Opinion
Half Way Covenant
By Mark Silk — June 16, 2008
Reporting on Barack Obama’s sermon at Chicago’s Apostolic Church of God yesterday, the Chicago Tribune‘s Jeff Long and Christi Parsons write, “The theme of fatherly responsibility is important for Obama, especially now that he is the presumed Democratic nominee for the White House. While his dogma is decidedly liberal, his talk about personal responsibility crafts […]
Big Tim
By Mark Silk — June 15, 2008
Tim Russert’s death has been so big a story because he was one of those fixed stars in American public life–a journalistic personality who you expected to be there, shining away, as presidents came and went. Usually those stars just grow dim, like Chronkite or Brokaw, reappearing as hosts or commentators for this or that […]
Charismatic
By Mark Silk — June 14, 2008
Disarmed v. stiff-armed. At least I think “stiff-armed” is what the founder of Charisma magazine meant to write in characterizing evangelicals’ treatment thus far by John McCain. Anyway, color Steven Strang impressed and worried after participating in last week’s meeting with Obama.
You Don’t Mess with the Foxman
By Mark Silk — June 13, 2008
John Hagee and Abraham Foxman have kissed and made up. In a “Dear Abe” letter, Hagee apologizes for causing offense in re: his theological musings on the Holocaust (from 1999, he clarifies). In a “Dear Pastor Hagee” response, Foxman declares himself satisfied–though not without a smack at Hagee’s eschatological presumption: “We mortals sometimes get into […]
Not by design
By Mark Silk — June 13, 2008
Speaking of Gov. Jindal, it seems he will soon have the latest species of anti-evolution bill on his desk. That will happen once the Louisiana House and Senate work out a minor difference in SB 733, which “would allow science teachers, upon a request by a local school board and approval by state education officials, […]
Recede ergo
By Mark Silk — June 13, 2008
Bobby Jindal’s excellent exorcism adventure is making the rounds. You figure that what’s no problemo in the bayous is big problemo in the veepstakes.
What’s the Message?
By Mark Silk — June 13, 2008
At its just concluded annual meeting in Indianapolis, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution that at first glance seems utterly un-noteworthy. All but one of the nine “resolved” paragraphs encourage the kind of political engagement that has been a normal part of the evangelical world for nearly three decades. But buried two-thirds of the […]
COMMENTARY: Here come the brides—May the Force be with them
By Tracy Gordon — June 13, 2008
So I’m sitting around with some younger friends the other day and we start talking about what songs were played at their weddings. One couple left the church to the Beatles’ “She’s So Heavy.” I tried to imagine such a lyric at my parents’ wedding in the golden days of crooning, the 1940’s, when “love-at-first-sight” […]
The Catholic vote, looking toward the general
By Mark Silk — June 12, 2008
The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll has Obama leading McCain among Catholics by 47 percent to 40 percent, almost exactly the same figure as the 47-41 percent lead he enjoys among the entire sample. Inasmuch as Obama is leading McCain among Hispanics 62-28, however, that means he has his work cut out for him when […]
Welcome back, Fr. Mike
By Mark Silk — June 12, 2008
As Saint Sabina’s awaits the return of its pastor Sunday, Chicago Sun Times religion columnist Cathleen Falsani (on a brief leave to finish up a book on religion and the Coen bros.) has written a brief profile of Chicago’s most notorious priest. The mot du jour for the likes of Michael Pfleger (and Jeremiah Wright) […]
Greek and Turks
By Mark Silk — June 12, 2008
In New York City a couple of days ago, John McCain called on Greek Orthodox Archbishop Demetrios, and got a bit more Balkan religious politics than he bargained for. As reported by Newsweek‘s Erik German: While McCain was posing with Archbishop Demetrios, a reporter with a Greek-language media outlet fired a question at the senator, […]
COMMENTARY: Love is the thing, you know
By Cathleen Falsani — June 12, 2008
(UNDATED) In the end, it wasn’t about the sex. Or the Manolo Blahniks. Or men with nice buns, bank accounts or bubbes. For the ladies of “Sex and the City,” there was but a single item listed on the bottom line: love. Not with the men of their dreams, but with each other. Thousands of […]
COMMENTARY: Love is the thing, you know
By Cathleen Falsani — June 12, 2008
In the end, it wasn’t about the sex. Or the Manolo Blahniks. Or men with nice buns, bank accounts or bubbes. For the ladies of “Sex and the City,” there was but a single item listed on the bottom line: love. Not with the men of their dreams, but with each other. “Year after year, […]
No Greens Need Apply
By Mark Silk — June 11, 2008
HuckPac announces what it will do with the results of its two online polls, to wit: “take the top four issues (two from each poll” and ask each of the candidates who Huck PAC is supporting to blog about the issues on our website.” The issues are: Sanctity of Life, Second Amendment, Education, Health Care, […]
Au Naturel
By Mark Silk — June 11, 2008
A couple of days ago, the New York Catholic Conference, eight bishops strong, issued a pronunciamento on same-sex marriage in response to Gov. David Paterson’s announcement that the Empire State would recognize any such marriage conducted in another jurisdiction. In expressing their unhappiness, the bishops made plain that they were not arguing on behalf of […]
