Theology

To get any insight at all into what Jesus’ childhood and upbringing were like, you have to do something that sometimes makes Protestants uncomfortable: study Mary.

The Christmas story suggests that we can somehow try to be loyal members of our nations, our families, our tribes—and to reach out to the broader human community of which we are also a part.

Nothing separates Christianity from other religions like the two big holidays of Christmas and Easter, and Christmas especially.

Next week November 2-3 Providence is hosting its second annual Christianity and National Security Conference at Georgetown University. I hope…

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby advocates for an “extremist” church, confident in its transformative power. Duke University professor Stanley Hauerwas advocates for a pacifist church, bearing witness to nonviolence.

Some evangelicals’ unthinking appropriation of social justice ideas can be faddish, light on theology, heavy on sentiment, and heavy on progressive politics. But John MacArthur overgeneralizes too much and lapses into caricature too often in his critique of “social justice.”

The choice is not between open borders or Birkenau. The choice which lies before us is whether or not we will make a government which reflects the divine justice for which government exists. 

Missing from Bp. Curry’s message during the royal wedding is an appreciation of sin, its persistence and its power to corrupt human relationships. His is a prophecy filled with hope, but lacking humility. And in this, he bears false witness to our fallen world.

This is an axiom, as true for foreign policy as it is for our faith. We may not be bound by history, but we are damned if we ignore it. The root of conservatism is the tendency to see value in traditions not as ends unto themselves but as visible reminders of the sacrifices of those who have gone before.