Interesting article about Mar Thoma Church, an India-based Christian denomination with roots in the Syrian Orthodox Church that is seeing some growth in the Philadelphia area. “Mar Thoma” means “St. Thomas” in Malayalam, a language spoken in Southwest India, referring to the traditional belief that Thomas the Apostle carried the Gospel to India. The church…

The Evangelical Outpost hosts a symposium on torture featuring Richard John Neuhaus and Albert Mohler. They are mostly responding to Charles Krauthammer’s piece “The Truth about Torture.”

WASHINGTON – In Congress, where numbers are everything, the math on the Patriot Act suddenly seems to be moving in favor of Sen. Russell Feingold. He was a minority of one four years ago, when the Wisconsin Democrat cast the lone Senate vote against the USA Patriot Act in the traumatic weeks after the Sept.…

(Warning: Skip this if you are allergic to excessively geeky posts.) Last night I watched Star Wars: Episode III for the second time and have been trying to figure out whether there is a coherent philosophy that underlies the entire saga. On the one hand, Palpatine seduces Anakin partly by convincing him that the Jedi…

This Michael Kinsely article is well worth a read – he takes on the proverbial “ticking timebomb” argument for allowing torture under some circumstances, especially as propounded by Charles Krauthammer. Meanwhile, Jim Henley points out that the logic used to justify torture and the logic used to justify the war in Iraq are curiously similar.…

The American Conservative has a write-up by Bill Kauffman on the Second Vermont Republic – a secessionist movement aimed at getting Vermont out of the U.S.A., which I’ve mentioned before (The first Vermont Republic existed from 1777 to 1791 according to the SVR’s website.). Kauffman describes the ideological orientation of the group: Although SVR members…

Green – You believe that small economic unitsshould control the goods, and that thegovernment should be permissive of“victimless crimes,” respectful ofcivil liberties and very strict towards bigbusiness. You also believe in either asocialist tax structure or more power to localcommunities. You think that environmentalpolicies should be written into law. Yourhistorical role model is Ralph Nader.…

In an essay called “Hearts Set to Obey” published in the journal Dialog (Spring, 2004 issue – not online I’m afraid), Gilbert Meilaender argues for a less “dialectical” version of Lutheranism that has room for growth in holiness in the Christian life. He contrasts this with a type of Lutheran theology that tends to separate…

Stephen H. Webb, author of some excellent books on Christianity, food, and animals, reviews a book advocating a kosher diet(!) for Christians. Webb deems the author, Hope Egan, a “neo-Ebionite.” Egan argues, rather strangely, that the dietary laws from Leviticus are still in force for Christians, apparently, at least in part, because they represent the…

Interesting (if cursory) article on N.T. Wright and the “new perspective” on Paul from the Wall Street Journal: [Wright] contends that the leaders of the Protestant Reformation–Martin Luther especially–misread St. Paul on the subject of justification by faith. A self-described Reformed theologian, he proposes nothing less than a reformation of the Reformation, 500 years on–and…