Max Blumenthal has responded to an earlier post of mine, which criticized him for a misunderstanding of the nature of freedom. He states that my response “basically proves” his point re: clerical authoritarianism. He then goes on to ask what I mean by “theological relatives.” First I must apologize for using such an opaque phrase. Perhaps I could have said it better by stating that if Blumenthal’s idea of freedom were translated into theological terms, it would be a sort...

The American Bar Association (ABA) recently released a report detailing “Principles for Juries and Jury Trials” (PDF). Included in the report are some mendations that would allow jurors broader rights to discuss and take notes during the trial. The es in the wake of grave political controversy about the judicial system in general, with particular rows over judicial appointment and judicial activism. One case in particular has raised the ire of many, when earlier this year the jury sentence for...

In case Clark Pinnock refuses to take theology lessons from Loretta Lynn, perhaps he might deign to do so from Luther. Here he is on Genesis 6: But here another question is raised. Moses says: “God saw that all the thoughts of man were evil.” Likewise: “and He was sorry that He had made man.” Now if God foresees everything, why does Moses say that God saw only now? If God is wise, how can it happen that He repents...

In an informative interview via Christianity Today’s Money&Faith.net, Dan Miller gives good guidance for people to e entrepreneurs. He’s a big proponent of the side business, which could take as little as 5 hours per week. He says, Wealth isn’t earned by the hour. It’s made with ideas. We tend to associate e earned with hours worked in the traditional workplace. The person who’s making $8 an hour wants to make $10. The person who’s making $10 wants to make...

The Wall Street Journal editorializes today on the latest thuggish brutality from one of Africa’s saddest stories – Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe (subscription required): One of Africa’s poorest countries, Zimbabwe, is suffering through a brutal forced relocation reminiscent of the Khmer Rouge’s “ruralization.” Hundreds of thousands of people in and around the capital, Harare, have been evicted from their homes, which are then bulldozed under the order of dictator Robert Mugabe, the poster child for Africa’s governance problem. The United Nations...

From Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Black Cat, first published in 1843: And then came, as if to my final and irrevocable overthrow, the spirit of PERVERSENESS. Of this spirit philosophy takes no account. Yet I am not more sure that my soul lives, than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart—one of the indivisible primary faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of Man. Who has not, a hundred...

“Wind Farms Costly for Kansans, New Study Finds: Consumers would pay higher bills, reap few green benefits,” by James M. Taylor, Environment News, May 1, 2005, The Heartland Institute. Via the highly mended Evangelical Ecologist. See also Acton’s Anthony Bradley on wind power, in mentary here and a radio interview below. (mp3). ...

A contentious energy bill passed by the House is scheduled to be taken up by the Senate today. House Republicans are calling for swift passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, but some Senators are threatening to put off a vote until their concerns about offshore oil drilling are met. Energy policy has e a high-profile topic in recent days, due to skyrocketing gasoline prices, as well as the impending summer strain on electricity. The bill would deal in...

After SpaceShipOne was awarded the Ansari X Prize last year, Paul G. Allen became “the best-known member of a growing club of high-tech thrillionaires, including the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who find themselves with money enough to fulfill their childhood fascination with space,” reports John Schwartz in today’s New York Times. The success of private space flight is built on the broken dreams of the government’s space program. Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, a co-founder of the X Prize, says, “There...

A quote from a speaker at the CRC’s Synod 2005, endorsing the Micah Challenge and the ONE Campaign. He also intimated that churches could never hope to match the $40 billion pledged recently to cut aid debt for African nations. Tell that to all the people panies that gave a record $249 billion to charity in 2004. Religious organizations got the biggest portion of that number $88 billion. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think he’s giving the Church...

You scored as Reformed Evangelical. You are a Reformed Evangelical. You take the Bible very seriously because it is God’s Word. You most likely hold to TULIP and are sceptical about the possibilities of universal atonement or resistible grace. The most important thing the Church can do is make sure people hear how they can go to heaven when they die. Reformed Evangelical 82%Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 68%Neo orthodox 68%Fundamentalist 64%Roman Catholic 61%Classical Liberal 39%Emergent/Postmodern 39%Charismatic/Pentecostal 18%Modern Liberal 11% What’s your theological...

On this day, 790 years ago, the rule of law was affirmed in Britain. On June 15, 1215, King John of England signed the Magna Carta at Runnymede. Viewed as the basis of mon law, which greatly influenced the foundations of American society and government, the Magna Carta recognized a law greater than the will of the king. As Winston Churchill spoke of “a law which is above the King and which even he must not break,” Lord Acton too...