestselling author Amity Shlaes for a visit here at the Acton Building while she was in Grand Rapids to speak about Calvin Coolidge at Grand Valley State University’s Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies. Continue Reading...
March 20, 2014

Why is a Michigan School District Discriminating Against Christians?

Usually, discrimination against Christians is subtle and discreet. But the Ferndale Public Schools in Oakland County, Michigan, seems to be quite open about their bias. As Michigan Capitol Confidential discovered, the teachers union contract requires the district to provide “special consideration” to “those of the non-Christian faith” in hiring decisions: The contract ran from 2011 to 2012 but was extended to 2017. Continue Reading...
March 20, 2014

Dorothy Day: A Saint For Our Times?

Religion & Ethics Newsweekly featured the following video on Dorothy Day. Her cause for canonization in the Catholic Church has been championed by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who says Day’s life represents so much of the struggle of our times. Continue Reading...
March 20, 2014

Hobby Lobby in the Fiery Furnace

I have been known to make certain comparisons between the punitive HHS mandate and King Nebuchadnezzar’s infamous power trip — an analogy that casts the Green Family and others like them as the Shadrachs, Meshachs, and Abednegos of modern-day coercion subversion. Continue Reading...