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What Are They Smoking at the Times?

That’s what went through my mind when reading this op-ed by Matthew Avery Sutton, who is bylined as an associate professor of history at Washington State University, and author of Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America .  The essay is a bizarre train wreck . . . . Continue Reading »

Paying for a Church You Don’t Believe In

Two years ago, over two-thirds of the congregation of St. Marks-on-the-Mesa of the Diocese of the Rio Grande voted to leave the Episcopal Church to join the Anglican Church in North America. As Rev. Canon Phil Ashey, chief operating and development officer of the American Anglican Council, explains . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Square Today

In the latest On the Square feature , William Doino Jr. reviews John Julius Norwich Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy : As one reads on, it becomes clear that Absolute Monarchs has no real interest in the popes, other than to mock or marginalize them, and rob them of their saving grace: . . . . Continue Reading »

Why Pope Benedict Likes Martin Luther

As Mark Brumley observes, Martin Luther is “not a popular figure in most Catholic circles.” So why does Pope Benedict express appreciation for the original Protestant ? In his address Benedict makes a number of key points regarding Luther. First, there is Luther’s “burning . . . . Continue Reading »

Pro-Choice Determinism

Sam Harris devotes eleven pages or so in The Moral Landscape to denying that human free will exists, because physical determinism governs every event. Sam Harris says he is pro-choice. I was wondering if anyone could explain that for . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links - 09.23.11

Conscience, Coercion, and Healthcare Public Discourse , Helen Alvaré, Gerard V. Bradley and O. Carter Snead Pro-Life Christians Challenge Congressional Republicans on Mercury Regulation Time , Elizabeth Dias Israel Offers Peace—Again Wall Street Journal , Michael Oren Megachurch pastor . . . . Continue Reading »

Church as Alternative to Jail

Bad idea of the day : Operation Restore Our Community or “ROC” . . . begins next week. The city judge will either let misdemeanor offenders work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine or go to church every Sunday for a year. If offenders elect church, they’re allowed to pick . . . . Continue Reading »

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