The Roots of Modernity in Perversions of Christianity

Essays of the Week

How the War of 1812 Changed the Republic by Bradley Birzer The War of 1812 remains one of America’s least understood wars. Beginning with its rather banal title, most histories dismiss it as simply the growing pains of the early republic. Yet, this is unfair not only to the men and women who waged the war, but it’s also dangerous if one wants to understand the history of the republic and, specifically, the republicanism that had upheld the country. Certainly, all kinds of oddities linger around it. For example, the war began days before the British issued an apology for its wrongs toward us, and the war, at least at the diplomatic level, ended before the final and decisive Battle of New Orleans. Even defining the war’s causes proves difficult. At some level, it was about trade. At another, it was about violence on the frontier. And, at a third level, it was about pride...  [MORE] The Family & the Orchard:  The Story of Civilization in the Odyssey by Mitchell Kalpakgian Human happiness can reach such heights and depths of joy that it leaves men in awe at the goodness and sweetness of life when they behold the miracle of love’s fruitfulness in the bonds of marriage and family that multiply throughout the generations. The circle of life from Laertes to Odysseus to Telemachus tells the story of civilization through the example of faithful husbands and wives, devoted parents and children, and dedicated sons and daughters who repay their parents in their old age with loving care. The planting of trees in the orchard—the passing down of tradition, of the moral wisdom of the past, of the torch of life, and of the beauty of life’s simplest but richest and pleasures—produces the great harvest of joy that culminates in the final chapters of the Odyssey...  [MORE] Seeking No Monsters: Redefining American Exceptionalism by Joseph Mussomeli Since the founding of the Republic, “American Exceptionalism” has been a guiding principle for candidates seeking high office. Next only to a professed belief in God, a firm, if often unfounded, insistence in our benign and beneficent superiority to all other nations and cultures is indispensable for aspiring leaders. From Abraham Lincoln’s elegant warning that America is “the last, best hope of earth” to the religious overtones of Ronald Reagan’s “shining city on the hill,” our leaders embrace this notion of Exceptionalism with a fervor that often seems at odds with our more provincial aspirations, such as lowering taxes or reducing bureaucratic red tape. But while American Exceptionalism guides candidates, the concept itself has two very distinct historical lineages...  [MORE] Honor and Fame by Glenn Arbery It used to be that the hero went willingly to death because he knew he would live on in honor. In our day, cults of celebrity (such as the one surrounding a family I will not name) debase the very idea of fame. The word “courage” is suborned for those who publicly announce once-shameful sexual predilections or decide to repair the biological “misassignment” of their sexual identities. Approbation, if not honor, everywhere alights upon dishonorable subjects, and those who have committed themselves to what is shameful oppose even the most modest objections with the stridency of desperate assertion. Should honor and fame no longer be ends of ambition in such a world? The ancient philosophers doubted the ultimate merit of fame but they also looked for the most spirited students, those most inclined to “undertake extensive and arduous enterprises”...  [MORE] The Roots of Modernity in Perversions of Christianity by Eva Brann Modernity consists of perversions of notions drawn from Christianity, and to be a modern means to be deeply enmeshed in them. But there is a conclusion to be drawn. It is that there is no way to understand ourselves and our world without some deep study of the Judaeo-Christian tradition. Let me tell you a brief anecdote. Some of my colleagues once were arguing over curriculum reform and the difficulties of finding a subject matter that all could agree on as indispensable. One member of the group finally asked: What would you all say if you were asked what was the single most necessary study? Then a man who has, I am sure, only the loosest religious affiliations answered unhesitatingly: Theology. And no one was willing to deny his explanation that students need a framework in which to think about the nature and ends of their life...  [MORE] The Late, Great USA? The Problem With Architectural “Genius” Should College Be Free? Syria: Waist Deep in the Big Muddy Truth as a Democratic Project A Sketch of Heaven My Innocent Daughters and Our Modern Judases Can Shakespeare Save Civilization? Preface to the Iliad of Homer Distracting Ourselves From Death “Ballade of the Modern Female”