The "national pastime" has occasioned more intellectual rumination than any other athletic endeavor in American—perhaps even world—history. Intellectuals and sports writers have turned the metaphysical implications of the game into something of a cottage industry.

From 1957, a classic essay by Flannery O'Connor, who died 50 years ago on Sunday.

The novelist had a driving conviction that ran roughshod over our weak-kneed answers.

John Matteson reviews "The Fate of the West" by Bill Emmott

Tommy Tighe argues that being Catholic is hipster in itself. So, he contends, why not mine the tradition for its quirkiest customs and celebrate them without reservation?

The book grapples with the biggest of issues: the meaning of life, the problem of evil and the value of praying to a God who seems only rarely to intervene in human affairs.