Spiritual Quote of the Day (David French, on Respecting Another’s Beliefs)

“To respect a person's conscience isn't to show weakness or embrace moral relativism. It's to recognize that God is at work in all human hearts and that existential humility doesn’t contradict religious conviction. It is a vital aspect of the Christian faith.”—Op-ed columnist David French, “Pope Francis Is Turning Certainty on Its Head,” The New York Times, Sept. 22, 2024

Spiritual Quote of the Day (David French, on ‘Christianity Properly Lived’)

“In the upside-down kingdom of God, religion is still dangerous, but the danger has flipped. Fundamentalist faiths make religion dangerous to others, the nonbelievers and heretics who must be made to yield. But Christianity properly lived is dangerous to Christians. It’s dangerous to people who refuse to hate those they are told to hate, to people who refuse to oppress, to conquer, to exploit — even when they’re told to conquer in the name of God.”—Opinion columnist David French, “Christianity Is a Dangerous Faith,” The New York Times, Dec. 23, 2025

The image accompanying this post, from the 1959 Best Picture Oscar-winner, Ben Hur, shows Jesus awaiting Pilate as the Roman procurator washes his hands. It illustrates why Jesus, in saying "My kingdom is not of this world," disappointed those who expected, in French's words, “a true Messiah [who] was supposed to lead the people to political triumph.” 

Today, their counterparts are often labeled Christian nationalists. I wish there was an alternative name that didn’t spark a negative reaction, but “Dominionism,” “Christian Supremacy,” and “The Seven Mountain Mandate” are not immediately understood. 

But Patrick Shreiner’s 2023 post “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Christian Nationalism” on the Website of the Gospel Coalition identifies two elements that make this ideology problematic: it desires either a fusion of Christianity with civil life, or even a supremacy over it, often with a resort to power to force belief in tenets that violate notions of freedom of conscience and separation of church and state.

Spiritual Quote of the Day (David French, on Unity Through the Pursuit of Virtue)

“The American church is torn apart by conflict over theology. It should be united by a pursuit of virtue. The church that truly influences a nation will be one that focuses on doing good more than on being right.”—Opinion columnist David French, “Some Think What You Preach Matters More Than What You Do. It Doesn’t,” The New York Times, Aug. 4, 2024

Quote of the Day (David French, on the Importance of Being There for Friends)

“Compared with the competing demands of family and work, in any given moment friendship can feel unnecessary. But as the years roll on, and countless justifiable individual absences wear down our relationships, there will come a time when we will feel their loss. But it need not be that way, especially when our simplest and highest command is merely being there.”—Columnist David French, “The Importance of Being There,” The New York Times, Sept. 25, 2023