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Jumala

The Sky God

Fourth of July

“Democracy is the worst form of government. … And democracy is the only social order that is admissible, because it is the only one consistent with justice.”1

“There never was a Democracy Yet, that did not commit suicide.”2

Some might argue that the United States is, and has always been, an an...

Samaritan

What Does “Christian” Actually Mean?

In our time — a quarter of the way through the 21st century — and in this place (“America”), the word “Christian” is essentially meaningless. Therefore, when one claims “I am Christian,” that claim requires at least a modest attempt at further clarif...

Liberation

Liberation Day

Common understandings of “liberate” include setting free from a trap; release from prison; discharge from duties; salvation from eternal damnation; deliverance from evil (or at least from ever again having to “squeal like a pig”)1; emancipation from servitude (if not f...

What is a Vice?

A “vice” is many things: a multi-purpose tool (bench vice, vice grip); a Canadian-American magazine; a rank lower than the one without the vice (vice admiral, vice president); something you could get caught in; a morally depraved and sick and wrong personal, political or so...

What is Virtue? And Who is Virtuous?

Common definitions of the word “virtue” — particularly in the English-speaking “West” — include “behavior showing high moral standards” (e.g., “paragons of virtue”); “a quality considered morally good or desirable in a person” (e.g., “patience is a virtue”); “a...

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Sofia at the coast photographing a rainbow.

Love Requires Joy

Thirty-two years ago I found myself on top of the world. The music and arts newspaper I had launched a couple of years earlier had, after a shaky start, achieved a status, clout and popularity few thought possible even a year earlier. Founders of an all-girl power-pop band wh...

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