300 pages into Ludwig von Mises’ economic masterpiece, Human Action, and I’ve found myself stopping for air. I’m not fatigued, as I was 300 pages into John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion; I’m not confused, like I was in the last portion of Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling. Mises is a mastermind, too interesting and fresh to find tedious (though Calvin is mostly enjoyable), and far too clear and concise to be confusing. No, Human Action is one of the most profound books I’ve ever read. My momentary pause has far less to do with Mises’ difficulty, and far more to do with his spiritual emptiness: he must be read in segments because my soul buckles under the total burden of his meaninglessness. (more…)
22. September 2012
20. September 2012
The silent man: on passion and will
Sir, Silent Man, whoever you are, though I see you throughout the week, and have for quite some time, you puzzle me. (more…)
Comments Off
The healthcare reform that should have been
A short while ago, one of my relatives gave birth to a baby girl. Within hours after delivery, being thoroughly exhausted, the new mother found herself trapped between the need for relaxation and the motherly instinct to caress her newborn, a conflict which the hospital recognized, though the mother had said nothing. The hospital offered a solution: in a gesture appearing to be kindness, the hospital offered to take the newborn into the nursery for a short while so the mother could recuperate, with which the mother agreed. But when the mother and her husband received the bill long after they’d left the hospital, they found themselves in a state of shock: the price of utilizing the nursery alone cost upwards of $800 dollars. Begrudgingly, they paid their portion of the bill, incapable of any effective protest. (more…)
31. August 2012
On proper affections
Plutarch once noted the great displeasure of Emperor Augustus, upon the latter’s witnessing some wealthy foreign women in Rome. Carrying puppies and baby monkeys, caressing the animals as they would have their own children, the women inspired Augustus to protest, and with snideness fit for an emperor, he spoke: what kind of people, he asked, would waste motherly affections upon animals? (more…)
19. August 2012
On absurdity
The other night I had a dream. An old friend of mine and I were sitting in a dingy bar, reminiscing about our collegiate days together, with a projected film ahead of us. She and I were both facing the same way, toward the projector screen, when an ad made me slightly uncomfortable: a woman, attempting to sell her latest comedy routine, was dressed somewhat scantily, cheaply attempting to lure my attention because her jokes were sub-par. The attempt failed. (more…)
Comments Off
Refuting the charge of blasphemy: a short dissertation on the Biblical purpose of government
Can the state ever really make men good?
In recent months, this author has been accused of blasphemy by one of his intellectual friends, allegedly over the above political question. But though the question is simple, and the accusation upon first glance appears to be an isolated case, the charge upon further inspection assails far many more than myself, and comprises a collision between two very different, but often improperly defined, doctrines: those of the Christian libertarian and the Biblical conservative. It is this theological and political collision which I seek to explain, should the reader bear with me. (more…)
13. August 2012
Tired of defending traditional marriage?
Despite the recent Chick-Fil-A victory, I must confess, though I firmly believe that homosexuality is a sin against God, and that acceptance of its practice will cause great harm to our society, that I’ve grown tired of defending traditional marriage. But please: I ask the reader’s forgiveness. For my weariness, condemnable as such weakness may be, has little to do with personal fortitude, and everything to do with marriage’s already deplorable state. (more…)
7. August 2012
On 50 Shades of Grey: an open letter to ladies
Dear Ladies,
For a few short years now, I’ve considered myself a gentleman. Having converted to Christianity after a long career of sexual evils, and having disposed of many women like used beer bottles, considering them as nothing more than a means to entertainment, I am experienced in modern romance as most playboys, and perhaps among the most realistic about my encounters. And though men need not experience the depths of depravity to know goodness, such experiences followed by conversion oftentimes leave the participant with a sobriety unknown by the innocent, a goodness oftentimes more fiercely defended by its possessors. As an experienced gentleman, then, having renounced the mindset that women are sport, and embracing them as sisters instead of toys, and knowing well the dangers of sexual evils, it’s my duty not only to consider the greatest good for the fairer sex, but to speak honestly when that good is directly assaulted. This is why I believe it’s necessary to speak about 50 Shades of Grey. (more…)
1. August 2012
Can liberty be regained?
