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Waking With a Yelp

“He drifted on the water, the man dozing on the inner tube, and didn’t wake till he nudged the wall of scree and shattered rocks at the far end of the reservoir,” begins Drifting Toward the Rocks . Not that there is much of a current in that little lake, formed by piling earth and . . . . Continue Reading »

Victory for religious freedom in Québec

It is difficult to recall that, prior to half a century ago, Québec’s French-speaking population was almost entirely Roman Catholic, with high rates of church attendance and a high birth rate. Its intellectual élite, typified by Fr. Lionel Groulx, saw Québec as having a mission . . . . Continue Reading »

Dancing a Short Story

In the latest issue of First Things ( now online ), Sara Hamdan explores how economic conditions are affecting the art form of dance . Overall, the article is a fine piece of reporting. But I have to take exception to one claim: [P]opular forms of dance performance have become more about . . . . Continue Reading »

Two Wills in God: Not Just for Calvinists

In this discussion, one of the commenters makes the following argument against Reformed views of divine providence:On a related topic, I still don’t quite get Reformed theology. God desires all to repent, but He doesn’t desire all to repent. How does one believe something one is . . . . Continue Reading »

Another Problem for the Church?

Italians newspapers are reporting intensified investigative interest in Cardinal Sepe of Naples. (For English language reporting, see a recent article in the Irish Times .) Cardinal Sepe may, perhaps, be a true son of southern Italy, using his position to distribute goodies funded by the massive . . . . Continue Reading »

A Month of Abstinence

Aids scientists call for month of sex abstinence , reports the Guardian .  (Thanks to Worldwide Religious News for the link.) Leading experts fighting the world’s worst Aids epidemic have called on African leaders to head a month-long sexual abstinence campaign, saying it could reduce . . . . Continue Reading »

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