The Left liked to talk about how the Bush administration, and particularly Bush himself, were unwilling to admit failure.  There were weeks when it seemed as though the press corps could ask nothing other than, “Why won’t you admit that you were wrong?”  (A nice way of phrasing it might have been: When are you going to admit that you cannot admit that you are wrong?”)  And this was not without reason.  Bush did admit mistakes in certain things–expectations going... Read more

I won’t write the Morning Reports on Sunday, to honor the Sabbath, but I will on Saturdays when possible: These are not the kind of family values we expect from those who talk about family values.  All you need to read is the first sentence: “Sen. John Ensign’s parents shelled out big bucks to pay off their son’s mistress…” Evidence item #2 for the doctine of the Fall: In a related piece, Derrick Jackson writes about the collateral damage of... Read more

New material went up today on the Faith@Work Consultation at the Evangelical Gateway at Patheos. Let me give you some of the background for an article I contributed.  One of the aspects of the monastic life I most appreciate is the way in which one is surrounded constantly by ‘pointers’ toward God.  This is a deliberate, designed part of the monastic life.  Wherever you turn, you are reminded–whether by a cross, by an icon, or simply by the spire of... Read more

First of all, Happy Birthday to Jean Cauvin, otherwise known as John Calvin!  Born in France in 1509, Calvin was trained as a lawyer, but encountered the writings of Luther and broke with the Catholic church in the 1520s.  After violence forced the Protestants out of France, Calvin fled to Switzerland, where, in 1536, be published the first edition of his Institutes of Christian Faith, a towering work in the history of theology.  See this article for more information.  While... Read more

Soon Patheos will begin a discussion of greed, faith and the economy on the Public Square. I thought I would offer an appetizer before the main course.  The question is posed provocatively, as “Is Greed Good?”  Although this is sometimes taken as the motto of some economic conservative, it actually comes from Gordon Gekko: The actual quote, from Ivan Boesky, is “Greed is all right, by the way I think greed is healthy.  You can be greedy and still feel... Read more

Pope Benedict XVI is calling for stronger business ethics and a “true world political authority” in order to address corruption, underdevelopment, and the gap between rich and poor countries.  The new papal encyclical, “Charity in Truth,” highlights the need for wealthy nations to help poor nations, for example by sharing medical knowledge more freely (a veiled critique of high-priced pharmaceuticals).  Profit should be a means rather than an end, Benedict writes.”  Once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is... Read more

Massachusetts, the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, filed suit against the Defense of Marriage act, which President Clinton signed into law back in 1996.  We have an extensive discussion of same-sex marriage at Patheos right now in the Public Square.  Check it out.  One of the most interesting articles, I thought, was this one, written by someone who struggled and found “freedom from same-sex attraction.”  Tony Jones offered one of the “evangelical” pieces (here), and so did I (here).... Read more

In the future we’ll have more dialogue on the Patheos site between the different “Gateways.”  Posted recently on the “Mainline Protestant Gateway” is a video reflection from Phillip Clayton on what mainliners might learn from evangelicals.  It’s worth a listen.  See it here. Read more

Today is a day of national mourning, or so it seems.  Michael Jackson is lauded as “America’s princess Diana.”  The way we remember the dead–whom we honor and what we honor in them–says a lot about our priorities.  What does this national outpouring of grief say about us?  What are we grieving when we grieve the loss of Michael Jackson?  A part of me suspects that when we look at Michael Jackson, when we look at how his fame and... Read more