Obamacare — upheld! Those were the words proclaimed on June 28th, which, had Washington, Madison, and Jefferson only been alive to witness them, would have bowed their heads in sorrow. But kings and prophets have long ago borne testimony that nations birthed in moral triumph are eventually handed to the unworthy, and the unworthy cannot maintain true liberty. (more…)
Comments Off
23. July 2012
In (partial) defense of President Obama’s Roanoke statement: individuals and collectivism
Though many issues divide the Republican and Democratic parties, one of the most crucial (and unfortunately, least understood) concerns the line drawn between individual and society. In a recent speech, the sitting president controversially remarked,
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. (more…)
Comments Off
20. July 2012
Atheism, theism, and the worth of individuals
One of the most memorable quotes from my youth is a line from Tyler Durden. Leaning against a decaying building, addressing a few cultists engaged in heavy labor, his voice blaring in monotony through a megaphone, he spoke: “You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.” At the time, the quote seemed bizarre and almost comically subversive, as I was immersed in the self-esteem saturated period of the century’s dawn. But having spent a good amount of time as a humanist, the quote feels far more natural a fit for humanism than the feel-good rhetoric and “winner” mentality of the period. For once the shock and dehumanization of Durden’s statement wears off, the viewer is left with an entirely inconvenient question: supposing God doesn’t exist, if a man isn’t known by many (or any), how much value can he possibly have? (more…)
Comments Off
9. July 2012
Replacing our social security program justly
Though neither occupied by foreign armies, nor starved by famine, nor struck with plague, America lies in peril. Not a single man of any character, patriotism, or intelligence denies the fact; the entire free world watches with bitten nails as Americans march ahead, without any sign of stopping or slowing, toward a demise entirely unnecessary, and yet seemingly predetermined by destiny. (more…)
3. July 2012
The danger of goodness: why Biblical Law matters to everyone
The Creator having impressed His image upon mankind, justice is oftentimes taught not in ways conventional and scholastic, but according to manners mysterious and ethereal. The other day, for instance, I had a dream in which I befriended a hamster. He lived beside my childhood home, and I would spend my time going over to visit him, chatting for short bits of time, and carrying him around in my hand. But there came a moment in the dream at which a third party entered. A kitten, leering out of childlike inquisitiveness, pounced onto the scene, and before I had a good chance to assess the situation, I found him leaping toward my friend with mischievous intent. (more…)
Comments Off
25. June 2012
Why Christianity is sexually conservative
In the present day and age, no political passion surpasses that exchanged between sexual liberals and sexual conservatives. Even within the buildings known as Christian churches, division permeates an already splintered people into smaller shards, the whispers growing into shouts, indignant people preaching sermons which do little to convince, and much more to infuriate. And when both sides reach that fevered pitch, what are we to decide? Aren’t we to call every sinner to Christ? What authority do Christian standards have beyond the church? And if God judges the nations, what kind of law does He call us to support? (more…)
7. June 2012
The religion of heroism
Editor’s note: this article appeared on the Christian Post on June 07, 2012
One of the greatest legends of Roman civilization concerns a general named Marcus Regulus. This man, having gone to war against a barbaric enemy, Carthage, and having been captured with little to no hope of escape, was given the prospect of liberty. His captors offered him a bargain few men could refuse — a chance to return to the safety and comfort of a thankful Rome — in exchange for a simple favor: the negotiation of an exchange of prisoners. If successful, Carthage offered him return to Rome; if met with failure, under oath before his gods, Regulus swore to return to his captors. (more…)
27. May 2012
Market based justice?
To whom has the Creator prescribed justice? To the rich, or to the poor?
Beneath every breast a singular answer lies, being placed by that holy finger therein so that men, having no excuse in transgression, could be brought to account for every violation of equity. Yet in the United States of America, though men oftentimes proudly proclaim themselves blind to status, that both rich and poor have equal standing in courts of law, quite the opposite can be proven when the reach of capital is considered. (more…)
Comments Off
26. April 2012
The evil of disorder
If one has spent any serious amount of time talking about politics with his neighbors, he’s sure to have heard someone say that “we all want the same things.”
