Jul 25, 2015 | Theology
I was asked to lead a book discussion at my church on the problem of evil, and I decided on this book mainly because I’ve loved the previous books I’d read by him, and also because of the Amazon reviews. After reading it closely and leading a discussion over four weeks, I wasn’t terribly impressed. Here is my Amazon review:
I hate to give the great David Bentley Hart two stars, but I’m afraid I must. I read two books by him previously, which prompted me to pick this book for a class discussion I was to lead at my church. He’s brilliant, and has a way with words that amazes me and often drives me to the dictionary, when I can even grasp the arguments he makes. As I like to say about a genius like him, he has a very big brain. But alas, being smart doesn’t mean you get everything right, and this book is a perfect example. (more…)
Jul 23, 2015 | Uncategorized
The new book by Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, in the form of a letter to his son, has been greeted with a rapturous reception that brooks no dissent.
What everyone says about the literary power of Between the World and Me is correct. It is, in part, the story of the creation of a writer, and one with undeniably formidable gifts. But if you refuse to simply stare at the book in wonder as one who admires Michelangelo’s David and subject it to even minimal critical scrutiny, you will realize that it is profoundly silly at times, and morally blinkered throughout. It is a masterly little memoir wrapped in a toxic little Philippic.
–Rich Lowry, “The Toxic Worldview of Ta-Nehisi Coates”
Jul 17, 2015 | Truth
Now that we know Planned Parenthood has a bustling trade in fetal body parts, you wonder how much longer the progressive/liberal wing of our body politic can pull the wool over America’s eyes that abortion kills little human beings. Everybody has to know that now, right? But the left’s response to a Planned Parenthood executive caught on video discussing little fetus body parts is indicative of a moral blindness that is breathtaking to behold. One example of what passes for progressive moral insight is a piece at the reliably liberal Slate by Amanda Marcotte. (more…)
Jul 13, 2015 | Culture
What is this world coming to when The Onion can mock the abortion industry without any seeming embarrassment or concern? That’s just what they did in one of their faux news stories, “Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex.” A mall dedicated to abortion! It’s really kind of astonishing when you think about it. The Onion’s is a reliably liberal take on the world, although I don’t doubt that they are equal opportunity offenders. (more…)
Jul 2, 2015 | Culture
David Harsanyi at The Federalist is one such conservative supporter who is having second thoughts. In “Was I Wrong To Support Gay Marriage?” he articulates what should have been obvious to everyone from pretty much the beginning of the push to redefine marriage:
I’ve supported same-sex marriage ever since I first heard the idea. And when I became a political columnist in the early 2000s—despite being the “conservative” at a good-sized newspaper—I was the only one at the paper (as far as I can recall) who unequivocally backed gay marriage publicly. Though I wasn’t gullible enough to believe I’d be persuading many readers, I was gullible enough to believe that my allies in the cause were merely concerned with “equality.”
As we dig out from the avalanche of half-baked platitudes about “love being love” and watch alleged news organizations and the White House adorn themselves in cheerful rainbows, we can look forward to the self-righteous mobs that will be defaming anyone who is reluctant to embrace the state’s new definition of marriage. Love is love, except when a person loves their God and follows the principles of their faith, evidently.
Do a majority of Americans who support gay marriage believe these traditionalists deserve to be treated like unrepentant Klan boosters? Of course, there will always be the obnoxious Puritan, as the quote goes, who loves God with all his soul, but hates his neighbor with all his heart. But, as any honest observer would tell you, there are also many profoundly decent religious people who aren’t filled with enmity, aren’t bigoted, aren’t hateful, but do still hold long-established notions about what marriage should look like.
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