I wrote this short article for The Bulwark on April 3, 2022, the night of Viktor Orbán’s big election victory. It was a first take, which I think has held up pretty well. You can read it here.
Opinion
CPAC Is Going to Hungary, Never Mind Viktor Orban’s Attacks on Churches
Here’s a short piece about Hungary that I wrote for The Unhttps://theunpopulist.substack.com/Populist, a substack newsletter started by Shikha Dalmia which is committed to defending liberal democracy and opposing the rise of authoritarianism around the globe. “In his Metamorphoses, written after… Read More ›
Three Myths About Viktor Orbán and His Remaking of Hungary
This article was published in The Bulwark. Below is a teaser. You can read the full article by clicking the link at the bottom of the post. “When Hungarian armies invaded Europe around A.D. 900, shooting arrows from horseback and… Read More ›
Reflections on Suffering
I form light and create darkness; I make weal and create woe; I am the LORD, who does all these things. — Isaiah 45:7 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to… Read More ›
To Walk on Water: A Meditation on Faith and Doubt
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. – Isaiah… Read More ›
Salt of the Earth: A Meditation on the Church and the World
Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow? – Job 6:6 You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its… Read More ›
Is Rod Dreher’s Live Not By Lies a Good Book?
H. David Baer (professor of theology), Alexander Faludy (journalist, church historian), and Joseph Novak (Hungarian Baptist pastor) discuss Ron Dreher’s new book, Live Not By Lies, and consider the questions: How well has Dreher described the experience of East European Christians? Is Dreher right to draw parallels between 20th century communism and American today?
What Does the 2nd Commandment Say About Worship During COVID?
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. — Exodus 20:7 You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by… Read More ›
Secularization Strikes Back: The End of American Religion?
“One striking feature about religious commitment today is how closely it aligns with conservative politics. Religiously committed Americans are very likely to vote Republican. Yet it wasn’t always that way. Alexis de Tocqueville famously attributed the strength of American religion… Read More ›
A Time for Theologians during the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Twenty-five years ago when I first started graduate school, I used to enjoy reading First Things, the “journal of religion and public life” founded by Richard John Neuhaus. Neuhaus was a Lutheran “neoconservative” who eventually converted to Catholicism and became… Read More ›
H. David Baer 