We could call this a culture war, except that it is a war between culture and anti-culture, a de-creation or de-culturalization. Legutko describes these people, despite their prestige and power, as “a homo novus, uneducated, vulgar, primitive, having nothing but contempt for tradition … for history, culture, and anything subtle, genteel, elegant, beautiful, or spiritual.”... Continue Reading

“From Civil Rights to Vietnam to abortion to gay rights, from national defense to tax policy to climate change to health care and on and on, white evangelicals have solidly and consistently championed the most conservative positions. Where some white evangelicals have at times been found on the other side of these issues, they have... Continue Reading

“In much coverage of American Christianity, this mindset is obvious: You believe that God ordained marriage as the union of a man and a woman? Well, that’s just bigotry in search of a belief system, religion wielded as a club against the marginalized.”   Honesty is a wonderful thing. Last week, during an interview with... Continue Reading

His tolerance, then, for opinions he thought mistaken cannot easily be derided as facile or woolly. Rather, it can be attributed to his belief that “my own eyes are not enough for me” (An Experiment in Criticism). He knew that he needed other perspectives to supplement, relieve, and correct his own. And this big-hearted attitude... Continue Reading

In the natural sex act, the human race is preserved, and the man lives on through future generations. But in the trauma-driven sex act that violates our bodily design, his generative power engenders death and annihilation. And so the wisdom of the body presents this contrast: new life vs. decay and death. No wonder we see so much... Continue Reading

For Bart Gingerich, a fellow with the Institute on Religion and Democracy and a student at Reformed Episcopal Seminary, becoming Anglican was an intellectual journey steeped in the thought of ancient church fathers. He spent the first 15 years of his life in the United Methodist Church, where he felt he was taught a “Precious... Continue Reading

My favorite book from 2016 wasn’t published this year. In fact, it wasn’t originally published this century. However, it felt extremely relevant in a year that seemed to display (and celebrate) every variety of sin. It faithfully reminded me that rather than look at the sin “out there” I must continually look at the sin “in here.”   My stocking was... Continue Reading

As we have said, our union to Christ and to one another is His gift, not our achievement. But the manifestation of our union is both a calling and an achievement. As Calvin taught us, what is true of us in Christ must be “ratified amongst us by reciprocal harmony and brotherly love.”   All believers... Continue Reading

As believers we live by faith, not by sight. Our circumstances may appear to indicate that God is not for us or that he is giving us too much to handle. Yet we live by faith in God’s word which says despite our circumstances God is for us and is not giving us too much to handle. So it is with our feelings. We live by faith in God’s word not what our feelings tell us. We may feel hopeless. We may feel like we can’t go on another day.

The idea of a “War on Christmas” has turned things like holiday greetings and decorations into potentially divisive political statements. People who believe Christmas is under attack point to inclusive phrases like “Happy Holidays” as (liberal) insults to Christianity.   It’s that time of year again, folks. It’s time for the War on Christmas. What... Continue Reading