My mother-in-law, Peggy Dickerson, died two years ago today, on January 27, 2010. My wife misses her so much. What follows is the text of the eulogy I delivered at her memorial service. Eternal rest, grant unto her O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them her. I would like to now say a few words about my mother-in-law, Peggy Dickerson. She was born August 31, 1924 in Los Angeles, California. She was one of three children of Frankie Bernice... Read more
Are you prepared for America to have a First Lady who was a home wrecker and was once the President’s mistress (if Gingrich were to become President)? Many Christian conservatives–smitten by Newt’s rhetorical flourishes, as they are of any “good preaching”–seem not to have the imagination to entertain this question. It crossed my mind weeks ago, but I thought it churlish to raise it online, until I witnessed Gingrich’s retort to John King when the CNN correspondent brought up the... Read more
A post of mine from yesterday–Better to be an adulterer than a Mormon?: Evangelicals, Gingrich, and Romney–garnered the most hits in the history of this blog. In response to this entry, my dear friend Michael Bauman writes in the combox: All other things being equal, it’s better to be a forgiven Catholic — Gingrich, than a forgiven Mormon — Romney, especially when the Catholic is better informed, more experienced, more articulate, and has a better record of legislative achievement (not... Read more
That is the title of my latest entry over at The Catholic Thing. Here is how it begins: Although we celebrate anniversaries on wedding dates, I am not writing to celebrate a wedding. That would be like ending the baseball season right after President Obama throws out the first pitch on opening day. No, I am writing to celebrate a marriage, one that, if they make it to next Monday, will have lasted fifty-two years. To give you an idea... Read more
Sunday, January 22, is the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade (1973). Even though many citizens reject the opinion, not many know why it is so flawed. In chapter 2 of my 2007 book, Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice (Cambridge University Press), I offer a detailed analysis of Roe and some subsequent Supreme Court opinions. An earlier version of that chapter was published in 2006 (1.1, pp. 37-72) in the inaugural issue of the Liberty University... Read more
(Update: You may be interested in the January 20, 2012 follow-up post–Gingrich, Romney, and Evangelicals Follow-Up–in which I respond to a critique of the entry below) On October 12-15, I had an amazing visit to Utah. I conducted a faculty workshop at Brigham Young University on abortion and personhood, and then gave a talk on my return to the Catholic Church. Both events were attended by faculty members from both the School of Law and the School of Religion. I... Read more
Here’s a link to my wife Frankie’s outstanding stained-glass work. Read more
I just learned that you can now browse portions of Journeys of Faith, a book for which I am one of the four main contributors. It is accessible on the HarperCollins website. The book is edited by Robert L. Plummer (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), and the forward is written by fellow Patheos blogger, Scot McKnight (North Park University). To browse the book, go here, or just click the picture of the cover. My contribution to the book–“A Journey to Catholicism”–begins... Read more
Judge Ken Starr, the President of Baylor University (where I am a tenured faculty member in the philosophy department), published a thoughtful essay in yesterday’s Washington Post, “Can I Vote For a Mormon?” It begins this way: Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary looms large on the political horizon. In the midst of lively public debates over taxes, jobs, the national debt and similarly important questions related to the future vitality of our nation, a different kind of question continues to privately occupy... Read more
Transworld Irony (or TWI): It is possible that in every possible world there exists at a college named after John Calvin a philosophy professor who offers a free will defense for the problem of evil. Read more
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