In my recent book God Is, in the course of responding to a charge that non-acceptance of the HIV causation of AIDS amounted to malevolence or stupidity or both, I used the illustration of a latex condom stopping an HIV virus being like trying to stop a mosquito with a chain link fence (given the …
As In, Oops
Near the end of his life, the great Augustine published a book called Retractions, in which he corrected earlier mistaken notions of his that had made it into books. Because of his stature as a theologian, that move was obviously necessary. Others, like myself, may be pressed to a similar duty for reasons having more …
Entirely the Stuff of Legend
The Archbishop of Canterbury has informed us, just in time for Christmas, that the story of the three wise men was nothing more than a “legend.” HT: Frank Turk. Yes, I can see how the concept of “wise men” would seem to a churchman in Bishop Rowan’s environment to be entirely the stuff of legend. …
Important Correction
A few days ago I ran this photo below. And as much as I would like to run the “false but true” defense that Dan Rather has wielded so effectively in the past, it appears that the photo is actually from a 1994 Dutch indie film entitled The Stone. The actress in the photo is …
Catching a Blunder
My thanks to Prosthesis, who caught a significant blunder in my review of Smith’s book on postmodernism below. I quoted Smith summarizing Foucault, and then interacted with that as though it were Smith himself. Mea maxima blunda, and I have corrected the problem. My apologies to all my readers, and particular apologies to Smith for …
A Back Eddy in the Moscow Everglades
Let me begin by inviting the uninterested to just skip this one, a post on one particular backwater eddy in the swamp that has become the Moscow Everglades. At the same time, some may be interested in this feature of our ongoing “rage for diversity” campaign because it is part of the reason that some …
Oops
A small oops is in order. In a post last week, I noted that out of 64 weddings I have conducted, only four of those marriages had ended in divorce. I had (for some reason) done the percentage calculation for six out of sixty-four, giving a rate of around 9%. The actual rate is a …
Licorice Altoids
A reader from a far place pointed out my very own howler. I take the liberty of quoting him at length. Mr. Wilson, While I am no fan of Mr. Gier, his scholarship, or his writings I feel obliged to defend him on one point. In a recent entry in your blog, you compared his …