There are things about growing old that are nice. First, and most important, one is not dead, at least not yet, though as my nephew pointed out to me today, it appears increasingly likely that we may all be dead sooner than we expected, given certain current international tensions. Second, one can hear such things … Continue reading Talking to Myself and Feeling Old
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Enemies-A Meditation for Lent, Day 34
There are now two prevailing sets of ideas pushing against each other in the Nation of the Idea, two narratives competing for the American soul. Unless we come to understand why each side feels aggrieved by the other, unless we are willing to approach the enemies in our own household with honesty, humility and compassion, the American idea will not endure.
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It’s Not Just #BLM, Cops Really Do Harass Black Men
Last week, South Carolina's African American GOP Senator Tim Scott delivered a powerful speech about racial profiling by law enforcement, including in the Capitol itself. He said that, even after he became the first black GOP Senator since Reconstruction, the harassment continued. He was stopped by police for the offense of "driving a new car … Continue reading It’s Not Just #BLM, Cops Really Do Harass Black Men
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God bless Cal Thomas, too
In the midst of the season of poison, when the former first woman President hints darkly that a vote for her is a vote to save her opponent's life, and the Republican scream machine keeps cranking out e-mails stating that Barak Obama is a radical Muslim who will not recite the Pledge of Allegiance, it … Continue reading God bless Cal Thomas, too
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For Good Friday: A Rare Perfume
I saw my father’s green Mercury Cougar pull into the parking lot a block or so ahead of me. I had been out of town at a conference and hadn’t seen him in a couple of weeks, so I slid across three lanes of traffic and whipped into the space next to him. He got … Continue reading For Good Friday: A Rare Perfume
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Eliot Spitzer and the Deacon’s Rule
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? (Matthew 7:3)Let's call it the Deacon's Rule: No matter who it is, no matter how holier-than-thou, no matter how beloved, no matter how high the hopes nor deep the passion, none of … Continue reading Eliot Spitzer and the Deacon’s Rule
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I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?—Isaiah 43:19.
Whatever you may think of the Episcopal House of Bishops’ “Mind of the House” resolutions passed today at Camp Allen Texas, they have spoken clearly and forcefully.When the Anglican Primates met last month in Tanzania, they issued an extraordinary communiqué to the American Episcopal Church: comply with our directives by the end of 2007 or … Continue reading I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?—Isaiah 43:19.
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Ken Lay is dead. Ann Coulter is a plagiarist. What’s new with you?
Ken Lay is dead. Ann Coulter is a plagiarist. Rush Limbaugh is still able to have chemically-induced right-wing sex, but won’t say with whom. Kim Jong Il is mad. Soldiers kill innocent people, sometimes after raping them. The space shuttle still flies, though those pesky foam tiles still keep falling off. Joe Biden will not … Continue reading Ken Lay is dead. Ann Coulter is a plagiarist. What’s new with you?
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A Cyclone of God: Episcopalians and Presbyterians Blowing in the Wind
I have just finished reading Bruce Chilton’s remarkable “intellectual biography” of Paul of Tarsus, Rabbi Paul. Chilton’s wonderful book lays out the evolution of Paul’s thought, in both his letters and the New Testament book Acts of the Apostles. He shows how Paul, convinced that Jesus was not just a Jewish Messiah, but was the … Continue reading A Cyclone of God: Episcopalians and Presbyterians Blowing in the Wind
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The Worst People in America 1. Michael Moore, filmmaker 2. Arthur Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times 3. Ted Kennedy, Democratic U.S. senator, Massachusetts 4. Jesse Jackson, Democratic African-American activist and Christian minister 5. Anthony Romero, American Civil Liberties Union's executive director 6. Jimmy Carter, former Democratic president 7. Margaret Marshall, chief justice, Massachusetts … Continue reading
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