It is sad to grow up and realize you’ve become a monster. The awareness does not change the fact that you are now a monster.

Tonight people will gather for Burns Night to remember one of Scotland’s national heroes. But should this man’s flaws cause us to rethink his place in national mythmaking and nationalism in general?

Works by C.S. Lewis and Tim Keller can help us understand the outlines of a healthy Christian patriotism—a righteous love of one’s imperfect country and home, including the people there and much more.

Christ’s sacrifice helps us to reflect on Divine glory and individual and national vocations.

Christian pacifism became untenable for me because the God who punished, killed, and destroyed in the Old Testament remains the God of the New Testament.

Contrary to detractors like George R.R. Martin who say that Tolkien’s works are simplistic with a black and white view of morality, Tolkien wasn’t oblivious to how terrible the world can be, having been on the front line of the First World War.