At the height of the Jeremy Lin euphoria last winter, political columnist David Brooks delivered in The New York Times a reflection on faith and sports and a powerful argument for why he should remain a political columnist. Jeremy Lin is an Asian-American Harvard graduate playing in the NBA, but his “biggest anomaly,” Brooks suggested, is that Lin is “a religious person in professional sports.” The heart of the anomaly, according to Brooks, is that “the moral ethos of sport is in... Read more
BREAKFAST LINKS: Mark Thiessen: The Real Scandal About Libya Bloomberg: Please stop marrying children George Will: Obama’s Selective Defense of the Constitution Romney’s Surge and the Pro-Obama Press: For the past several months the pro-Obama press — which is most of it — has been portraying Romney in the harshest possible light. The standard account depicts him as a dog-abusing, woman-hating, position-switching former childhood bully and longtime corporate raider who sends jobs overseas while destroying them at home so he can buy another... Read more
Daily Fragments for 10/11/2012: Quotations Sausages, Pancakes and Encouragement: “Fussing. That’s what he did. He fussed over Mama. In a good way. In that way of people who love their jobs and love the people they serve.” The Danger of Sexual Labeling: “These labels we give each other take all the nuances that are our sexuality and turn them into a label we’re then told to wear, as if this action, or that longing is who we are. This is... Read more
Morning Hash BREAKFAST LINKS: Bounty on Anti-Muslim Filmmaker: a “religious cleric” in Afghanistan has offered a bounty of $300,000 to anyone who kills the maker of the film that has angered Muslims world-wide. The Pakistan Taliban ponied up an additional $100,000, and a former Pakistani legislator has also offered $200,000 for the death of the film maker. The Evidence Against Lance: for some time, Lance Armstrong challenged the United States Anti-Doping Agency to name the names of those who say... Read more
Daily Fragments for 10/10/2012: Quotations The Moral Hazard of Slum Tourism: “I felt as if I were intruding into a sacred place…a place that I knew nothing about. And I was ashamed, as if we were making a spectacle of these people… Try as I might to be unintrusive, though, I felt that I was intruding with every step and click of the shutter.” The Worthy Woman in the 21st Century?: “See what happens when a thoroughly modern woman starts... Read more
Morning Hash BREAKFAST LINKS: (a compendium of semi-serious news articles) Even Big Boys Get Grounded: Felix Baumgartner’s scheduled free-fall from 23 miles was postponed again on Tuesday as winds forced postponement of his historic attempt. The winds were too high: “Gusts like today’s—which were focused at about 700 feet [213 meters], near the crest of the balloon—could possibly tear Baumgartner’s 0.0008-inch-thick (0.02-millimeter-thick) plastic balloon or overturn the stabilizing crane that prevents the pressurized capsule from ascending too soon.” The balloon... Read more
Daily Fragments for 10/09/2012: Quotations Excellence Has Become a Dirty Word!: “I’ve said it for years: With socialism, excellence is always set aside for shared mediocrity. The idea appears to be that since it’s hard to achieve excellence for everyone, it simply should not be attempted; everyone should be satisfied with something lesser.” The Destruction of Slavery: “The destruction of slavery begins in the soul, with the resolute refusal to be a slave to anyone or anything but the God... Read more
Jonathan Walton has some giant shoes to fill. The new Pusey Minister at Harvard’s Memorial Church, and the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, he is stepping into the dual role formerly occupied by the dearly departed Peter Gomes. At Harvard, Gomes was a veritable institution unto himself. The recipient of 39 honorary degrees, one of America’s most renowned preachers and successful preacher-writers, and a brilliant and idiosyncratic African American intellectual, Gomes spoke with... Read more
NOTE: The following is a guest post from my sainted father, Galen C. Dalrymple, director at iam2.org, an organization devoted to crowd-sourcing compassion and empowering ministries serving the neediest children in the world. Recently the filmmakers of Not Today, along with my friends at Lovell-Fairchild, took my father to India to learn more about the film. He is an extraordinary man of God with a passion for these issues and stands at the helm of a faith-informed organization that can make a real... Read more
Daily Fragments for 10/08/2012: Quotation How to Win Against Hate Speech “…the strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression, it is more speech.” Every Day With Jesus – “Let’s come straight out and say it. Every day with Jesus is not sweeter than the day before. Let’s forget that nonsense about the victorious Christian life, whatever that means.” What Will It Be? Door Number One, or Door Number Two? “What would you rather have—a husband who tells you the... Read more
Philosophical Fragments
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