Mainline

, , , ,

Before the abortion doctor's killing

, , , ,

In your spare time this weekend, consider taking a few minutes to read Devin Friedman’s lengthy GQ piece that gives the background leading up to the shooting of abortion doctor George Tiller. Scott Roeder was found guilty yesterday of first-degree murder for shooting Tiller. Tiller was an usher at the Reformation Lutheran Church in Kansas where he was handing out bulletins to people before he was shot on May 31, 2009. Friedman’s piece is very engaging and well written, and you feel like you get into the two men’s heads a little bit.


Please respect our Commenting Policy
, , , , , , ,

Green: Not just a liturgical color

, , , , , , ,

It seems like over the last 10 years or so, I’ve read roughly eleventy-bajillion trend pieces about the confluence of environmentalism and religion. Most of these pieces have been fairly uncritical about or even cheerleading this commingling. So I wasn’t terribly enthused to see this New York Times story, “Pastors in Northwest Find Focus in ‘Green.’”


Please respect our Commenting Policy
, , , , , , , , , ,

One is the loneliest number

, , , , , , , , , ,

I was reading Pope Benedict XVI’s recent speech to the Vatican’s diplomatic corps when I came across this quote:


Please respect our Commenting Policy
, , , , , , , ,

Hume can't say that!

, , , , , , , ,

Fox News analyst Brit Hume has taken some major hits over his advice to Tiger Woods that he embrace Christianity if he wants redemption. I’ve embedded the clip here. In a society that is deeply uncomfortable with any substantive discussion of religious differences, that Hume favorably compared Christianity to Buddhism is downright shocking. Now, I’m sure that there are readers here who think Hume admirably showed concern for Woods’ soul and readers who think he’s an anti-Buddhist bigot (and many other views). But I think the whole brouhaha is most interesting for the media freak out over response to his words.


Please respect our Commenting Policy
, , , , , , ,

Face it, abortion is more than politics

, , , , , , ,

As the Divine Ms. MZ mentioned the other day in her “Nightmare on Capitol Hill” post, abortion is the issue that simply will not die in the ongoing debates about health-care reform. Right to life issues also hover in the background in those arguments about care of the elderly, too.


Please respect our Commenting Policy
, , , , ,

Merry Christmas, Irv Sutley!

, , , , ,

Ah, yes, fewer than two shopping days 48 hours left to fire your salvo in the 2009 Christmas wars! To that end, The New York Times has a colorful little report on an order to remove seasonal religious symbols displayed in a public building and California. Only this time, there was no cross, creche or menorah:


Please respect our Commenting Policy
, , , , , ,

Search: 'Obama' and 'baby Jesus'

, , , , , ,

I know that I do, especially when I am trying to read about a subject that (a) the mainstream press doesn’t care that much about and (b) hot-headed partisans in the media care too much about. Thus, you get these short incomplete reports about subjects that “aren’t really news,” only that to some people the events are symbolic and, thus, transcend news (so they tend to scream about them at advocacy sites online).


Please respect our Commenting Policy