Vladimir Putin propaganda machine is positioning Russia as the “Restraining One” of 2 Thess. 2:6–7, arguing that the invasion of Ukraine is part of a biblical agenda to protect the world from globalism.touchstonemag.com/archives/artic…

Aaron Renn is the author of "Life in the Negative World: Confronting Challenges in an Anti-Christian Culture." He will be a speaker at our annual Touchstone Conference in Deerfield Illinois from 9/26 to 9/28.

Having lost God, we have lost Man, and having lost Man, we would have all the universe be borne upon the slender reed of the Self. touchstonemag.com/archives/artic…

Aaron Renn addresses the 2024 Touchstone Conference, reminding us that "we need to have a positive identity rooted in who we are, not a negative identity rooted in who we are against, or worse, who we hate."

In the opening keynote of the 2024 Touchstone Conference, Aaron Renn urges the church to think about the new possibilities opened up by the negative world. "As Christianity slides to minority status...we should be asking ourselves, 'What possibilities does this open up for us?'"

John Davidson argues that a de-christianized society will not just be hostile to Christianity, but also to the ideals that are dependent on Christianity: equality under the law, basic human rights, etc.. None of these things will be tolerated in a post-Christian order.

"The material magician that Lewis saw coming is now here, and their incantations threaten to take possession of us. Will we allow ourselves to be hacked or will be resist?" C.R. Wiley

C.R. Wiley concluded his talk at the recent Touchstone Conference by observing that transhumanists have shifted the focus of an over-realized eschatology from social life to biology. They’re seeking godhood without God, and a resurrection without a final judgment.

"[Bad art[ fills our minds with sounds, images, and phrases that are distracting if not corrupting. They occlude our vision by filling our memory and imagination with distorted depictions of reality." R.V. Young touchstonemag.com/archives/artic…

"Christianity is the religion of the Incarnation: human nature is elevated by the entrance of God himself into our flesh in order to save us from our sins and make us into persons fit to enter into his kingdom." touchstonemag.com/archives/artic…

"[George] Washington believed that a shared national sense of morality was the essential element of a free society, and that a moral standard based on human reason alone was no standard at all." touchstonemag.com/archives/artic…

For years, those of us at Salvo Magazine and our sister publication, Touchstone, have argued that the problem with libertarian freedom is its outcome-neutrality, devoid of any substantive vision for human flourishing (for example, see the concerns Robin Phillips raised in 2022:

"They who deny that there is any special beauty in man and woman...will eventually miss or deny the beauty of much less obviously beautiful things, and the profundity of much less obviously profound mysteries." touchstonemag.com/archives/artic…

Self-discipline is essential to the Christian life, and technological ascesis of one form or another is particularly important in our constantly evolving world. touchstonemag.com/archives/artic…

"We’re born into a world that comes ready-made. Whatever we make of it must fundamentally be in keeping with it; otherwise, it is questionable." C. R. Wiley touchstonemag.com/archives/artic…

"This rebellion against reality is the logical outworking of the deepest premises of our culture—which is why the crisis of authority in our politics and our society is not just a political and social crisis, but a metaphysical and religious one." touchstonemag.com/archives/artic…

Beauty is ennobling, sometimes in dramatic ways, but much more often in subtle ways. And it inspires us to aspire to things that are worth aspiring to—things that, like beauty itself, are intrinsically and inherently enriching of the human spirit. touchstonemag.com/archives/artic…

thetouchstoneconference.com See you in September!

Paul Kingsnorth warns that the end game of technology is the replacement of nature with the machine.

Jonathan Pageau explains that sin can stretch things to a certain distance, but at some point the rubber band will snap back. You cannot have an entire cultural enterprise based on rebellion. Eventually, reality will reassert itself. And that is happening now.