Whose Reaganism? Which Republicanism?
In an intriguing document published last week at First Things and signed by a number of prominent dissident conservatives, the drafters called for an end to “warmed-over Reaganism,” and exhorted America’s conservatives to embrace a communal conservatism that values home, small community, and that...
Apologies, Power, and Martyrdom in a Decadent Age
For the second time in 18 months Republicans have needed to make use of the distinction between ephebophilia and pedophilia while defending one of their own. The fact that we are here may well say all that needs saying about...
The Surprising Humanity of the Westminster Confession
Though there is no shortage of disagreement over the sources of our current malaise, that we live in a decadent society is, perhaps, one of the few ideas that actually can unite many conservative and progressive Americans. What’s more, in...
Will Complementarianism Die with the Baby Boomers?
In the latest edition of his newsletter “The Masculinist,” Aaron Renn dismissed complementarianism as a baby boomer phenomenon that will inevitably die with that generation. Much of the analysis is both interesting and correct, but it also misses a few key points...
Ben Sasse Heightens the Contradictions
In a November 2018 episode of Saturday Night Live, congressman-elect Lt. Cmdr. Dan Crenshaw of Texas appeared with SNL star Pete Davidson. The much-discussed segment came one week after Davidson had made tasteless jokes about Crenshaw’s eye patch, which he...
Book Review: The Dignity Revolution by Daniel Darling
It is inherent to sin’s nature to rationalize itself. This is hardly a new insight. After all, the almost immediate response of Adam and Eve in the aftermath of the world’s first sin was to justify themselves by shifting the...
Mere Orthodoxy Best of 2018
We ran our list of the best feature writing in 2018 yesterday. Today I wanted to recap the written work we have done at Mere O this year. Due almost entirely to changes with Facebook’s algorithm, our traffic numbers are...
The 2018 Eliot Awards
We started this last year and I’m going to continue it this year because of how much fun I have putting it together. Here’s my list of the year’s best magazine writing. If you have other nominations, mention them in...
7 Theses on Christians and Politics for Election Day
When it comes to discussing questions of politics, Christians can take several different approaches. A safe and sometimes reasonable strategy is to put a moratorium on such conversations in Bible studies, small groups, and other church functions for the simple...
Book Review: C. S. Lewis on the Christian Life by Joe Rigney
In his book on Thomas Aquinas, the great German philosopher Josef Pieper notes that what sets Thomas apart is not his originality. It is his perfection. He then goes on to develop the distinction between the two in a striking...