Marilynne Robinson on ‘the family’

“We have reasoned our way to uniformly conditional relationships. This is at the center of the crisis of the family, since the word means, if it means anything, that certain people exist on special terms with each other, which terms are more or less...

It’s time to rethink our attitude to abortion

First published by The Daily Telegraph on 10th September 2014 A new set of figures was published last week. The figures were released without much fanfare, but they are potentially explosive: a rising proportion of premature babies born at 23 weeks are surviving. More...

Paul Ryan, the Republicans and a new approach to poverty

First published by The Hedgehog Review, 11th August 2014 At the end of July Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, more widely known as the 2012 Republican vice-presidential nominee, unveiled a new set of sweeping policy proposals to tackle poverty in America. But in...

August 2014 playlist

So… I’ve been on paternity leave… explaining my lack of posts… This is a new playlist I’m excited about, though, and of course it’s dedicated to Connie Mae Mumford (b. 31-v-2014) War on Drugs – Red Eyes Goodnight Texas – Jesse...

The brilliant David Bentley Hart

A theologian who can write. A profound scholar who is pithy. A leading academic who is a master of the English language. If those sound to you like a series of oxymorons you should read David Bentley Hart, the most exciting religious writer for a generation. Here he...

Rev: so good it’s dangerous

First published in The Guardian, p. 28, on Monday 28th April 2014 You love Rev. I love Rev. Everyone loves Rev. That’s why the hit BBC comedy is so pernicious. Unbelievers who hate the church love the fantastic satire of an institution not long for this world....