Edward Schroeder of the Crossings Community reviews the book Beyond the Passion: Rethinking the Death and Life of Jesus by Stephen Patterson. Patterson’s argument seems to be the familiar one that the important thing about Jesus was not his death and resurrection, but his vision of a just society that challenged the hegemony of the…

I assume, and hope, that you have better things to do, dear readers, than following internal ideological debates on the political Right, so you may not be familiar with Rod Dreher’s 2002 National Review article on “Granola Conservatives.” In Mr. Dreher’s telling, a granola conservative – or “crunchy con” – is someone who is politically…

This is pretty cool: Make yours here.

This article says that Frank Miller – author of Sin City, but also perhaps better known for rejuvenating the Batman franchise with The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One in the late 80s – is working on a new graphic novel in which Batman takes on al-Qaeda: “Not to put too fine a point…

Good George Will column (via Conservative Green) on the domestic spying and how broad assertion of executive power threatens to upset the already quite precarious balance between the three branches of the federal government. Also, it’s nice to see someone writing about something other than VP Cheney’s hunting follies.

Proponents of “trade justice” as part of a comprehensive approach to fighting global poverty often point to rich countries’ agricultural subsidies as a big part of the problem because they create unfair competition for farmers in the developing world. This article offers six reasons that slashing subsidies and trade barriers would be good for people…

For many Protestants the Rosary encapsulates everything that is wrong with Roman Catholicism – an excessive (and perhaps idolatrous) focus on Mary, rote mechanical prayers, and legalism. But is this a fair characterization? And might the Rosary have something to offer Protestants? The “Praying to Mary” Objection: Since the Rosary consists largely of “Hail Mary”s…

Jennifer points to a surprisingly good statement on the trinitarian name, particularly as it’s used in Baptism, from the bishops of the ELCA: The Gospel is at stake in the name of God. “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” is the eternal ground for the Church’s evangelical message. God’s revelation takes place in human history. It…

This profile of Sen. Chuck Hagel is notable for the fact that none of the positions ascribed to Hagel (a prudent internationalist in foreign policy, opposed to big government and deficits, opposed to No Child Left Behind, the new Medicare drug benefit, and agricultural subsidies, pro-life, etc.) would have, at least until fairly recently, been…

Salon reports on get tough with Iran noises recently made by 2008 presidential contenders Hilary Clinton and Evan Bayh. Are we really willing to go to war to prevent Iran from acquiring nukes? I mean, compared to Iran, Iraq actually would look like a cakewalk! Also, I’m unpersuaded by the claim that the crazy ayatollahs…