(Musical cue: Another swell of English cathedral pipe organ)
As Canterbury Turns: Yelling in Virginia
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The status of religion in politics
Did a Democratic version of Mike Gerson start working for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.? I ask the question because his speech earlier this week at the Call to Renewal conference is about the best attempt to articulate the struggling movement known as the “religious left.” Not that it was that impressive. It’s about time a Democrat came up with something beyond the talking points on religion and its involvement in the public square.
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NPR catches a glimpse of a "good death"
Back in the late 1990s, a close friend — a mentor, even — died of cancer. Through the years I had learned that he loved music but didn’t know very much about music. So I kept giving him music.
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Pope demands end to crappy church music
Okay, I stole that headline. Mea culpa. Anyway, Pope Benedict XVI has harshed on guitars in Mass, according to various media reports. I don’t see why you need the Pope to tell you that if you walk into a sanctuary and see a drum riser where the altar should be that you may want to get the heck out of dodge, but I guess some of us do need a bit of guidance.
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As Canterbury Turns: A bishop at Truro
Ouch. As best I can tell online, here is the Washington Post story of the day — care of the Associated Press — on the national and global developments in the Anglican World War.
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Missing Hamas developments?
News reports on the exploding conflict in the Middle East surround the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by “Palestinian militants.” On the surface there are few religious issues in play here, but a little digging will indicate that the religious convictions of two groups of people are central to the region’s conflict.
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Time for "As Canterbury turns"
Today’s New York Times report about the sobering epistle from Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams included several passages that I am sure raised eyebrows extra high among Anglican leaders in Pittsburgh and Episcopal leaders in New York City. As you would expect, this news story by the team of Laurie Goodstein and Neela Banerjee will be carefully parsed on this side of the Atlantic, because the Times is the holy writ for leaders in The Episcopal Church (formerly the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America).
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Heavy message, light touch
Allow me, in the midst of the Superman and Anglican news, to pop a quick post in here in which I shamelessly promote the work of a friend of mine — William R. Mattox Jr. In addition to being a friend, he is a frequent speaker in the journalism program that I lead here at the Council For Christian Colleges and Universities. What else should I confess? Oh, he already owes me lunch.
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Kicking the bucket through those great goal posts in the sky
I’m a huge baseball fan. If I could have dinner with anyone living or dead, it would be Albert Pujols. If I were ever to launch a political campaign, it would be to abolish the designated hitter rule. And I frequently begin statements with the phrase, “When I become baseball commissioner . . .”
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