The Quiet Centrality of Market States
It is not overstating the case to say that Americans are having a protracted debate about the relationship between markets and the nation. The conversation is simmering in both of America’s major political parties and, somewhat curiously, it may end...
Eucharistic Presence and the Life of Faith
I’m co-teaching a class at my church on the sacraments right now. One benefit is that I have a reason to go back over the old reformed confessions. Here is the Belgic Confession (1561) on the Eucharist:
Liberty Doesn’t Mean What They Think It Means
In his new book, The Case Against Socialism, Rand Paul writes that he hopes his readers will choose “liberty” instead of socialism. Likewise, in last week’s G File, Jonah Goldberg said a great deal about liberty in his response to First Things editor...
What is a society?
On Facebook my friend Scott Pryor rightly notes that if Dr. Miller failed to define ‘justice’ in his essay at Providence, my post suffers from the lack of a definition of “society.” So here is a stab at answering that question.
Impartiality is Not Neutrality
Friend of Mere O Paul D. Miller has responded to Jonathan Leeman’s recent Providence essay with a post of his own. This paragraph in particular is what I want to focus on because it highlights one of the most important points...
The Post-Liberal State and the (Highly Technical) Goods of Modernity
Several years ago my dad suffered a traumatic brain injury. To put it as plainly as I can: He is alive today because he had major brain surgery followed by a three-week long nap in the ICU that cost someone...
When the News Isn’t News: On Deconversion Narratives
Let’s just say a few things without naming any particular people or referring to specific events. First, there is a well-defined social script for someone who grew up in fundamentalist Christianity to become progressive later in life. This shift toward...
Augustinianism and Audience in “In Search of the Common Good”
Brad East has what is perhaps my favorite response to the book so far, not least because it is one of the more critical responses, for which I am thankful. You can read the whole thing over at Resident Theologian.
Liturgical Jigs and Millennial Burnout
In his book The World Beyond Your Head Matthew Crawford uses the idea of a jig to explain how a carpenter might go about accomplishing a task more quickly and efficiently. Jigs are a kind of hack, a method for doing...
In Search of the Common Good Book Launch
It’s launch day for In Search of the Common Good. You can read the book’s endorsements and purchase a copy direct from the publisher, InterVarsity Press, using the book’s page on their website. You can also buy it on Amazon.