Life and Books and Everything

In this episode of Life and Books and Everything, Kevin reads from his recent article in WORLD opinions about the curse in the garden, the hope and promise of Christ's coming, and our restoration to communion with God.

Kevin reads from his article in The Gospel Coalition to encourage pastors to forego the cliche and cute and stick to preaching "the old, old story" this Christmas.

The gang is back for one last episode in 2022. There is the usual sports banter (very brief), and some good natured ribbing toward Justin, who seems to  know nothing about pop culture but still has dreams about Elvis. The three friends share some of their favorite reads from the past year, and they wrap things up discussing an article by Paul House about J.I. Packer and how to renew evangelicalism.

For as much as the CFH talks about inclusion and the free exchange of ideas, it is clear that the present leadership of the historical guild assumes conclusions on the left.

In this response to a recent article published by Jay Green, Kevin discusses the pitfalls of using history for activist purposes.

Several months ago, Daniel McCarthy—editor of Modern Age and Editor-at-Large of The American Conservative—published an essay in First Things entitled “The Right Right.” McCarthy’s essay was a review of Yoram Hazony’s Conservatism: A Rediscovery and Matthew Continetti’s The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism. In this episode of LBE, McCarthy talks about what was commendable in both books, and where both works can be fairly critiqued. Kevin asks Daniel about his review, about Willmoore Kendall’s populist conservatism, and how to reaffirm the importance of Christianity as “public truth” in America.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro and Sponsor

1:53 Guest: Daniel McCarthy

4:29 What is a Conservative?

9:17 Populism: Plebiscites and Demagogues

38:39 A Conservatism for Today

53:33 Yoram Hazony Critique

1:01:52 Parallel Developments in Evangelicalism

1:09:12 Avant-Garde Conservatism

Books:

The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism

Conservatism: A Rediscovery

The Conservative Affirmation

The Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition

Russell Kirk: American Conservative

The Virtue of Nationalism

With what little we know about St. Nicholas, it is safe to say he would not be pleased to know he had eclipsed Christ in the hearts of many as the central figure of Christmas. In this episode, Kevin reads from his article in The Gospel Coalition about the life and legacy of St. Nicholas.

In this article written for Crossway, Kevin discusses the meaning of the term "marriage" and how Christians should view same-sex unions.

With so many sad things in our world, it can be difficult to see any bright spots. This article reminds Christians of the hope of Christmas.

In this episode of Life and Books and Everything, Kevin reads his article from The Gospel Coalition and pleads with pastors not to cancel Christmas services this year.

Happy Thanksgiving from Life and Books and Everything! In this episode, Kevin reads from his recent article in WORLD Opinions about the history of an American holiday and the opportunity it presents to Christians to display their thankfulness.