Past ages have accepted the preeminent power of faith, and argued over what to believe, not over whether to believe. We tend to wonder whether the passion of belief isnt a danger, perhaps the danger to be overcome. A recent book by Mark Johnston, Saving God: Religion after Idolatry, revises Christianity to make it is less dangerous… . Continue Reading »
Why in the world is the Vatican attacking Israel and reverting to radical supercessionism? asked a theologian who knows I am involved in Jewish-Christian dialogue. Supersessionism, at least in its radical form, states that the church has replaced Jewish Israel so that the Jewish covenant no longer has continuing significance… . Continue Reading »
Spend a day with your local military recruiter, and youll be encouraged by the number of people who go out of their way to say how much they support our troops and how much they appreciate the service of these young veterans. Then watch as the recruiters casually ask when theyll be bringing their son or daughter to the recruiting station to learn more about serving their country… . Continue Reading »
In mid-September, I ran into retired General Barry McCaffrey in the green room at the NBC studios in Washington. He was discussing the latest turn in the dont-ask-dont-tell wars … Continue Reading »
Almost going unnoticed in the continuing analysis of last weeks election has been the absence of the sort of high-drama and neurotic self-indulgence that followed Democrat losses in 2004. Where is the Sorry, Everybody movement of 2010? … Continue Reading »
He was a dignified man suffering all the embarrassing ways cheerful young women the age of his granddaughter deal with the body’s failure as cancer begins shutting down the organs. Dying in a hospice, you lose all rights to modesty as you lose control of your body… . Continue Reading »
Brokenness haunts the pages of Kathleen Grabers new collection of poems, The Eternal City, chosen by Paul Muldoon to re-introduce the distinguished Princeton Series of Contemporary Poets. An award-winning poet who teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University, Graber has drawn her poetic inspiration from … Continue Reading »
Some pro-life leaders have advocated repeal of Obamacare, because it requires the public in various ways to fund abortion. Although I agree with their assessment of the law, I disagree with their proposed remedy. The pro-life cause would be far better served to keep the current law, provided … Continue Reading »
Hey, what are you doing here? a friend asked when I showed up on Tuesday night to watch the election coverage. Didnt you write last Thursday, pronouncing politics unimportant? Not exactly, I said. Politics is important. In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle defines human beings as political animals… . Continue Reading »
Its not every day that the United States Department of Justice has to remind people that a religion is in fact, a religion. However, the increasingly heated controversy surrounding a proposed mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee has forced its Civil Rights Division lawyers to intervene and counter plaintiffs working to stop its construction on the grounds that Islam is not a religion but rather a political or ideological movement. … Continue Reading »