Keith Burgess-Jackson asks what theists imagine the connection between morality and religion to be. It’s a question that deserves pondering since so many of us unthinkingly assume that God and morality must be intimately linked. Keith rightly points out that it’s quite possible to be an atheist and still believe in an objective morality. And…

The new edition of the eclectic online Christian journal The New Pantagruel has been posted. There are two articles that look particularly interesting: “Realism Against Reality” by Eric Miller and “Christianity and Liberalism: Two Alternative Religious Approaches” by David T. Koyzis. (Incidentally, I also highly recommend Prof. Koyzis’ book Political Visions and Illusions.)

Oh, God, enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with all living things, our brothers the animals to whom Thou gavest the earth in common with us. We remember with shame that in the past we have exercised the high dominion of man with ruthless cruelty so that the voice of the earth, which should…

For the idea that the voter himself is making the decision to have any real validity, it would be necessary for the options presented to the electorate to include all possible choices. In a two-party system this is never the case. The voter chooses not a position of principle but the less objectionable of two…

At this rate VI threatens to become all Kerry-bashing all the time, but some things just cry out for comment (perhaps I’ll make a point to bash President Bush some more just to keep things fair and balanced). Anyway, this past weekend Senator Kerry gave a radio address wherein he promised, if elected, to lift…

I’ve had people tell me that despite the campaign rhetoric, they know that “in his heart” Kerry opposed the war in Iraq. This theory appears to verge on the unfalsifiable. For instance, you have to ignore things like this from Sunday’s Washington Post: Knowing then what he knows today about the lack of weapons of…

“There is one consideration [in political philosophy] which has something like the position of absolute zero or the velocity of light in current physics. It cannot possibly be an exercise of civic authority deliberately to kill or mutilate innocent subjects.” — G.E.M. Anscombe

About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with…

Bill Keezer has a couple of good posts, both touching on matters that have been much on my mind recently. First, Bill addresses the difficulty of applying moral absolutes in particular instances. Secondly, he has some harsh words for the presiding bishop of his (and my) church, Bp. Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church…

So, the Democrats have been bellyaching for the last 3-and-a-half years about George Bush’s “stolen” election. Well, here in Pennsylvania at least, they’ve decided that turnabout is fair play. Local Democrats are pulling out all the stops to keep independent candidate Ralph Nader off the presidential ballot. Nader’s campaign has reportedly collected over 40,000 signatures,…