Peter Leithart: Georges Florovsky on the Necessity of the Incarnation

I have long been convinced that God always intended the Incarnation to take place regardless of whether the Fall took place or not. Read Leithart's post.

Vladimir Putin: "The rebirth of church unity today is the most important condition for restoring the lost unity of the entire Russian world."

The Russian Orthodox re-unite.

For a sober assessment of what this might really mean, read here.

Jerry Falwell, (1933-2007)

Read about his life. I think in some ways Dr. Falwell set the model for how generations of Evangelicals have engaged with cultural and political issues--more emotionally than thoughtfully. May our prayer be that the Lord would raise up Christian leaders who are as dedicated as Falwell, but who have learned from his mistakes.

Practical Monarchy

Nick over at Altar and Throne has written a good post entitled "My Ideal Monarchy." Nick is a traditionalist Catholic who is commited to the monarchical ideal. While I disagree with Nick specifically about the justification for the Iraq war and more broadly about the role of the United States in world history, I appreciate his thoughtful writing. Altar and Throne is a worthwhile blog for all who are interested in monarchy.

I have not delved into the practical working out of my political theory. So far, I've devoted my energies to articulating a theological and philosophical foundation for my system. However, I'm not so far up in my ivory tower that I can't see the incongruity of theocratic autocracy and present social reality. The most difficult challenge for monarchists today is to outline a plausible historical development toward a monarchy of the future. What would a monarchy look like in post-postmodernity? And how do we get there?

The Problem With Westminster's Two Kingdoms

I have long been troubled by certain tendencies in Westminster Escondido's two kingdoms theology. It may be that the problem goes all the way back to St. Augustine himself. Is it possible that the great doctor of the Church was unable to fully leave behind the Manichaeanism of his youth? Read my latest post at
De Regno Christi for an analysis of the spirit that motivates this secularizing theology.

Iraq...

Aida Kouyoumjian, a Christian Armenian who grew up in Iraq, argues for the restoration of the Hashemite dynasty. Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein, a member of the House of Hashem, is currently a Pretender to the Iraqi throne and is the leader of the Iraqi Constitutional Monarchy political party.

Dennis Prager has an important interview with Max Boot on why America must succeed in Iraq.

Hereditary Power: The Solution to Party Politics

On his blog, Peter Hitchens writes the following:

Jeff Pollitt writes to say that he cannot go along with 'hereditary power'. Well, first, he does already go along with it because as he rightly points out, in the USA (which he appears to admire as a pure democracy) and also Britain (despite heavy socialistic taxes) people are allowed to inherit from their parents, which is the foundation of private property, which is the foundation of freedom. If there were no inheritance, and no private property, everything would be subject to the state.

Wealth, private or commercial, is one of the main sources of power in any society, especially free ones. If it can be inherited, then so can power. So I cannot really see his principled objection. If he objects to unelected people exercising power, what about the USA's unelected but immensely potent Supreme Court? And why is it so wonderful to have an elected President as head of state? When Richard Nixon was in office, and asking his subordinates to do illegal acts, they had no recourse except to quit, and decided that was more than their jobs were worth. In Britain, where an unelected Monarch is the head of state, and we have a neutral civil service and armed forces, officials, judges, soldiers and policemen are all obliged to refuse unlawful orders from ministers or anyone else. Mixing up party politics with the headship of state is a definite disadvantage. You'll have to do better than this, Mr Pollitt. It's no good just saying "I don't like it because I don't like it".

Go Peter!

Discussion of Darryl Hart's A Secular Faith

De Regno Christi is hosting a conversation on Darryl Hart's new book.

Holy Russia?

Alastair alerted me to a recent post by Peter Leithart on the Christian foundation of Europe. In that post, Leithart features a very interesting columnist who writes under the pseudonym "Spengler" for Asia Times Online. Here is the conclusion to an article entitled, "Europe is not the sum of its parts":

To recapture Europe means re-creating the faith. It is hard to imagine that the Roman Catholic Church might re-emerge as Europe's defining institution. The European Church is enervated. But I do not think that is the end of the matter. As I argued last month, Russia has become the frontier between Europe and the Islamic world and, unlike Europe, is not prepared to dissolve quietly into the ummah. Pope Benedict's recent pilgrimage to Turkey, it must be remembered, only incidentally dealt with Catholic relations with Islam; first of all it was a gesture to Orthodoxy in the form of a visit to the former Byzantium, its spiritual home.

Franz Rosenzweig, that most Jewish connoisseur of Christianity, believed that the Church of Peter (Rome) and the Church of Paul (Protestantism) would yield place to the Church of John (Orthodoxy) - that the churches of works and faith would be transcended by the church of love. If Europe has a future, it lies in an ecumenical alliance of Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and at least some elements of Anglicanism.

For the time being, Europe's constitution will be stillborn. But Europe is not yet dead. Russia is the place to watch, and the quiet conversation of Catholicism is the still, small voice to listen for.

And so we wait for God to work out his purposes for the world through the agency of his Church, the New Jerusalem that is dawning in the present age.

Of further interest to Christian monarchists, check out this article by Andrei Zolotov and "The Restoration of Romanity" by Vladimir Moss.