It appears that presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have some common ground on the looming question of same-sex marriage (AKA “gay marriage). Neither candidate supports same-sex marriage. Well, at least they say they don’t. (more…) Read more
“Don’t tell [Obama] I said this, but he is an impressive fellow in many ways. He has inspired a great many Americans, some of whom had wrongly believed that a political campaign could hold no purpose or meaning for them.” “His success should make Americans, all Americans, proud.” “Whatever the outcome in November, Sen. Obama has achieved a great thing — for himself and for his country — and I thank him for it.” (more…) Read more
In the ongoing series concerning Edmund Burke (part I is here and part II is here) it is also beneficial to consider what is meant by conservatism. And so, following my heroes Burke, Johnson, Coleridge, and Newman, below the fold is the first part of a consideration of this question. (more…) Read more
Willem Buiter is one of the smartest economists in the business. Born in Denmark, adopted by the United Kingdom, he is a professor at the London School of Economics, a past member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, and a blogger for the Financial Times. He is also renowned for both his keen wit and his blunt no-nonsense maverick style. His reaction to the recent US Supreme Court on gun control will probably not garner too much respect... Read more
Part I Part II Philosophical (essential and existential) doubts about the existence of God certainly feed into the practical atheism we see around us. However, the structural formation by which this practical atheism developed comes not only from philosophical doubt, but also theological error. Ancient Christians, in combating the gnostics, saw the integration of heaven and earth in the incarnation as what fundamentally linked God to the world. God is not separate from us; he has come before us, to... Read more
Do suitability and competence still count in a presidential race? If so, John McCain ought to be in some trouble. As if erroneous statements on Iran and forgetting his own policy position weren’t bad enough, now McCain is making references to countries that no longer exist! On two different days, at two separate locales, McCain expressed his dismay over recent measures taken by Russia that affect Czechoslovakia. Problem is, Czechosloavkia ceased to be a nation back in 1993. So here... Read more
I have no problem with Catholics organizing in favor of either candidate, and trying to make their case based on Catholic social teaching. Which is why I am a little puzzled by an outfit called Catholics for McCain. Here is their mission statement: “Senator John McCain is pro-life and committed to nominating judges who are pro-life. In issues of human dignity, he is guided by a spirit of compassion that was born out of great suffering as a prisoner of... Read more
U.S. Catholic magazine interviews University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN) professor of theology William Cavanaugh on torture. Cavanaugh is author of Torture and Eucharist: Theology, Politics and the Body of Christ, Theopolitical Imagination: Discovering the Liturgy as a Political Act in an Age of Global Consumerism, and the recently published Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire. Torture and Eucharist is, hands down, one of the most important works of theology that I have read in years. The full text... Read more
(In the midst of a deep mortgage crisis in this country, you’ve got to wonder whether somebody thought this fending off of regulation would eventually backfire. I personally believe that the worst is yet to come from the credit crunch…) The two giants in the mortgage business seemed to have prevented regulation through strong lobbying efforts. Here are some names of the politicians involved in networking with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is a paper from 2005 that talked... Read more
Part I Our modern, practical atheism, can be understood if we see it as the end of a long line of theological, philosophical, and social development. The debate between actual atheism and theism has, for the time being, ended in a stalemate. Society does not feel that the God question has any relevance. While people may believe in God, that belief hardly changes the way they live or act. Others don’t believe in God, but that also seems to make... Read more
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