Contemporary paganism meets modern individualism.
The Magic of Secularism
Author: Samuel D. James
Believer, husband, father, acquisitions editor, writer.
Religion Is Inevitable
Today I have a new essay up at National Review discussing why American progressives can no longer refer to themselves as "the party of science." If the last few years have revealed anything, it's that our ideological battles are inescapably religious. Here's an excerpt: The inconvenient truth is that there is no “party of science,” [...]
The 4 Books You Probably Shouldn’t Write
What a writer refrains from doing is not a criticism of them. What a writer agrees to do, but does poorly, is another matter.
Jeering the Devil
I have a new piece up at The Gospel Coalition today on the power of sanctified laughter. With the help of Peter Hitchens and a very bad novel, I make the case that some sin deserves mockery rather than hand-wringing solemnity. Here's an excerpt: I get why the suggestion that sometimes we ought to laugh [...]
Kobe, Worship, and Us
Admiration that is misdirected is still better than a callous on the soul.
A Cancel Culture Nightmare
While the vast majority of social media was lamenting the shocking death of Kobe Bryant, something very different was happening to Washington Post reported Felicia Sonmez. I'm writing about it only because how it illustrates the radical effect that online culture has on our perception of everything, even an untimely death of an athlete. A [...]
Label Me!
Personality profiling is a way for moderns to receive an identity, rather than craft one.
Not Magic, But Not Nothing
On New Years and the gift of seasons.
Yeah, But What if the ‘Elites’ Are Right?
Mark Galli and the editorial leadership of Christianity Today believe that Donald Trump should be removed from office. Carl Trueman writes that this is a perfectly defensible position, but takes serious issue with Galli's notion that Christian faithfulness entails it. I too worry that Galli's editorial took the wrong angle, emphasizing the constitutional case against [...]
The Rise of Skywalker
The ghost of inevitability has always haunted the Star Wars films. That's true in the stories, where the word "destiny" comes early and often from the lips of the most important characters. But it's also true in the structure and production of the movies themselves. Return of the Jedi ended the original trilogy's story arc [...]
