All Posts By

James Bratt

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The Guns of August

It’s August that really should be named January, after the two-faced god. The month can come on like a blast-furnace, scorching everything dry, but all

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1969

All the talk last week about the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing made me wonder what other semi-centennials we are marking this year.

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A Model of Christian Charity

A couple posts ago I reflected on the possibilities of a progressive civil religion. Last time, on key moments in the religious life of Franklin

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FDR’s Religion: Milestones

The book I recently completed on the religion of Franklin Roosevelt is coming out soon, and the publisher wants some blog posts to promote it.

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A Progressive Civil Religion?

It was an unusual Easter sermon, to say the least. At least unusual for this well-trained CRC boy. We were worshiping at Christ Church in

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Pursuing Paul

Temple of Apollo, Corinth, with temple of Aphrodite on the acropolis behind. Thanks to Laura de Jong for filling in for me last time. I

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David Brion Davis

Last time I wrote about the centennial of the birth of my father. Today I’m reflecting on the death last month of one of my

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My Dad’s Centennial

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of my father’s birth: April 17, 1919. Centennials naturally call for reminiscence and reflection, and some of this, especially in

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Later-Life Books #1

My last post—about books that fundamentally shaped us—brought out a nice range of responses, showing the different mentalities and life-stories operating out there among The

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