Month: September 2006

A reader writes:

Like you I too believe "we need to breathe new life into [the rationality of faith] in a world where religion is too often described as an irrational leap or ‘submisson’ to an illogical God" and I find the Pope’s lecture very interesting. But, with his major role in the drafting of Dominus Iesus, I can’t help but wonder if we are to hear a double-meaning in his appeal to logos. Specifically, John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Word is, of course, identified with Jesus and has been since the early Church Fathers. Thus, if we read this double meaning into Benedict’s lecture, his penultimate sentence takes a different meaning, one which echoes Dominus Iesus and the controversy it generated:

"It is to this great logos, to this breadth of reason, that we invite our partners in the dialogue of cultures."

It is to this Christian conception of God as Father and the belief that through his Son, the Word (logos) made flesh, that salvation lies.

In addition this invitation to a "dialogue of cultures" is itself a new and controversial development in interreligious relations between the Church and non-Christian religions. Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald was removed from his post at the Vatican as the president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and was made nuncio to Egypt. At the same time, the PCID was subsumed under the Pontifical Council for Culture. Money quote:

According to several sources, sending Archbishop Fitzgerald from the Vatican to Egypt could signal a shift in the Holy See’s approach to dialogue with the other religions, a tougher stance in the relations with Islam, and a greater insistence on evangelization and the preaching of Jesus Christ as the one savior of humanity.

Pope Benedict has made it clear that he does consider true theological dialogue with non-Christian religions impossible (with the exception of Judaism). Instead of theological engagement, he sees only cultural dialogue; this is major shift from Pope John Paul II.

(Photo: The Polish Government.)

Francis Fukuyama’s epiphany – on the Daily Show.

Are you ready? A new report says not:

"Our survey of households in seven U. S. regions demonstrated that few citizens have bothered to equip themselves with fireproof suits and extinguishers to deal with volcanic upheaval, solar flares, or the Lord’s purifying flame," Malthusian Institute director James Olheiser said. "Almost no one is prepared for a sudden shift in the Earth’s polarity or the eating of the Sun and moon by evil wolves Skol and Hati during Ragnarok."

Olheiser added: "All in all, America gets an ‘F’ for end-of-the-world preparedness."

More here.

He did it. This is the quote from Colin Powell, that leftist, terrorist-loving, draft-dodging guy who "doesn’t get" the threat from terrorism:

"The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism. To redefine Common Article 3 would add to those doubts. Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk."

The president has decided to drive a huge divide within his own party in order to make war crimes legal. He must be stopped. And it’s a huge deal that even as the president is personally lobbying for the bill, his former secretary of state and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is lobbying against it. Some things matter more than your re-election strategy, Mr President. Why is he going against the advice of the entire military leadership, the most respected Senators on defense matters, and the conscience of his own party? Are the polls that dire?

Here’s the critical part of the Nancy Grace grilling of Melinda Duckett, a woman who subsequently killed herself. Grace went even further and replayed her vicious grilling even after the woman had committed suicide. Make your own mind up whether Grace went way over the line.

"An article in Business Day on Friday reported that the Walton Family Foundation had made contributions to four conservative research groups whose analysts wrote articles favorable to Wal-Mart Stores for newspapers and journals around the country. The Times article said that the groups and their employees had consistently failed to disclose the donations, and it said in the first paragraph that the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research was one of them. But a Manhattan Institute author had told The Times that he had indeed disclosed contributions from the Walton Foundation in an article he wrote, a fact that should have been included in the Times article.

The article also reported that Tim Kane of the Heritage Foundation and Karl Zinsmeister, formerly of the American Enterprise Institute, were among those who wrote articles favorable to Wal-Mart after their foundations received a donation.

Both those groups were called for comment for the Times article. Mr. Kane, who was not called, subsequently said that he did not know about the Walton Family Foundation contribution and that he had criticized Wal-Mart‚Äôs call for a higher federal minimum wage in an article he wrote. The Times also did not ask Mr. Zinsmeister to comment, but he declined to do so when reached after the Times article was published. Both Mr. Kane and Mr. Zinsmeister should have been asked to comment before publication." – New York Times, today. Ouch. Hey, you’ve always got blogs for hard news.

"This is not about November 2006. It is not about your election. It is about those who take risks to defend America," – Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, standing up for principle against the administration’s attempt to unilaterally rewrite the Geneva Conventions for the election campaign.

"The American Airlines ticket agent who checked in Mohammed Atta on 9/11 later committed suicide – unlike the man in charge who, being briefed on the potential threat, told his briefer, ‘Okay, you‚Äôve covered your ass,’" – blogger Susie "Suburban Guerrilla" Madrak, linked approvingly on Eschaton. (Hat tip: Brendan.)