authority

March 15, 2022

“Make it art first”: The freedom of the artist in cancel culture

Among the rarest qualities of the late American filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, who died in January at age 82, was his conviction, repeatedly stated and consistently in evidence in his work, that the art of film had its own set of rules and precedents. Continue Reading...

January 25, 2022

The Djokovic affair proves our elites no longer believe in fair play

Fair play and the rule of law are essential conditions of our civilization, regulating private and public life. We would be ashamed to look for success, prosperity, victory without them. People whom we suspect of unfair dealings or illegality stand to lose everything concerning their reputation, to say nothing of what authorities might do to them. Continue Reading...

June 26, 2019

Nisbet and Dalrymple on community, authority, function and tattoos

In his must-read book, The Quest for Community, Robert Nisbet discusses the relationship of community and authority. Communities provide human connection and sense of belonging, but they also come with limitations. Continue Reading...

May 19, 2017

A tale of two hypothetical presidents

Imagine a president who regularly steps on his own shoelaces and seems to waste power. This president inspires an especially venomous reaction from the press. They actually have contempt for him. Continue Reading...

December 01, 2016

Kings without a king: Kuyper on the illusion of independence

“A human kingship imperceptibly came to power, leaving no place for the kingship of Christ.” –Abraham Kuyper The West prides itself on valuing freedom – political, economic, religious, and otherwise. For some, this leads to the promotion of a certain brand of libertinism: the freedom to do what we want. Continue Reading...

July 21, 2016

Now Available: Kuyper’s ‘Pro Rege: Living Under Christ the King, Volume 1’

How do we live in a fallen world under Christ the King? In partnership with the Acton Institute, Lexham Press has now released Pro Rege: Living Under Christ the King, Volume 1, the first in a three-volume series on the lordship of Christ. Continue Reading...

September 09, 2015

Cultural Task #1: Crucify Our Incipient Darwinism

One of the long-running mistakes of the church has been its various confinements of cultural engagement to particular spheres (e.g. churchplace ministry) or selective “uses” (e.g. evangelistic conversion). But even if we manage to broaden the scope of our stewardship — recognizing that God has called us to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty across all spheres of creation — our imaginations will still require a strong injection of the transformative power of Jesus. Continue Reading...

May 05, 2015

Workers and Laborers or Kings and Priests?

When faced with work that feels more like drudgery and toil than collaborative creative service, we are often encouraged to inject our situation with meaning, rather than recognize the inherent value and purpose in the work itself. Continue Reading...

June 11, 2014

On the Universal Common Good

Today at Ethika Politika, I examine the longstanding claim of the Roman Catholic Church that the universal character of the common good in our present era necessitates a world political authority. Continue Reading...

November 02, 2010

A Prayer for Governing Authorities

Following up on a prayer offered earlier today, in the spirit of our mandate to “pray continually,” I pass along the following from the NIV Stewardship Study Bible’s Exploring Stewardship feature, “Governing Authorities–Stewards of Public Life” on p. Continue Reading...

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