A Thinking Reed

  • Election day!

    Russell Arben Fox on why he, as a social traditionalist with progressive economic views, is endorsing the Democrats. Jim Henley advises us to vote on the principle of punishing the wicked. Matthew Yglesias and Alan Bock both doubt much will change even if the Dems take Congress, at least in foreign policy matters. I duly…

  • Abortion – can the moral issue be avoided?

    Amy Sullivan, who has carved out something of a niche covering liberal and progressive Christians, has an interesting article at the New Republic on the candidacy of anti-abortion Democrat Bill Ritter, who appears to have a good shot at winning the governor’s race in Colorado. Ritter, a Catholic, opposes abortion but seems to take a…

  • Guilty pleasure of the week

    The “Best of the Monkees” CD my parents sent me as an early birthday present. As it happens, my very first music cassette (yes, Virginia, there used to be these things called cassettes) was a Monkees collection from Rhino that I got sometime in middle school. I used to love the TV show which I…

  • Oh, come on!

    You can’t tell me that some dumb crack John Kerry – who, incidentally, isn’t standing for election – made is really among the serious issues facing the republic. This is really scraping the bottom of the barrel, folks.

  • Power corrupts…

    A lecture on Lord Acton by church historian Owen Chadwick. Just something I came across somewhat randomly.

  • All Saints

    O Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord: Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys which thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly…

  • A paleocon Democrat in the Senate?

    I admit that I haven’t followed the Virginia Senate race between George Allen and Jim Webb very closely. I knew Webb was a former Republican and Reagan Administration official who opposed the Iraq war, but I assumed that meant he was some kind of centrist Republican. Turns out, though, that he’s got a long history…

  • Further Reformation Day reflections

    LutherPunk and Without Authority both have worthwhile stuff to say on the issue of Protestant/Lutheran identity.

  • Whither Protestantism?

    October 31st is traditionally observed, at least in Lutheran and some other Protestant churches, as “Reformation Day.” The idea is to commemorate Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 theses and the unofficial beginning of the Reformation. However, in these more ecumenical times, the triumphalism of Reformation Days past is significantly muted. The legacy of the…

  • Putting the conserve back in conservatism

    The Boston Globe ran an article yesterday on the attempt by some activists to reach out to evangelicals on environmental issues. A new documentary “The Great Warming” is aimed at least in part directly at mainstream conservative Christians and features appearances by Richard Cizik, an official at the National Association of Evangelicals. It’s fairly easy…