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Thoughts

It’s Not Only Athletes: What Platform Has God Given You?

Last spring I had the privilege of speaking at a conference for NFL players put on by Pro Athletes Outreach (PAO), a group which exists to unite a community of pro athletes and couples to grow as disciples of Jesus and positively impact their spheres of influence. They have a fantastic outreach to professional football and baseball athletes and their wives. I’ve seen firsthand the amazing difference they’re making. In the off-season I exchanged emails and texts with dozens of NFL players and cha..Continue reading

Motherhood Is a Marathon

I wanted to do great things for God. In the spring of my senior year of college, on the brink of embarking upon my own journey into adulthood, my future was undecided and that was simultaneously terrifying and thrilling. As a philosophy major, my path was narrower than I had realized, but I was sure it would take me on some grand and glorious adventure. I knew the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. “Glorify” sounds like such a grand term. It evokes images of battlefie..Continue reading

Is Love of Money Really the Root of All Evils?

Is the love of money the “root of all evils” or only the “root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10)? “All evils” is the formal English equivalent of the original Greek (pantōn tōn kakōn). It is remarkable that all older versions of the Bible translate 1 Timothy 6:10 in the more literal way: “The love of money is the root of all evils” (or all evil). This includes the Wycliffe Bible, Luther Bibel, Geneva Bible, King James Version, Douay-Rheims, Darby Bible, and Revised Standard Version. Bu..Continue reading

Daily Verses

Psalm 84:11 (01-31-17)

For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. — Psalm 84:11 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... God doesn't hold back on his goodness! In fact, the Father loves to give his children gifts. These gifts are all encompassing. These gifts are gladly given. How do I know? Three ways: 1) I've been repeatedly blessed; 2) I've seen what God has done to bless his people through the centur..Continue reading

A Suitable Helper

Wives, submit to your own husbands. . . . Husbands, love your wives. Colossians 3:18-19, NKJVGod created them male and female. The primary reason for woman’s creation was not to produce children or provide sexual satisfaction or to keep the home but for the mutual happiness of man and woman. Like the Father of the bride, God Himself brought Eve to Adam. There is not only an equality but a diversity between men and women. Eve was as different from Adam as Adam was different from Eve. But the dif..Continue reading

Proverbs 19:21 (01-30-17)

There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand. — Proverbs 19:21 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... "What are your plans for today?" If you are like me, you prayerfully try to plan your day. You make appointments with people in the future so you can address their needs, hear their concerns, or discuss issues and projects. But, we need to always live humbly, recognizing that none of our plans will be of value unless those plans c..Continue reading

Invite the World!

In My Father's house are many mansions. John 14:2, NKJVHeaven is a big place! “In my Father’s house are many mansions” – room enough for anyone and everyone who chooses to be a member of God’s family! So please feel free to invite your entire family – including in-laws and out-laws, every one of your friends, all of your neighbors, the total population of your city, your state, your nation – everybody in the whole wide world! Heaven is a great big place where all are invited to come!Continue reading

Hope

And Yet

The last few months have proven to be a time of drastic contradictions and improbable outcomes. In the United States, we have threatened our neighbors with "Trick or Treat", and now we offer thankfulness followed by acknowledging a time of offering gifts and love. Ironically we will then plan to do it all again next year. We also endured a political campaign of egos and personalities who screamed, hurled insults and accusations followed, once the electorate had chosen a "winner", with the call f..Continue reading

Puppies for Sale and Hearts Open to Help

Dan Clark shares a story called, Puppies for Sale: A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read "Puppies for Sale." Signs like that have a way of attracting small children, and sure enough, a little boy appeared under the store owner's sign. "How much are you going to sell the puppies for?" He asked. The store owner replied, "Anywhere from $30 to $50." The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out some change. "I have $2.37," he said. "Can I please look at them?" The stor..Continue reading

Finding peace from the rage within

An abusive childhood left John with deep emotional wounds, which festered into a simmering rage that followed him into adulthood and marriage. Tony grew up feeling unwanted and unloved. Even after marrying and starting a family of his own, his anger led to verbal and physical abuse. But God can restore even the hardest of hearts as well as marriages and families.Continue reading

