Philosophical Fragments
ECCLESIAL
1. We posted our next batch of articles for the Future of Evangelicalism series, with pieces from Mark Noll, Marvin Olasky, Andy Crouch, Michael Lindsay, Karl Giberson, William Lane Craig and Paul Copan, Robert Velarde (author of The Wisdom of Pixar), and filmmaker Craig Detweiler. Every piece is worth your time. Every piece.
2. Albert Mohler reflects on a subject I will take up shortly: Why are parents so unhappy?
3. Having a weight problem? Blame satanic influence.
POLITICAL
1. The gap between Obama’s approval rating amongst blacks and amongst whites is 50%. Only 38% of whites approve of the job the President is doing, compared with 88% of African Americans. That is an extraordinary gap. Granted, there would be a large gap even if the President were Clinton – so it is not only about race, it is also about a longstanding party affiliation that comes from the perception that Democrats are more attuned to the issues that matter to African-Americans. But it seems to me that there is a certain reticence to cover the unbending support Obama receives amongst blacks. On the one hand, one can hardly blame African Americans for supporting, after all these years, the first African American President. Of course. But I just wonder: is there any point at which African American support for Obama, when it is because of his race, is a bad thing?
2. Thomas Kidd, who sometimes contributes pieces for us at Patheos, takes a nuanced position on the mosque at Ground Zero: there is no constitutional reason why such a mosque cannot be built, and Americans should not attempt to block construction of the mosque, lest they harm their religious freedom laws — but it is a horribly insensitive decision on the part of the people behind the mosque, and ought to be discouraged as strongly as possible.
3. Christopher Hitchens writes a stunning, sobering reflection on his experience with esophageal cancer.
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