“Whatever the arguments for and against ‘gay marriage,’ there are never going to be many takers for it. But the justifications for same-sex marriage are already being used to advance the cause of polygamy, and there are far more takers for that. It’s already practiced de facto if not de jure in France, Ontario, and …
Down in the Cultural Bilge
“People have little in common except their prurient interests and morbid fears and anxieties. Necessarily aiming its fare at this lowest-common-denominator target, television gets worse and worse year after year” (George Gilder, Life After Television, p. 15).
Jerry Falwell, R.I.P.
Jerry Falwell went to be with the Lord yesterday, and I wanted to take a moment to pay my respects. Anyone who has read very much of what I have written knows that he belonged to a very different theological stream than do I. Nevertheless, he believed the Bible, and held to the central tenets …
The Way of All Flesh
I caught a portion of the Republican debate last night, and was fascinated by the response to Ron Paul — a Republican actually worth considering. He actually believes in small government. But when Paul said that terrorism is a concern because of our agressive foreign policy, it is not surprising that sparks flew. In an …
Description and Explanation
Christopher Hitchens concludes his book, and I conclude my review of it, with Chapter Nineteen: “In Conclusion: The Need for a New Enlightenment.” But if this is enlightenment, we need to check the batteries. “Religion has run out of justifications. Thanks to the telescope and the microscope, it no longer offers an explanation of anything …
Third Installment of the Hitchens/Wilson Debate
It has been very interesting to follow some of the blog buzz over the debate I am having with Christopher Hitchens. Speaking of that debate, the third installment is now posted here. Christian bloggers have been generally very happy about the whole thing. But the Christians who have been dubious about the whole enterprise can …
The Top Hat and the Sea Otters
We are in the backstretch now. In his next chapter, Christopher Hitchens gives us a brief historical survey of freethinkers throughout history who found themselves in trouble with the authorities. Men like Socrates, Spinoza and Thomas Paine are an inspiration to Hitchens, and he spends this chapter telling us why. But he also tells us …
Floating Indignation
In Chapter Seventeen, Hitchens tries to answer the question created by secularist atrocities. “Is it not true that secular and atheist regimes have committed crimes and massacres that are, in the scale of things, at least as bad if not worse?” (p. 229) There are two responses here. The first is a brief reply to …
Hitchens Gives Orwell the Raspberry
My review of Chapter Sixteen of Hitchens’ book will not be long at all. The title of this chapter is “Is Religion Child Abuse?” He acknowledges at the conclusion of the previous chapter that it is “one provocative question” (p. 215). It certainly is. One of the guiding assumptions of Hitchens’ zeal is that religion …
The Temple Fires are Extinguished
In his next chapter, Christopher Hitchens takes on religion as original sin. In this chapter, he demonstrates that he understands the Christian gospel better than many televangelists do, but at the same time, that understanding is suffused with the kind of hatred that brings a different kind of confusion. Hitchens says here that the behavior …