I listened to Dr. J’s debate with Objectivist Dr. Yaron Brook about capitalism. I have to say that the debate was quite one sided. Dr. J delivered a polite yet devastating drubbing to Dr. Brook.
Of course, being a fan of debate, especially those with religious/secular themes, I find it hard not to kibbitz. So, here are some comments.
Dr. J opened up with some definitions of capitalism. That definition (taken from “The Victory of Reason” and supplied to her by yours truly, I might add) included several elements of capitalism. She then discussed the Pope’s approval of those elements. At this point, Dr. J could have uttered the words Quod Erat Demonstrandum and walked off the podium. She was gracious enough to continue. Read more…
Richard John Neuhaus, late editor of First Things, claimed authorship of this law, “When Orthodoxy becomes optional, orthodoxy eventually becomes prohibited.” The ever-fractious Church of England gives us a glimpse at the next step after Neuhaus’ Law: When Orthodoxy becomes optional, heterodoxy becomes subsidized:
Bishops and senior clergy will debate at next month’s General Synod whether the Church should provide same-sex couples with the same financial benefits Read more…
Expanding the reach of the anti-discrimination law, is almost certainly a side effect of redefining marriage. The one and only argument for ssm is the equality argument. it’s crude form, which we saw during the Prop 8 campaign, is “you’re being mean to us. you’re hurting our feelings. it’s not fair.” incredibly enough, that is what we are now hearing in a federal courtroom. The legal argument is equal protection, but that’s just a dressed up version of the same thing. And, the plaintiffs have no shame about bringing sob stories into the courtroom. so, if we accept the equality argument for purposes of marriage, it will be that much easier to accept the equality argument for anti-discrimination purposes. So, contrary to some libertarians who woudl like to think that ssm represents a retreat of the state from civil society, the exact opposite is true. Read more…
This is not diversity. This is an excuse for the state to regulate and indoctrinate, and generally stick itself into the minds of small children.
In its indifference to objective knowledge, in its crusade to hallow cultural relativism and a strictly Charter-of-rights based identity, ÉCR stimulates heritage students’ detachment from their own cultural touchstones, and chills critical thinking in all students.
(I)n one instance students were invited to redesign the Quebec flag, replacing the cross with a more “inclusive” symbol, Read more…
I’ve already made it clear that I love this letter by the US Catholic Bishops. As I begin to write about this, a couple of notes. First, all page numbers refer to the internet version linked here.
Second, don’t let anyone tell you this document is about same sex unions. The internet version is 60 printed pages. Of these, less than 3 full pages deal directly with same sex unions. That is, less than 5% of the document deals with same sex unions. That is about the correct proportion.
Third, the bishops are hopelessly romantic: Read more…
is the name of the Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Marriage. I will be writing about this in upcoming days. This document is really great and is not getting the attention it deserves. It is being upstage by the Manhattan Declaration, which is also good and worthwhile. Oddly enough, the Pastoral letter of the Catholic Bishops is actually more ecumenical than the Manhattan Declaration because the Declaration is specifically and emphatically Christian. Now, of course, the Bishops’ letter is too, not only Christian, but Catholic Christian. But I think that a Jewish person would have an easier time embracing the Bishops’ letter than the Manhattan Declaration. Maybe not. Jewish readers, what say you?
November 10th, 2009
Betsy
It has been discovered that the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is using contribution money to fund abortions and other groups inconsistent with the Catholic faith: http://bellarmineveritasministry.org/campaigns/cchd/
If you’d like to let the CCHD know why you are no longer supporting them, here’s something to clip out for the Nov. 22nd collection, so don’t delay: http://bellarmineveritasministry.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/collection.pdf
If you are looking for an alternative ministry to donate to, instead of the CCHD, you can always consider the Ruth Institute!
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