“I thought Christianity was a crutch”

Have you ever doubted God’s existence? What about the Bible? Do you believe that it’s the inspired Word of God that Christ’s followers believe it to be? Well, Jodi put her faith in the big bang theory and Russell believed faith was for the weak. Learn how they both discovered a God who loved them before they ever realized that a loving God truly existed.Continue reading

Get to Know Your Healer

“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing” (1 Peter 3:9 NLT, second edition). Nothing crushes the spirit more than abuse — to feel devalued, unimportant, and misused. Jesus knows that. And he says, “I will care for you.” The starting point in your healing is to get to know your ..Continue reading

Daily Wisdom

Greater than We Think

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. 2 Peter 1:3, NKJVGod is bigger than we think and greater than we think. Nothing is beyond His ability, whether it’s a problem to solve, a marriage to reconcile, a memory to heal, a guilty conscience to cleanse, a sin to forgive, a business to save, a budget to stretch, another mouth to feed, or anything else we could name. All are within His po..Continue reading

1 John 4:7 (02-01-17)

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. — 1 John 4:7 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... The old song says, "Where oh where is love?" Love is with God. Love comes from God. Love is the key attribute of God. Love is from God. Love is of God. You want to be more loving? You want to find greater intensity in your love? You want to know how to love others who are hard to love? Look to God. But, where do we see God ..Continue reading

The Sound of His Voice

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:27, NKJVThe Eastern shepherd of Jesus’ day raised his sheep primarily in the Judean uplands. The countryside was rocky, hilly, and creased with deep crevices and ravines. Patches of grass were sparse. So the shepherd had to establish a personal relationship with each sheep, nurturing its love and trust in order to lead it to where the path was the smoothest, the grass was the greenest, the water was the cleanest, and the nights..Continue reading

Prayers

TLG Prayer

Israel’s Unbelief

PassageRomans 10:18-11:16 PrayerDear Father,How sorry I am that the people you chose, the nation of Israel, has spurned your Messiah and turned away in unbelief. But how thankful I am that because of their unbelief you have sent your message to Gentiles so that we can be adopted into the family of Abraham, grafted as wild shoots into the natural olive tree.I rejoice that even today you have redeemed in Christ thousands of Abraham's natural descendants for your kingdom.I rejoice that I share..Continue reading

TLG Prayer

I Believe!

PassageRomans 10:8-17 PrayerDear Father,May the word of Christ always be on my lips and in my heart. May I make known to everyone in every place that Jesus is Lord and that you have raised him from the dead. Remind me continually that I have no cause to be ashamed of my faith.Grant not only that I myself should believe but that I should also become partners with others in sending them to proclaim the Good News to the world.Thank you that Christ is preached. Thank you for the belief you have put ..Continue reading

TLG Prayer

I Confess!

PassageRomans 10:1-8 PrayerDear Father,Thank you that Christ is the end of the law to those who have faith. Thank you that I am justified by faith in him, not by some system of merit.May I not think of Christ as being so high in heaven that he is inaccessible to us, or, like unbelievers, think of him as being dead and not available.May I continually confess with my mouth the belief that is in my heart: Jesus is Lord! And God raised him from the dead!Help me rather to know that he is nearer than ..Continue reading

TLG Prayer

Rock of My Salvation

PassageRomans 9:25-33 PrayerDear Father, ruler of the ages,You have called we who were "not your people" to be "your people," we who were "not your beloved" to be "your beloved." How gracious you have been to us (to me!) that we (that I!) should be called "sons of the living God"! Thank you, loving Father! I am overjoyed!Why did your ancient people fail to attain your righteousness? Because they sought it based on their works of merit under the law. But, praise you, Lord, you have give..Continue reading

