I’m sorry to rain on the ecumenical parade. but are we really experiencing a “new Springtime of ecumenism” or is it just Indian summer? I’ve written on the subject over at my main blog today. When the Lutheran-Anglicans decided to ordain women as priests and bishops they put a bullet to the head of any real reconciliation with Catholicism. Before they took this step, the Pope along with the Easter Orthodox ecumenical patriarch wrote, pleading with them not to do so... Read more

  CRUX reports here that movie star Mark Wahlberg has repented for his role as a porn star in the film Boogie Nights. For those who are unfamiliar with the film, it chronicles the adventures of a young man who gets work in the porn industry in the 1970s. It was a breakthrough part for Wahlberg, but he’s now gone public with his regrets about the movie. Forget about the motion picture and look at the bigger picture. Compare Wahlberg’s... Read more

So everybody on the Catholic Protestant divide are supposed to be kissy kissy this month as the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation is celebrated. Well OK, but I hear the predictable moans and groans on the Catholic conservative side of the field reminding everyone what a violent, disaster the Reformation was, while on the Protestant side I’m hearing preachers remind everyone that the Catholic Church is a Babylon mystery religion and that all Catholics are hell... Read more

Will the secret archives on the JFK assassination reveal anything new? When it comes to the mania surrounding conspiracy theories, the JFK killing is near the top of the list. Having lived in England for many years I have observed since moving back to the USA that Americans seem to have a particular fondness for conspiracy theories. When I lived in England people were not so scared all the time. When Obama was president you heard stuff like:  Obama was a... Read more

I am beginning a series of posts over at my blog Standing on My Head about the Magi. These are to whet you whistle for my new book that comes out in a few weeks’ time. Today’s post asks who are the magi, and explores the commonly held view that they were Persian soothsayers. They were not. The magi were an ancient caste of shamans in Persia (present day Iran-Iraq). They eventually rose to become counsellors to the royal court... Read more

There are a couple of new posts today over at my main blog Standing on My Head. Harvey Weinstein and the New Puritanism looks at the campaign against sexual predators in a new light. The second post looks at a theory that Irish settlers were in South Carolina before Christopher Columbus arrived. Go to Standing on My Head to read more. Read more

Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has been exposed as a serial sex creep. The not so big news is that this sort of thing not only continues, but men of power continue to get away with it. Read more

Here was a man who did not have a cause. He had nothing to live for and everything to die for. Read more