Oh, yes, it is: In the 1500s, a pestering theologian instituted something called the Marriage Ordinance in Geneva, which made "state registration and church consecration" a dual requirement of matrimony. We have yet to get over this mistake. But isn't it about time we freed marriage from the state? Imagine if government had no interest …
Is It Proper to Refer to Christians as Enlightened?
This is the first in a sporadic series on the Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem. When we think of people becoming Christians, what term do we associate with this? Traditionally, Evangelicals would think in terms of “born again” or “saved.” It's hard to know sometimes what others call it, because in other cases …
Continue reading "Is It Proper to Refer to Christians as Enlightened?"
Priest-in-Charge, Pastoral Woes and Authority in the Church
I found intriguing Elizabeth Kaeton's piece on priests-in-charge. It was interesting because it's one of those rare posts (in this case from a liberal) which transcends the left-right divide that defines just about everything these days. For my Evangelical readers, if you're interested in the whole business of "priest-in-charge" you'll need to read her post. …
Continue reading "Priest-in-Charge, Pastoral Woes and Authority in the Church"
Worth Avenue Palm Trees Go to 9/11 Memorial
While New Yorkers fight over the mosque near Ground Zero, some palm trees that graced Worth Avenue are replanted in a 9/11 memorial in Palm Beach Gardens: The Christmas palms that once lined the three-block commercial stretch of Worth Avenue had been offered to any takers willing to pay for their removal by the contractors …
Continue reading "Worth Avenue Palm Trees Go to 9/11 Memorial"
The Tricky Part in Keeping Western Civilisation Afloat
Martin Hutchinson is sanguine about the future of Western civilisation, but every silver lining has a cloud: Provided Western government spending is kept under control so private sectors have room to flourish, and interest rates are fairly quickly restored to levels that encourage saving, the Western advantages of capital, education, technology and favourable business climate …
Continue reading "The Tricky Part in Keeping Western Civilisation Afloat"
A Few Words About Tennessee Gubenatorial Candidate Basil Marceaux
I see that Basil Marceaux has made it big on YouTube: I know Basil Marceaux. What you see is what you get. First: he is not the Republican nominee for Governor. Our primary is Thursday (5 August). My guess is that he'll do well to get into the single digits, although with all of the …
Continue reading "A Few Words About Tennessee Gubenatorial Candidate Basil Marceaux"
Palm Beach Police Do Their Part to Combat Illegal Immigration
It may cause controversy in Arizona, but Palm Beach's finest keep rolling on: Palm Beach police captured seven illegal immigrants early Sunday morning near the intersection of South Ocean Boulevard and County Road. Police were alerted shortly after 2 a.m., according to Capt. Fred Hess. “They just landed from Haiti. No boat was found,” Hess …
Continue reading "Palm Beach Police Do Their Part to Combat Illegal Immigration"
When the Union and the Environmentalists Collide: the Bucyrus International-India Equipment Fiasco
The fun started when the Export-Import bank nixed Bucyrus International's sale of mining equipment for an Indian power project: On Thursday, the Export-Import Bank denied financing for Reliance Power Ltd., an Indian power plant company, effectively wiping out about $600 million in coal mining equipment sales for Bucyrus, chief executive Tim Sullivan said. The fossil fuel …
Some Thoughts on the Vote re Women Ordained Bishops at the Church of God 2010 General Assembly
With this post I resume with a topic that generated the most heated debate at the Church of God 2010 General Assembly: the admission of women to the rank of Ordained Bishops. (For my Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox friends, the term "Ordained Bishop" has a different meaning than a diocesan: in addition to including those …
The Class Struggle Comes Back, Part II
There are some on the left (like Kevin Drum at Mother Jones) who are having second thoughts on the American obsession of racial racial equality over class equalisation: Class/income-based affirmative action has long struck me as an alternative that ought to get more attention than it does...Class-based program programs might, in the end, provide modestly …
Positive Infinity 