The Fleming Foundation Cultural Commentary
Nixon’s The One?
When the topic of consequential presidential elections in American history is discussed, the elections most commonly mentioned include those of 1860, 1912, and 1932. But there is one election which is often forgotten and yet has had an enormous impact on the United States: the election of 1960. The election pitted Republican Vice President Richard Nixon against Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy.
Religio Philologi: The Creation of the Church, Part Two
Most histories of the early Church emphasize its antagonistic relationship with the Roman Empire. There is some truth in this approach, though the truth, when overstated, tends to overshadow another dimension of the troubled relationship.
Take 5: Italy and Immigration, Part II
How the anti-immigrant Lega Nord is once again taking the lead in opposing the Third World invasion of Europe.
More Poems: Shelley in Pisa
The sun is set; the swallows are asleep;
The bats are flitting fast in the gray air;
The slow soft toads out of damp corners creep,
And evening’s breath, wandering here and there
Over the quivering surface of the stream,
Wakes not one ripple from its summer dream.
Wednesday’s Child: A Word for Angel
I’ve scarcely mentioned the Salisbury poisonings here, though the story is interesting not only from the geopolitical, but also from the social and cultural point of view. Let me fill in some of the blanks.
Religio Philologi: The Creation of the Church, Part I
According to a later Christian tradition, when Tiberius heard of this strange Jewish renegade who alone did not want to kick the Romans out of Judaea, he proposed to the senate that Christ be included in the pantheon of Roman gods. The Senate, so the story goes, objected, declaring the new religion to be illicit, though Judaism was protected by law.
The Road from Damascus, pt. III: Islamic Attacks, Christological Crisis, and the Breakdown of Symphonia
When the armies of the Prophet stormed forth from historic obscurity in Arabia and burst upon the enfeebled imperial boundaries, they knew nothing of the ecclesiastical rivalry between the thrones of Elder and New Rome.
Life–Right or Duty? Part 3: From Under the Rubble: Episode 35
How the rhetoric and reasoning of the “right to life” movement subverts the defense of innocent life.
Take Five: Italy Takes the Lead on Immigration, Part I
The Italian government is standing up to pressures from the EU to take in refugees that will not be allowed into France and Germany….
