That's the title of my latest entry over at The Catholic Thing. It begins this way: In a piece recently published in the Catholic and Evangelical portals of the Patheos website, Warren Cole Smith explains why he cannot support Mitt Romney’s candidacy for President of the United States. “A Vote for Romney is a Vote for the LDS Church” reminded me of the sort of anti-Catholic screeds that were widely published during the presidential candidacy of Senator John F. Kennedy. Catholics … [Read more...]
Newsweek’s offensive cover
June 7, 2011 By 32 Comments
Imagine it is the summer of 2000 soon after presidential candidate Al Gore chose Senator Joseph Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, to be his vice-presidential running mate. Newsweek does a cover story on Lieberman's historic selection. Blazed across the cover are the words, "The Jewish Moment," with a photograph of Lieberman, though the image is photoshopped. The face is clearly Lieberman's, but in the image he is bearded in full rabbinic garb sitting at a desk preparing a sermon. And over his left … [Read more...]
A Second Look at “First Things”
May 27, 2011 By 6 Comments
That is the title of my recent entry over at The Catholic Thing. It is adapted from a portion of a paper I delivered on May 17, 2011 at Princeton University as part of panel celebrating the 25th anniversary of the publication of Hadley Arkes’ First Things: An Inquiry Into the First Principles of Morals and Justice (PrincetonUniversity Press, 1986). Here's how it begins: Most books and articles in political and legal philosophy are dry. One rarely finds in them humorous anecdotes, memorable … [Read more...]
Analogies and the death of Bin Laden
May 13, 2011 By 3 Comments
That's the title of my latest column over at The Catholic Thing. Here's how it begins: N. T. Wright, former Anglican Bishop of Durham, is one of the foremost theologians and biblical scholars in the world. Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews, his work on the doctrine of justification, controversial among Evangelical Protestants, is in many ways remarkably close to the Catholic view. For this reason, Professor Wright’s work, much to his chagrin, … [Read more...]
Al Mohler: Killing of bin Laden was just, but not an act of justice. Is this possible?
May 3, 2011 By 5 Comments
Albert Mohler, Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, makes this statement in a recent blog post on the killing of Osama Bin Laden: "The death of bin Laden was fully justified as an act of war, but not as an act of justice. The removal of a credible threat to human life — a clear and present danger to human safety — is fully justified, especially after such an individual has demonstrated not only the will, but the means to effect murder on a massive scale." I'm not sure … [Read more...]
Now we know why Donald Trump has so much hair…
May 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
He needs it to protect his thin skin. … [Read more...]
The Court of Disbelief: The Constitution’s Article VI Religious Test Prohibition and the Judiciary’s Religious Motive Analysis.
April 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
That is the title of an article I published in 2006 in the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 33.2 & 3, pp. 337-360. I bring this to your attention because I cited it in a recent exchange I had with a friend on my Facebook wall. Here's how the article begins: In several federal cases concerning whether particular statutes or policies violate the First Amendment’s prohibition of religious establishment, both the United States Supreme Court and other federal courts have rejected the … [Read more...]
The Epistemology of Political Correctness
April 29, 2011 By 2 Comments
That's the title of an article I published in the October 1994 issue of Public Affairs Quarterly (8.4, pp. 331-340). It is now available online, and you can find it here. It begins this way: On university and college campuses today there is a movement popularly known as "political correctness." Although difficult to define precisely, I think it is fair to say that political correctness refers to a web of interconnected, though not mutually dependent, ideological beliefs that have challenged the … [Read more...]
The National Day of Reason Doesn’t Have A Prayer
April 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
That's the title of my latest column over at The Catholic Thing. It begins this way: May 5, 2011, is the National Day of Prayer. It has been an annual American observance since Congress enacted it in 1952. The law simply states: “The President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.” Since 2003, secular … [Read more...]
Sects, Politics, and Religion: A review of Good and Bad Ways to Think About Religion and Politics
March 14, 2011 By 2 Comments
That is the title of a review essay I just published in the April 2011 issue of First Things. The book is authored by Robert Benne of Roanoke College. Here's how the essay begins: For some Americans, as for the Founding Fathers, the separation of church and state means that the government and religious bodies ought not to exert power over the other’s areas of legitimate authority. To others it means that religiously informed policy proposals may not become the laws of the secular government. … [Read more...]
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