A Thinking Reed

  • Rawls’ religious roots

    Try saying that three times fast! And then read this fascinating essay about philosopher John Rawls’ early writings on religion (which have only recently been published) and the continuity of the ideas expressed there with his mature (and completely secular) political philosophy. It seems that the young Rawls considered entering the priesthood of the Episcopal…

  • Beyond “organic”

    Mark Bittman makes a couple of good points here: food labeled “organic” is not necessarily true to the spirit of organic food (i.e., is sustainable, treats animals and the land well, etc.); and you don’t necessarily have to buy “organic” food to eat better. An easier place to start is simply with eating real food…

  • Quote for the day

    “We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form.” — William Ralph Inge, Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London (1911-34)

  • Salvation as re-creation

    A while back I wrote about Keith Ward’s understanding of how God acts in the world, as explained in his book Divine Action. Later in the book he devotes a chapter to the incarnation and offers an interpretation of the atonement. Ward argues that Jesus is properly seen as the enfleshment or embodiment of God’s…

  • Friday metal – All hail Mastodon!

    The mighty Mastodon are releasing their new album, Crack the Skye, next Tuesday. Here’s the first video, “Divinations.” They’re streaming much (all?) of the new album on their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/mastodon more about "Friday metal – All hail Mastodon!", posted with vodpod

  • Singer and Cowen on poverty

    Interesting “diavlog” between Peter Singer and libertarian economist Tyler Cowen, focusing mostly on Singer’s new book The Life You Can Save. (I mentioned the book here; I still haven’t read it, though I do have a request in at the library.) more about "Singer Cowen", posted with vodpod I think at one point Cowen gets…

  • Foie gras: torture or distraction?

    I don’t really have an opinion on whether foie gras is “really” inhumane or not (I can’t imagine it’s particularly enjoyable for the geese), but this review of a new book on the subject makes a valid point: Face facts: If you oppose foie gras, even if the only thing you’ve ever done about it…

  • Circuses are animal abuse

    I don’t know about St. Patrick, but I can’t imagine St. Francis would approve.

  • Sexuality, status confessionis, and the ELCA

    I see that Carl Braaten has issued yet another jeremiad against the ELCA. This one is in response to the recently-issued draft social statement on sexuality and the accompanying recommendations. There’s not much new there, with one important exception. Braaten has now decided that the controversy over the full inclusion of LGBT people in the…

  • Theological pet peeves

    When Christian writers do one or both of the following: 1. Posit a simplistic dichotomy between “Hebrew” (or “biblical”) and “Greek” thought. These days the former is invariably portrayed as earthy, holistic, and life-affirming, while the latter is otherworldly, dualistic, and sees matter as evil. (As an aside, I often wonder what Jews think when…