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April 26, 2005

Canon within the canon

Having trouble understanding the Bible? Can’t seem to reconcile what you just “know” to be true with the plain meaning of Scripture? Why not take Episcopalian Bishop Spong’s hermeneutical approach? According to a column in the Detroit News, Bishop Spong, author of The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love, says you can feel free to downplay or ignore difficult passages. Continue Reading...
April 26, 2005

Remembering the first genocide

Yesterday, people all over the world marked the 90th anniversary of the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks, a commemoration that has taken on added political frieght with Turkey’s candidacy for accession to the European Union. Continue Reading...
April 26, 2005

Free and fair trade

S.T. Karnick at Signs of the Times passes along the words of Dr. Sean Gabb, an English Libertarian author, on the debate about fair trade, which is driven in large part by Christian groups (see Acton Commentaries here and here). Continue Reading...
April 26, 2005

Defend civilization itself

An excerpt from a worthy commencement address by Mark Helprin, “Defend Civilization Itself,” delivered at Hillsdale College on May 24, 2002: I ask you to join this brotherhood, and, in your own way, whatever that may be, to defend and champion the sanctity of the individual, free and objective inquiry, government by consent of the governed, freedom of conscience, and the pursuit — rather than the degradation and denial — of truth and of beauty. Continue Reading...
April 26, 2005

Silencing the Fourth Estate

Investigative reporter Steve Wilson has been under attack from public officials in both Detroit and the suburb of Warren, Michigan. And now, a group of Detroit pastors is calling for his termination, according to the Detroit Free Press. Continue Reading...
April 25, 2005

Warring against Wal-Mart

The big box giant Wal-Mart is under attack again, this time by a coalition of varied opponents. The group, named “Wal-Mart Watch,” took out an ad in The New York Times last Wednesday, accusing the retailer “of low pay and meager employee benefits that force their workers to rely on Medicaid, food stamps, and federal housing to survive,”. Continue Reading...
April 25, 2005

What can protestants expect from the new pope?

In an excellent survey of the writings of Cardinal Ratzinger, Michael S. Horton explores some of the implications of the election of Pope Benedict XVI for Protestantism. After providing a brief background of the relationship between Ratzinger and Pope John Paul II, Horton addresses “some of the representative statements by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, to obtain a better idea of what we might expect from his pontificate. Continue Reading...
April 25, 2005

Berlusconi forms new government

Reuters South Africa reports that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi arranged a new coalition government on Saturday, “ending weeks of political turmoil that aroused fears of economic instability in Italy.” The report also states, “Amongst the winners on Saturday was the UDC’s Rocco Buttiglione, who switches from being minister for European Affairs to the more prestigious culture minister.” Continue Reading...
April 25, 2005

To serve man

According to yesterday’s Independent, “In the first modification of its kind, Japanese researchers have inserted a gene from the human liver into rice to enable it to digest pesticides and industrial chemicals.” Continue Reading...