Howard P. Kainz

We often hear complaints about the degradation of morality in the contemporary world, as compared with past eras. This may or may not be true. But if we focus on the development of conscience, and particularly in the Western World, which has been affected (even in “post-Christian” regions) by Judeo-Christian values—a definite, gradual improvement is discernible, at least in certain areas. Take genocide, for instance. . . . Continue Reading »

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, in an editorial in the March 2000 issue of First Things, discussed the issue of Mormon claims to be Christian in considerable detail. He explained that as an ecumenically oriented magazine, First Things was primarily interested in topics related to the relations between Christians and Jews, but his intention in this column was to extend the outreach a little further… . Continue Reading »

In the February 22nd Republican debate in Arizona, John King of CNN raised a question about birth control: “Since birth control is the latest hot topic, which candidate believes in birth control, and if not, why?” Mitt Romney recognized this as a return to the question that moderator George Stephanopoulos had asked him about contraception in the previous January 7th debate. The audience booed and showed dissatisfaction that this question was brought up again … Continue Reading »

At the January 7, 2012 Republican presidential debate, there came a point at which the questioning turned to “social issues.” Moderator George Stephanopoulos asked Mitt Romney whether he thought a state could ban contraception. Stephanopoulos had in mind the 1965 Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut, which ruled that a state could not ban contraception, and which, by invoking a presumed “right to privacy,” laid the groundwork for the subsequent Roe v. Wade decision overturning bans on abortion… . Continue Reading »

The greatest commandment, Jesus tells us, is: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Well, of course. But a commandment? I tend to empathize with the Danish Philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, who writes, in Works of Love … Continue Reading »

During the 1980s, two books”Evolution: a Theory in Crisis, by Michael Denton, and The Mystery of Life’s Origin: Reassessing Current Theories, by Charles Thaxton, Walter Bradley, and Roger Olsen”unwittingly gave rise to the Intelligent Design (ID) movement. Books by scientists”Michael Denton, Michael Behe, William Dembski, Stephen Meyer and others”pointed out various deficiencies in the theory of evolution: millions of gaps in the asserted “tree of evolution,” the impossibility of producing certain types of “irreducible complexity” by chance interactions, the failure of algorithms used by evolutionists to explain certain evolutionary developments, etc… . Continue Reading »