At first the saying seems benign, a somewhat understanding and peaceful approach to political conversation, a suggestion that despite disagreement, neither party is evil, nor any countryman an enemy. But in reality, behind the mask of camaraderie and tolerance, and perhaps even deeper than the intentions of its professors, lies an ideology extremely harmful to society at large. For evils don’t often manifest themselves in total opposition to any universally positive quality. Instead, persuading with a charming tone and appealing oftentimes to the same qualities which noble men hold dear, they simply rearrange the manner in which those qualities take precedence over one another. (more…)
16. April 2012
Biblical justice for Trayvon and Zimmerman
Though repentance comes neither easily, nor is its public admission always comfortably professed, the sacred interest of justice requires that man bow his ego to heaven, and when he has erred, to ask for apology. When in recent weeks I saw angry mobs marching against a man accused of murder, I stood in his defense, claiming that his accusers overstepped their boundaries, acting not in justice, but in historical and malicious revenge. My position on his accusers’ character has not changed: I still believe many of them to be irrational, unjust, and quite frankly, dangerous to civilization itself. But after careful consideration, I now believe the American system to have become so perverted from a Biblical standard, that both sides can now properly be considered victims. (more…)
Comments Off
13. April 2012
Lessons from Rome about liberal unity
Rome, I have been told by a certain Titus Livius, was a city founded upon the principle of clemency. Romulus, knowing well that his survival depended partially upon numbers, granted safe haven to any man, foreigner or Italian alike, in search of a new life. The city being filled with men on the lam, it soon took on a reputation of its own: Rome was known as a place in which aspiring Mediterranean foreigners could forego social and legal encumbrances and, if they had particular nobility of character — or at least, an upwardly mobile one –, could thrive according to their own personal merits. (more…)
10. April 2012
Reflections on Kony 2012: why liberal charities make me angry
Though liberal charities oftentimes have an overwhelmingly positive appeal, there exists a portion of men to whom such charities inspire at least a mild revulsion. The type of charitable cause is practically irrelevant; it might be for Haiti, or AIDS, or perhaps in this most recent case, it might involve bringing justice to the Ugandan children terrorized by an inhuman warlord. But though the causes may vary, the reaction is the same; support is refused, and the rebels are left with an uncomfortable feeling of dissatisfaction, an emotional confusion which understands, on one hand, that charity itself is oftentimes (though not always) intrinsically noble. But on the other, it understands that support must not be given. (more…)
Race mobs, Trayvon, and my conversion to conservatism
Trayvon Martin’s story, in recent days, has caught fire to the heart of our nation. The smoldering coals of racial envy and mistrust have been fanned into full flame, insensible and devious mobs are forming; it seems, in fact, that the so-called age of racial reconciliation hasn’t yielded advance at all, but simply ceded further public liberties to jealous factions. But if one is careful, some light can be seen on the horizon. In fact, my own conversion from radical liberalism to Christian conservatism began from racial strife, and I believe that these unfortunate racial troubles can be employed to undermine leftist causes. Below, in naked honesty, my tale is told. (more…)
25. March 2012
Sharing the burdens of others: sympathy and empathy
Editor’s note: this article also appeared on The Christian Post on March 21, 2012
The other day, a young man I know through work, Eddie, approached me with tragic news. His good friend’s sister, who had recently given birth, had (due to what appears to be medical errors on behalf of the hospital) given birth to a practical stillborn. She was heartbroken, and though Eddie knew I was unacquainted with her or her family, he couldn’t help but share his sorrow. (more…)
13. March 2012
The Biblical case against supporting Israel
There are certain times in a man’s life when his fingers tremble to type a thought, when the weight of a declaration lies so heavily upon his heart, that he can only with great difficulty and precaution bring himself to write it. In this particular case, the writer treads carefully knowing that two paths lie before him, both, in a sense, approved in specific circumstances by God Himself, but human reason and spiritual enlightenment determining which of the two is viable. I speak, in this case, of the decision of whether to support Israel militarily or not. (more…)
29. February 2012
The honorable clerk
If one happens to be in the market for a cultural shock, he oftentimes needs only rent a movie from the 1940′s. In my particular case, I had the pleasure of watching a Jimmy Stewart movie titled “The Shop Around the Corner,” a film excellent in every way, and unusually witty for a romantic comedy. But what struck me most powerfully about the film was not so much the clever script, the perfectly selected cast, nor the believable romance, but rather a statement made by several characters about their employment. They stated, in terms which make the modern man’s head spin, that they “wanted to be somebody,” when what they meant was, they wanted to be either clerks or store managers. (more…)
