Joseph Bottum

Oral Roberts, gone to his reward at age 91. What are we to make of him? A strange career, certainly, but, then, the times were strange. . . . . Continue Reading »

The always brilliant Philip Hamburger has an article in the last issue of the Columbia Law Review called “Beyond Protection” that deserves serious attention. It opens: Do foreign terrorists have rights under American law? And can they be prosecuted under such law? These questions may . . . . Continue Reading »

Prominent Calvinist theologian R.C. Sproul refused to sign the Manhattan Declaration on the grounds, he now explains , that it assumes that the Catholic Church preaches the gospel. Indeed, he explains, it was born of the same impulse that produced the various statements of Evangelicals and . . . . Continue Reading »

Interesting news from the Senate floor : “Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) on Thursday said that he would not vote to advance the Senate’s health care reform bill unless it includes additional restrictions on the use of federal subsidies to purchase insurance plans that include abortion . . . . Continue Reading »

It’s a nudge here and a shove there. A push from one side and a kick from another. Little things, for the most part, and surprisingly often the perpetrators retreat when directly challenged, but only to watch someone else step in to take their place. And the Christian churches have responded . . . . Continue Reading »

Sports Illustrated wanders into the theological : Whether it’s genuine or a performance, does it matter as long as the saintly act was committed? Tebow’s on- and off-field exploits have landed under a similar microscope. Sure, he scores a ton of rushing touchdowns, but they’re . . . . Continue Reading »

Christmas has devoured Advent, gobbled it up with the turkey giblets and the goblets of seasonal ale. Every secularized holiday, of course, tends to lose the context it had in the liturgical year. Across the nation, even in many churches, Easter has hopped across Lent, Halloween has frightened away All Saints, and New Year’s has drunk up Epiphany… . Continue Reading »

Thanksgiving was always tense while I was growing up, and I don’t know why. Christmas, now”Christmas was mostly fun and presents and carols and laughter, as I remember. But Thanksgiving was arguments and huffs and recriminations and doors slamming and one indistinguishable great-uncle or another rousing himself from his after-dinner torpor to growl, “Now, now,” from an easy chair, puffing through his mustache like an irritated walrus as he loosened his belt another notch… . Continue Reading »

It was an amazing NFL game this weekend, Cleveland against Detroit : two of the worst teams in the league playing the most exciting game of the year. In the end, the Lions’ young quarterback Matthew Stafford pulled out the victory with a final touchdown pass, his fifth of the game, with 0:00 . . . . Continue Reading »

Apropos of the clash between Rep. Kennedy and his bishop , it’s worth remembering, as a friend emails to note, that sometimes calling politicians on abortion really does work. New Yorkers may remember this sequence from the 1980s: • September 9, 1986: A Parish Bans Assemblyman From . . . . Continue Reading »