Category: Christian Life
Know Thyself: What Medieval Christians Teach Us About Humility
“Are Americans humble?” a family member asked as I explained part of my dissertation on medieval humility to him. “Um… I don’t really think so. Not generally,” I awkwardly mumbled. This answer was unsatisfactory; firstly, because I bungled it. Secondly,...
Lessons from the Downfall of Ravi Zacharias
I interviewed Ravi Zacharias on radio in October of 1997. He could not have been more gracious. My show ran from 5-6 pm on Saturdays. I always called my guests a few hours before to make sure they were ready...
Announcing “Passages”: A New Podcast from Mere Orthodoxy
(originally published on the Passages podcast home page) “O gladsome light, pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven, O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed! Now as we come to the setting of the sun, and our eyes behold the...
When the Grass is Greener
When we returned to West Point this past July, we did not expect to end up restricted to the same five-mile radius for the rest of the semester. Yet the potent combination of COVID-19 and military force protection measures resulted...
An Unbelieving Church
Author and psychiatrist, Curt Thompson, once remarked “we become what we pay attention to.” Reformulated as a question, it becomes arguably the guiding question we need today, namely who are you becoming? In a time of political crisis and social...
Be Fearful as Christ was Fearful
Be not afraid. Thus does Holy Scripture instruct the people of God time and again. In every manner of situation, God or Christ or an angel of the Lord disarms the fright of mere mortals overawed by divine glory or...
When You Bear Your Cross, Christ is Your King
Many Christians have a cross somewhere in their home—a religious plaque, perhaps, or maybe a painting. Some wear crosses around their neck or as other jewelry. Others have a cross tattooed into their skin. These crosses mean different things to...
Keep Christianity Weird
Oliver O’Donovan begins the sixth chapter of his Desire of the Nations, a chapter concerned with the status and legitimacy of Christendom, by considering what made the political witness of the early church compelling:
The Case for Donating Your Stimulus Check
During a pandemic, it always feels dark. Many future unknowns await us. But we can learn from an unknown Jewish prisoner who penned this line in a poem he wrote within his concentration camp cell.
Prudence, Paranoia, and Loving Our Neighbor
“Will a surplus Russian gas mask protect me from coronavirus, or should I buy an actual respirator?” These are the questions we ponder on social media in the year of our Lord 2020. Three weeks into the United States’ experience...