Chuck Colson is trying to making things complicated for Evangelicals: So do we retreat into our sanctuaries? Political columnist Cal Thomas, among others, says we should forget the idea of changing culture through politics and just be the church: help the poor, visit those in prison, and so on. To that I say an emphatic …
Just Think of the Reception If the Republicans Had Been in Control
An old high school classmate pointed me to this, at the Huffington Post of all places: Administration officials were greeted with sarcasm and laughter Monday night when they briefed lawmakers and congressional staff on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's new financial-sector bailout project, according to people who were in the room. The laughter was at its …
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Pope Benedict Finds Jettisoning Replacement Theology Harder Than It Looks
Spengler's article on this subject is especially cogent: Like many Jewish prayers, Tevye's prayer to be un-chosen also has become popular among some Catholics. The Catholic Church holds itself to be Israel, the People of God descended from Abraham in the Spirit. But many Catholics, including some in leading positions in the Roman Curia, think …
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Bank Aid? Let’s Bring Back Bono!
The title of the story is the solution: White House Now Plans Limited Bank Aid Package The Obama administration has decided on a new package of aid measures for the financial services industry, including a bad bank component, and is expected to announce it next Monday, according to a source familiar with the planning. Since …
Ward Three Morality: Too Poor to Paint, and Too Proud to Whitewash
David Brooks' piece on Ward Three Morality has me thinking: The essence of the problem is this: Rich people used to set their own norms. For example, if one rich person wanted to use the company helicopter to aerate the ponds on his properties, and the other rich people on his board of directors thought …
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N.T. Wright: The Tricky Part Isn’t in Allowing Them to Read the Bible
N.T. Wright thinks that the Bible can put a new zest into ecumenism, in part because of this: The synod (of Catholic bishops in Rome) was, in effect, inhabiting more fully the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, particularly the document Dei Verbum. Many bishops at the Synod spoke excitedly of the effect of Bible …
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Texas Looks at Changing the Law on Church Property Disputes and Secession of Churches
From the Episcopal News Service: An Episcopal priest who proposed rewriting Texas law to favor dissident congregations in property disputes said January 30 he considers it "the next natural step" in an attempt to halt lawsuits within the church. "It's shameful we're spending so much money suing one another when we could be using that …
It’s Not How Many Children We’re Having, But Who’s Having Them
Those of us who were confronted back in the 1960's and 1970's with books like Paul Erlich's The Population Bomb have heard this whining before: Jonathon Porritt, who chairs the government’s Sustainable Development Commission, says curbing population growth through contraception and abortion must be at the heart of policies to fight global warming. He says …
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TopCrétien: Great News From Tough Mission Fields
If you've scrolled down the page, you've probably seen the link to "TopCrétien" on the sidebar, or at the bottom of the "static" part of the site. It's been there for about the last six years, on every page on the site. The Francophone world has always been a fascination of mine since prep school. …
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Throwing Geithner Under the Bus re China
Or at least that's the way it looks: On the heels of Treasury Secretary Geithner's apparent designation of China as a currency manipulator at his confirmation hearing last week, President Obama called President Hu over the weekend to try and calm the waters. We at this time have no more information beyond confirmation of the …
Positive Infinity 