I have been suspected of being what is called a Fundamentalist. That is because I never regard any narrative as unhistorical simply on the ground that it includes the miraculous. Some people find the miraculous so hard to believe that they cannot imagine any reason for my acceptance of it other than a prior belief…

A lot of the commentary I’ve been reading on the papal conclave has had a peculiar tick: it seems to treat as newsworthy the fact that the next pope, whoever he is, will not likely deny or change the central teachings of the church. For instance, in today’s Inquirer story 11 of the 14 contenders…

The other day Eric Lee (in his triumphant return to semi-regular blogging) posted an image of the books on his “to read” list (pretty ambitious there, Eric!). Not having access to such fancy-pants technology, I must remain content with just listing those titles that I’m either currently reading or have on deck. Currently reading: George…

Over at Right Reason, Edward Feser links to a provocative article of his which argues that libertarians should support not only government protection of the physical environment*, but also the moral environment, at least so far as children are concerned. He also argues that libertarians should, on their own premises, oppose legal abortion. Feser’s contention…

Christianity Today interviews Gilbert Meilaender on feeding tubes and the “right to die.” As usual Meilaender is full of sober wisdom. His book Faith and Faithfulness is one of the best books on Christian ethics I’ve come across.

Commonweal is running a symposium of sorts on John Paul’s legacy. Here’s an appreciation from noted theological gadfly Stanley Hauerwas.

In the course of a (well-justified) tirade against “young earth creationists,” Chris Williams at Here We Stand links to a good article from a geology prof at Calvin College discussing Augustine’s views on the interpretation of Genesis. The Fathers were, as a rule, pretty undogmatic about how these early chapters should be interpreted. They certainly…

The Christian community lives on, loving the true peace of the heavenly Jerusalem, devoid of illusions about the transient world in which it finds itself. This illusionless existence gives the Christian church a detachment from the secular world that in practice it does not always maintain. While secular governments attempt to create lasting peace in…

Keeping with the consumerism theme (sort of) here’s an interesting article on the history of the “straight edge” movement (i.e. punks who eschew drinking, drugs, smoking, casual sex, and often meat). Me, I just really liked the album “12” by Minor Threat.

[L]ove is consent to the fact that there is authentic otherness. We all start with needs, and with dependence on others to meet them. As we grow up, self-consciousness brings the tendency to make ourselves the centre, and with it the commonsense understanding that the very needs of survival depend on our own efforts. These…