Every year, private schools across the nation commence for graduation ceremonies. Yet, if many of today’s progressive educators are to be believed, the ceremony they participate in ought to be abolished or sent underground. They wish for public schools to be the primary—and in some activists’ view, exclusive—vehicle for educating our youth. Indeed, whenever the idea of [ Read More ]
During the middle of the twentieth century, the great German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that the Western world was a “world come of age,” by which he did not intend a compliment; he meant that Westerners had learned to manage life without reference to God and that life without God is deeply unhealthy for individuals [ Read More ]
For almost twenty years, I taught a four-seminar rotation of “Great Books” for The College at Southeastern. The readings were formative not only for the students, but also for me, the professor. I gained an invaluable education. Through these works, I was able to trace the rise and development of Western thought and civilization, in [ Read More ]
America has always been more religiously devout than other Western democracies. But now, like them, it has begun to secularize rapidly. And, as religion has declined, political ideology has intensified, society has fragmented, and cultural common ground has disintegrated. As a result, politics is increasingly divisive and existentially fraught. For over three decades, debates about [ Read More ]
Critical Race Theory rightly calls us to recognize that the effects of sin can be magnified throughout the institutions and social structures erected by individuals, leading to social systems that embody unjust racial prejudices. However, by focusing on sin as embodied with or without intent in social systems, proponents of CRT lose sight of what [ Read More ]
Our nation’s political discourse has become increasingly toxic in the past two decades. Consider the uncivil and even caustic demeanor of many radio show hosts, cable TV pundits, and opinion writers. Think about the degrading and demeaning language used in the comment strings of media sites, Twitter feeds, and Facebook pages. Consider the bipartisan nature of the incivility. [ Read More ]
In order to be loved, a country must be lovely. It need not be flawless. In fact, no society—excepting the eternal City—is flawless. But to garner affection, it must be loveable. The World War II generation recognized our nation’s loveliness and gave everything they had to defend it. In fact, the sacrifices of that generation [ Read More ]
The only organ to which secular progressive political activists make little appeal these days—one could consider it America’s only understimulated organ—is the cerebrum. The brain. But when progressives do appeal to voters’ rationality, they wisely do so more primarily through story than through argument. Yet, unfortunately, the progressive story is a “story” not only in [ Read More ]
She was the most arduous abecedary I’d ever encountered, Ms. Amelia Merritt. As my high school English teacher, she was tougher than a drill sergeant. She dressed tough and talked tough and had the kind of smoker’s voice that would make you wonder if she gargled with roofing nails. That’s why, when in the middle [ Read More ]
In this episode of the Tyrannus Hall videocast, Bill Dejong interviews me about the life and relevance of Dutch theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper. As with all revered leaders, Kuyper was a flawed man, but a great leader nonetheless, a Christian statesman from whom we American Christians can learn. To watch the video, click here.