Edwin Benson 
If ever there was a set of ideas that has been tried and found lacking, it is socialism. It has been tried on every continent. It has been tried in weak nations and strong. It has been tried in primitive countries and those which are highly developed. The most striking thing about … Read more
The story of American public education begins with Horace Mann. It was Mann who popularized the idea that American schools should teach all students, be non-sectarian, and tax-supported. A little less than a half-century passed between Mann’s death and the advent of John Dewey. That half-century may well be the most dynamic … Read more
A Review of the Book Why God?: Explaining Religious Phenomena by Rodney Stark (West Conshohocken, Penn.: Templeton Press, 2017). Having read, reviewed, and enjoyed Dr. Rodney Stark’s 2016 book, Bearing False Witness, it was a delight to be asked to review Why God?: Explaining Religious Phenomena. For those unfamiliar with … Read more
Racketeer for Life: Fighting the Culture of Death from the Sidewalk to the Supreme Court by Joseph M. Scheidler with Peter M. Scheidler (Charlotte, N.C.: TAN Books, 2016). “There is properly no history, only biography.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson There is much in Emerson’s philosophy that is untrue and even harmful, but on … Read more
A Review of the Book Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History by Rodney Stark (West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Press, 2016). If you are known to be an observant Catholic, then you have had this conversation. Some question of doctrine comes up—abortion, same-sex “marriage,” divorce and remarriage, or what have you. … Read more