This Pilgrim Republic by Kevin Williamson
It was the Puritans’ hatred of idolatry and their disgust at idols that enabled colonial Americans to escape so heroically from the intellectual confines of their times and imagine a form of government fit for the life they desired for themselves, and this act of radical imagination spread from Puritan New England to the rest of the colonies and to American civilization at large. With the example of the Divine Covenant before them, the challenge of negotiating a temporal and administrative covenant among themselves was daunting — but possible. It was possible because they were able to think that which had been unthinkable.
Kevin Williamson has done it again with his insight into religion and history.
And the Fair Land by WSJ Editors
But we can all remind ourselves that the richness of this country was not born in the resources of the earth, though they be plentiful, but in the men that took its measure. For that reminder is everywhere—in the cities, towns, farms, roads, factories, homes, hospitals, schools that spread everywhere over that wilderness.
We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.
And we might remind ourselves also, that if those men setting out from Delftshaven had been daunted by the troubles they saw around them, then we could not this autumn be thankful for a fair land.
This partner piece to "A Desolate Wilderness" rings with beauty and hopefulness for our American experiment.
The Desolate Wilderness by Nathaniel Morton
Besides, what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wilde beasts and wilde men? and what multitudes of them there were, they then knew not: for which way soever they turned their eyes (save upward to Heaven) they could have but little solace or content in respect of any outward object; for summer being ended, all things stand in appearance with a weatherbeaten face, and the whole country, full of woods and thickets, represented a wild and savage hew.
Beautiful and tragic reminder of what our ancestors faced to bring us what we enjoy today as free Americans.
Making Capitalism Great Again? by William McGurn
The voluntary relationship between buyer and seller at the heart of the free market isn’t the love of neighbor commanded by the Gospel. But in making market success depend on anticipating the needs of the other, it’s perhaps not as far removed as we might think.
Excellent rebuttal to the idea that the market is immoral and needs government intervention to right the ship.
“Faith and reason are mutually reinforcing” by Clarence Thomas
Students, faculty, administrators, and friends of Hillsdale, let this Chapel be more than just an impressive building. Let it be a place where people enter the presence of a majestic God. Let it be a house of worship, of prayer, of meditation, and of celebration before God. Let it be a haven of rest for the weary, a place of healing for the wounded, a place of comfort for the grieving, and a source of hope for the despairing and forgotten.
Let it point to a day when “the dwelling of God” will be “with men,” when God himself will “wipe away every tear” and mend every wound. Let it be a place where tomorrow’s leaders discern their callings and grow firm in their convictions. Let it stand as a bold declaration to a watching world that faith and learning are rightly understood as complements, and that both are essential to the preservation of the blessings of liberty.
Let this Chapel equip and inspire us to honor God in whatever He calls us to do. For as Saint Paul wrote in his Letter to the Romans, “From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
This a beautiful dedication speech given for Hillsdale College's Christ Chapel by Justice Clarence Thomas. Just another reason to love the college.
Hallowed Ground by Ray Domanico
In pursuing their private mission, schools like All Hallows provide an invaluable service to their communities. Their success predates the most recent era of public school reform, now fading in many quarters. These religious schools continue to operate, thanks to the generosity of alumni, civic-minded individuals, and targeted scholarship programs. Donors and supporters are doing what states have failed to do: sustain schools that provide real educational opportunity to disadvantaged students.
Great article about an all-boys Catholic school accomplishing the "impossible."
