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New Bioethics Commission

Adam Keiper over at The New Atlantis discusses the shape and mission of the new Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. The revisions made by the Obama administration are more than cosmetic or the standard changing of the guard—the entire charge of the council has been . . . . Continue Reading »

Love Your Enemy

The Lord Jesus said:“43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on . . . . Continue Reading »

The Neverending Loyalty Debate

Responding to Helen , Conor fails to acknowledge the distinction between “critiquing an argument” and “writing a hit piece”, or at the very least implies that the two phrases may be used interchangeably. It’s funny, I thought Helen’s post made it pretty clear . . . . Continue Reading »

Should Romney Be Judged By His Religion?

At FrumForum Alex Knepper—who believes all religions are “equally bizarre and irrational”—argues that Mitt Romney should be judged based on his religion : If freedom requires religion, if his Mormon faith sustains his life and he will be true to those practices, then I’m . . . . Continue Reading »

The Significance of Climategate

I have always thought that the global warming, or “climate change” debate, was as much about social psychology as science. Now we have the perfect example in the unseemly row over a thousand purloined e-mails to and from the scientists of the Climate Research Unit at the University of . . . . Continue Reading »

The “No True Scientist” Fallacy

In his 1975 book Thinking About Thinking , philosopher Anthony Flew outlined a form of argument that he dubbed the “No True Scotsman” fallacy: Argument: “No Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.” Reply: “But my uncle Angus likes sugar with his porridge.” Rebuttal: . . . . Continue Reading »

Sayonara, Weber!

Via Tyler Cowen, a paper by Davide Cantoni  casts some doubt on the efficacy of the Protestant Ethic: Many theories, most famously Max Weber’s essay on the ‘Protestant ethic,’ have hypothesized that Protestantism should have favored economic development. With their . . . . Continue Reading »

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