Tag Archives: daily slaughter of the innocents

What would Jesus pack?

An arms manufacturer has been coding references to New Testament verses on the sights of the rifles it supplies to the Pentagon for use in Iraq and Afghanistan.  One of the coded passages from John is: I am the light … Continue reading

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Pat Robertson: Politically, but also theologically incorrect?

Human compassion has produced the usual generous outpouring of aid to devastated Haiti.  Meanwhile, Obama has shown himself in a statement today to be a standard American politician, having included among the admirable qualities of the Haitians the fact that … Continue reading

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A Christmas joke

A leader in the New York State Republican Party (admittedly not a powerful domain) recently concluded a dinner presentation with the following joke:  “To those of the Christian faith, Merry Christmas!  To those of the Jewish faith, Happy Hanukkah!  And … Continue reading

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Medical miracles

The Lutheran Hour takes over New York’s sole remaining classical music station for part of Sunday mornings.   Its announcer, whose stylized speech inflections recall a more theatrical era of radio or a pitch for hair elixir, was today as usual … Continue reading

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An advantage of polytheism

The Pope announced during his Angelus broadcast last Sunday that he was “imploring God to relieve the pain” of the survivors of  a recent flood in Sicily and of the recent earthquake in Indonesia, according to RAI International.  Such an … Continue reading

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Christian radio and moral decisions

I have been listening with considerable enjoyment to Christian radio, mostly KBRT, which is preset in the car I have been driving in Los Angeles.  Despite having wasted my college education on deconstructionist literary theory, I nevertheless still believe in … Continue reading

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The conundrum of prayer

Last Saturday, the New York City Police Department  experienced the worst misfortune that can befall a police department: one officer mistakenly and fatally shooting another.  The loss of Officer Omar Edwards to friendly fire is an unbearable tragedy, for which … Continue reading

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Please explain

Will Bill O’Reilly or anyone else who saw the hand of God in the safe landing of US Airways Flight 1549 this January please explain why God chose not to save Continental Connection Flight 3407, which plunged into a house … Continue reading

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Obama as God

Conservatives, particularly religious conservatives, undoubtedly guffawed at this New York Times headline: “Poll Finds Faith in Obama, Mixed With Patience.” Faith belongs to God, they probably said, not to Man, and certainly not to a man as untested, lightweight, and … Continue reading

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God’s Problem

Several friends have recommended Martin Gardner’s review of Bart Ehrman’s God’s Problem in the New Criterion, the brilliant  journal of principled culture criticism.  Gardner, a math and science writer, lays out a Leibnizian explanation for life-destroying natural disasters: Any human-supportive universe … Continue reading

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