Marc LiVecche

The Danger of Revolutionary Idealism: the Violence of Collectivism

The Rise of Violent, Revolutionary Ideology in the 20th Century and its Christian Realist Tonic.

Russia’s Invasion Violates Personhood, Not Just War Theory
Russia’s Invasion Violates Personhood, Not Just War Theory

While Orthodox Christianity lacks the historical tradition of just war theory to criticize war, it does have a theological resource it could draw upon to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: personhood.

Unpunished Murder in Northern Ireland Remembered: A Review of Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
Unpunished Murder in Northern Ireland Remembered: A Review of Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing

Numbers and statistics can desensitize students of war to real tragedy. But Keefe’s focus on Jean McConville’s murder in Say Nothing gives readers a detailed examination of the Troubles while reminding them of the victims.

Christians, Washington Is Only a Waystation
Mob Violence and “Reciprocal Violence”: Then and Now

Mob violence cannot be tolerated, and when threatened should be met with overwhelming force—as a deterrent, and with proportional and discriminant force, or “reciprocal violence” if you prefer—without apology, with far less concern for “optics,” and without any concern for the ideology of the mob if deterrence fails.

A Tragedy of Shared Fault - US Capitol
A Tragedy of Shared Fault

What happened yesterday at the US Capitol Building was a national tragedy. But it was not an entirely novel event; rather, it was part of tragically destructive trajectory.

Don’t Turn Vigilantes into Heroes

Regardless of what happens to Kyle Rittenhouse in the courts, treating vigilantes like heroes sets a dangerous precedent.

The Christian as Citizen, Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Christian as Citizen, Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The reclamation of a two-kingdom theology is a first step toward more careful and responsible thinking about issues such as Harry Truman’s decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Christian Realism and Fires that Won’t Go Away: A Book Review of William Brodrick A Whispered Name
Christian Realism and Fires that Won’t Go Away: A Review of William Brodrick’s A Whispered Name

William Brodrick’s “A Whispered Name” is a lyrical reflection on responsibility, judgment, grief, the elusiveness of justice, reconciliation, and human longing.

More than a Big Fish: Review of Tim Keller’s Prodigal Prophet
More than a Big Fish: Review of Keller’s Prodigal Prophet

For Providence readers, there are three topics of particular interest from the Prodigal Prophet’s second half: justice, politics, and patriotism.