A Thinking Reed

  • Friday metal: Ladies’ Night

    All-female metal bands are a rarity, but the Canadian group Kittie have shown considerable staying power:

  • What’s going on with TEC?

    The headlines say that the Episcopal Church has overturned its “moratorium” on gay bishops. N.T. Wright, predictably, scolds the Americans for fomenting “schism.” But more nuanced interpretations of what’s going on are available. See Christopher here and Father Jones at the Anglican Centrist here.

  • “Humane”

    Nearly all vocal critics of animal rights/liberation insist that they are absolutely in favor of the “humane” treatment of animals. It’s simply the radical claims or agenda of animal liberation that they oppose. Assuming they’re arguing in good faith, then, it should to be possible to construct an agenda for improving the treatment of animals…

  • Christians need not apply?

    Following up on the news that Francis Collins has been nominated to head the NIH, Slate has a curious article asking whether Collins is too religious for such a position. The article makes it clear that Collins has impeccable credentials (MD, PhD in physical chemistry, coordinator of the national genome project); not only believes in…

  • Market theodicy

    Economics as a religion: When critics of free markets point to instances of severe poverty, market supporters promise that eventually, since a rising tide floats all boats, the poor will be lifted up, that what is now apparently problematic is ultimately for the “greater good” in a way we cannot discern. It is clear that…

  • Friday metal – in defense of catchy songwriting

    Killswitch Engage’s new, self-titled album doesn’t break much new ground. It combines the same elements of hardcore, thrash, and soaring, anthemic choruses that we’ve come to expect from their last two discs (The End of Heartache and As Daylight Dies). The lyrics still dwell on lost love and being a positive force in the world…

  • Stumbling blocks

    There’s a good interview with Francis Collins, author of The Language of God, at Books & Culture. This passage in particular struck a chord with me: You take both the Bible and evolution seriously. Did the harmony you find between evolution and your faith just come naturally? You know, it really did. When I became…

  • Like a pope needs an encyclical

    I don’t know if I’ll get around to reading Caritas in Veritate in its entirety (so far I’ve only made it through the introduction), but John Schwenkler is going to be posting thoughts on each chapter once a week (see here for details), which will undoubtedly provide food for thought.

  • Book recommendation: James Garvey’s Ethics of Climate Change

    During my mini-vacation I read philosopher James Garvey’s book, The Ethics of Climate Change, which I highly recommend. It very lucidly lays out the moral issues and the kinds of responses they call for. I thought his discussion of what we know about the impact of climate change and how we should act in the…

  • On killing innocents

    Two links: Michael Jackson’s Death Means Little to Me McNamara’s Evil As I’ve pointed out before, one condition of any war being “just” according to traditional criteria would require a rigorous accounting for all the innocent lives lost and an equal weighing of those lives against any purported good that the war accomplishes. (And that’s…