government
Episode 47: Social psychologist Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Divine Radiance in Human Evolution
A conversation with Dairmuid O’Murchu about Aristotle, divine spirit, the climate crisis, and more
Episode 46: Palestinian theologian Munther Isaac, author of Christ in the Rubble
A conversation with Munther Isaac about Palestinian joy, the Nakba, theologies of empire, and more
Episode 45: Theologian Yolanda Pierce, author of The Wounds Are the Witness
A conversation with Yolanda Pierce about storefront churches, the stories in our bones, wounded healers, and more
Episode 44: Biblical scholar and theologian Peter Enns, author of Curveball
A conversation with Peter Enns about the book of Jonah, quantum physics, God, and more
Episode 43: Educator and podcaster Sharon McMahon, author of The Small and the Mighty
A conversation with Sharon McMahon about Alexander Hamilton, enslavement, Quakers, and more
For better or for worse, the church is keeping Haiti afloat
In the absence of strong political leadership, someone has to fill the void.
Bold economic intervention shouldn’t require a pandemic
It turns out the government can take big action to help people.
Do Christians owe special respect to state authority?
Government enjoys no special immunity from moral judgment, argues Jason Brennan.
A religious test from Dianne Feinstein?
The senator's questioning of a Catholic judicial nominee misrepresented the nature of faith—and overstepped the spirit, at least, of the Constitution.
Was Bernie Sanders imposing a religious test for office?
The senator’s reasonable concern—that Muslims and people of all religions be treated equally—led to an unreasonable demand.
On climate, the world moves on without the U.S.
Trump can't stop the international community from taking action.
What kind of freedom does a republic promise?
American liberty has been corrupted, and it’s up to us to restore it.
A Christian governor in Jakarta
He’s a powerful leader in the world’s largest Muslim nation—and he’s popular, too.
Grading our work
After sharing laudatory remarks about Nai-Wang Kwok, the YDS dean invited him to respond. I have thought a lot about the three sentences Kwok said before he sat down again.
Thirsty in Detroit: Water shutoffs and baptismal witness
At St. Peter's, the font beckons Detroiters to wade into freedom—while the bottled water around it brings to mind the principalities and powers.
When government fails
The scale of government means its failures can be big ones. But so can its successes.
The wrong debate: It’s not about the size of government
Public and private efforts to meet human need aren't squared off in a zero-sum game. And there's more than enough work to go around.
The wealthy are not self-made
This week, a former Google
executive asked President Obama to raise his taxes so that more people will
have the chance to succeed as he has. It was nice to hear the president defend
the idea that individual wealth is built in part by collective investment--even if he didn't state it as forcefully as Elizabeth Warren, and even if he mostly
avoided the word "taxes" itself.