The International Atomic Energy Agency reported last week that Iran has a sufficient quantity of enriched uranium to make two nuclear weapons with relatively little further enrichment. While Iran denies that its nuclear program is a weapons program, both classified and unclassified evidence irrefutably rebuts its contention… . Continue Reading »
As I write this, the first two of what I expect will be three theatrically morose sighs have just issued from my lips; they’re all quite inaudible to you, I know, but they would wrack your heart with pity if you could hear them… . Continue Reading »
The genius of the Israel Defense Forces has always been to wage war in the enemy’s territory, as far away as possible from the relatively small parcel of land it is charged with protecting from destruction. The Yom Kippur War of 1973 was a disastrous exception, and the surprise attack fought on its own soil resulted in terrible casualties for Israel… . Continue Reading »
Suicide, or as the participants doubtless dubbed it, a “martyrdom operation,” was the evident goal of the Hamas supporters on the Mavi Marmara. It is hard to draw any other conclusion from the available facts, including the Israeli military’s video footage of the raid. If you attack soldiers with deadly weapons, you expect to be shot… . Continue Reading »
Yet we hunger for what such dismal utilitarian habits cannot supply. So we look to the soldier, who may well make his career in or from the service, yet who endures privations we can hardly imagine, and puts his life on the line for his fellows. It is a kind of rough charity, and immensely appealing… . Continue Reading »
We are servants of a disputed sovereignty. The psalmist declares, “God mounts his throne to shouts of joy.” Christ has ascended his throne, but his rule is challenged by rival thrones. For us who believe, St. Paul says it is the fact that Christ rules “far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion.” … Continue Reading »
It’s a great and self-serving mess, this claim to be “spiritual but not religious,” which we hear from almost anyone who talks about religion in public, outside those the worldlings define as fundamentalist (me, probably you, Joseph Bottum, David Goldman, Benedict XVI, Hassidic Jews, devout Muslims, religious families with more than four children)… . Continue Reading »
In its August 2009 Churchwide Assembly, the Evangelical Lutheran Church decided formally to leave the Great Tradition of orthodox Christianity for a declining and desiccated liberal Protestantism. The decisions it made”accepting a weak and confused social statement on sexuality, allowing blessings of gay unions … Continue Reading »
In the organizational structure of the Catholic Church in America, the Province of Denver includes the dioceses of Pueblo and Colorado Springs in Colorado, the Diocese of Cheyenne in Wyoming, and the province’s metropolitan (or senior) see, the Archdiocese of Denver… . Continue Reading »
Shakespearean directors, scholars and critics may never reach a consensus about the right way to stage a Shakespeare play. Heated arguments will break out over whether there should be a modern concept or if it should be staged in traditional Elizabethan dress… . Continue Reading »
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