God-talk and the Suffering of the Guilty

They have committed crimes most would see as purely evil and are responsible for the most severe moments of suffering in many people’s lives. Yet I hold that they, too, are sufferers.

Noah Black | Vanderbilt Synesis | Fall 2018

Dr. Russell Moore: An Interview on Politics, Religion, and Liberty

"Given your experience both as a pastor, as a congressional aid, and now as president of an organization that straddles the two worlds, what role do you think Christians have in politics?"

Noah Black | | Fall 2018

Hope

If good and evil intrinsically oppose each other, how can they coexist in the presence of an omnipotent and omniscient God?

Noelle Michael | Vanderbilt Synesis | Fall 2018

Wonder Woman: Is Love Really All We Need?

Wonder Woman has the opportunity to save humanity, but, especially in light of the human cruelty she witnesses in battle, she struggles with the fact that humans freely choose to commit such atrocities to each other.

Hailey Scherer | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2017

Self, Society, and the Trinitarian Posture

The Christian understanding of human nature instead presents a picture that merges collectivism and individualism into one coherent whole.

Amanda Wang | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2016

Boundary Lessons From Infants

What happens when I am securely attached to God? I have the freedom to explore, like the securely attached infants who used their mothers as a base from which they explored the room.

Lisa Ann Yu | UC Berkeley TAUG | Spring 2016

The Integration of Modern Psychology and the Philosophical Virtues in the Christian Worldview

A psychological professional who is truly concerned for an individual’s well-being ought to awaken them to a sense of their human dignity, to help them recognize disorders in their lives, and to accompany them along the path of healing and self-discovery.

Blake Tamez | The Vanderbilt Synesis | Fall 2016

What the Debate on Religious Freedom Really Means

In this paper I categorize criticism of religious freedom into two groups and explore how the debate about religious freedom surfaces competing narratives about the purpose of individual choice.

Andrew Shi | Cornell Claritas | Spring 2016

The Problem of Christ as a Gift

Late 20th century philosopher Jacques Derrida calls into question the very possibility of gift-giving. The aporia of the gift, its dissipation upon coming into presence, presents a problem not only for philosophy, but also for Christianity.

Dan Ju | The Hopkins Dialectic | Spring 2017

Control//Support

Power, in our modern context, consists of (1) the ability to do things others are not able to do, or (2) the ability to control others’ actions directly.

Andrew Chang | UC Berkeley TAUG | Spring 2017

Augustine Collective Alum Obasi Shaw ’17 Awarded Honors for Rap Thesis at Harvard

Entitled “Liminal Minds,” the album combines such influences as Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper and Geoffrey Chaucer to portray contemporary black life in America. Shaw is the first in Harvard's history to submit a rap album for the senior thesis project.

Augustine Collective News | Augustine Collective | Spring 2017

Discovering Jesus: “Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?”

If a person believes that the events in the Bible did take place, then a natural step is to decide what they believe about the identity of Jesus.

Liz Stasior | The Middlebury Vine | Fall 2016

Can God and Free Will Coexist? Examining the Augustinian Solution

If God knows what is going to happen in the future, and his power necessarily brings this event into being, then it seems like all events occur independently of human agency.

Joshua Tseng-Tham | The Dartmouth Apologia | Spring 2016

When Culture Becomes Theology: Interracial Marriage in the American Church

The body of Christ has played an unfortunate role in stigmatizing interracial marriage in the United States.

Julie Coates | The Harvard Ichthus | Spring 2015

Confession as Freedom

I would suggest that, logically, those who are the most enslaved are those who don’t even know that they’re slaves.

Nathan Otey | The Harvard Ichthus | Fall 2014

Freedom and Submission

The hours that go into surprise birthday parties, emergency hospital trips, and listening to feelings and frustrations are our submission to one another.

Vivian Zhang | Claremont Ekklesia | Spring 2015

Education for Liberty

I believe the Core actually holds out a unique and precious kind of liberty, one far richer than the typical, tired myth about college.

