In light of July, 2026 being a celebration of 250 years of American independence—really, a celebration of the end of the claim that the king, claiming a divine right to rule, was the law—I would like to offer a paragraph on the meaning of the Declaration of Independence’s (1776) phrase that people have natural rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I have always wondered what this ‘pursuit of happiness’ means. I believe I now know, and to that end I have updated my essay, ‘Social Cohesion, Populism, and the Church's Prophetic Role in the State’. The following paragraph has been added to that essay: Aristotle is, in my view, likely the source for the surprising claim in America's Declaration of Independence about the 'pursuit of happiness'. It reads, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty...
In arguing for the resurrection, Paul puts forward a strange argument in the paragraph in 1 Corinthians 15.29-34: Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? (v. 29, ESV). I might prefer to translate the beginning, 'Otherwise, what are those baptising on behalf of the dead doing?' What is baptism on behalf of the dead? Commentaries offer a variety of interpretations for this obscure reference, and this interpretation that I have garnered from my own reading is one I believe is along the right track. First, the word ‘baptism’ is broader than Christian baptism itself and means to dip in or under a liquid such as water or wine. We should not read our Christian view of 'baptism' into the meaning of this verse. Note, second, that Paul does not say, ‘You’ do this or that Christians should do this. He says that people do this. These 'people' are those...