I have been wondering for a few months now if there was going to be some kind of Southern Baptist backlash against Russell Moore, and it looks like it may now be happening. For example, The Wall Street Journal has a story on it here, and NPR here. And in the aftermath of the election, …
And I Will Take My Ultimate on the Side
I want to write about religious liberty, and in order to do that I must first address the myth of neutrality. But I don’t really want to address the myth of neutrality, but rather the demented, off-the-chain, sociopathic, deranged, vacuous, and sure-to-let-you-down-later-today opium dream of neutrality. Neutrality is, like, not a thing. It does not …
Dialogue on The End of Protestantism
Earlier today, New St. Andrews hosted (and videotaped) a discussion/interaction between Peter Leithart and me on the theme of his latest book, The End of Protestantism. These are my opening remarks. I will let you know when NSA has the video posted. The question before us is: “Does the gospel require us to pursue and …
Born to be Mild
Let me tell you a secret. I want to explain to you what it takes to be a bad boy in a relativistic age. A bad boy is one I define as a man who appears to disregard certain basic societal rules. Back when society had standards, the bad boy was the motorcycle gang leader …
Totalitolerance and the Tactics of Trigglypuff
Introduction: If you assume that secular society is an actual possibility, which is a big suppose, one of the first things you have to do is ignore the outliers. In other words, diversity is great, and will continue to be great, just so long as nobody leans too far to the right or left in …
Natural Marriage and the Obergefall
Introduction: I confess myself a bit surprised at the reaction I have gotten from my recent interaction with Russell Moore’s apparent position on the aftermath of Obergefell. But what that reaction confirms to me is that the Christian opposition to secularism really needs to work through some of the foundational issues of political theology. Those …
A Most Crucial Hyphen
Stop obsessing about the election. Let’s talk about something else for a bit. I tell you what, let’s talk about church unity. Let’s divide over it! Actually, Peter Leithart continues to be kind enough to engage with my critiques of The End of Protestantism, which he has done most recently here. There are any number …
The Purported End of Protestantism
Introduction: In the Acknowledgments of The End of Protestantism, Peter Leithart mentions the privilege he had of debating with me at New St. Andrews last year on the issues surrounding the thesis of this, his most recent book. Now that I have the book, I have to say the privilege is all mine—but the debate …
Russell Moore’s Tectonic Plates
Introduction: So I watched Russell Moore’s Erasmus Lecture for First Things, which you can see here, and there are many things to say about it. But many of them are, truth be told, positive, and so I would like to begin with that. His talk was informed, learned, thoughtful, insightful, and balanced. I would want …
7 Encouraging Words in Case 2016 Has Got You Down
So the best thing to do is assume that if you have any sense in your head at all, you are reluctant even to turn on the news anymore. “How could they possibly have made things worse?” seems like it ought to be a rhetorical question. But every single night they are up to the …