I have recently offered several warnings against self-chosen sacrifice and self-willed religion, noting that, as Christians, ours is a service not of our own design or choosing, and when we orient our lives accordingly, it’s far more powerful because of it. Over at Catholic Exchange, Benjamin Mann offers a plement to such warnings, digging a bit deeper into the question of discernment, which is central to all of this. (HT) Writing specifically of our current attitudes about vocation, Mann observes...

Today’s edition of Prufrock (subscribe here!) notes the ing release of Paul Hammond,Milton and the People (Oxford, July 29): Who are ‘the people’ in Milton’s writing? They figure prominently in his texts from early youth to late maturity, in his poetry and in his prose works; they are invoked as the sovereign power in the state and have the right to overthrow tyrants; they are also, as God’s chosen people, the guardians of the true Protestant path against those who...

Let me start by saying you can fill entire football stadiums with things I don’t know. I don’t anything about fly-fishing. I have never figured out how to score tennis. I cannot identify (although my dad tried his hardest to teach me) birds by their songs. I could go on, but you get the idea. With that said, I’m often called upon by my job to write about things I don’t know much about. I have to do a lot...

In a piece today for the NYT Magazine, economics reporter Binyamin Appelbaum examines David Brat’s fusion of faith and free-market economics. Appelbaum finds that mixture problematic, to say the least, but it’s hard to sort out whether it is the religious faith or the free-market sympathies that Appelbaum finds more troubling. In the opening paragraph, Appelbaum asserts that before Brat’s rise to prominence “there was plenty of skepticism about whether he merited the label of academic economist.” Who these skeptics...

As economic prosperity has increased, and as the American economy has transitioned from agrarian to industrial to information-driven, manual labor has been increasingly cast down in the popular imagination. When our youth navigate and graduate from high school, they receive pressure from all directions to excel in particular areas and attend a four-year college, typically in pursuit of “white-collar” work. The trades, on the other hand — including brickmasons, plumbers, butchers, and carpenters — are not high on the minds...

Myanmar is a mess. Years of ethnic and religious warfare have left deep scars in both the Buddhist and munities there. There have been cries of ethnic cleansing charged against Buddhists, but very few are held responsible for crimes against Muslims. When an issue is this enormous, it is often hard to think about it in human terms. After all, “violence against Muslims” or “ethnic cleansing” isn’t the same as “my friend was killed.” The perspective shifts when there are...

When President Obama signed Executive Order 13653 about a year ago, he relabeled the great debate that was known first as global warming and then climate change to “resiliency.” He set up an Interagency Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience with three co-chairs and representatives from at least 30 listed departments, plus appointees. He also created the Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, which will be made up of more than 2 dozen representatives across the nation including Grand...

The treasures of Iraq have been repeatedly looted. Historical and artistic artifacts that span centuries are gone – obliterated. And the mess continues. Iraqi National Museum Director Qais Hussein Rashid says his staff cannot withstand terrorist strikes or take preventative measures. Terrorists, of course, are not interested in hanging tapestries on their walls; they use these artifacts as e. Known as ISIS or ISIL, the terrorists have proclaimed themselves a new caliphate or kingdom. We as Iraqis are incapable of...

Christians are called to be in the world but not of it (John 17:14-15). But what does that mean for how we should live? At TGC Stephen J. Grabill, the director of programs and international at the Acton Institute, explains why living faithfully in exile and seeking the shalom of our cities are two big ideas that the church needs to embrace in order to recover a robust “in-but-not-of” theology of culture: God’s people have always been—and are now—living in...

Since 2000, New York City residents have observed the shut-down of 91 Catholic schools. These closures are typically the result of parents’ inability to pay tuition costs. This presents not only a problem to the would-be students, but to the public-at-large. The civic benefits provided through a Catholic education amount to a public good. Graduation rates for Catholic schools top those of public institutions, propelling more students to college, creating munity leaders. A robust civil society such as this is...