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Thoughtful Christian media for those seeking renewal of the Church and culture

 

Blaise Pascal once wrote that the Christian faith is "Worthy of reverence because it really understands human nature. Attractive because it promises true good." We believe individuals, families, churches, communities, and nations are renewed when they remember this truth. In a world that seeks to dominate or desert the culture, we seek to renew it.

We do this through recovering the best of the Christian tradition throughout the ages and applying it to the issues of our time. Our aim is to use media to strengthen faith, virtue, and knowledge for the flourishing of our common bonds and to be faithful to the call of Christ on all of life.

Mere Orthodoxy gets its name from combining the two great works of C.S. Lewis and G.K Chesterton, Mere Christianity and Orthodoxy. These books and authors represent some of the best of the Christian tradition. Lewis, a Protestant, and Chesterton, a Catholic, both understood that there is an irreducible core of the Christian faith that unites all Christians across denomination and tradition. They knew that the core of the Christian faith was reasonable, defensible, and beautiful, and when that truth is clearly and carefully articulated, it makes sense of everything else. As Chesterton wrote, “Instinct after instinct was answered by doctrine after doctrine.” We believe that Christianity is the key to the world.

This core is what we guard and are guided by. Most succinctly expressed in the Nicene Creed, we want to answer the instincts of individuals and the broader culture with “doctrine after doctrine.” Not merely as a defense of the truth—though we will certainly defend it—or as an intellectual exercise—though it is fascinating—but as the key that unlocks the mystery and wonder of God and his creation.

We believe that words have the power of life and death. This is why we are committed to using words, amplified through writing, audio, and video, to spread ideas that bring life. We believe in renewing the Church with a Protestant Catholicity, a faith that is deeply rooted in the distinctives of the Protestant Reformation but sees itself situated in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church and receives all of the Church’s treasures. We believe in renewing the culture with a Solidarity Conservatism, which seeks to preserve the thought that has led to the flourishing of Western civilization while seeing ourselves in membership with one another as image bearers of God.

We want to see:

Individuals formed in faith, virtue, and reason.
Churches formed in scripture, sacrament, and conviction.
Communities formed in membership, solidarity, and tradition.
Public leaders formed in character, limits, and locality.

This is why we write and speak about church, culture, formation, family, theology, technology, and more. Through faithfulness to Christ in every square inch of life, we seek the renewal of the Church and culture in our lifetime.

Mere Orthodoxy Photos - Rounded Corners (3)

The Mere Orthodoxy Code 

We believe in a set of ideals that guide all we do. The goal isn't to simply produce media, but to embody the kind of church and world we hope to see.

Rooted Orthodoxy in a Fractured World

We uphold the ancient truths of Nicaea and Scripture's teachings on sex and gender while faithfully navigating today's cultural challenges, embracing the world as God has objectively made it—in all its coherence and beauty.

Christian Love in an Angry World

We defend Christian beliefs in Christian ways—choosing love, hope, and confidence over aggression, anxiety, and fear—refusing to vanquish enemies or change the world through power plays.

Patient Reflection in a Reactive World

We practice patient, faithful reflection rather than embracing radicalization, reckless hot takes, or compromise, giving ourselves time to think deeply about matters of eternal significance.

Irenic Hearts in a Partisan World

We communicate what is good, true, and beautiful with irenic hearts and elegant words, rejecting partisanship, tribalism, and credentialism.

Redemptive Media in a Distracted World

We utilize various forms of media as digital missionaries to champion reason, persuasion, and conversation as genuine social goods that shape moral imagination and intellectual understanding in faithful Christian ways.

Mere Orthodoxy Photos - Rounded Corners-1

 

The Mere Orthodoxy Code 


1. Rooted Orthodoxy in a Fractured World

We uphold the ancient truths of Nicaea and Scripture's teachings on sex and gender while faithfully navigating today's cultural challenges, embracing the world as God has objectively made it—in all its coherence and beauty.

