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

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

Where is God in History?

There remains one point about the narrative of history that is worth rejoicing over, and that is the power of larger, contextual narratives.

Henry Li | The Harvard Ichthus | Fall 2014

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

Finding Freedom in Constraint

Some non-Christians are often shocked at how incredibly limiting these principles seem, yet they fail to recognize how much we agree with them on this point.

Marcos Martinez | The Columbia Crown & Cross | 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

When My Faith Becomes Merely Rules

If my religion were only about me following rules, my faith would be imprisoning and stifling. I’d be guilt-ridden, constantly feeling like I’m not good enough for God.

Cia Mathew | The Brown & RISD Cornerstone | 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 Unshakable Beautiful

I suppose a great deal of my notions, such as the conviction that humans have souls, come down to the way that I experience art, the way that it elicits such singular feelings, feelings deep enough to be ancient, craggy, earthen.

Austin Lillywhite | The Brown Cornerstone | Volume I, Issue I, 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 2017