So it’s that time of year. Lent has begun (see Kathleen A. Mulhern’s “Lent FAQ” at Patheos). It’s time to plan out the garden and plot out the plot. And in Florida, grown men practice fielding bunts, working now so they can play later. While some teams begin spring training with exciting new free agents or rookie phenoms, my beloved Mets didn’t upgrade much from the team that finished 77-85 last year. They lost star shortstop Jose Reyes — but... Read more

Sinead O’Connor: “Take Off Your Shoes” In Pop Matters, Josh Langhoff says How About I Be Me (And You Be You) is worth a listen. P.S.: So Scott, Josh, Beatrix and Frank walked into a bar … Read more

My point in the previous post is simply this: Our rude and dim new friend, like many who argue for the criminalization of abortion, insists that we are in a crisis. And yet our rude and dim new friend does not behave as though he himself is living in the context of such a crisis. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that our RADNF is talking out of his backside. The claim of a context of crisis rests on the... Read more

“There is no law against such things,” the apostle Paul wrote of “self-control.” Silly man. People can’t be allowed to control themselves. That’s why we have all kinds of laws against such things. Laws forbidding self-control are, in fact, the essence of contemporary American evangelicalism. Advocacy for such laws are what we have made the central, defining characteristic of our faith. Who decides? Who will be trusted to decide? Who is in control? Not you. You can’t be trusted to... Read more

CJR’s Merrill Perlman tackles a style question regarding two newly acquired titles — “Cardinal Sins: First or middle name?” In ceremonies filled with pomp, twenty-two men were named cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, including two from the United States: Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York and Edwin O’Brien, emeritus archbishop of Baltimore and now the grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. (Now, that’s a title!) Depending on where you looked, the... Read more

Cathleen Falsani explains the background of this interview transcript: At 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 27, 2004, when I was the religion reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, I met then-State Sen. Barack Obama at Café Baci, a small coffee shop at 330 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, for an interview about his faith. From the interview: OBAMA: The way I came to Chicago in 1985 was that I was interested in community organizing and I was inspired by the Civil... Read more

When the Republican bishops insist on making themselves ridiculous, honest people will provide the only appropriate response: ridicule. Amy Poehler and Seth Myers: “Really!?! With Seth and Amy” Jon Stewart: “Sir, your parable about the kosher deli, while delicious, makes no [frocking] sense …” Mark Silk: “Lori’s Kosher Deli” What’s interesting about Lori’s little jeu d’esprit is not how inept the analogy is, however, but how a proper Parable of the Kosher Deli would prove the opposite of what he’s seeking... Read more