At my own college, when a senior colleague at a public meeting last fall uttered an expression (“in their native habitat”) felt by some to be “offensive” — though clearly not intended to be so, and followed by a clear apology when a complaint was voiced — there were calls for her to resign from... Continue Reading

“One of the clearest examples of this at the moment is last week’s announcement that over 100 evangelical and Roman Catholic leaders made a joint statement challenging the proposed budget set forth by the Executive Branch of the U.S. government.”   One of the interesting aspects of Scripture is that it doesn’t tell us the precise... Continue Reading

In an op-ed for The Christian Post, Michael J. New, visiting professor at Ave Maria University, argued that “most of its questions are worded to make the defunding of Planned Parenthood appear as unappealing as possible.”   A popular poll claiming to show that most Americans oppose defunding Planned Parenthood is flawed on multiple levels,... Continue Reading

“One in eight online searches is for pornography, and the same goes for one in five searches on mobile devices. Twenty-four percent of smart phone users admit to having pornographic material on their device.”   It is the apex of foolishness for parents to allow their children to have free and unaccountable access to technology–... Continue Reading

In the first minute, the commentator mentioned that five states have banned licensed counselors from engaging in “gay conversion therapy” with another 20 considering legislation this year. The show then quickly jumps to several sensational stories where desperate parents send their children, some of whom are gay and lesbian identified, to reform schools that work... Continue Reading

INC Christianity is led by a network of popular independent religious entrepreneurs, often referred to as “apostles.” They have close ties, we found, to conservative U.S. politicians, including Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry and more recently President Donald Trump.   In August of 2011, more than 30,000 people cheered wildly as the... Continue Reading

“Although one might argue that just because someone has religious parents it doesn’t necessarily mean they will grow up with the same beliefs, further studies have shown that religion does in fact appear to be heritable. And it appears both nature and nurture play a role – it may seem obvious that how you’re brought up... Continue Reading

We used to recite the Scout oath at all the formal gatherings. Of course it has all the problems of any civil religion. In the 1960s and 70s, when I was reciting the oath we all knew what honor, God, country, and “morally straight” signified.   One of the books I loved most as a... Continue Reading

“Instead of making the difference that Keller’s fans think, this impending controversy could indicate that rather than being a church for the Big Apple, Keller should have been thinking about culture more the way Rod Dreher has in his proposal for the Benedict Option.”   Tim Keller, the PCA pastor of Redeemer Church in New... Continue Reading

Maybe it’s the values of hierarchy, authority, and tradition that churches instill. Maybe religion builds habits and networks that help people better weather national traumas, and thus retain their faith that the system works. For whatever reason, secularization isn’t easing political conflict. It’s making American politics even more convulsive and zero-sum. For years, political commentators... Continue Reading