Understanding the Centrality of Law in Orthodox Judaism
Why does Orthodox Judaism center so intensely upon law, when the modalities of poetry and philosophy are available? Is it possible that, for most members of the culture, study of the law develops the areas of the soul that elsewhere are nurtured by poetry and philosophy?
The Conservative Disadvantage
If the status quo is the end game for conservatives, then there can never be hope for a long-term political victory, only momentary setbacks to the progressive agenda. The victories of social progressivism have less to do with the ideology of the founding than the moral failure of men and women in every generation to stop evil from progressing.
Hilaire Belloc and the Heresy of Our Times
To defeat the Modern Heresy, we must promote truth in the face of relativism, structures of justice and mercy in the face of those of power, traditional familial love in the face of “the modern family,” and the redemption of sinful lives in the face of a tolerant culture that seeks to do away with sin altogether.
What’s the Difference Between Abortion and Infanticide?
Is an infant, marked for abortion but delivered alive, even in tragic circumstances, a person whom the law ought to protect?
Our Revolutionary American Creed: Every Life Matters
On February 4th, 2019, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley delivered the following remarks in support of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
End Iranian and American Garment Coercion in Sports and Games
Women visiting Iran for international sports and game tournaments should not have to wear an Islamic headcover to be eligible to compete. US athletes should not have to wear a political symbol to play soccer. Everyone should have the freedom to compete without garment coercion.
What America’s Public Debt Crisis Says about Us and What We Can Do about It
Our personal habits and our political culture are not unconnected. When personal debt is at an all-time high, it seems unreasonable to expect that thrift would somehow become a public virtue. If we do not act responsibly with the budgets of our own families, it seems unrealistic to expect fiscal responsibility from those who are entrusted with spending other people’s money.
On Integralism, Religious Liberty, and the Authority of the Church: 19th Century Popes and 20th Century Popes Disagreed
How should Catholics understand the contradiction between the nineteenth-century papal teachings on integralism and the twentieth-century teaching of the Second Vatican Council? We follow the solution of John Paul II and Benedict XVI: we take both sets of teachings at face value, admit that they contradict each other, and explain that the earlier teachings were merely doctrina catholica, which are not absolutely binding and are thus subject to future change.
Guiding Christians Through Islam
David Pinault’s new book provides a readable and scholarly comparison of Islam and Christianity. It is the fundamental question raised by Jesus himself (“But who do you say that I am?”) that divides Muslims and Christians. This candid book shows how we might improve interfaith dialogue by not shying away from difficult issues.
Hannah Arendt, the Covington High School Students, and Charity in our Political Culture
In politics, charity requires that we not assume the worst of those we disagree with politically, at least not without substantial proof. Charity is not some fuzzy feeling; it is the principle that motivates people to seek all of the facts about a situation prior to judgment.
Media Bias, “Fake News,” and the Reporting of Hate
Most journalists strive for objectivity, but some bias is inevitable. New research indicates that media personnel are most likely to attribute crimes to hate when the victims are sexual minorities and least likely to do so when the victims are Christians.
Why Talk About “Structures of Sin”?
We simply cannot ignore theology when looking at social problems. For Christians, the notion of sinful structures is based on the difficult but ultimately liberating admission that the existing social positions we occupy are often not in conformity with the order of God.
Rejecting Toxic Masculinity Isn’t an Attack on Men
When we don’t teach young men how to be good men, that doesn’t erase their desire to prove themselves to their peers. It just leaves a vacuum in which “boys will be boys” style “locker room talk” and objectification of women can easily masquerade as manhood.
Sex Matters: Mona Charen’s Takedown of Contemporary Feminism
Mona Charen’s new book traces the history of the feminist movement, identifying when and how it went off the rails. According to Charen, contemporary feminists’ most serious problem is that nearly all of them have forgotten that “equal” does not have to mean “the same.”
An Interview with James McPherson: Thirty Years After the Publication of Battle Cry of Freedom
You do not need a license to practice history. Instead, all you need to do is work hard, do research, go to the sources, make the past meaningful, and write in a way that attracts readers.
Do Women Regret Giving Birth When the Baby is Doomed to Die?
Researchers find an absence of regret in 97.5 percent of participants who continue a pregnancy in which the baby is “doomed to die.” With emphatic certainty, women report enhanced relationship with the baby, with themselves, and with family despite giving birth after lethal fetal diagnosis. Abortion does not have similar results.
Rémi Brague’s Bleak but Brilliant Analysis of the Modern Project
According to Rémi Brague, the dialectic of modernity results in a paradox. Man is both the conquering lord of nature and a part of nature to be controlled. His well-being is the purpose of the modern project, which simultaneously places his distinct dignity in doubt.
Yoram Hazony, “Conservative Democracy,” and the Classical Tradition of Reason and Liberty
If we are to correct the wayward course of contemporary democratic societies, we must preserve what is true and good and mitigate what is false and harmful in both liberalism and nationalism. We would do well to embrace core principles of the Anglo-American constitutional tradition—principles grounded in and sustained by the virtue of prudence.
It’s Time to Put #ThemBeforeUs: The Global Movement for Children’s Rights
A new nonprofit, Them Before Us, aims to defend children’s rights in the family. We use story to highlight the true victims, and we critique all practices and policies that prioritize adult desires above children’s rights.
Humanitarianism: The Idol of Our Age
Humanitarianism has become the implicit faith of our time. In his new book, Daniel Mahoney offers a sharp indictment of its fatal flaws: its denial of transcendence, its inability to confront the reality of evil, and its refusal to acknowledge that human beings’ attachment to the particular is precisely what enables them to access and understand the objective moral order.
Unique from Day One: Pro-Life Is Pro-Science
The main dividing line between pro-life and pro-choice is not which side cares more about women, families, and their basic freedoms. It’s how each group applies the scientific facts to determine what constitutes women’s rights.
The Many Harms of Gender Identity Laws: A Mother of a Trans-Identifying Teen Speaks Out
All people should be protected from harassment and harm, no matter how they identify. But we as a society must be allowed to reasonably act on the basis of sex when medical treatment, privacy, and safety are at stake. If “gender identity” becomes a protected class, women and children are the ones who will suffer most.
Thomas More on the Virtues and Vices of Property
Thomas More’s Utopia suggests that a defense of property emphasizing material productivity, though valid, is inadequate. By probing classical reasons for and against private property, More goes deeper, addressing the objective needs of the human soul.
Bad (Though Not Entirely Bad) Pro-Life Arguments
Good intentions are not enough. Pro-lifers need good arguments too. We should avoid the temptation to make these popular, emotionally compelling, but badly reasoned arguments against abortion.
