The view of politics I am promoting here does not mean that the ends justify the means. No; but we need to be clearer about the proper ends of political action. Again, our political stances should not be developed, articulated, and pursued primarily in view of minimizing offense so that the gospel can be heard.
When a problem is posed—for DiAngelo the key issue is race or skin color, but no real solution is offered, we have a recipe for cultural disaster and chaos. It is—in a sense—bad news with no good news whatsoever. Even through DiAngelo’s understanding of the problem is not as deep as Augustine’s, there is no meaningful solution whatsoever.
Pastor Tim Keller thinks “many American Evangelicals have no coherent understanding of how to relate the Bible to politics.” . . . Keller got this part right. American Evangelicals, really many American Christians, lack a coherent political theology. Yet Keller’s own comments place him among them.
No doubt, any contemporary Southern Baptist attempt against Disney will be mocked by some of the more cosmopolitan Southern Baptists of 2022. Such a boycott would represent a return to 1997, which is viewed with embarrassment.
Freedom of conscience is an indispensable right that we cannot jettison. Yet, does a commitment to soul liberty require what Williams said he abhorred, namely, “an infinite liberty of conscience”? Can any society, including our own, withstand unlimited religious and moral pluralism?
The scientist is not a disinterested observer but employs a variety of non-scientific sources of knowledge, including intuition, imagination, tradition, and faith. A detached approach to science is impossible.
Reactionary pandemic policies have prevented us from maintaining our friendships as required for true human flourishing.
As a mother nothing could be more contrary to my innate impulses than to sacrifice my baby for my own preservation. I am not a hero; any parent would say what I’ve said now, should they see their baby born rather than make a disembodied calculation en utero.
Human, Forever is indisputably a must-read for those concerned about what human existence will look like “after the digital turn.” Not only is it a penetrating diagnosis of the contemporary condition, the book is a distinctly Christian-inflected chastening of some of the more audacious “postliberal” political philosophies out there, those that fail to take seriously what the digital disruption has wrought. Freedom from technology, Poulos submits, must also mean freedom from the dreams of empire, and a return to the limits of the local.
Generating a dissident appeal to normal people is difficult. The dynamics of social media reward conflict and transgressive content that turn off a lot of normal people. And mainstream institutions are hostile to any dissident thinking that appeals to normal people. But figuring out how win over normal people is critical.
