In his autobiography, G. K. Chesterton writes, “A large section of the Intelligentsia seems wholly devoid of Intelligence.” At first, this surprising indictment might be interpreted as merely humorous; after all, are not “intellectuals” those to whom we turn for enlightenment and guidance, those who are the luminaries of universities — castles of knowledge and … Read more
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has positioned himself as a pro-life, pro-family “social conservative,” and has received the endorsement of some prominent social conservatives. But Massachusetts-area grassroots Catholics familiar with his record as governor are mystified by that support. Their view of Romney is that his “conversion” to social conservatism was pragmatic, a tactic to … Read more
See if you can spot anything wrong with the following claim, a version of which seems to appear in a book, magazine, or newspaper every few weeks for as long as I’ve been reading public commentary on economic matters: The dominant idea guiding economic policy in the United States and much of the globe has … Read more
The Gray Lady sells herself out to secular materialism once again. I would like to propose Shea’s Iron Law of New York Times Science Coverage: When Christians write about science, they are imposing their religion on the free pursuit of truth. When scientists pontificate about religion, they are innocently writing about science with no agenda … Read more
The front page of the October 7 edition of the Sunday New York Times featured an article that described how certain Protestant denominations have been using Microsoft’s rapaciously popular video game Halo 3 to lure youths to church. They promise the avid youngster large screen televisions and multiple control options so he and his friends … Read more
Christianity is under attack — in the media, in the academy, and in the culture. With his latest book, What’s So Great About Christianity, Dinesh D’Souza meets this latest wave head on with his characteristic wit and erudition. Benjamin Wiker spoke with D’Souza about his debut role as a Christian apologist. ♦ ♦ ♦ Benjamin … Read more
The New York Times yesterday ran a review of the documentary Lake of Fire — a film it called "an unblinking look at the violent fight over abortion in the United States" — by British director Tony Kaye. The New York Times yesterday ran a review of the documentary Lake of Fire — a film … Read more
Dr. James Dobson is the founder of the largest, most influential, Evangelical organization in America, Focus on the Family. His radio show reaches two million listeners every day, and he’s easily the most important Evangelical leader in the country. As a result, Dobson’s political pronouncements carry a lot of weight among Christian voters. But these … Read more
A few years back, Russell Shaw wrote a terrific book called To Hunt, To Shoot, To Entertain: Clericalism and the Catholic Laity. It took its title from an amazing remark by a 19th-century English monsignor who loftily declared, “What is the province of the laity? To hunt, to shoot, to entertain. These matters they understand, … Read more
Former CBS newsman, author, and media critic Bernard Goldberg was on my radio show several months ago, and we were having a lively conversation about his books Bias, Arrogance, and 110 People Who Are Screwing Up America. It was the final segment, and one of the callers asked Goldberg why Seinfeld producer Larry David, a … Read more
A recent New York Times article reported a Pew Forum poll showing that significantly fewer people view the Republican Party as "friendly" to religion. "The survey found that the proportion of Americans who say the Republican Party is friendly to religion fell 8 percentage points in the last year, to 47 percent from … Read more
Every ten seconds, a man, woman, or child in Africa dies from an AIDS-related disease. According to the USAIDS/World Health Organization (WHO), 40.3 million people now live with HIV infections, two-thirds of them in sub-Saharan Africa. In Swaziland, 42.6 percent of pregnant women test positive for HIV. There’s no cure for this killer, and no … Read more
In June 2000, the Los Angeles Times released a poll that found Americans “evenly split” regarding Roe v. Wade, one of the two 1973 Supreme Court rulings that created a constitutional right to abortion. Forty-three percent of respondents indicated that they approved of the decision, while 42 percent disapproved. At the time, the Times’s poll … Read more