Christian Realism

In this week’s episode, the editors discuss Richard Jordan’s “Where Are the Playful Realists?” Mark Tooley’s “Global Backstop for Democracy,” and Brian Stewart’s “The Syrian Revolution Turns 10.”

Providence executive editor Marc LiVecche spoke with contributing editor and Georgetown professor Paul Miller about President Joe Biden’s plans to withdraw all remaining US military personnel from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021.

It is childish to demand the real world conform to one’s fancy; it is childlike to learn about the real world by playing in an imaginary one. Both the idealist and the cynical realist are childish. The Christian realist, by contrast, should be childlike.

In this week’s episode, the editors discuss Luke Syrianos’ “Virtual Reality and Christian Politics,” Mark Melton’s “Cold War with China Hits Fashion Industry during H&M Boycott,” Alan Dowd’s “China Takes Aim at the Postwar Order,” and Jimmy Lewis’ “Christians Must Not Be Silent on China’s Human Rights Abuses.”

I want to illuminate this conspiratorial approach, which I term “Christian Virtual Reality Politics,” by contrasting it with a more familiar approach, which I call “Christian Religious Politics.”

In this week’s episode, the editors cover Mark Tooley’s article about Afghanistan, Jeffrey Cimmino’s article about religious liberty and national security, and Marc LiVecche’s series about Holy Week.

The cleansing of the temple reveals the character of our Messiah and is a model for those who would follow him.

In this episode of Marksism, the editors discuss recent content about natural law, natural rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and how the US should respond to Saudi Arabia’s crimes.

We’re going to discuss three pieces from Providence this week. Firstly, an interview with Joshua Mauldin at the Center for Theological Inquiry at Princeton, regarding his new book on Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and modern politics. Secondly, we will discuss Paul Marshall’s piece on the Ayatollah Sistani and Islamic rule, or Islamic rule in Iraq. And finally, Marc LiVecche will share about his own piece on integrity.