The great need of the hour is for Christians in North America to get a map in their heads, a map that has an x on it, that x indicating “you are here.” Related to this, we need to know how exactly we got here. We need to be oriented, and that means we need …
On Taking Your Chimp to the Beautician
Liars are usually clever — you have to give them that. And one of the things the really smart ones know how to do is to use the last lie you caught them in as a basis for getting you to believe the lie they are currently telling. Take the specter of Jim Crow laws …
Ickybod
Usually Jonah Goldberg talks good sense, but yesterday I heard him defending the Indiana law as nothing more than a pitiful little consolation prize for the religious right. He was saying that the same sex mirage juggernaut has carried the day, and all conservatives are asking for now is the right to be left alone. …
Culture War — Now More Than Ever
In 1992, Pat Buchanan put the phrase “culture war” on the map with his speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention. Since that time, there’s been a lot of water under the bridge, but — we should be careful to note — it is all the same river. One of the things you may have …
Shambolic and Petty Despotism
A month or so ago, I wrote about Roy Moore and Russell Moore, and the article got a lot of traction. In addition to the traffic of people reading it, I also got a few people contacting me personally with various objections. What I wanted to do here is give a quick checklist kind of …
Making John Knox’s Bones Twitch
Rachel Marie Stone wrote an article for Christianity Today urging us to “reconsider” Margaret Sanger. The point was that while Sanger was emphatic about the personal and social good that comes from freely available contraception — contraception that was under the control of women — she was also opposed to abortion. I learned about this …
The Prophet Sober and the Culture Drunk
Well, it is Monday morning, so let me write something outrageous. We can sweep up the pieces later. But also keep in mind the fact that just because something is outrageous, it does not follow that it is untrue or unnecessary. In fact, now that the cultural headquarters of our republic has been transferred to …
Twinkies in Tight Tops and the Regime Illogiqué
One easy mistake to make in reasoning is called Affirming the Consequent. Suppose the initial axiom is “if P then Q.” The next statement is made, which is Q, and the conclusion is then drawn, which is “therefore P.” There are times when this structure might seem plausible enough, at least at first glance. “If …
Waifs With Manga Eyes
A few weeks ago Jen Wilkin wrote a piece for The Gospel Coalition that got some significant circulation, and I wanted to make a few comments about it. The post was entitled “3 Female Ghosts That Haunt the Church,” and in the course of what she wrote, she made a number of observations that, in …
A Theology of Resistance for Florists
One of the things made apparent by the case of Baronelle Stutzman in Washington State is that we are to be allowed our convictions about same-sex mirage, but only if we can find a place to store them. You see all the storage bins have been nationalized and are now public property, and so all …