Jul
29
Actually, Billy, It’s a Matter of Morality
July 29, 2005 | Leave a Comment
Speaking of the Problem of Evil, what’s up with Bill Frist? He’s not really a moron, so how can he be so confused about the moral difficulties involved in stem cell research, calling it a matter of science rather than a matter of faith? Dorothy Rabinowitz, whom I love dearly as a social commentator, made [...]
Jul
29
What Problem?
July 29, 2005 | Leave a Comment
I just posted a reply to an essay at Pontifications by Michael Liccione, an able and articulate writer who also happens to have some expertise in philosophy. One sometimes hesitates to rush in where angels fear to tread, but his essay–quite well done and also somewhat moving–addresses a philosophical argument about a theological question, and [...]
Jul
28
Nunsense
July 28, 2005 | Leave a Comment
RomanCatholicBlog has this piece on a formerly Catholic school run by Immaculate Heart of Mary sisters and their reasons for going, well, Outside the Fold, as it were. Here’s an interesting quote:
“We’ll start fresh,” Charnley said. “We’re appealing to continue playing in the Catholic League as Covenant.”
Surely the operative phrase there is “playing in the [...]
Jul
28
Wait! I Meant REALLY Strict Constructivism!
July 28, 2005 | Leave a Comment
An excellent article in the 24 July edition of the Chicago Sun-Times Online by Mark Steyn about how the Democrats love it when Justices legislate from the bench, but only if the Democrats come out as winners.
Jul
28
Only a Bureaucracy…
July 28, 2005 | Leave a Comment
…could create an entity called a Commission on Decommissioning.
Jul
27
On Wretched Mistakes
July 27, 2005 | Leave a Comment
I certainly did not intend to write about Jim Tucker’s blog twice in a row, but it’s been something of a slow week, and something he posted on Tuesday struck me as quite puzzling. In particular, I was struck by this bit:
It’s a wretched mistake for Americans to give uncritical support to the modern Israel [...]
Jul
24
Close, But No Pipe
July 24, 2005 | Leave a Comment
In an essay in today’s edition of his blog Dappled Things the Ordinarily Straight-Thinking Occasionally Pipe-Smoking Jim Tucker complains about homemade wedding vows in which putative couples deliberately leave out any reference to their pairing lasting “’till death do us part”, and he’s not angry merely because of the further paring down of Hopkinsesque language [...]
Jul
23
In Honor of the First Covenant
July 23, 2005 | Leave a Comment
On Saturdays I like to go to Confession. Not because I have a plethora of grievous sins to own up to each week, mind you, though I certainly have my share. Even if I had none, I would still go so as to make some reparation, however insignificant in comparison with Christ’s, for the little [...]
Jul
23
Corrigendum
July 23, 2005 | Leave a Comment
If I had even a fraction of Tom Kreitzberg’s theological insight I could retire a happy man, but as it is it looks like I’m going to be working for many long years to come. That’s not to say that I always agree with him, though it is to say that probably I would be [...]
Jul
20
A Lot of Good It Does Us
July 20, 2005 | Leave a Comment
OK, so he’s Catholic. Do we care? Does it matter? At first glance it may seem rather promising, but as I’ve mentioned in several installments this week, calling oneself a Catholic and actually acting like one don’t always go hand in hand. This is particularly true of folks who have to pass through Senate confirmation [...]