Love is the basic act and order of all things because all things are created by God. The most basic fact or truth of all things is at once their analogically conceived goodness or value as gift, a giftedness that is intrinsic to each thing by virtue of its being generated by the generosity of God. The goodness of things in the cosmos is not rooted most basically in human freedom or intelligence, and thus in human spirit, nor is it first granted by human freedom and intelligence. On the contrary, it is rooted in the creative freedom and intelligence of the creator, in which all things of the cosmos truly participate, and which they just so far ‘image,’ each in its own analogical, creaturely way. –David L. Schindler (Ordering Love: Liberal Societies and the Memory of God2011)

We hope you will join us in The Imaginative Conservative community. The Imaginative Conservative is an on-line journal for those who seek the True, the Good and the Beautiful. We address culture, liberal learning, politics, political economy, literature, the arts and the American Republic in the tradition of Russell Kirk, T.S. Eliot, Edmund Burke, Irving Babbitt, Wilhelm Roepke, Robert Nisbet, Richard Weaver, M.E. Bradford, Eric Voegelin, Christopher Dawson, Paul Elmer More and other leaders of Imaginative Conservatism. Some conservatives may look at the state of Western culture and the American Republic and see a huge dark cloud which seems ready to unleash a storm that may well wash away what we most treasure of our inherited ways. Others focus on the silver lining which may be found in the next generation of traditional conservatives who have been inspired by Dr. Kirk and his like. We hope that The Imaginative Conservative answers T.S. Eliot’s call to “redeem the time, redeem the dream.” The Imaginative Conservative offers to our families, our communities, and the Republic, a conservatism of hope, grace, charity, gratitude and prayer.

The featured image is “Education of the Virgin Mary” (between 1640 and 1642) by Guido Reni, and is in the public domain, by courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

All comments are moderated and must be civil, concise, and constructive to the conversation. Comments that are critical of an essay may be approved, but comments containing ad hominem criticism of the author will not be published. Also, comments containing web links or block quotations are unlikely to be approved. Keep in mind that essays represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Imaginative Conservative or its editor or publisher.

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