A Christian case for the humane treatment of animals: …human abuse of their authority over animals is not sinful because of the suffering it causes animals but, rather, because of its rejection of God’s created order. The sin that takes place in modern factory farms today is not against pigs and chickens, but against God—for…

From Jane Galt: Smart growth is great if you are an upscale professional, preferably without children, who can score a relatively large apartment fairly close to work. It’s a lot less fun for the majority trying to cram your family into four or five rooms. Smart growth is great if you are savvy enough to…

I have always been something of a contrarian. I don’t say this to brag, since I don’t regard it as necessarily a good thing. But I think it’s safe to say that people who know me well would agree that I frequently take certain positions partly out of a desire to disagree with those around…

Writing at Godspy, a French immigrant offers her take on the political divisions in the U.S.: Instead of entrenching ourselves deeper into opposing sides and blaming the other one for every wrong, I wonder if our faith could be the agent that promotes bridge building and better understanding. I’m pretty sure that’s what Jesus meant…

Brendan O’Neill: On both sides of the Atlantic there’s a large portion of moralising in the panics over obesity, school dinners, junk-food-guzzling and the rest. What is presented as straightforward medical concern for our health and wellbeing is often really a judgement on lifestyle and behaviour – and especially the lifestyle and behaviour of a…

What would I give to hear an American president make a Monty Python reference in a major speech! This is from Tony Blair’s speech to the Labour Party conference: And the daftest thing said about New Labour is not the usual “What have the Romans ever done for us?” Like someone I met at the…

It’s only natural that we humans would seek to evade moral obligations in a variety of ways. After all, they’re irksome, they interfere with our plans and projects, and they may even require a large measure of personal sacrifice. So we rationalize, we make excuses and look for ways to get out of them. This…

Christopher Buckley (son of William F.) contemplates a second Bush term: W2 is not a terribly encouraging prospect. I say this as a loyal but dispirited Republican who will probably hold his nose on election day and pull the Republican lever. Every time I contemplate voting for Kerry–and I have–I consider the consequences, chiefly among…

A resurgence of the Latin Mass appears to be underway in suburban Chicago according to this story. The Catholic rite dating from the 5th century had almost faded into oblivion after Vatican reforms in the 1960s, which included an official ban on its use. But since Pope John Paul lifted the ban in 1984, it’s…

[M]an was made to be the priest and even, in one sense, the Christ, of the animals–the mediator through whom they apprehend so much of the Divine splendour as their irrational nature allows. — C.S. Lewis