October, 2007

The Influence of the Religious Left

by Philip Jenkins

October 23rd, 2007

Damon writes that “As for the religious left, I’d be troubled by it, too, if it had any political influence to speak of. But thankfully, it doesn’t.”
I’m surprised to hear him say this. Just to take one item, I would cite the massive role of African-American churches and pastors in mobilizing the vote in that [...]

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Theoconservatism Exists

by Damon Linker

October 22nd, 2007

Philip: In response to your post from last Friday, I don’t consider Rushdoony to be a theoconservative. And I completely agree that his influence has been negligible. (Here I part company with some critics of the religious right, such as Kevin Phillips and Michelle Goldberg, who treat Reconstructionism as a genuine [...]

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Some Scattered Responses

by Mark Lilla

October 22nd, 2007

Some scattered responses to my interlocutors:
On the Trinity: having tried to compress the argument of The Stillborn God to a couple thousand words, I see now how even good readers like Philip could be misled. The argument I make there is that the strange theological dynamics of the trinitarian idea made it difficult for [...]

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Was Historical Christianity Really That Much Different?

by Philip Jenkins

October 22nd, 2007

One of the strengths of Mark Lilla’s writing is that it makes us explore and confront our assumptions. In some cases, though, I honestly question the basic roots of his argument. I wonder how many historians of Christianity would recognize a characterization like the following:
The ideas and problems of Christian political theology are what shaped [...]

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