Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Book Club
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The Atlantic: The Evidence That God Exists
The Atlantic: The Evidence That God Exists, by Elizabeth Bruenig (B.A. Brandeis; M.Phil. Christian Theology, Cambridge): I grew up in a faithful Methodist household in deep-red Texas during the George W. Bush years, when the political sway of evangelicals was at its zenith. At the same time, evangelists of a robust atheism—figures such as the biologist
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The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness
The Free Press: Why Your ‘Perfect’ Life Feels So Empty, by Arthur Brooks (Harvard) (Author, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness (2026)): I’ve spent most of my career around some of the most accomplished young people in the world. What I’ve found is that they are undeniably, desperately, incorrigibly
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Steven Pinker & Ross Douthat: The God Debate
The Free Press, Debate: Do We Need God?: Hosting a debate about God in 2026 might seem like a strange thing to do. … For years, intellectuals predicted that as religion receded, society would become calmer, more rational, and more scientific. Shed religious superstition, the theory went, and we would inherit a more enlightened public
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James Talarico, Liberal Protestants, and Evangelicals
Following up on my previous post, Can Texas Senate Candidate James Talarico Reclaim Christianity for the Left? (New York Times): Dispatch Faith: The Real Difference Between Evangelicals and Liberal Protestants, by Daniel K. Williams (Ashland University; Author, Politics of the Cross: A Christian Alternative to Partisanship (2021)): Evangelicals and liberal Protestants badly misunderstand each other.
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NY Times: What Is The Argument For Believing In God?
New York Times Book Review: What Is the Argument for Believing in God?, by Timothy Egan (reviewing Christopher Beha, Why I Am Not an Atheist: The Confessions of a Skeptical Believer (2026)): Christopher Beha’s long and winding road from well-read atheist to even better-read Christian begins with a compelling image: An angel appears to him. Not
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Suffering Is Part Of The Christian Job Description
Christianity Today: Revival Begins with Suffering, Not Celebrity, by Luke Geraty (reviewing Craig Keener (Asbury Theological Seminary), Suffering: Its Meaning for the Spirit-Filled Life (2025)): I remember the first time I heard Craig Keener speak. The world-renowned scholar had recently published Miracles, a two-volume work providing a philosophical, biblical, and experiential case for the supernatural
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If There Is No God: The Battle Over Who Defines Good and Evil
The Free Press: Right and Wrong Are Not a Matter of Personal Opinion, by Dennis Prager (Author, If There Is No God: The Battle Over Who Defines Good and Evil (2026)): The great moral tragedy of our time is that feelings have replaced values. And they shouldn’t. Feelings are beautiful. Feelings are wonderful. It’s good
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Pickleball and Faith
Christianity Today: Blessed Are the Pickleball Players, by David Zahl (Author, The Big Relief: The Urgency of Grace for a Worn-Out World (How to Overcome Burnout, Perfectionism, and Life’s Overwhelming Demands by Embracing Grace, Acceptance, and Peace) (2025)): On our way to church every weekend, my family and I pass two sets of tennis courts,
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Disciplining the Dragons Within Us: Spiritual Formation and the Healing of Our Hearts
Christianity Today: The Dragons Within, by Haley Byrd Wilt: In Scripture, dragons—these great beasts we humans can’t help but dream about (or have nightmares about) from time to time—are associated with evil and chaos. And in the works of the original Inklings, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, dragons remind us of those corners of ourselves
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From the Bookshelves: The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly (2025)
I love legal thrillers. If you do too and need a distraction, check out The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly (2025). Very enjoyable! Here is the publisher’s description: “From #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly, the Lincoln Lawyer is back with a case against an AI company whose product may have been responsible for the murder
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From the Bookshelves: John Grisham, The Widow
Need a break from grading — if you are still grading — final exams? I found John Grisham’s latest, The Widow, to be fun. Here is the publisher’s blurb: “Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, making just enough to pay his bills while his marriage slowly falls apart. Then into his office walks
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Charlie Kirk’s Final Message to America: Stop, In the Name of God
Charlie Kirk finished writing a book on the Sabbath months before he was murdered. This book discusses the importance of observing the Sabbath—and why rest might heal our country.
