Mere Orthodoxy

George Scialabba’s Utopian Hopes

Andrew Kaufmann — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:00:02 GMT

George Scialabba. The Sealed Envelope: Toward an Intelligent Utopia. Yale University Press, 2026. $32.50. 288 pp.

Lucky to be Grateful

Elizabeth Lasch-Quinn — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:00:00 GMT

Wendell Berry. Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story. Counterpoint, 2025. $26.00. 176 pp.

A Psalm for Easter

Alex Kneen — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:00:00 GMT

Rejoice, frail sons of Adam’s blood
For God, the Just and True
Is ever seeking wretched souls
In mercy, to renew
For I my body bound in swaths
Of filth from hope misplaced
Lay reeking in the dark of sin
Despairing of His grace

Embracing the God Who Bleeds

Hayden Nesbit — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:00:00 GMT

[38] After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. [39] Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. [40] So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. [41] Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. [42] So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

Aquinas, AI, and the Pursuit of Learning

Alex Stevens — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:00:01 GMT

My eight-year-old daughter recently invoked my fatherly duty to help her do research for a presentation about a figure from the Middle Ages; Thomas Aquinas, in her case. My wife and I bought a few books, checked one out from the library, and found some relevant material in reference works we already owned. Notably, we did not search for random articles or videos off the Internet or try using generative AI as a personal tutor; yet this was not enough to entirely avoid AI slop.

Deconstructing Pessimism

Matthew Loftus — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:59:59 GMT

David Bather Woods. Arthur Schopenhauer: The Life and Thought of Philosophy’s Greatest Pessimist. University of Chicago Press, 2025. $29.99. 296 pp.

To Dabble or Not to Dabble

Nathaniel Marshall — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:00:02 GMT

Karen Walrond. In Defense of Dabbling: The Brilliance of Being a Total Amateur. Broadleaf Books, 2025. $27.99. 211 pp.

Marilynne Robinson's Simple Wisdom

Ben Gibson — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:00:00 GMT

We are bombarded each day with the world’s seemingly intractable problems and with differing guidance on how we should respond to those problems. According to some, the world’s complex problems should be left to those with complex answers. According to others, we need to spend less time mucking about in nuance and instead identify the clear rights and wrongs contributing to the world’s problems. Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead provides a path between these incomplete solutions for addressing the world’s problems.

Why Evangelical Gender Discourse Is Unserious

Jamie Carlson — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:00:02 GMT

The release of Preston Sprinkle’s new book From Genesis to Junia has, I think, broken something in me. I’m tired of complementarians protecting harmful systems and abusive leaders. I am also tired of egalitarian abuse survivor advocates preaching to the choir, and I’m tired of gate-keeping and double-standards on both sides.

Attending to 'Paradise Lost'

William Tate — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:00:02 GMT

Alan Jacobs. Paradise Lost: A Biography. Princeton University Press, 2025. $24.95. 224 pp.