Forming Christians in the Church to participate in the culture for the common good.
Blaise Pascal once wrote that the Christian faith is “Worthy of reverence because it really understands human nature. Attractive because it promises true good.” We believe individuals, families, churches, communities, and nations are renewed when they remember this truth. In a world that seeks to dominate or desert the culture, we seek to renew it.
We do this through recovering the best of the Christian tradition throughout the ages and applying it to the issues of our time. Our aim is to use media to strengthen faith, virtue, and knowledge for the flourishing of our common bonds and to be faithful to the call of Christ on all of life.
Mere Orthodoxy gets its name from combining the two great works of C.S. Lewis and G.K Chesterton, Mere Christianity and Orthodoxy. These books and authors represent some of the best of the Christian tradition. Lewis, a Protestant, and Chesterton, a Catholic, both understood that there is an irreducible core of the Christian faith that unites all Christians across denomination and tradition. They knew that the core of the Christian faith was reasonable, defensible, and beautiful, and when that truth is clearly and carefully articulated, it makes sense of everything else. As Chesterton wrote, “Instinct after instinct was answered by doctrine after doctrine.” We believe that Christianity is the key to the world.
This core is what we guard and are guided by. Most succinctly expressed in the Nicene Creed, we want to answer the instincts of individuals and the broader culture with “doctrine after doctrine.” Not merely as a defense of the truth—though we will certainly defend it—or as an intellectual exercise—though it is fascinating—but as the key that unlocks the mystery and wonder of God and his creation.
We believe that words have the power of life and death. This is why we are committed to using words, amplified through writing, audio, and video, to spread ideas that bring life. We believe in renewing the Church with a Protestant Catholicity, a faith that is deeply rooted in the distinctives of the Protestant Reformation but sees itself situated in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church and receives all of the Church’s treasures. We believe in renewing the culture with a Solidarity Conservatism, which seeks to preserve the thought that has led to the flourishing of Western civilization while seeing ourselves in membership with one another as image bearers of God.
We want to see:
Individuals formed in faith, virtue, and reason.
Churches formed in scripture, sacrament, and conviction.
Communities formed in membership, solidarity, and tradition.
Public leaders formed in character, limits, and locality.
This is why we write and speak about church, culture, formation, family, theology, technology, and more. Through faithfulness to Christ in every square inch of life, we seek the renewal of the Church and culture in our lifetime.
The Mere Orthodoxy Code
We believe in a set of ideals that guide all we do. The goal isn’t to simply produce media, but to embody the kind of church and world we hope to see.
Rooted Orthodoxy in a Fractured World
We uphold the ancient truths of Nicaea and Scripture’s teachings on sex and gender while faithfully navigating today’s cultural challenges, embracing the world as God has objectively made it—in all its coherence and beauty.
Christian Love in an Angry World
We defend Christian beliefs in Christian ways—choosing love, hope, and confidence over aggression, anxiety, and fear—refusing to vanquish enemies or change the world through power plays.
Patient Reflection in a Reactive World
We practice patient, faithful reflection rather than embracing radicalization, reckless hot takes, or compromise, giving ourselves time to think deeply about matters of eternal significance.
Irenic Hearts in a Partisan World
We communicate what is good, true, and beautiful with irenic hearts and elegant words, rejecting partisanship, tribalism, and credentialism.
Redemptive Media in a Distracted World
We utilize various forms of media as digital missionaries to champion reason, persuasion, and conversation as genuine social goods that shape moral imagination and intellectual understanding in faithful Christian ways.
What We Do
Daily Essays
Every weekday, we publish new articles from thoughtful writers across the globe on topics relating to the church, culture, formation, family, theology, technology, book reviews, and global issues.
Print Journal
Three times per year, we publish a print journal with premier essays. These essays are written to disrupt the status quo for the renewal of the church, culture, family, and individuals.
Podcast Network
We believe in having meaningful conversations and that the best thinking is done together. We produce a variety of podcasts for pastors, lay leaders, parents, academics, and the spiritually serious.
Join us in this mission to renew the Church and culture.
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