Art & Culture

British polemicist Thomas Macaulay said, in criticism of the Puritans, that they “hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.” The Puritans were practically a comedy club next to any contemporary “Progressive.” As we enter the season of “winter holidays” (can’t say “Thanksgiving” and especially … Read more

Just what is that telling line that is often spoken by today’s “nones?” “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” Over the years, I’ve heard those very words many a time. In all likelihood, it’s not a deliberate lie to say that one is spiritual but not religious. In fact, “nones” who resort to this self-description may … Read more

I pushed Michael Warren Davis’ new book, The Reactionary Mind (Regnery Publishing), on a friend of mine, a noted Catholic and academic leader. I told him a good part of the book was a defense of feudalism. I thought he’d like that. Instead, he said, “Well, recent scholarship shows that feudalism did not exist. So, … Read more

In a recent article at The Pillar, the estimable J.D. Flynn interviews a family in the Cleveland archdiocese whose son was preyed upon—through two years of utterly demonic enticement, spiritual blackmail, and cruelty—by a priest now serving a life sentence in prison. It is an agony to read, as it should be. The young man … Read more

“Ye shall be as gods,” said the serpent. Whitaker Chambers called it the second oldest religion in the world. It has always proved popular. In his time, it took the form of communism. But the tempter is not so stupid as to appear in the same guise always; even human beings eventually get the idea … Read more

For those who missed it, October 17th was National Black Poetry Day, a day where Americans can presumably celebrate their favorite black poets like Phillis Wheatley, Langston Hughes, or Maya Angelou. This is not to be confused with National Poetry Day celebrated on October 1st in the U.K., World Poetry Day on March 21st, or … Read more

It’s a book! It’s a game! It’s got a sticker, and a token, and a secret message! There’s a map of a very special island! BRAVE Books’ new release Fame, Blame, and the Raft of Shame, by U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw, packs in all of that and more—promising hours of pure fun along with moments … Read more

LifeSiteNews published an article three weeks ago, on October 18, on Covaxin, a vaccine (a bona fide inactivated virus vaccine, not an mRNA neologism) developed by Bharat Biotech in India. It could potentially prove a breakthrough in many Catholics’ long wait for a vaccine that would satisfy the dual concerns of ethical unimpeachability and medical … Read more

“I grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others. I suffered myself to use intemperate language to my wife. At length, I even offered her personal violence.” So reveals the main character of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Black Cat,” about a man who plunges ever deeper … Read more

I try my best to temper my tech-skeptic instincts, but despite these efforts, I can’t help but consider all the worst possibilities of the coming “Metaverse.” In fact, the more I read about it, the more I think Christians should start preparing for it now, before we, along with our family and friends, are pulled … Read more

The Culture War as we know it is over, and we’ve lost. Now, mark my words carefully. I said the Culture War as we know it is over. The war for our country’s soul has only just begun. What’s over now is what you might call the Napoleonic Phase of the Culture War: the two … Read more

Critical Race Theory and the arguments and actions both for and against it are constantly in the news—headlines tell us how it is variously mandated, praised, cursed, or banned. Yet, through the din, a larger question is taking form: how did the teaching industry become a political behemoth largely opposed to Western and Judeo/Christian values?  … Read more

This year, if you want to make your Thanksgiving meal as awkward as can be, stand up from the table in front of your extended family, clear your throat, and recite a nice long poem. Your in-laws will visibly blanch, and the chattering toddlers will grow silent. This will be no mere political argument or … Read more

I dread the final season of The Chosen because that is when they will kill my dear friend Jesus. This may sound heretical, but I have never felt exactly this way about Him before. There has always been a kind of veil between Him and me, a fog that even His light cannot fully pierce. He is … Read more

The chorus has grown louder over the past few years: Listen to the experts! Authoritative opinions carry epistemic weight; of that, there is little dispute. However, even on matters where an authority is an expert, there are times when things are better left unsaid. Take, for instance, Dr. Anthony Fauci’s recent interview on CBS’s Face … Read more

It’s not hard to be depressed if you’re a conservative Catholic in 2021 America. That’s especially the case if, like me, you marvel at a country that seems to have radically changed in just a single generation. If a drag queen had shown up at my public elementary school in suburban Northern Virginia in the … Read more