Category: Uncategorized
Pardon Me?
Clemency is much in the news. President Trump on his way out of office has used the presidential power of pardon and commutation (clemency includes both) to benefit associates such as Paul Manafort and Roger Stone; staff members and administration officials, notably Michael Flynn; his personal lawyer Michael Cohen; and his daughter’s father-in-law Charles Kushner. The executive power of clemency is absolute, but odd. … Read More Pardon Me?
For Whose is the Power?
Last week, the Reverend Dr. Sam Wells used the BBC “Daily Service” program for a fourteen-minute meditation on the Lord’s Prayer. It is wonderful, and for the next three weeks you can listen to it here. Dr. Wells contemplates why the Lord’s prayer is, and remains, central to our worship. You really should listen to it. He breaks the Prayer up into six mini-prayers, … Read More For Whose is the Power?
A Voice Crying in the Wilderness
Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the protests arising out of the George Floyd murder, the Presidential election, and the President’s attempt to stop the publication of John Bolton’s book (even though prior restraint has been disfavored since before the Declaration of Independence),[1] we have this week a breath of fresh air from, of all places, the United States Supreme Court. We have Justice Roberts’ opinion … Read More A Voice Crying in the Wilderness
Mr. Smith Leaves Washington
I spent some of my lockdown time reading one of the great, and one of the underappreciated, books of Western social philosophy, Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS). The choice is, I suppose, no accident. I also read Scott’s Waverly, and found myself putting shortbread biscuits in my weekly grocery cart. I suspect an underlying grieving over the prospects of my getting back … Read More Mr. Smith Leaves Washington
Far More Can Be Mended Than You Know
One of my favorite books is Unapologetic, by Francis Spufford. An occasionally vulgar, frequently funny, and yet completely orthodox defense of Christian belief, Unapologetic has its own retelling of the Gospel story that is simply brilliant. That chapter, “Yeshua,” ends like this: Early Sunday morning, one of the friends comes back with rags and a jug of water and a box of the grave … Read More Far More Can Be Mended Than You Know
Lawyers, Guns and Money
Dear reader: Peace be with all of you in these difficult times. What follows is borrowed from a letter I sent to the members of my parish, for which I am the adult Christian formation director. It’s not quite on the usual topic of this blog, but I hope it brings you a bit of cheer at a time when we all need some. … Read More Lawyers, Guns and Money
Forty Days and Counting
Ash Wednesday Today, the beginning of Lent, is the one day when Christians in the Western church ask themselves a theological question. Not “what is the nature of the Trinity,” or “how is the doctrine of predestination consistent with free will,” but “if I give up chocolate now, isn’t it sinful that all that Valentine’s candy will go to waste?” This, of course, is … Read More Forty Days and Counting
Reason and Virtue: Medieval Concepts for Modern Times
Earlier this week we celebrated the feast day of Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), who was only: the foremost Roman Catholic theologian; the author of Summa Theologiae, his lifelong attempt to summarize all of Christian theology; by any (even secular) account, one of the ten most important philosophers in the Western tradition; the person who, as much as anyone, reintroduced Aristotle to the West after the … Read More Reason and Virtue: Medieval Concepts for Modern Times
It Was the Best of Times…
December 31 / Eve of Holy Name Day The end of the year is a time for making lists, more so the end of a decade. So, here’s a list of rules for writers, one of which I have already violated:[1] Never under any circumstances quote Nietzsche about anything that fails to kill you making you stronger; Be very sparing in your use of … Read More It Was the Best of Times…
Ye Shall Know the Truth…
Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle The “news” this week is, of course, dominated by the impeachment of the President, and his response to the Speaker of the House, the latter reminiscent of something that might have been in Beetlejuice Goes to Washington, if Pee Wee Herman played the title role. But the impeachment itself was certainly not “breaking news”, whatever the networks claim, … Read More Ye Shall Know the Truth…
Do What Comes Naturally
Feast of St. Nicholas of Myra Amid the clamor of the impeachment hearings and the British general election (essentially a second referendum on Brexit) is there any hope to be found, anywhere, in this Advent season? Well, here’s one. Last month, believe it or not, both Houses of Congress unanimously passed a substantive bill, and the President signed it. What could possibly have caused … Read More Do What Comes Naturally
Can the Law Be Beautiful?
Our Sunday School class is working its way through Tom Wright’s Simply Christian. The first part of the book talks about four things — echoes of a voice, Wright calls them — that hint at the reality of God. Those things are justice, spirituality, relationship, and beauty. The question that springs to mind for me is whether these are four things, or different aspects … Read More Can the Law Be Beautiful?
justice and mercy 