The Archive

Every essay.

Nathan Luis CartagenaFeatured

Does the Bible Teach About Race?

The question may seem simple at first, but we quickly run into challenges both with defining "race" and identifying the concept of "race" in ancient texts.

Matthew LoftusFamilyCulture

longing for community

My friend Breanna Randall shares some thought-provoking observations about community life in North America and Southeast Asia: It’s not my goal to communicate that my Southeast Asian neighborhood is objectively better than that of my North American counterparts (though I’ve […]

Matthew LoftusCultureHistoryEthics

"gifts of time, money, and sympathy"

If you’ve never read this essay on W.H. Auden’s quiet benefience, you’re in for a real treat: W.H. Auden had a secret life that his closest friends knew little or nothing about. Everything about it was generous and honorable. He […]

Matthew LoftusCulture

hope when everything's getting worse

I felt like this piece from Clare Coffey about hope in the face of despair was very good, and I think you will, too: It is very possible that anxiety distorts perception of the world. It is also possible that […]

Samuel JamesFeaturedCurrent Politics

The Public Square Is about Parenting

Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff's new book is ostensibly about politics, but ultimately much of the argument is really about family and parenting.

Matthew LoftusHealth & Medicine

CCHF Match

I know that I have readers who are medical professionals or healthcare administrators interested in integrating their faith and work as they serve the poor… so I’m delighted to share about CCHF Match, a service that tries to do just […]

Matthew LoftusCultureEconomics

the faith and work movement... for workers!

The Faith and Work movement set out to do something worthwhile: encouraging people to think of their work as a vocation honoring to God. Unfortunately, it has really focused on the vocations of the creative class and other upper-middle-class professionals […]

Matthew Lee AndersonMere Fidelity

Mere Fidelity: Confessions, Book 13

At long last, we reach the end of our discussion of Augustine's Confessions.  If you’re interested in supporting the show financially, you can check out our Patreon

Guest WriterFeaturedCurrent Politics

Pack the House: How to Fix the Legislative Branch

The easiest way to fix the legislative branch is simple: add more representatives to the House. The legal mechanism for doing it already exists: the CAA.

Matthew LoftusCulture

pluralism and hell

Shadi Hamid, who is one of the sharpest foreign policy commentators out there, has a really good interview in Providence magazine about Islam, liberalism, and pluralism: As for theological resources that conservatives might share across faiths, something I’ve been thinking about […]

Matthew LoftusEconomics

the wonderful world of zoning reform

Zoning reform, while decidedly unsexy, is probably one of the more important issues in America when it comes to reducing poverty. Housing is expensive and there’s no way to subsidize enough for everyone — we have to break down the […]

Jake Meador

Book Review: Building the Benedict Option by Leah Libresco

Leah Libresco's book does two things extremely well: Model a cheerful Christian piety and provide practical tips on organizing Christian community.