By now, the Three Kings are well on their way to Bethlehem, and the Christmas season is drawing to a close.  But the Three Kings (actually, ‘wise men’ according to Matthew’s gospel) aren’t just bringing their famous three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  They bring with them another set of questions that we have […]

Nobody really knows what will happen in 2010, although Larry Sabato’s Jeanne Dixon-inspired post at Politico comes pretty close.  But there are ten stories that will shape the world this year — for better or for worse.  Other crises may erupt (I have not, for example, included the long-running conflict between Israelis and Palestinians on […]

In the cover article for Foreign Policy, which hits stands today, I discuss the intellectual and cultural traditions (based on the four schools I wrote about in Special Providence) which form the basis of Obama’s foreign policy, and the global and domestic challenges that he faces in the context of these traditions. Read it here.

Back in the beginning of the Christmas season, I wrote about the way the gospel Christmas narratives “roll the credits” by giving genealogical tables that link Jesus to Jewish history.  In contemplating Christmas, we should never forget that the first Christmas was first and foremost a Jewish event.  Mary, Joseph, the innkeeper, the shepherds, the […]

Greetings once again from sunny Belize.  Although I am blogging from a lovely beachside cabana with tropical breezes gently keeping the heat (and the insects) at bay as I lazily contemplate the snorkeling expedition we have planned for the afternoon, this point in the new year always reminds me of a fresh snowfall covering the […]

To those of you out there nursing your hangovers, Merry Christmas!  While most of American society considers today to be the last full day of the holiday season, the traditional Christmas won’t end until January 6.For some people Christmas hasn’t even started yet.  In some of the Eastern Orthodox churches, the twelve days of Christmas […]

Dear Mr. President, It’s been nearly a year since Inauguration day, and it’s fair to say that things could be better. I think you know the lay of the land, but please permit me a brief summary.Just two months ago, on the first anniversary of your election, and the first time the voters had spoken […]

The servers at the humming headquarters of The American Interest collapsed for about 12 hours yesterday, perhaps overcome with excitement that as Christine Russell points out today, New Year’s Eve this year falls on a blue moon.However, not to worry.  The-American-Interest.com is on top of the problem; we’ve reviewed the literature and are handling this […]

Now it gets tough.  That little baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying so cutely in the manger is the biggest trouble maker in world history, and the shocking claims that Christianity makes about who he is and what he means divide Christians not only from atheists and agnostics, but also splits Christians off from […]

Yesterday I blogged about how theists and atheists are the same; we are almost all transcendentalists in the sense that almost all of us find some kind of moral, ethical and even spiritual meaning in life.  Human life amounts to more than eating and scratching, and we want to do something real with our lives.  […]