American politics has become increasingly virulent in recent years. As we've grown used to talking about Red and Blue States, it seems the language of politics, the give and take debate on issues, has become more and more aggressive, angry and divisive.Opponents hurl insults at each other and ... Continue reading
The Case of the Purloined Pin
October 2, 2007 By
When John Wood fell on hard times and lost his home, he was forced to move his possessions into a North Carolina storage locker. When he got behind on the rent, the company auctioned off the locker's contents. Shannon Whisnant bought Mr. Wood's barbecue smoker and found that it held a surprise — a ... Continue reading
Sinéad’s Theology
July 12, 2007 By 8 Comments
Theology is an attempt to create a place of peace in a time of war... I observe a lot of violence done in the name of theologies of various religions, but when you study the actual texts of those religions you find that they don't ... justify war or violence or anything really which is unloving of ... Continue reading
Re-thinking Rachel Carson
June 22, 2007 By
A fundamental part of the Christian world view is that we live in a fallen world. This applies to the environment. Just as man is morally corrupt as a result of the fall, the environment is also corrupted. Just as man has the responsibility, before God to address moral corruption, he has the ... Continue reading
Wild child
June 4, 2007 By
"This is an important point in my life and I need to take responsibility for my actions. In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make ... Although I am scared, I am ready to begin my jail sentence." — Attorney Richard Hutton's statement on behalf of Paris Hilton as ... Continue reading
The scarlet epithet
May 3, 2007 By 1 Comment
The Rev. Grainger Browning of Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Fort Washington has been urging his members to stop using it. Students at the historically black Bowie State University banished the word from two dorms and started charging those who use it $25 fines.Nationally, the NAACP held a symbolic ... Continue reading
I won’t grow up
April 23, 2007 By
There's a great essay at Time Magazine by reporter David Von Drehle about the "extreme self-centeredness" and pervasive narcissism of our age. Von Drehle believes narcissism is at the root of the killing spree at Virginia Tech. As I've said on these pages many times, self-centeredness is the most ... Continue reading
Uncomfortable with evil
April 19, 2007 By 13 Comments
"I know that there's a tendency to think that everybody can get counseling or can have a bowl of tomato soup and everything is going to be all right," she said. "But I think that evil exists, and I think that he was a mean person." — VT poetry professor Nikki Giovanni, on her former student Cho ... Continue reading
