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The Rawlsian Menace

Since a new survey of political theorists has confirmed the towering, unrivaled reputation of John Rawls, allow me to state briefly why this thralldom is a disaster for political philosophy.  Prof. Lawler is of course right that Rawls is boring, but he’s getting bigger rather than going . . . . Continue Reading »

The Most Brilliant Christian Professors

This list caught my eye: the “Most Brilliant Christian Professors.”  Their institutional affiliations and specialties are all over the map, which is interesting in its own way, and it reminded me of a conversation I once had in graduate school.One of my professors took me to the side after . . . . Continue Reading »

11 Most Annoying Catchphrases

A couple of years ago, researchers at Oxford University compiled a list of the top ten most irritating expressions. Their list included overused office lingo, (24/7, synergy), grammatically incorrect constructions (“shouldn’t of”), and adverbs used out of context (literally, ironically).While everything on their list is certainly irritating, few of the items rise to the level of truly annoying. Perhaps Americans have a particular facility with our shared language because we seem to have a special affinity for creating trite catchphrases. Here are my eleven candidates for most annoying sayings: Continue Reading »

Human origins — continued

It seems that if someone insults you by calling you a Neanderthal, they may actually be up to 4% correct if you are of Eurasian origin, according to this report: Neanderthal genes ‘survive in us’. How does this impact our understanding of the Genesis narrative? Might Genesis 6:1-4 have . . . . Continue Reading »

Headlinese

My friend Dimitri Cavalli pointed me to an article in Foreign Policy —and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a gap this big between a deliberate title and an essay: “Why Did the Pope Keep Quiet About the Holocaust?” is the title. Now read the text —and see how you could . . . . Continue Reading »

Episcopal Church is Going to the Dogs

Calvary Episcopal Church of Danvers, Massachusetts, has just announced it will begin offering a monthly worship service for dogs. Besides being driven to the service by Starbucks-jittered suburban elites in trademark Volvo station wagons, the canine faithful will enjoy the unique pleasure of being . . . . Continue Reading »

The Granny Pod

The Rev. Kenneth Dupin, a Methodist minister in Salem, Virginia, might just revolutionize the way our country deals with its ever increasing elderly population. After an emotional encounter with a woman confined to a nursing home, Dupin decided to develop a novel, if not controversial, alternative . . . . Continue Reading »

The Easy Courage of Mocking Christianity

Comedy Central—the origin of the South Park program that had its references to Mohammad censored— has apparently announced that it is developing a new cartoon about Jesus Christ, the premise of which will be that God, preoccupied with playing video games, loses track of Jesus, who moves . . . . Continue Reading »

The Times and the Church

A sign that the New York Times will not be halting its seemingly daily effort to link the Vatican to the priest scandals: today’s article on Cardinal Levada, written by Michael Luo , who has been covering economics and the recession for the newspaper. In the middle of a dangerous economic . . . . Continue Reading »

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