Abortion as a Freedom
The worst harm from the decades of legalized abortion in the United States is probably the millions of dead human beings that none of us ever got to know. But I would argue, almost as bad has been the entrapment practiced on millions of women who found themselves unexpectedly in a tight spot, with an innocent new life suddenly blocking the way between them and their dreams, who had no externally enforced standards to keep them from taking the easy way out, and just rolling over it. If this life isn’t developed enough to say, “Don’t tread on me,” does it count when I do? “No,” the laws told them. “It doesn’t.
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Can Liberalism Be Saved? A Proposal from F.J. Stahl
Postliberal authors like Patrick Deneen rightly understand the dire situation of the modern west and the failure of individual rights to serve as some underlying philosophical basis for a functional society. Nonetheless, one does not need to abandon the liberal tradition altogether to correct course. Friedrich Julius Stahl provides a roadmap for us today to consider how it is that we are to think about the role of law, the nature of rights, and the common good in an era of increasing secularization.
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What Is a Great Book?
What then are these truths that matter most? They are truths which are spiritually nourishing. This means they are truths which concern who God is, who we are as human beings, what makes for a good life, and what awaits us after death. They are truths which make us aware of what our ultimate purpose is, and what beliefs, affections, and habits can serve as appropriate means to realizing that purpose. The Bible, being full of such truths, and in fact containing all of the ones that are truly essential, is the foremost example of a great book. It is the book of books, the enduring and timeless archetype by which all other books must be measured and evaluated.
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Theology: Theoretical or Practical?
Theology, the study of God and divine things, is the paramount discipline because it concerns the highest and most sublime realities. All Christians should aim to be good theologians, as all are called to believe and confess the truth. Yet, there is no Christian consensus regarding the classification of theology as a genus. In other words, there is no agreement about whether theology is a theoretical or practical discipline. This is an important matter, as it shapes how we understand the purpose of theology.
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Feminine Fortitude: Reflections on a Cardinal Virtue
It would be wrong, however, to imply that fortitude is, in any way, an exclusively masculine virtue. This is where the claim that “fortitude means ‘to act like men’” requires careful qualification. Some species of fortitude are necessary for feminine vocations. Not only that, but some expressions of fortitude are only possible in feminine vocations, as we demonstrated above with motherhood. To be a good mother is to be patient. To be a good daughter is to be persevering.
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Technology, the Body, and the Modern Condition: What Christians can Learn from Byung-Chul Han
Han further contemplates achievement and optimization in The Burnout Society, where he argues that “achievement society is the society of self-exploitation. The achievement-subject exploits itself until it burns out.” While society promises complete autonomy and the removal of sources of oppression or repression, this “absence of external domination does not abolish the structure of compulsion. It makes freedom and compulsion coincide. The achievement-subject gives itself over to freestanding compulsion in order to maximize performance. In this way, it exploits itself. . . . Exploitation now occurs without domination. That is what makes self-exploitation so efficient.”
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"Holy Images Are Not Forbidden": Martin Luther against Iconoclasm
How does this discussion relate to modern Protestant Churches being afflicted by a lack of imagery? This isn't merely a stylistic choice, a preference for stylistic minimalism. For how you worship is a confession of what you believe. As with Luther, we should see and use iconography and images, especially the crucifix, as devotional aids. (They do say a picture is worth a thousand words!) The perspective of Luther and the iconodules demonstrate to us the need there is to recapture some of that love for iconography today.
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The Conservative Reformer: Classical Lutheranism for the Contemporary World
Every tradition occasionally needs people within its ranks to articulate a vision of its aims and to indicate the preferred means for bringing such a vision to realization. In other words, it calls for writers and thinkers who enable it to capture a true sense of what it is and clarify what it seeks to accomplish. To provide such a vision is not to presume to speak for everyone else within a given tradition, but it is to stake out a position regarding the best way forward for the tradition and to invite others to rally around this perspective. Such efforts often bring renewal to a tradition’s self-understanding and provide an impetus to reclaim and reinvigorate what makes the tradition exceptional.
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