Comments Off
28. February 2012
Christian Sharia? Part 1: Biblical Law in Historical America
In a world of political slander and misrepresentations both purposeful and accidental, there are few insults less ridiculous than those pertaining to “Christian Sharia,” or, rather, that the logical conclusion of a Biblical legal stance is Arabic despotism. One doesn’t have to look far back in history to see that many figures (if not most) crucial to the establishment of classical liberalism, as well as to the foundation of the United States of America, proclaimed without hesitation that law itself, if it was ever to be just, must agree with the legal principles contained in Scripture or be opposed. (more…)
Comments Off
22. February 2012
Christian Sharia? Part 2: Applying Biblical Law to a Free Society
The necessity of Biblical Law being established in a previous article, it is now the author’s intention to examine how a Biblical legal stance would apply to a non-Jewish nation. For there are many confusing aspects of Biblical Law, which, if not addressed, could very well establish an unGodly tyranny instead of liberty, and so it is up to the astute observer to note the differences between wise and foolish applications. I humbly submit the following points as a rough sketch of a Biblical legal system, and request the input of all God fearing and learned elders. (more…)
18. February 2012
The concept of Biblical slavery, and America’s prison system
There are perhaps fewer topics more uncomfortably discussed in America than the topic of slavery. This horrible institution birthed a class of men who, though passing into the hereafter long ago, have bequeathed their whiplash scars to generations ever since. It has cemented in certain races feelings of tremendous and unnatural guilt, and in others an almost irrevocable grudge, building from within to without, essentially destroying the very framework of liberty in the names of reconciliation and revenge; seeking a justice for which the time has so long since past, that any attempts at such result in injustice toward peoples who did not commit the crimes, oftentimes in favor of many who seek to explain their own moral deficiencies. It is a horrible historical abomination, and one which all noble men wish could be put behind them, the hurt of yesteryear giving way to today’s camaraderie, and Americans living under one flag, under one God, and as one human race. (more…)
29. January 2012
The wives of others (covetousness and the perils of social liberalism)
There was a time before I was a Christian, only about eight years ago, when I met a young midwestern blonde in college. I spent my time between classes trying to get her attention, eventually getting her number and being invited to multiple of her parties, ultimately failing, as I have been known to do, at being a smooth talker. Her roommates seemed to like me, as I believe she did to some degree; but though I was at times charming and I made my intentions fairly clear, there was one thing which stood between us. She was married, to a marine who was on tour. (more…)
16. January 2012
America, Rome, and military expenditures
Perhaps one of the most striking features of the Roman Empire, as noted by countless historians, is the amount of time in which it maintained nearly total supremacy over such a vast portion of the human race. Edward Gibbon, in his historical masterpiece The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, notes not only that the greatest conquests of the Romans were made under its Republican government (which may seem strange to Westerners, in light of recent unrealistically peaceful portrayals of representative democracy), but that the Romans were able to maintain consecutive annexations not for one, nor two, nor even three, but for seven centuries. No empire in modern history is anywhere near comparable: the English and French Empires, after establishing great dominions for only a short while, have been pressured into emancipating those territories into self-government. And the American empire (if it can be called such), while making the greatest military expenditures and displays in all of history, and exerting immense influence across not just portions of the globe, but across the entirity of it, has little beyond its own continental borders to claim as American territory, or even vassal states. (more…)
28. December 2011
Jesus: the true American Dream
America, though often derided and hated — perhaps not explicitly, but silently — by the left, oftentimes experiences the opposite problem from its most ardent admirers, the conservatives. In its admiration, perhaps condensed most perfectly into what is known as the American Dream, men elevate a nation into idolization because the nation elevates men. One does not have to look far to see that in American literature, in the movies, in even the world of politics, Americans believe on a sincere level that in the United States, opportunity can be had by all who truly seek it, and that for this reason it is worthy of glorification. (more…)
Comments Off