Last year, I made a New Year’s resolution that I would make my Sundays Internet-free. It was not easy but, with one small exception, I was able to make a complete break with the worldwide web on Sundays. As we enter 2018, I will be renewing the resolution. I made the resolution … Read more
Anyone can stand in a line for hours on end and burst into Walmart trampling people underfoot on Black Friday. The scene has become so ordinary and scripted that most people don’t even notice anymore. Shoppers fighting over Barbie dolls are as predictable as hockey match brawls. The reports from news crews … Read more
There is a certain point when a normal house becomes haunted. It is hard to say exactly when the change occurs, but when it does, things become strange and eerie. From the outside, the house seems to lose its air of respectability, and people sense something foreboding inside. They hear creaking noises. … Read more
Recently, the word sacred was in the news, when White House Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly lamented the fact that nothing is sacred anymore, especially in light of the brouhaha over the president’s phone call to a soldier’s widow. “When I was a kid growing up,” he said, “a lot of … Read more
President Trump signed a declaration designating September 3 as a “Day of Prayer” for Hurricane Harvey victims. The president said that it was appropriate “during times of great need to ask for God’s blessing and God’s guidance.” Thus, even before federal funds start pouring into the region, Americans implored God’s aid. There … Read more
Modern American society promises to make life so much easier. No longer do most people have to labor long and hard to make ends meet. Americans should have plenty of time to enjoy their leisure. But many don’t take this time. They have a problem with leisure. According to a report commissioned by Project: Time … 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
In the twenty-first century, the virtue of duty is paradoxically both greatly admired and shamefully despised. On the one hand, certain forms of duty, such as military service, are still widely appreciated. A common sight in airports, malls, and other public places is that of perfect strangers approaching soldiers in uniform and … Read more
The news of the death of Norma Leah McCorvey has spread through the pro-life and conservative world. The 69-year-old lady was well-known as the defendant in the infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision striking down all abortion laws in the United States. Although she never did have the abortion made legally … Read more
In his masterwork, The City of God, Saint Augustine offers a definition of a people that can shed some light on why we are so fragmented today. He states that a people is “a gathered multitude of rational beings united by agreeing to share the things they love.” In the face of … Read more