Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
It seems that our political scene doesn't have many slow days anymore, and now we have a daily ration of news about children from Mexico and Central America arriving at our border for a new life. The Occupant doesn't want to see them for himself, lest the rest of us do the same via his …
Continue reading "Cold Blooded Politics: The Children's Immigration Mess"
I was recently directed to Frank Matthew Powell's blog post Dear American Church…I Am Not Renewing My Membership This Year. He's touched on a subject I've mon occasion but now need to take up in earnest: the church as a club. Most people who decry the church becoming a private club have never spent much …
Continue reading "The Church as Club: My Response to Frank Matthew Powell"
By throwing the towel in as a priest: During “The Watch” on Maundy Thursday, I did what I said I would do – in giving to our Lady (as Father Jay Hughes did) my priesthood. Whether I can resume it is up to God in Christ who called me to it many years ago. But …
In the middle of a victory for conscience, this: The Supreme Court ruled Monday that certain "closely held" for-profit businesses can cite religious objections in order to opt out of a requirement in ObamaCare to provide free contraceptive coverage for their employees. The whole business of closely held corporations has been lost in the predictable …
Continue reading "Hobby Lobby: Another Victory for Closely Held Corporations"
The left tries to have a little fun with this issue: In a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry stressed the importance of forming a unity government in Iraq but refused to commit to a timetable for creating one in the United States. Taking this in, al-Maliki …
It's that time of the biennium again: Lord willing, the Church of God will gather in Orlando towards the end of next month to consider the business of the church. One think that makes this Assembly different is that there are no Executive Committee members to be elected, although the state Administrative Bishops will go through …
Continue reading "Comments on the Agenda for the 2014 Church of God General Assembly"
Sarah Hey's piece on @standfirm on the necessity of ACNA's people getting involved in their church's politics reminds me of something that took place when I started to work for Church of God Lay Ministries and Paul L. Walker was our Presiding Bishop. Walker was a successful pastor in Atlanta before he moved onto the …
Continue reading "Where Two or Three Gather Together, There Will be Politics"
In this case, the Soper Trust: For the past forty years, the Episcopal Diocese of Washington has been the beneficiary of the Ruth Gregory Soper Trust fund. Constructed as a trust handled by Riggs Bank and then its successor PNC Bank, the diocese received interest from the body of her money. Under PNC’s careful investments, …
I was surprised that the groups referenced even had to ask Eric Holder to do this: This week, 90 religious, educational, civil rights, labor, LGBT, women’s, and health groups signed a joint letter (full text) to Attorney General Eric Holder asking that the Office of Legal Counsel withdraw the Bush Administration's June 29, 2007 memo allowing faith-based organization …
Continue reading "Don't Level the Playing Field, Just Tilt the Table"
Everyone has milestones in their life they stop and either celebrate or reflect on. In my case, it is something that looks superficial but made a profound difference. Fifty years ago this month, my parents, brother and I packed up my mother's car and pulled out of the place I live now to move to …
Continue reading "The Children of Paradise Lost: Reflections on Being a South Floridian"
Positive Infinity 