Christian Quotes

St. Hilary: the death of death

Friday, January 13, 2017 Feast of Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, Teacher, 367 Commemoration of Kentigern (Mungo), Missionary Bishop in Strathclyde & Cumbria, 603 Meditation: For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. —1 Corinthians 15:21 (NIV) Quotation: He took upon Him the flesh in which we have sinned, that by wearing our flesh He might forgive sins; a flesh which He shares with us by wearing it, not by sinning in it. He blotted out through dea..Continue reading

Grigg: faith

Thursday, January 12, 2017 Feast of Aelred of Hexham, Abbot of Rievaulx, 1167 Commemoration of Benedict Biscop, Abbot of Wearmouth, Scholar, 689 Meditation: I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. —Philemon 1:4-6 (ESV) Quotation: “The..Continue reading

Law: the workings of the self

Wednesday, January 11, 2017 Commemoration of Mary Slessor, Missionary in West Africa, 1915 Meditation: If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. —Galatians 5:25-26 (ESV) Quotation: Covetousness, pride, and envy are not three different things, but only three different names for the restless workings of one and the same will or desire... Wrath, which is a fourth birth from these three, can have no existenc..Continue reading

Atkinson: church focus

Tuesday, January 10, 2017 Meditation: [Jesus:] “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” —Mark 8:36-38 (ESV) Quotation: The Gospel commission is the key to all problems of church history, large or small. It is the key to..Continue reading

Questions & Answers

How Should Christians Deal With Mental Illness?

How should Christians respond to mental illness in other Christians or in their own life? Mental Illness Stigmas Perhaps the best way to look at mental illness is the way you look at any other illness. Often the illness is not self-induced, so people are frequently an innocent victim of their circumstances. With mental illness, this too is not usually self-induced, and like any other illness, there is a physiological cause for it. It could be a simple chemical imbalance in the brain, it could b..Continue reading

To Reach Young People, We Need to “Become Like Children”

My grandparents were young at heart. They were our role models growing up; the one example Susie and I had of an intact, godly married couple. But more than that, they “connected” with us many years before we would become married adults ourselves. Back when we were dating as teenagers, we would drive out to my grandparent’s home to spend a week with them, sitting around the dining room table talking over a meal or a playing a game of Rummikub. They were 45 years older, but you wouldn’t have know..Continue reading

What Is Faithism And The Oahspe Bible?

What is Faithism? Have you read about it before? What about the Oahspe Bible? Saving Faith The Bible makes it clear that it is “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9), however, just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s cheap. In fact, it wasn’t free to the Father or the Son of God. It was as costly as anything that has ever been paid because just one tiny drop of the precious ..Continue reading

6 Important Bible Verses About Food

Here are six important Bible verses about food. John 6:51 “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” There is nothing more important about food in this life than to seek the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. He is the “living bread that came down from heaven” and He is still satisfying those who have been brought to repentance and faith in Christ. Bread satisfies for a ..Continue reading

Church & Ministries

Hot Topics

What Is Sound Doctrine?

Christian doctrine has a twofold object. The primary object of doctrine is God; the secondary object is all things in relation to God. Doctrine teaches us to see God as the one from whom and through whom and to whom all things exist, and doctrine directs our lives to this God’s glory (Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 8:6). When I was young, I only thought of my future: Whom would I marry? What vocation would I pursue? Where would I live? Now that I am the father of four children, I think only of their future..Continue reading

Did God Ordain Evil?

On Judgment Day, we will see clearly what we so struggle to see in the here and now. Augustine once put it so well when he said that there was just enough mercy in the world for us to know that God is merciful and just enough justice to know that God is just. On the Last Day, we will see the glorious good purposes for which God ordained the actions of all of His creatures–including those actions that would be evil. Throughout human history, men have wrestled with the problem of evil. The questi..Continue reading

Real Men Don’t Virtue Signal

Virtue signaling is the conspicuous expression of moral values by an individual done primarily to enhance their standing within a social group. The term was first used in signaling theory, to describe any behavior that could be used to signal virtue – especially piety among the religious faithful. Virtue signaling is the new self-righteousness. And self-righteousness is for sissies. Every once in a while a term is coined that just has purchase. Political correctness is such a term. Some peop..Continue reading

