I’ve been watching the flurry of posts and intense debates in comments on the issue of torture here, and wondering, frankly, “What’s going on? Why has this become such a hot topic here?” I’m almost tempted to say it is becoming like torture to read yet one more blog . . . . Continue Reading »
The Associated Press reports on a peculiar incident in Malaysia : Eight churches have been attacked over three days amid a dispute over the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims, sparking fresh political instability that is denting Malaysia’s image as a moderate and stable . . . . Continue Reading »
Each year the Edge Foundation asks a select group of “scientists and other thinkers in the empirical world” to respond to a particular question. Invariably the answers—even when they are wrong or misguided—are fascinating and worthy of reflection. I’m still working my . . . . Continue Reading »
The topic of torture and Christian ethics is now a heated discussion topic here. I’d like to ask a (perhaps naive) question about torture. Where is the harm located? What ethical principles are being violated by torture?Sixteen years ago, I contracted appendicitis and was in the hospital three . . . . Continue Reading »
Oh, Al Gore isn’t going to like this. Some of the same scientists who predicted global warming, now see a coming big chill—because, waddya know—a lot of this is cyclical! From the story:Among the most prominent of the scientists is Professor Mojib Latif, a leading . . . . Continue Reading »
I am very weary of the Green Crowd extolling China as a model or global responsibility. The NYT’s official “Davos columnist,” Thomas Friedman, is at it again. Today, he warns how China is leaping ahead in green technologies, which Friedman argues, we could top if only . . . . Continue Reading »
My dear colleague JMR —Thanks for your responses overall, including your exchange with my friend and fellow subversive Steve Hays. It’s good to see the extent to which you are willing to defend your position.A clarification before I continue on the topic of this letter — in your . . . . Continue Reading »
It is appropriate on this first Sunday after Epiphany to join with the congregation of St. Peter’s Church in Bremerhaven, Germany, in singing Philipp Nicolai’s immortal chorale, How Brightly Shines the Morning Star, or in the Plattdeutsch native to this particular community, Wo hell . . . . Continue Reading »
So I’m continuing my project of reading the books on which the still lingering Holiday movies are based. Walter Kirn’s UP IN THE AIR is very different from and much funnier than the movie. The book’s narrator (the Clooney character in the movie) gives a rather urbane and quite . . . . Continue Reading »
[caption id=”attachment_4980” align=”alignleft” width=”489” caption=”Sitting in Midst of the Doctors. James Tissot, c. 1895”][/caption]Today is the first Sunday after Epiphany, an observance of our Lord’s visit to His Temple as a boy.The Glory of . . . . Continue Reading »
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