2006 in Review, 2nd Quarter

Our series on the year in review continues with the second quarter: April “Surprise! Evangelical Politics Isn’t Univocal,” Jordan J. Ballor So from issues like immigration to global warming, the press is eager to find the fault lines of evangelical politics. Continue Reading...

2006 in Review, 1st Quarter

This series will take a representative post from each month of the past year, to review the big stories of the past twelve months. First things first, the first quarter of 2006: January “Who is Pope Benedict XVI?,” Continue Reading...

American Muslims Rise to the Occasion

I was glad to see a group of American Muslims register their objection to the Iranian government’s Holocaust Denial conference. A group of Muslims went to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. Continue Reading...

‘Reforming Natural Law’

The January 2007 issue of First Things features a lengthy review of Stephen Grabill’s new book on Protestant natural law thinking (no link to the review, unfortunately). J. Daryl Charles, an assistant professor at Union University, has this to say about Grabill’s Rediscovering the Natural Law in Reformed Theological Ethics (Eerdmans, 2006): Grabill’s examination of theological ethics in the Protestant Reformed mainstream is utterly compelling, and it represents a shot across the bow of theological ethics, as it were. Continue Reading...

Catholic Latin America: A Turning Point?

Latin America’s Catholic bishops are preparing for a major conference in Brazil next spring and the agenda will include, aside from issues relating directly to the faith, discussions about politics, populism, corruption and economic globalization. Continue Reading...

‘This faith has established the universe.’

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Pope Benedict XVI and Ecumenical Patriarch Barthmolomew light a candle as they enter the Patriarchal Cathedral of Saint George. (Photo: N. Manginas) Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Benedict XVI are preparing to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Continue Reading...

Dispatches from the Fall of Western Culture

Two different stories from two different countries highlight two different aspects of a single theme: the West’s growing lack of cultural confidence. First, this story from The Telegraph: Islamic sharia law is gaining an increasing foothold in parts of Britain, a report claims. Continue Reading...

Wait – You Mean Taxpayers DON’T Have to Pay for Stadiums?

Refreshing news from Major League Baseball: In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say, I have loved the Oakland Athletics for a long time now. I love how they are the anti-Yankees, consistently fielding winning teams despite having one of the lower payrolls in the game, and losing superstar after superstar to richer teams. Continue Reading...