Jul 6, 2022Dobbs and the Search for the Conservative Judge, RevisitedNow that the opinions for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health have come down and Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey have been overruled, I want to revisit my analysis from last December when I thought about Dobbs through the lens of what it means to be a conservative…5 min read5 min read
Jun 25, 2022Dobbs and Chief Justice RobertsThere are a number of things I find interesting or ironic about the Chief’s role in Dobbs. Labeled an institutionalist, a moderate, a man to protect the integrity of the Supreme Court — in the most contentious legal issue of the last 50 years, he writes alone. The point of…1 min read1 min read
May 9, 2022Abortion, Religious Arguments, and the Need for Overlapping Political ConsensusDoes abortion or any other political issue prohibit or require religious arguments? I tend to think it’s the latter, but that our focus should be on the political task of achieving an overlapping consensus of the public’s views, religious or otherwise. …4 min read4 min read
Apr 25, 2022The Malaise of America As A Crisis Of Friendship“Friendship seems…to hold states together.” This line from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics has always haunted me, but in light of the overwhelming evidence that American society is dissolving, it takes on a newer, even more important meaning. In short, if Aristotle’s right, the fundamental problem in American society today is rooted…5 min read5 min read
Apr 1, 2022A Confession: Obsessing About The WorstFair warning. This is a First World/Developed World problem post. It’s also a piece that’s a bit on the self-disclosurey side for my speed. However, I think it might speak to a universal problem of the human condition (and it’s short — you can read to the end, don’t worry!)…3 min read3 min read
Mar 25, 2022Russia and CRT: Is Liberal Democracy On The Ropes?Is liberal democracy on the ropes? Probably not, but maybe so. Let’s look at two examples that may reveal the lack of liberal democracy’s universal appeal and the primacy of power over everything else in human affairs. First, the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In a recent interview, political scientist Aaron…5 min read5 min read
Mar 19, 2022The Role of Morality in Liberal DemocraciesWhat is the role of moral formation in politics? More specifically, what is the role of moral formation and character in liberal democracies? To answer this question, we need to begin with Aristotle, who argued that “legislators make the citizens good by forming habits in them, and this is the…4 min read4 min read
Mar 6, 2022Mars Hill and Mark Driscoll: Celebrity Part TwoEven though in my last post I said I would make “one last” comment about The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, I received a few replies to the post, and I wanted to respond to them (at least indirectly). As an aside, this blog was started several months ago…4 min read4 min read
Feb 27, 2022Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill: Our Problem With CelebrityOK, one last word on Christianity Today’s podcast series, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. It’s really just an observation, and also an expression of frustration with celebrity. …3 min read3 min read
Feb 22, 2022Four Models Of Higher Ed: A Time For ChoosingAugustine taught us that the drama of human life is to properly order our loves, implying there will always be one ultimate thing we desire the most. I believe this is right, and I think it has implications for all of life, including higher education. In general, while colleges and…5 min read5 min read
