A Thinking Reed

  • An end to the stem cell wars?

    If this holds up it’s surely good news since, in addition to whatever medical advances result, it means that the controversy over ESCR should evaporate.

  • The political Christian

    American Christians tend to be a bit schizophrenic about politics. They swing from utopian optimism (“Christianizing the social order,” “restoring America as a Christian nation”) to extreme pessimism when the inevitable disillusion sets in about the limits of what politics can accomplish. This recent post at the Christian Century blog by David Heim offers a…

  • Fatigue

    I was thinking this weekend as I was skimming the Sunday paper how tired I am of all the Presidential race coverage. And then the awful truth hit me with renewed clarity: the actual election is still almost a full year away. Good grief. I’ll be under a rock for the next 11 months if…

  • Friday metal – über-Anthrax edition

    Of the “big four” thrash bands of the 80s (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth), Anthrax never seemed to quite find their niche. The mainstream success of Metallica eluded them, but they were never content to remain firmly in the underground like Slayer. They were one of the few metal bands to take rap seriously (and humorously!),…

  • Carbon tax vs. cap-and-trade

    I missed this when it first came out, but this is a good article explaining the debate over the best way to reduce carbon emissions. It’s also heartening to see Reason of all places running articles that take the reality of climate change as a given. I’m not suggesting that some measure of skepticism can’t…

  • Black green metal

    Interesting Slate article on the evolution of the black metal ethos from misanthropic Satanism to a more romantic, melancholy pre-Christian paganism. This ends up having a certain affinity with deep ecology themes, and the article offers a profile of a black metal group in Sanat Cruz that is simultaneously trying to live off the grid…

  • See how these Christians love one another

    A former religion correspondent for the Guardian recounts his loss of faith after seeing how church people treat each other. Sigh.

  • Jesus vs. marriage

    I had the same thought about the Gospel reading this Sunday that Derek did. I don’t know why it never struck me this way before – maybe it was the translation I was reading/hearing it in. But it sounds for all the world like Jesus is saying that his followers–“those who are considered worthy of…

  • A humane life

    There’s a nice article in Newsweek by Wayne Pacelle, the current CEO of the Humane Society of the US about how he got into activism on behalf of animals. The HSUS has recently ramped up its efforts on behalf of farm animals, such as promoting ballot measures that would mandate slightly more humane conditions for…

  • Rev. Paul

    Turns out Ron Paul’s older brother David is an ELCA pastor in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And the Paul family originally hails from Pittsburgh. Who knew? David Paul is proud of Ron Paul, but he is enough of a realist to understand that his brother’s candidacy is a long shot. Some of his stands—for example, he…