Another Golden Oldie on 2K

Affirmation: God has established a pluriformity of institutions (e.g. civil society) for the sake of social order. Denial: the church has no calling to establish social order but will have an indirect influence on peace and order by encouraging godliness in her members. Thanks to Zrim, I remembered another internet intervention about 2k. This one was at Greenbaggins at the instigation of Reed DePace. It was a three–part series but here reproduced in one post. Theological Affirmations 1) Affir..Continue reading

Women

Life & Society

Texas Rep Placed Under State Protection After Receiving Death Threats Over Pro-Life Bill

Photo Credit: Tony Tinderholt/FacebookAUSTIN, Texas — A Texas lawmaker has been placed under state protection after receiving death threats over his recently-introduced bill to protect the lives of unborn children. The Texas Department of Public Safety is providing security assistance to Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, who has reportedly received multiple death threats, as well as his wife. His political consultant, Luke Macias, told the Dallas News that the Arlington Police Department and ..Continue reading

Persecution

‘He Died a True Christian’: Syrian Woman Tells Story of Son Who Died Refusing to Deny Faith in Christ

A Syrian woman recently shared the heartwrenching story of the death of her 18-year-old son, who was shot and killed by ISIS-aligned militants after he refused to deny his faith in Christ. Alice Assaf of Adra al-Ummaliya near Damascus told her story to Dr. Yvette Elbayadi Isaac of the American human rights group Roads of Success, which posted the interview online. Over two years ago, Assaf was informed by a neighbor that the militants had entered the city and were killing Christians. She sough..Continue reading

Indian Pastor’s Faith Steadfast as Hindu Extremists Abuse Him

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Hindu extremists in Maharashtra state had severely beaten a pastor, pointed a gun at his head and were sprinkling gasoline on him to burn him to death when he began praying and praising Jesus. Pastor Prashant Bhatnager, 45, is still recovering from broken hand, arm and leg bones, as well as cuts and abrasions on his head and the rest of his body, after about six Hindu extremists led by Gurunath Mumbaikar, president of the Shri Ram Foundation (Shri Ram Pratishtan ..Continue reading

Islamic Extremists Kill 12 in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Islamic extremists targeted Christians in the shooting deaths of 12 non-local Kenyans at a guest-house in Kenya’s northeastern town of Mandera early this morning, sources said. Somali Al Shabaab rebels took responsibility for the pre-dawn attack on the guest-house, where a Kenyan theatre troupe from outside the area was staying, according to the militants’ radio affiliate. An area pastor told Morning Star News that Christians were targeted. “Some of the stu..Continue reading

48 Christians killed by Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria

Copyright (c) 2016 Baptist Press. Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. The original story can be found at http://www.bpnews.net/47763/48-christians-killed-by-fulani-herdsmen-in-nigeria 48 Christians killed by Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria GODOGODO, Nigeria (BP) -- Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed more than 48 Christians and injured eight others in two separate attacks in northwestern Nigeria in October and September, area leaders..Continue reading

Movies

Grammy-Awards-2015-Common-Glory-Selma-e1423521577360

COMMON BRINGS GLORY TO THE GRAMMYS (AND THE OSCARS): An Interview

What 2015 Grammy moment moved you? Kanye West’s cut in on Beck’s acceptance speech for “Album of the Year” garnered most of the headlines. How sad to a stunt overshadow Annie Lennox’s rousing rendition of “I Put a Spell On You” with Hozier. Pharrell reimagined his sunny single, “Happy,” into an intriguing protest echoing the “Hands up/Don’t shoot” posture that accompanied events in Ferguson, Missouri. Prince slipped in the best one-liner of the night, “Albums still matter. Just like books and bl..Continue reading

Diablo Cody Tweets About Rescuing Jinger Duggar

Her new movie, Paradise, is all about religion. In the movie, which was originally titled Lamb of God, a young religious woman (Julianne Hough) is in a terrible accident, which causes her to question G-d and run off to Las Vegas to see what sin feels like. Well, it looks like screenwriter/director Diablo Cody had some pretty specific pop-culture inspirations for the movie: The Duggars. Particularly Jinger. Diablo recently tweeted that if Jinger ever wants to run away from her family, she can com..Continue reading

