Article VI Blog

We are adding a regular blogger to our roster here at Article VI Blog.  This man is no stranger to our long time readers.  He was a guest blogger here as far back as 2007 when he allowed us to reprint his now classic apologia for why a traditional Christian can vote for a Mormon.  Because of the fundamental nature of that apologia and its influence on the cycle in ’08 we declared him one of the “good guys” of that election cycle.  He has now agreed to join us on a routine basis.  He is John Mark Reynolds.

Here is his standard bio, as you will find it on our ABOUT page:

John Mark Reynolds (Ph.D., University of Rochester) is founder and director of the Torrey Honors Institute, a great books program, and professor of philosophy at Biola University. Dr. Reynolds is a Founder and Distinguished Speaker of Wheatstone Ministries. Dr. Reynolds lectures frequently on ancient philosophy, philosophy of science, home schooling and cultural trends. He regularly appears on radio talk shows, such as the Hugh Hewitt Show, and actively blogs on cultural issues at ScriptoriumDaily.com and the Washington Post’s “On Faith” column. His books include “When Athens Met Jerusalem: An Introduction to Classical and Christian Thought” (IVP), “What’s Right and Wrong About the New Atheism” (with Phillip E. Johnson, IVP), and he is the editor of the forthcoming “Great Books Reader: Excerpts and Essays on the Most Influential Books in Western Civilization” (Bethany House).

Dr. Reynolds (come on, we had to use his title once!) will be an invaluable addition to this blog.  John Mark was the genius behind the original GodBlogCon which has morphed its way into continued relevance among religious bloggers worldwide.  We could go on singing his praises and listing his accomplishments for a great while, but we’ll give you, our loyal readers, a rest.

It is privilege and pleasure for both of us to welcome John Mark to the team.  We are confident that you will find his writing here to be valuable, insightful, and enjoyable.  JUst check out his first post immediately below.  Based on what we have read of his work in the past,  we think we are likely to look pretty awful by comparison.  Thank goodness for Lowell.  I trust our regular readers and commenters will welcome this Greek Orthodox gentleman.

In the words of Stan Lee – EXCELSIOR!

Lowell adds . . .

Well, what is there to add? We feel like we hit the jackpot: Two guys who run a blog as an engrossing hobby — in the course of which we have learned an awful lot — are now being supported by a man who not only makes his living as a thinker in the subject matter of our blog, but who is a recognized scholar. Welcome, Professor! Things are about to get even more fun around here.

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Look above you in the links bar! You see that new button? – “Comments Forum” Our readers have had some interesting things to say in the comments and had some very lengthy discussions.

To help accommodate this and to aid the discussions, making them more flexible and easier, we have added the forum. By the time the weekend is over, all of the QoD’s will be set up there as topics and all readers will be able to post and discuss to their hearts content. We will in this process be turning off comments here on the main blog, so that the discussions can go live on the forum. Why not try it right now?

Lowell and I, and our hardworking webmaster Dale, all hope you will enjoy this new feature and take full advantage!

[tags]forum, discussion, comments[/tags]

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It started innocently enough. A fellow Southern California blogger and I decided to attend a lecture by Hugh Hewitt and a live remote of his radio show. We have both been blogging for a while – me here and my new partner here. Hugh was familiar with our blogs and the next thing we knew he was waving us up to go on the air with him. (You can listen to the interview here.)

Among the topics of discussion we had with Hugh was this article by Robert Novak, originally published that day, April 27, 2006. In this piece Novak contends

Mitt Romney, in his last nine months as governor of Massachusetts, was in Washington Tuesday to address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in an early stage of his 2008 presidential campaign. To a growing number of Republican activists, he looks like the party’s best bet. But any conversation among Republicans about Romney invariably touches on concerns of whether his Mormon faith disqualifies him for the presidency.

The U.S. Constitution prohibits a religious test for public office, but that is precisely what is being posed now. Prominent, respectable Evangelical Christians have told me, not for quotation, that millions of their co-religionists cannot and will not vote for Romney for president solely because he is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

As himself a member of that church, you can imagine how my blogging partner here, Lowell, would react to such a thing. As a mainstream evangelical Christian, I have heard some of the same rumblings Novak has, and I find them problematic. Amy Sullivan started writing about this in the September ’05 issue of Washington Monthly. Interestingly, the day after Lowell and I’s appearance on Hugh, Andrew Sullivan started wondering about the ‘legitimacy’ of religious affiliation debate for candidates.

This blog is dedicated to the issue of religious “qualification” for elected office in this country – something pretty well prohibited in Article 6 of the constitution. We should note that this blog is not an endorsement of Mitt Romney presidential aspirations, nor is it an effort to aid his “campaign.” This blog is devoted solely to the issues that arise from that campaign and Romney’s religious convictions.

There are thousands of questions that will arise out of this issue, in all aspects – from theology to constitutional law, from political strategy to campaign finance. Lowell and I are not experts in all of these areas, but we know or can find people who are. We envision this blog as a service – addressing questions the public has about all these concerns. Therefore, we strongly solicit your input and questions. Our intended format will be to pose a question periodically, daily if we get enough and to have Lowell and I each take a crack at answering it – those questions will, we hope, come from you our readers.

To kick things off, Hugh Hewitt has graciously agreed to supply the initial ten questions – hopefully in that time we’ll start hearing from you. You’ll find the question submission button in the top menu. Ask Away!

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