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NY Times: Christmas and the Resilience of Religious Doubt
Christmas and the resilience of religious doubt
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How Church Could (Literally) Save Your Life
How Church Could (Literally) Save Your Life introduces skeptics to data, invites them to church, and finally guides them toward the one by whose wounds we are healed—no pills, planks, or apps required.
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DREAM Act Reintroduced in Congress
This week, another version of the DREAM Act was introduced in the U.S. Congress. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the bill, which would create a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children. The law likely would ease access for immigrant students to higher education. It also a
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Book of the Week
This one’s a couple of years old, but it’s so well done, I couldn’t skip it. For a profound diagnosis of what ails America and the West, I suggest The Twilight of the American State by Pierre Schlag, University Distinguished Professor and Byron R. White Professor of Law at the University of Colorado. You can
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From the Bookshelves: The Opinionated University: Academic Freedom, Diversity, and the Myth of Neutrality in American Higher Education by Brian Soucek
Speech at — and by — universities has been an issue of controversy in recent years. My colleague, Brian Soucek, has a book on the topic, The Opinionated University: Academic Freedom, Diversity, and the Myth of Neutrality in American Higher Education. Here is the publisher’s teaser:
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Cauble: Exceptional Cases And Automated Agencies
Emily Cauble (Wisconsin; Google Scholar), Exceptional Cases (reviewing Joshua D. Blank (UC-Irvine; Google Scholar) & Leigh Osofsky (North Carolina; Google Scholar), Automated Agencies: The Transformation of Government Guidance (Cambridge University Press 2025)): In their recent book, Automated Agencies, Professors Blank and Osofsky offer what the book front matter aptly describes as “the definitive account of how automation
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Townsend: Federal Tax Procedure 2025
Jack Townsend, formerly an adjunct tax professor at the University of Houston Law School, has posted to SSRN his annual editions of the Federal Tax Procedure book: Student 2025 Edition (806 pages): This edition has no footnotes and is designed for the federal tax procedure student. I present the core tax procedure information that I
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Turley: New Study Raises Concerns Over Universal Basic Income Plans
Jonathan Turley (George Washington; Google Scholar), New Study Raises Concerns Over Universal Basic Income Plans: In my forthcoming book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, I explore how the American republic can survive in the 21st Century given unprecedented economic, technological, and political changes. The book addresses the increasing calls for
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Turley: New Study Raises Concerns Over Universal Basic Income Plans
Jonathan Turley (George Washington; Google Scholar), New Study Raises Concerns Over Universal Basic Income Plans: In my forthcoming book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, I explore how the American republic can survive in the 21st Century given unprecedented economic, technological, and political changes. The book addresses the increasing calls for
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American Inheritance: Liberty And Slavery In The Birth Of A Nation
The New York Review: The Contradictory Revolution, by David S. Reynolds (CUNY; Google Scholar) (reviewing Edward J. Larson (Pepperdine)), American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation, 1765-1795 (2023): Historians have long grappled with “the American Paradox” of American Revolutionary leaders who fought for their own liberty while denying it to enslaved
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American Inheritance: Liberty And Slavery In The Birth Of A Nation
The New York Review: The Contradictory Revolution, by David S. Reynolds (CUNY; Google Scholar) (reviewing Edward J. Larson (Pepperdine)), American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation, 1765-1795 (2023): Historians have long grappled with “the American Paradox” of American Revolutionary leaders who fought for their own liberty while denying it to enslaved
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Back To The Future: How The Pre-OECD Global Tax Landscape Offers Lessons For Today
Steven Dean (Boston University), Erin Ryu (J.D. 2026, Boston University) & Danna Lopez-Flores (J.D. 2026, Boston University), Back to the Future: How the Pre-OECD Global Tax Landscape Offers Lessons for Today: At a time when developing countries need to ramp up investment to achieve development and climate goals, tax revenue is particularly urgent. A global
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Back To The Future: How The Pre-OECD Global Tax Landscape Offers Lessons For Today
Steven Dean (Boston University), Erin Ryu (J.D. 2026, Boston University) & Danna Lopez-Flores (J.D. 2026, Boston University), Back to the Future: How the Pre-OECD Global Tax Landscape Offers Lessons for Today: At a time when developing countries need to ramp up investment to achieve development and climate goals, tax revenue is particularly urgent. A global