Via Keith Burgess-Jackson comes the new blog Reductio run by Dave Graham, a libertarian vegan. Via Camassia I followed the link to Quaker Ranter, the blog of Martin Kelley, a “post-liberal” Quaker living right here in the Philly/South Jersey area apparently (no surprise there). Also, I’ve recently been alerted to Eric Lee’s modestly titled Eric…

Marcus critiques a Calvinist theodicy and theory of predestination here. Generally, I’m suspicious of theodicy – it seems like a problem that’s above our pay grade, and I’d be surprised to find out that most theodicies have provided any actual comfort to those in need of it. Still, it’s a topic that inevitably comes up.…

I meant to blog on this a while back, but I see that Paul J. Griffiths’ “Orwell for Christians” from last month’s First Things is now online. Griffiths argues that Orwell had a distinct moral epistemology that dovetails very closely with Catholic natural law theory, both formally (ordinary people are capable of perceiving moral truth)…

Spent a very nice Christmas with my in-laws in the great city of Indianapolis. The weather was cold (single digits on Christmas day!) but the food, company and holiday cheer kept us warm. Thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims of the Tsunami. See here for where and how to send aid. I…

In thinking about the inspiration and authority of the Bible, one thing that I think it’s good to keep in mind is the purpose for which the Bible was written. 2 Timothy says that “all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” That is,…

From Spiked Online: We all have the right to die, with or without its sanction in law. All the ‘patients’ of Dr Jack Kevorkian, currently in prison in America for having gone a little too far in assisting the suicide of Thomas Youk (which was videotaped and shown on CBS’s 60 Minutes), were physically capable…

How should we think about the inspiration and authority of the Bible? What does it mean for the Bible to be authoritative in the church and how is this related to the question of its inspiration? For Protestants who affirm the principle of sola Scriptura, this is a particularly pressing question. One view that seems…

Marcus explains why he’s batting for the other team now (so to speak).

Interesting piece from A. N. Wilson in the London Spectator: Rowan Williams is sufficiently intelligent and normal to be aware that in the West, being religious these days is, outside America, very distinctly odd, and trying to defend Christianity against the whole ethos of materialism and scientific rationalism which most intelligent people take for granted…

Unlike a lot of people who write about “red” and “blue” America, Michael Lind has an understanding of the various and diverse ethno-cultural groups that make up the USA. In his book Vietnam: The Necessary War, for example, he discussed how these ethno-cultural factors influenced attitudes toward the politics of the Vietnam war. Here Lind…