The Archive

Every essay.

Jake MeadorHistory

Christopher Dawson on Bourgeois Culture - Commonplaces

From “The Significance of Bolshevism” (written in 1933): Man cannot live in a spiritual void; he needs some fixed social standards and some absolute intellectual principles. Bolshevism at least replaces the spiritual anarchy of bourgeois society by a rigid order […]

James WoodFeaturedChurch

Two Cheers for Gregory's Augustinian Civic Liberalism | Mere Orthodoxy

There is much to commend in Eric Gregory's vision of Augustinian liberalism. Unfortunately, his political vision marginalizes the church in very odd ways.

Susannah Black RobertsUncategorized

TONIGHT: 7:30 EDT: Hauerwas, Danticat, Christman, and a New Cocktail! - Radio Free Thulcandra

Good afternoon! Tonight, join Stanley Hauerwas, Edwidge Danticat, and Phil Christman for the launch of Plough Quarterly’s special “Regeneration” issue, focusing on COVID and what lies ahead. Hosted by KGB Red Room on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, this event is […]

Matthew SheddenTheology

Bonhoeffer on Absence - Trivial

Well, that escalated quickly! As soon as my last post published about how all our concerns are being governed by politics the virus came and took over that spot. The core of the post remains true, but things shifted fast. […]

Jake Meador

Should Religious Conservatives Aspire to Notoriety? - Commonplaces

As I was publishing my notes on the First Things story, Rod Dreher was typing up another set of thoughts on the matter. Attempting to keep up with Rod is a perilous thing, of course, especially when one has small children […]

Jake Meador

What Can and Can't Be Said About First Things | Commonplaces

The fears over First Things's decline need to account for the broader difficulties facing religious conservative media in the US today.

Paul D. MillerFeaturedCurrent Politics

Manliness, Courage, Performance | Mere Orthodoxy

Needlessly endangering yourself and others in the name of masculinity is not courageous or virtuous. It is an empty, dangerous performance.

Jake Meador

Gutierrez Against the Doctrine of the Two - Commonplaces

Gutierrez in A Theology of Liberation: The model which distinguishes faith and temporal realities, Church and world, leads to the perception of two missions in the church and to a sharp differentiation between the roles of the priest and the lay […]

Jake Meador

O'Donovan on Reading - Commonplaces

Our moment is starved for this sort of intellectual spirit:

Joshua HeavinFeaturedCreation Care

The Virus and the Earth | Mere Orthodoxy

Though it has not been discussed as much, the pandemic has presented us with many reasons to take the threat of climate change more seriously.

Caleb WaitThe GospelCultureTheologyChurchMere Fidelity

What is The Gospel™?

What is The Gospel™?

Jake MeadorFeaturedFormation

Keep Christianity Weird | Mere Orthodoxy

Weird Christianity, as defined in Tara Isabella Burton's NYT column is a welcome movement in the American church. But dangers to it abound on all sides.