Religious Discrimination in Fort Worth

In Fort Worth, a Seventh-day Adventist woman and her children were kicked off a public bus–because she was reading the Bible outloud to them on their way to church.

Luther vs. Zwingli

James Swan summarizes Luther’s writings to and against Zwingli. It’s his latest in a series addressing a point in a discussion with some Catholic apologists. The latter were making claims about a Luther citation for which they had only Catholic secondary sources. Swan has been trying to find the primary source to be able to [...]

A Jewish Christmas at Sea

Rabbi Amy Weiss blogs about a cruise she and her husband, Rabbi Kenny Weiss, went on over Christmas.

Life and Death at a Salvation Army Hospital

Cross-Currents reports on a case in Winnepeg in which doctors are claiming the sole right to decide what to do for a patient, irrespective of the wishes of the patient himself or his family.
A Winnipeg case currently winding its way to its grim conclusion pits the children of Samuel Golubchuk against doctors at the Salvation [...]

Trent and the Canon

Beggars All has an interesting post about the decision of the Council of Trent on the Biblical canon–the vote that determined authoritatively for the first time for Catholics which books were to be considered the Old Testament. Surprisingly, it passed with only a 44% plurality.

Tolerance in Houston

FBI statistics show what those of us who live here know: Houstonians are tolerant.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas …

My daughter had to go birding for a biology assignment, so we went by canoe on Armand Bayou. I had replaced the cane in the front seat this week–there was a small hole in it when we got it, and we made do as I waited for the materials and tools to arrive.
We saw plenty [...]

Remembering the Prince of Peace …

Brawl breaks out between Orthodox and Armenian priests at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Merry Christmas!

“The children were nestled all snug in their beds …”

It’s close to midnight. The kids are sleeping. Santa Claus ate his cookies and drank his milk while filling the stockings and watching the mournful ending of John Huston’s film of James Joyce’s short story, “The Dead.”
Earlier, after the day’s external chores where finished, I baked cookies (some of which the wife and kids took [...]

Some Christmas Legends Are True

The World War I Christmas truce.

Theology Matters

James White on Joel Osteen on Mormonism.

Pawns of War

George Bush once saw the Kurds as allies against Saddam. Some Kurds, that is–just the “good Kurds” in Iraq, and not the “bad Kurds” in Turkey.
Now that Saddam is out of the picture, so are the Kurds, it seems, as Bush seeks to enlist Turkish and Iraqi support against them, whether they are in Turkey [...]

Tidbits from CWN

Diogenes and company have some interesting thoughts on 1) Roger Mahony’s claim to have been mugged and 2) James Carroll’s Christmas column.

Cirque du Willow Creek

Christmas at the MegaMall … er … MegaChurch.

Crimes, Misdemeanors, and Judicial Misconduct

Mark Colville got a stiffer punishment for simulating Blackwater USA’s slaughter of innocent Iraqi civilians than the mercenaries who actually committed the crime.
Details at New Haven Advocate and National Catholic Reporter.
Colville and Co. were tried last week before a kangaroo court in Currituck County, N.C., where the judge ordered the public, the press and the [...]

Christmas Reflections

War in Heaven: Revelation 12:1-6

The Book of Revelation places the birth of Christ in cosmic perspective. It comes as one scene in the story of a war that reaches from heaven to earth. The baby to be born has enemies who lie in wait.

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with [...]

ADL Denounces Catholic Archbishop …

The ADL has denounced comments by a Catholic Archbishop. He called for separation of church and state, and treating of all religions equally. What was the problem with this? It was Patriarch Michel Sabbah speaking of Israel, and of the inequality of Christians and Muslims.

Freedom of Speech in Canada

Reports say Canadian journalist Mark Steyn has been denounced to a human rights commission for opinions expressed in Maclean’s in 2006. National Review editorial; John Robson op-ed in The Ottawa Citizen.
Here’s an explanation, though, from the Muslims who complained: “All we want is a chance to respond” to Steyn’s article which they found to be [...]

Further Steps toward European Unity

Little noticed in the U.S., more border crossings in Europe were dismantled today, expanding to twenty-four the nations participating in the passport-free “Schengen Zone.”

“Without Objection …”

Mary Ann Glendon was confirmed as the new U.S. ambassador to the Vatican by the Senate on Wednesday in the most perfunctory of votes. There’s no evidence there was even the customary hearing. Some folks had been spreading all sorts of rumors of controversy, but there was no more debate on her nomination than there [...]

The Catholic Church and the UN

John Allen gives the Catholic Church credit for a UN General Assembly vote in favor of a global moratorium on the death penalty.
This is ironic, in that the Catholic Church for centuries told rulers that the death penalty was obligatory (see the Catechism of the Council of Trent). She condemned as heretics those who dared [...]

The Archbishop of Canterbury and Christmas

“Three Wise Men Are Just a Legend, Says Archbishop of Canterbury“–how’s that for a sensationalist headline?
Problem is, that’s not what he said. He was contrasting the accounts of Luke and Matthew with the accretions–the idea that the magi were kings, or three, or that they were at the stable.
“Matthew’s Gospel doesn’t tell us there were [...]

GYC

Janice Becca is reporting on GYC.

Holiday Rants

At BeliefNet: Rant about the Holidays, and Finding Peace after the Rant.
How did this season of sharing, caring and love for fellow man become a fight to terminology as if they are being attacked or slighted if their faith is not recognized? This goes entirely against any belief system or faith that is celebrating at [...]

Christmas Greetings 2007

A Christmas card for our friends.

Tolkien Birthday Toast

Dom Bettinelli started a Facebook group, Tolkien Birthday Toast. January 3, 2008 will be Tolkien’s 116th birthday. At 9:00 p.m. (your local time), you are invited to raise a glass in memory of The Professor.
He writes:
J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa on January 3, 1892. To celebrate this event, on this day each [...]

Mike Huckabee’s Christmas Ad

I might not be as concerned about Mike Huckabee’s Christmas ad, its “floating cross,” and its blatant pandering to evangelicals if he weren’t also being hosted at a fundraiser by Steven Hotze, who represents the most extreme “Reconstructionist” wing of the Republic party. These are the folks who believe in Dominion theology, or creating a [...]

The Bayou City …

Houston is the “Bayou City” — and our bayous are filthy. And they aren’t even talking about the visible stuff that has kept me from putting my canoe in Buffalo Bayou.

Adventist Review on QOD Conference

Mark Kellner’s article about the QOD Conference has finally appeared in the Adventist Review. He references an Andrews University press release.
From October–My comments on the conference.