I saw Avatar a couple of nights ago with the words of many earlier critics in mind. The template was in place. This would be a left-wing, pantheistic film. Coming out of it, I think Avatar is more complex than that. Whether or not Cameron intended that complexity, I don’t . . . . Continue Reading »
”..for instance in England, there was a vogue for the term, “post-Evangelical.” That’s absolutely ludicrous. If someone is an ex-Evangelical, in other words, they once were an Evangelical, but no longer are, then terrific. At least they’re honest enough to say so, I . . . . Continue Reading »
It’s a blessing to have smart readers, and I’ve profited from the string of comments about the differences between conservative and liberal mentalities. Some point out that the Bush administration had its share of ideological blindness, especially with regard to policies after the . . . . Continue Reading »
I am not posting this YouTube video because Lord Monckton pretty much takes apart a Green Peace member about global warming. (She admits it is a matter of faith for her because she believes those telling her the planet is warming catastrophically.) Like the very nice interviewee, most people . . . . Continue Reading »
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a technique for measuring brain activity by detecting the changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occur in response to neural activity. For the past few decades it has been considered one of the most promising tools in neuroscience research for . . . . Continue Reading »
Bloody confrontations erupted again yesterday between the Iranian government and pro-reform activists. As often happens in such circumstances, otherwise sober analysts become intoxicated on the fumes of revolution, leading them to reject realism in favor of ahistorical analogies. Robin Wright, a . . . . Continue Reading »
Today we commemorate and remember those first martyrs of the New Testament era, the Holy Innocents slaughtered by wicked King Herod in Bethlehem. We may wonder why, in this “season of joy and happiness” we have in the Church Year the commemoration of the murder of St. Stephen, and then, a couple . . . . Continue Reading »
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is from Nigeria, not New Orleans. But the reaction to his attempted bombing of up a Northwest Airlines jet can only be understood in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. After Katrina America underwent one of the most significant spiritual crises in our nations . . . . Continue Reading »
Recently I opened a jury duty summons for one of our local courts. My report date hasn’t arrived quite yet, but I’m looking forward to the possibility of serving. I’ve only been empanelled once and it was a nightmare; I’m hoping for a better experience this time. The accused . . . . Continue Reading »