Music

As We Ascend Releases First Single Wash Away to iTunes

As We Ascend's first single "Wash Away" is now available on iTunes, six days before the completion of their PledgeMusic campaign to fund the full length album Farewell to Midnight. In addition to being available on iTunes, "Wash Away" is also going for adds at radio. The PledgeMusic campaign is currently at 95% of its goal. You can listen to "Wash Away" below. As We Ascend, formed by former members of We As Human, launched their PledgeMusic campaign with the unique invitation to fans to "..Continue reading

Bizzle Petitions for Financial Support of New Project

The recent release of Bizzle's new project Crowns & Crosses has sparked a conversation about the realities of being an artist with his God Over Money fans. In a recent newsletter, Bizzle details the shocking differences between a fan purchasing a physical or digital copy of any GOM release versus streaming through the likes of Spotify or Apple Music. He begins with the staggering reality that it takes 1,500 streams to equal that of one album sale. For example, if 100,000 fans stream the en..Continue reading

John Mark McMillan Launches Pre-order for ‘Mercury & Lightning’

John Mark McMillan has launched a pre-order for his upcoming album Mercury & Lightning through PledgeMusic. The album has been preceded by the release of "Wilderlove" and "No Country." The PledgeMusic pre-order gives fans the chance to purchase a wide range of merch packages, with each one providing access to exclusive behind-the-scenes information approaching the album's release. The pre-order was launched in part due to the overwhelmingly positive response to the single "Wilderlove," re..Continue reading

Sho Baraka’s ‘The Narrative’ Debuts at No. 6 on iTunes Hip Hop Chart and No. 26 on iTunes Overall

Critically acclaimed hip hop artist Sho Baraka unleashed The Narrative last week, and it was well received by fans and critics alike as it peaked at No. 6 on iTunes Hip Hop Chart and No. 26 on iTunes Overall Albums Chart. Created with the intention to generate a discussion among each other about the social issues we face today and throughout history, Sho Baraka is doing just that as shown by the critics below "Sho Baraka gives us conscious hip hop that makes us think. It is not intended for eas..Continue reading

MercyMe’s ‘Welcome To The New’ Receives RIAA Gold Certification

GRAMMY® Nominated MercyMe's Welcome To The New (2014) has been honored with RIAA Gold Certification, marking the sixth gold album for the band in addition to a double platinum album and a platinum video. Welcome To The New earned two GRAMMY® nods, multiple GMA Dove Award honors and an American Music Award nomination. In addition, the album boasts three No. 1 singles with "Greater," "Flawless" and "Dear Younger Me," and one Top 5 single with "Shake." MercyMe is planning to unveil a new recor..Continue reading

Deraj Drops A New Single

Deraj blessed both the genre and Reflection Music Group (RMG) fans worldwide with a new banger for the car on "Know That's Me," featuring KYNG. Listeners can purchase not only the track, but also the instrumental backing and an acapella version of the track. The three versions of this project may be purchased here, or streamed on Spotify. Visuals for the project debuted under the direction of Joe Desantis. The video may be viewed below. RMG has been quite the productive label as of late..Continue reading

Courtney Orlando Releases New Single, Wait On You

Courtney Orlando released his latest single "Wait on You" on October 10. You can download the track for free on SoundCloud here. Orlando describes the new track as an open conversation between him and God. No future plans of a full length project have been released at this time. The artist formally known as J.R. dug his roots into the hip-hop genre over a decade ago with his debut release Metamorphosis in 2005. Fittingly, change has followed him in the area of style, depth and even branding a..Continue reading

