The Archive

Every essay.

Matthew EmersonFeaturedFormation

Descent - Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture

At the beginning of The Divine Comedy, in Canto I of Inferno, Dante opens with these famous lines:

Daniel Whyte IVFeatured

No Dust on Me - Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture

The third season of His Dark Materials, the television adaptation of British fantasy writer Philip Pullman’s popular trilogy, wrapped up this winter. While the show, airing on the BBC in the UK and on HBO internationally, was looked to as […]

Matthew ArboFeatured

Rules for (Theological) Retrieval - Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture

I’ve always been intrigued by archaeology. The expectant digging, the gentle sweeping away of silt and debris, unearthing bones and artifacts hidden for millennia; it’s all endlessly fascinating. A thing lost and long forgotten to humankind suddenly reappears enclosed in […]

Jake MeadorChurch

Evangelistic Postures - Commonplaces

(Note: I’m going to be using the short hand from Mike and Skyler’s six-way fracturing article throughout this piece. So if you haven’t read it, start there.) The core problem facing the preservation or formation of conservative Protestant coalitions right […]

Jake MeadorChurch

Evangelistic Postures - Commonplaces

(Note: I’m going to be using the short hand from Mike and Skyler’s six-way fracturing article throughout this piece. So if you haven’t read it, start there.) The core problem facing the preservation or formation of conservative Protestant coalitions right […]

Jake MeadorFeaturedChurch

Toward a Renewed Public Protestantism: The Beginnings of a Manifesto - Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture

In his book Bad Religion, Ross Douthat suggests that the 1950s were the high water mark for Christianity in America. Amongst other things, church attendance was at its peak and each of America’s four defining ecclesial traditions were relatively strong. […]

Jake Meador

Once More re: the Uselessness of "Christian Nationalism" - Commonplaces

Let’s do this one more time. We live in a moment with (somehow!) a uniquely cursed discourse concerning religion and politics. Much of this is connected to “Christian nationalism.” The problem here is that the term as it gets used […]

Jake Meador

Once More re: the Uselessness of "Christian Nationalism" - Commonplaces

Let’s do this one more time. We live in a moment with (somehow!) a uniquely cursed discourse concerning religion and politics. Much of this is connected to “Christian nationalism.” The problem here is that the term as it gets used […]

Jake Meador

The Durant Trade - Commonplaces

So for those who don’t know: I’m a lifelong Phoenix Suns fan. My uncle lives in Phoenix and had season tickets so when our family would visit, I’d get to go to the Suns games. Those were the Charles Barkley, […]

Jake Meador

The Durant Trade - Commonplaces

So for those who don’t know: I’m a lifelong Phoenix Suns fan. My uncle lives in Phoenix and had season tickets so when our family would visit, I’d get to go to the Suns games. Those were the Charles Barkley, […]

Bruce ClarkFeaturedChurchFormation

Epiphany: How an Enchanted World Drew Outsiders to God - Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture

A number of years ago, a wise parent shared with me an insight for which I have been repeatedly grateful: One reason God gives us children is so that we adults can [re]discover nature. This has proven true on numerous […]

James WaldenFeaturedCultureEvangelicalism

Niebuhr and Carson, Reconsidered - Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture

With the apparent imminent demise of American Christendom, the reaction among evangelicals has covered the gamut: from fight to flight to freeze to fawn. The panic might have increased, but the range hasn’t changed much. Over a decade ago, in […]