On Thursday, President Obama addressed the National Prayer Breakfast, as has been his custom during his presidency. This year, his remarks drew the ire of conservatives and religious conservatives; as an example, Bloomberg News headlined an article with the verb “Troll” to describe the president’s remarks. What was so controversial? The president acknowledged a settledContinue reading “Obama, the National Prayer Breakfast, and the Crusades”
Tag Archives: Christianity
Answering the Ten Questions for Atheists
I saw a link to this on Twitter — Today Christian posted 10 Questions For Every Atheist with this challenge: “Some Questions Atheist Cannot Truly and Honestly REALLY Answer! Which leads to some interesting conclusions…” I look a good challenge. Let’s take a look, shall we? 1. How did you become an atheist? I wasContinue reading “Answering the Ten Questions for Atheists”
Comparative Religions
Shortly after Merlin’s arrival in Camelot, he asked Gaius to explain the differences between the “Old Religion” and the religion practiced by the king — Christianity. This proved a mistake. Gaius droned on for hours, only embaffling Merlin with excessive detail. Merlin considered asking Prince Arthur the next day, then decided his curiosity would promptContinue reading “Comparative Religions”
On Leesburg’s Christmas Controversy
This morning, I ventured out to the Post Office. I had to mail some packages for Christmas, and I wanted to get my Christmas cards in the mail. I thought about going into Randallstown, but they have a small, difficult-to-navigate parking lot. Eldersburg, I decided, would be easier to get to. I expected, since itContinue reading “On Leesburg’s Christmas Controversy”
On Linus and the Meaning of Christmas
My niece turned three on Monday, and on Saturday I went down to Virginia to spend the day with my sister and her family to celebrate my niece’s birthday. For my niece’s birthday, I gave her some Christmas socks and a recordable storybook of A Charlie Brown Christmas that I picked up at Hallmark aContinue reading “On Linus and the Meaning of Christmas”
On Why Slate Gets Atheism Wrong
Slate today asks a provocative question — Which is worse for evangelicals like Rick Perry — being an atheist or a Muslim? Writer Brian Palmer answers “atheism.” And while I agree with his answer, I disagree with his reasoning. Writes Palmer: “The ancient and medieval Christians wouldn’t have had much to say about pure atheism,Continue reading “On Why Slate Gets Atheism Wrong”
On Barack Obama’s Religion
Wasn’t it P.T. Barnum who said that “You’ll never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public?” That’s how I felt this morning, when I heard NPR’s story on a just-released Pew Research poll that indicates that a growing percentage of Americans — now 1 in 5 — believe that President Obama is, inContinue reading “On Barack Obama’s Religion”
On Offering Praise to Odin
There’s a comic from DC/Vertigo I’m really enjoying right now — Brian Woods’ Northlanders. It’s about Vikings, and it’s told in story arcs. The first trade paperback, Sven the Returned collects the first eight-issue story arc (for the budget price of ten dollars!), and it’s a pretty involving tale of a young man who leftContinue reading “On Offering Praise to Odin”
On Atheism, Agendas, Analogies, and Browsers
Sometimes web surfing can be a dangerous thing. You’re looking at something safe, something normal, and then you’re in some dank back alley in the dirty part of town, where you have to keep your head down because you don’t want to attract attention. Last night was like that. I found myself reading an evangelicalContinue reading “On Atheism, Agendas, Analogies, and Browsers”