The Narrative by Sho Baraka

Track Listing 01. Foreward, 1619 02. Soul, 1971 03. Kanye, 2009 (feat. Jackie Hill Perry) 04. Love, 1959 05. Here, 2016 (feat. Lecrae) 06. 30 & Up, 1986 (feat. Courtney Orlando) 07. Profhet, 1968 (feat. James Portier) 08. Maybe Both, 1865 (feat. James Portier) Purchase 09. Excellent, 2017 Purchase 10. Road to Humble, 1979 Purchase 11. Myhood, U.S.A., 1937 (feat. Vanessa Hill) 12. Words, 2006 13. Fathers, 2004 Purchase 14. Piano Break, 33 A.D. Continue reading

World

American

The Myth of Inclusion (Jonathan Storment)

The Myth of Inclusion, Part 1 Maybe you saw over the holidays, there was a fascinating conversation in the New York Times between the Journalist Nicholas Kristof and the well known Pastor, Tim Keller. The name of the article interestingly enough was “Am I a Christian, Pastor Keller?” And Keller’s answer was no. It was a bit surprising to stumble upon a conversation like this in the New York Times, I found it refreshingly honest and respectful, even while they talked about their disagreements. Kr..

Listening to a Sexual Abuse Survivor (Becky Castle Miller)

Becky Castle Miller is the Discipleship Director at an international church in the Netherlands and writes about emotionally healthy discipleship at medium.com/wholehearted. She conveys her five kids around town on bikes and studies New Testament in the middle of the night via Northern Live. Our words can succeed at the level of doctrinal correctness but fail at the level of pastoral care. I’ve seen this happen over and over to survivors of sexual abuse, when church leaders, communicating about s..

Senate Committee Confirms Pro-Life UN Ambassador Nominee Nikki Haley

A Senate committee today signed off on the nomination of pro-life Governor Nikki Haley as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. During her confirmation hearing, the Trump UN Ambassador nominee told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she will oppose abortion on an international level, saying she is “strongly pro-life.” The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday easily approved Nikki Haley’s nomination with Democrats putting up little opposition. Haley was approved on a voice..

Planned Parenthood Injures Woman in Botched Abortion, Put in Ambulance Under “Healthcare Happens” Sign

As the 44th memorial of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that decriminalized abortion approached, Planned Parenthood provided us with a cautionary tale — one it hoped would never become public. While Planned Parenthood prepared to celebrate “safe, legal” abortion, one of their own abortion patients was transported by ambulance from Planned Parenthood’s flagship Margaret Sanger Center abortion facility in New York City. The incident took place on January 18, 2017, at approximately 11:45 a...

US

“They have pierced my hands and feet”

As we contemplate the prophecies of Christ for Advent, we should turn to perhaps the most remarkable of them all. In Psalm 22, we have a first person prophecy (not “he” but “I” and “my”), one which takes us into the consciousness of Christ on the Cross. Here we have the manner of His torment (“they have pierced my hands and feet”); the bodily racking of crucifixion (“all my bones are out of joint”); His thirst (“my tongue sticks to my jaws”); the mockery (“all who see me mock me”); the taunting ..

The word of the year

The Oxford English Dictionary–that mammoth reference book that chronicles the history of every word in our language–has announced the word of the year for 2016: post-truth. Most commenters are relating the term to the lack of truth in today’s politics, particularly with candidates that the commenter opposes. The implication is that they think being “post-truth” is a bad thing, that they would like objective truth to come back as a category for our time. But “post-truth” is nothing more than what..

America’s first Independent president?

Donald Trump not only beat the Democrats. Before that, he beat the Republicans. Dan Balz argues that Trump, in effect, is America’s first Independent president. He doesn’t mention it, but Bernie Sanders is an actual Independent, who ran in the Democratic primaries. So this was the year a big proportion of Americans voted against both party establishments, though in the context of a two-party system. What Trump did, Balz says, is pull off a “hostile takeover” of the Republican party. Read his arg..

Reproduction as resurrection

Peter Leithart gives a splendid reading of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 3, in which he is trying to persuade his “fair young friend” (contrary to the homosexual readings of the sonnets) to get married and have children. Leithart shows how Shakespeare and his age thought of what it means to have children, including the connection of sexuality to nature (for example, the link between “husband” and “husbandry”) and the notion that the reproduction is an image of resurrection. From Peter Leithart, Womb or T..