Wallypop Family Wipes. And angry Brits complain about Americans using soft toilet paper.

Pat Madrid takes pains to argue that Augustine of Hippo was a Catholic bishop and that he believed what the Catholic church presently teaches on the Eucharist. But  Catholic teaching developed much after the time of Augustine (d. 430).  Particularly important to the development of Catholic teaching were the controversies between Paschasius Radbertus (d. ca.…

I’m taking a group of college students to visit a Jewish synagogue this Friday night–Congregation Shaar Hasholam in Clear Lake. We’re going to meet at 6:00 for a chat with Rabbi Stuart Federow (come prepared with questions), and the service itself will be at 7. We have room for more. If you’ll join us (meet…

The National Council of Churches reports on denominational statistics, with the numbers for the 25 largest denominations (the Seventh-day Adventist Church might be number 26, with 1,000,472 members in the US–15,000,000 in the world). Mainline churches continue their decline, including the ELCA. See a bigger picture of its downward trend here. It started in 1987…

I see, belatedly, that The Rev. Canon John Fenton (Christ Church, Oxford)  passed away in late December. An illustrious New Testament scholar, I had a short course with him during my D.Min. work, and I remember some wonderful chats with him. Having been educated at a Lutheran seminary, I was shocked to learn there were…

It’s rodeo time in Houston! Alan is disappointed that the Barbecue Championship coincides with the start of Lent. Be that as it may, the smoke is ascending heavenward, the trail rides are heading to the city, and the parade will be this Saturday morning (I’ve never made it to the parade, and now that I…

A friend reminds me that The Passion of The Christ debuted five years ago today (Ash Wednesday). Here are links to things I have written on the subject: The Passion of the Christ: Crisis and Opportunity in Jewish-Catholic Relations. Passionate Blogging: Interfaith Controversy and the Internet. In J. Shawn Landres and Michael Berenbaum, editors, After…

Various US publishers routinely give travelers advice for what to do or not to do in other countries, so we don’t offend them. Does anyone have a link to a site where these sensitive cultures give advice to their citizens about what to do or not to do when visiting the US, so they don’t…

I have a very bad feeling about this.

Priest uses Super-Soaker instead of aspergillium at RIT Newman Center. Via Jeff Miller.

Poster and flier for our upcoming evangelistic series …

The daughter and I went down to Galveston today for the Mardi Gras celebration. We went to the Krewe of Barkus and Meoux parade on the Seawall and then strolled the Strand, collecting 30+ strands of beads between us, plus some cups, candy, and a stuffed animal. The devastation from Hurricane Ike is evident throughout…

[Updated] A teenage son with a history of mental illness, off his medication, got into a heated argument with his parents. It escalated, and they called a crisis intervention hotline. The person at the hotline chose to send the police. When a police officer came to the door, the son opened it. A struggle ensued.…

[This is an approximation of the sermon I preached today at Houston International Seventh-day Adventist Church. The only notes I was using were on my PowerPoint presentation; I tried to reproduce the gist of it after the fact here.] 2009 is a big year for Darwinists. February 12th marked Darwin’s 200th birthday–this past week Houston…

I don’t find that statement by an airport screener very comforting.

Revival of “Oliver” prompts debates about Fagin.

A judge has ordered a pastor to go to jail for exercising his First Amendment rights–for “unlawful approach” near an abortion mill. Video of his actions (and notice the obnoxious behavior of the counter-protester).

Alice von Hildebrand on the strange relationship between Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Moore.

Illegal immigrant yanked of church by an off duty immigrations officer, and arrested.

Antisemitism is alive and well, and filling my e-mail box. A fellow thinks I am “naive” in regard to the Jews, and links to “Sweet Liberty“, Jack Mohr, and Michael Hoffman.

Jean Cauvin was born July 10, 1509, in Noyon, France. Known to history as Jean or John Calvin, he was one of the founding fathers of the Reformed movement within Protestantism.  I’m re-reading T. H. L. Parker’s biography, which I’d recommend. Here are some links: GetReligion on the Dutch celebration Calvin500.org Calvin500 blog

Paul McCain on Martin Luther, on the anniversary of his death.

Gonzaga philosopher Michael W. Tkacz (via Francis Beckwith via Alan Phipps) warms lots of air talking about Aquinas and Intelligent Design without ever trying to understand what Intelligent Design is. Tkacz says, Since the time of Charles Darwin there has been vigorous debate between Christian creationists and Darwinian evolutionists. Neither side has been especially interested…

James White comments on news that Bart Ehrman is coming out with a new edition of Text of the New Testament in Contemporary Research.

Lawsuit argues that UC Berkeley webpage inappropriately crosses the line of church/state separation by attempting to give advice on theology.

Nancy Pelosi is on her way to Rome, and some shrill voices are demanding that the pope excommunicate her. Among them, Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, of Human Life International. It ain’t gonna happen.

A former guard breaks silence. Full account.

Atrocious lessons and daily bullying…why I won’t send my children to a state school, by William Miller, son of opera director Sir Jonathan Miller, who had thought it a good thing to send his kids to state schools (what we call “public” schools in the US)–and lived to regret it.

Happy George Washington’s Birthday! That’s the name of the federal holiday that’s celebrated today. Some states, including Texas, have opted to call the state holiday something else. Texas calls it President’s Day–Singular possessive. Merchants, never much interested in either history or grammar, have called it “Presidents’ Day,” because they like all the presidents … as…

When folks in Birmingham arrested someone for exercising his first amendment rights 40 years ago, that man, Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote a famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” defending the civil rights movement. Birmingham has now arrested some college students, and folks are drawing comparisons. Their press release says they were on a public sidewalk;…