Luke Foster | The Columbia Crown & Cross | Fall 2013

The Biblical Origins of Freedom as Non-Domination

What is Biblical freedom, or freedom from sin?

Jason Reid | The Columbia Crown & Cross | Fall 2014

Why Do I Need to Confess My Sins to a Priest?

One of the questions that many people often ask Catholics is, “Who do you need to confess your sins to a priest to receive forgiveness?"

Fr. Mark Murphy | The Harvard Ichthus | Fall 2014

The Art of Reconciliation

When faced with the daunting task of comforting a friend who was contemplating suicide, I felt utterly helpless in trying to prevent her actions, while she felt utterly hopeless in trying to control her emotions.

Jess Tong | The Dartmouth Apologia | Spring 2014

Subsidiarity, Solidarity, and Social Teaching: A Catholic Perspective on Political Economy

In a statement echoed by President Obama, Francis laments the condition of a socioeconomic order in which “it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points.”

Nicholas Zahorodny | Swarthmore Peripateo | Spring 2014

The Problem with Passivity

"If you aren’t okay with murder, then don’t murder anyone." Something tells me that this statement would not be a popular political position to take. Or maybe it would.

Natalie Hejduk | Princeton Revisions | Fall 2013

Affliction Furthers the Flight in Me

Inspired by the story of the resurrection, 17th century English poet George Herbert wrote his short poem “Easter Wings.” The poem beautifully recreates the restorative power of Christ’s resurrection.

Chih McDermott | The Williams Telos | Fall 2013

Reading Marilynne Robinson: Liberation through Tradition

Is it bizarre that a contemporary creative writer would inspire a college student to start reading John Calvin? Absolutely. That’s the magnificence of Marilynne Robinson.

Danielle Charette | Swarthmore Peripateo | Fall 2013

Religious but Not Spiritual

I don’t feel a spiritual energy, a spiritual connection, or a spiritual anything – especially when held in tension with the concrete, empirical, and measurable.

Michael Toy | Princeton Revisions | Fall 2013

Faith and Reason

Truth, the great 13th century philosopher Thomas Aquinas insisted, can only ever be one.

Christopher Hauser | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2012

Jesus: The End of Personal Autonomy and Identity?

Indeed, it appears that at its best, Christianity has severely restrictive, and often arbitrary, rules that limit one’s ability to do as one wants.

Matthew Johnson | The Yale Logos |

Secular Ethics Find Cohesion In Christ

A Christian ethic derived from the Bible can incorporate each perspective in some fashion: existentially, we seek the inner satisfaction of living as God designed us to live; normatively, this design is based on God’s authoritative word and law; and situationally, we seek to obey God by finding opportunities to advance his kingdom.

Willis Zhang | UPenn Common Subjects |

On the Trinitarian God Friendship and the Wonder of Creation interview

On the Trinitarian God, Friendship and the Wonder of Creation – An Interview with Father James V. Schall

"You have taught college undergraduates for many years. What are the basic questions of meaning and purpose that every liberal arts student should consider?"

Christopher Hauser | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2012, Volume 7, Issue 1

Christians, Pagans, and the Good Life

In contrast to the three most influential worldviews of the Roman world— Gnosticism, Stoicism, Neoplatonism—Christianity proclaimed that our earthly realm and needs were of tremendous importance to both our humanity and God.

Suiwen Liang | The Dartmouth Apologia | Volume 6, Issue 2 - Spring 2012

The Four Walls of Our Freedom: Organized Religion and the Happy Life

Why accept an organized religion: don’t you want to think for yourself and come to your own conclusions?

Eduardo Andino | Yale Logos |

The Christian Integration of Morality, Freedom, and Happiness

There is much skepticism about this claim that morality, especially Christian morality, could ever be connected to happiness.

Peter Blair | The Dartmouth Apologia | Spring 2010

September 2019