- https://PayPal.Me/lukeisback
"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
- Robert Putnam: The Man Who Counted What America Lost
- W. Bradford Wilcox: The Sociologist Who Tells America to Get Married
- Peter Moskos: The Cop Who Talks to People
- Julius Krein
- Ryan Burge: The Numbers Man in the Empty Church
- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
- Tanner Greer
- Economist Tyler Cowen
- Richard Reeves: A Life in Institutions
- Jake Adelstein: The Reporter Who Became His Story
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
- Moira Greyland
- Robert Oscar Lopez: The Inconvenient Witness
- Two Ledgers: Decoding the Gurus and the Price of Talk
- The Pervert’s Progress: Costin Vlad Alamariu and the Making of Bronze Age Pervert
- Curtis Yarvin: A Life Against Democracy
- Mark Helprin: Against the Current
- Mark Brandt: The Man Who Asked Who Else Is Prejudiced
- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
BEST POSTS:
- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
* Mr. Burge Draws The Line (6-23-26)
* 'Improving on Democracy' (6-17-26)
* People Leak To People Who Are Fun (6-11-26)
* Why Does Australia Produce So Many Great Journalists? (6-11-26)
* Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas (6-3-26)
* Sheldon Adelson and the Journalists (6-3-26)
* The Vigilant Animal: Thinkers Who Reject the Myth of Human Gullibility (6-2-26)
* The Cost of Refusing the Misunderstanding Myth (6-2-26)
* Show Me How It Travels (6-2-26)
* The Norm Explainers (6-2-26)
* Centering Marginalized Voices (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Washington Post put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Financial Times put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for the Los Angeles Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for The New York Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* Why Wembanyama Lives on the Perimeter (5-31-26)
* The Emotional Palettes Of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Sacramento (5-27-26)
* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* San Diego - The Quiet Republic (5-27-26)
* The Quiet Bar: San Diego Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* SF v LA Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* Why Talent Travels Poorly Between San Francisco and Los Angeles (5-27-26)
* San Francisco and Los Angeles as Rival Models of Urban Access (5-27-26)
* Social Cliques in New York, 2026 (5-25-26)
* Social Cliques in San Francisco, 2026 (5-25-26)
* The Rival Courts of Washington (5-25-26)
* The City of Private Rooms (5-25-26)
Category Archives: Christianity
Abide With Me
“Abide With Me” and “Nearer My God To Thee” are my two favorite Christian hymns. I wonder why. I guess one reason is that there is nothing explicitly or uniquely Christian about them. I identify with being on the Titanic … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Personal
Tagged christian hymn, christian hymns, christians, conversion to judaism, desires, enough lifeboats, henry francis, Judaism, sarah flower adams
Comments Off on Abide With Me
The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day
I just picked up this new book — The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day — by Seventh-Day Adventist Sigve K. Tonstad. He’s on the Religion and Medicine faculty at Loma Linda University. I’m thinking about the title. I don’t … Continue reading
Posted in Adventist, Christianity, Judaism
Tagged exodus from egypt, loma linda university, observing the sabbath, religion and medicine, sabbath keeping churches, sabbath morning, seventh day adventists
Comments Off on The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day
Time To Replace The Church Window?
It probably seemed like a good idea at the time, says the mass email.
Posted in Christianity
Comments Off on Time To Replace The Church Window?
They Trust The Heart, We Trust The Law
I just watched all four episodes of the BBC drama North & South, set in 19th Century England. It was very romantic and charming and traditional. Reminded me a bit of Orthodox Judaism, until these goyim started excusing each other’s … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Judaism, Personal
Tagged 19th century england, bbc drama, fornicating, goyim, orthodox judaism, religion christianity
Comments Off on They Trust The Heart, We Trust The Law
Christian Compassion
More
Posted in Christianity, Holocaust, Judaism, Personal
Comments Off on Christian Compassion
Why Doesn’t The Great Sin Of Pre-Marital Sex Get More Attention In Orthodox Life?
When I was growing up in Seventh-Day Adventist Christianity, the sin of fornication aka pre-marital sex received more attention than any other sin. It was the biggie. To do it, was to deny Christ and his love. I’ve never heard … Continue reading
Posted in Adventist, Christianity, Orthodoxy, Personal, Rabbis, Sex
Tagged Dennis Prager, flag football league, monogamous heterosexual marriage, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbis, pre marital sex, saturday night fever, shabbos afternoon
Comments Off on Why Doesn’t The Great Sin Of Pre-Marital Sex Get More Attention In Orthodox Life?
Shannon Orand’s Unusual Conversion
Here’s the Jewish Israel report. Here’s The Jerusalem Report. From The Jerusalem Post, it sounds like Rav Shmuel Eliyahu (Chief Rabbi of Safed and the son of the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Mordechai Eliyahu) is the main force … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Conversion, Guma Aguiar, Israel, Jewish Israel, Orthodoxy, R. Dov Lior, R. Haim Druckman, R. Leib Tropper, R. Rafi Ostroff, R. Shmuel Eliyahu, R. Tovia Singer, Shannon Orand
Tagged bnei akiva, chief rabbi, chief rabbinate, israel report, jerusalem post, jerusalem report, orand, rabbi dov lior, rabbi shmuel, rabbi singer, rabbi tovia singer, rav dov lior
Comments Off on Shannon Orand’s Unusual Conversion
What More Proof Do You Need?
Bob emails: Remember the Jesus tortilla from the 80’s? Like an edible Shroud of Turin. Khunrum emails: “This reminds me of a true Tejas story from when I was a young immigrant to the state. Someone discovered what they perceived … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity
Tagged 20th century man, dark ages, holy relics, image of jesus, neighbor bob, shroud of turin
Comments Off on What More Proof Do You Need?
Rabbi Riskin & Rabbi Jesus
Here are some interesting letters to and from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. In the first letter, dated March 26, 1991, Rabbi Riskin tries to hire Rabbi Baruch Lanner to recruit for him. Lanner would be great for bringing people through the … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, R. Shlomo Riskin
Tagged pastor john hagee, rabbi jesus, rabbi riskin, rabbi shlomo riskin, traditional jewish perspective, yassir arafat
Comments Off on Rabbi Riskin & Rabbi Jesus
O My Son Absalom, My Son, My Son Absolom! Would God I Had Died For Thee, O Absolom, My Son, My Son!
I try to imagine my life from my dad’s perspective (Part Two): I gave my life to Jesus Christ as a teenager. That’s a great comfort for me. In the final analysis, it’s all in God’s hands. I did the … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Personal
Tagged avondale college, bone cancer, religion department, sick wife, son absalom, wife gwen
Comments Off on O My Son Absalom, My Son, My Son Absolom! Would God I Had Died For Thee, O Absolom, My Son, My Son!