2. Christian Love in an Angry World

We defend Christian beliefs in Christian ways—choosing love, hope, and confidence over aggression, anxiety, and fear—refusing to vanquish enemies or change the world through power plays.

3. Patient Reflection in a Reactive World

We practice patient, faithful reflection rather than embracing radicalization, reckless hot takes, or compromise, giving ourselves time to think deeply about matters of eternal significance.

4. Irenic Hearts in a Partisan World

We communicate what is good, true, and beautiful with irenic hearts and elegant words, rejecting partisanship, tribalism, and credentialism.

5. Redemptive Media in a Distracted World

We utilize various forms of media as digital missionaries to champion reason, persuasion, and conversation as genuine social goods that shape moral imagination and intellectual understanding in faithful Christian ways.

Mere Orthodoxy Photos - Rounded Corners (1)

What We Do 

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What Others Are Saying

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Tim Keller

Founding Pastor Redeemer Presbyterian Church

"Mere Orthodoxy is unique in the world of journals and journalism. First, it is committed to historic Protestant orthodoxy. Indeed it sees, rightly, far more resources in the work of early Protestant thinkers than modern evangelicalism does. Yet, secondly, it uses that orthodoxy to reflect on, critique, and engage with the most contemporary cultural developments. Third, it deploys many great younger Christian scholars whose voices are so important now.  Mere O is important for Christians to read and support."

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Oliver O'Donovan

Fellow of the British Academy and professor emeritus of Christian ethics and practical theology at the University of Edinburgh

"I find myself wondering whether the loss of grip on Christian morality and Christian ethical reflection that are so evident in pastoral ministry is simply one side of a loss of grip on theology… The ordained clergy are often, as it were, on the back foot themselves, in an important way, not resourced to cope with the sort of world they face in their parish… Given the provisions we make for them I’m not sure what else we can expect. That sounds a bit gloomy, doesn’t it? Well they can always subscribe to Mere Orthodoxy, and that will give them a little bit of help along the way."

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Carl Trueman

Professor at Grove City College, Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center

"In an era when the culture of online engagement tilts less towards the establishment of truth and more towards the scoring of points, Mere Orthodoxy is a place where intellectual engagement with pressing theological and cultural issues is pursued in a manner self-consciously connected to Christian character.  It does not reduce thinking to soundbites, clickbait, or tribal signaling. Instead it seeks to promote thoughtful discussion on pressing topics that conduces to the peace, unity, and edification of God's people.  Even when I disagree with the views expressed, I always find my own thinking challenged and sharpened. If you believe that the goal of Christian intellectual interaction is that we should grow both in truth and in character, Mere Orthodoxy should be on your regular reading list."

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Andrew Wilson

Teaching Pastor at King's Church London

"I have five Christian websites pinned on my home screen, and Mere Orthodoxy is one of them. It’s also the one whose articles I spend the most time reading, thanks to the blend of biblical, historical and cultural insight, the clarity and charity of the writing, and the theological vision it represents. Also, if I’m honest, I just love reading people who are much smarter than I am discussing things that matter. Bravo, Mere O."

Our Team 

Our Editorial Board 

2-Mar-05-2025-04-48-32-4411-PM

Jake Meador

Chairman

Editor-In-Chief of Mere Orthodoxy

 

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8-Apr-16-2025-02-30-28-3905-AM

Nadya Williams

Books Editor

(PhD, Classics, Princeton University) Author, Classicist, Historian

 

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4-Apr-16-2025-02-30-39-5235-AM

Samuel James

Author, Director of Content Development for Crossway

 

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7-Apr-16-2025-02-30-50-0984-AM

Kirsten Sanders

(PhD, Theology, Emory University) Writer

 

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5-Apr-16-2025-02-31-00-3420-AM

Matthew Loftus

Medical Missionary in East Africa

 

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6-Apr-16-2025-02-31-10-2454-AM

Susannah Black Roberts

Senior Editor of Plough

 

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Tessa Carman

Literature teacher, editor, and writer

 

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