Sunday, February 28, 2010

Realsim and the Resurrection

Oswald Sobrino has some interesting things to say on these subjects vis-a-vis an atheist friend of his:

Who Is the Realist?:

One of my favorite friends and conversation partners is the "village atheist" where I live. He is an eminently decent and pleasant man. One of his main concerns is not to live under the allegedly false illusion of religious belief.


Read the whole thing.

(Via Catholic Analysis.)

Saturday, February 27, 2010

An Exercise in Moral Reasoning

especially in light of Catholic Moral Teaching:

More on Thiessen’s Moral Muddles:

For those interested in a detailed discussion of the flaws in Marc Thiessen’s use of double effect to justify “enhanced interrogation techniques,” as well as a sober overall judgment about the moral status of our interrogation policies after 9/11, see Christopher Tollefsen’s analysis on The Public Discourse.



Read the whole thing.

(Via First Thoughts.)

Friday, February 26, 2010

You Decide

This is an opportunity to see an actual debate between ACC(GW) proponents and critics. How many university courses do I need to take to confidently reach my own conclusions?

Quick Response to Ben Santer’s Comments at RealClimate:

Ben Santer has an article over at RealClimate defending himself against some claims made recently by Fred Pearce in a series of articles Pearce did for the U.K.’s Guardian in recent weeks.
In particular, Santer discusses a 1996 paper that he (and colleagues) published in Nature magazine in which they reported to have identified a human [...]


Read the whole thing.

(Via World Climate Report.)

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Global Warming

remains a concern for me. Is it happening? How fast? Are we responsible for it? What, if anything, can we do about it? These are important questions that need to be answered.


But it's difficult to answer when information is being offered by experts that is questionable:

Update on Global Drought Patterns (IPCC Take Note):

We are sure you have heard that global warming is causing more frequent and intense droughts throughout the world. Right? The claim is easy to make – higher temperatures increase evaporation rates, soil moisture is depleted, and drought conditions result. Indeed the Technical Summary of the most recent IPCC assessment includes “More intense [...]


Read the whole thing.

(Via World Climate Report.)

Let's Engage in a Thought Experiment

What if the unborn were as important as rain forests?

The Satanic Inversion of Values Gets Pwned:



H/T: Brutally Honest


Read the whole thing.

(Via Catholic and Enjoying It!.)

Archaeology

is an enduring interest for me:

New Discovery in Jerusalem:

The AP is reporting some big news about important new find in Jerusalem: JERUSALEM - An Israeli archaeologist said Monday that ancient fortifications recently excavated in Jerusalem date back 3,000 years to the time of King Solomon and support the biblical narrative about the era. If the age of the wall is correct...


Read the whole thing.

(Via New Advent World Watch.)

Monday, February 22, 2010

Catechesis and Discernment in a Year-Round RCIA Process

These were important themes for me by the end of my brief (three-year) stint on the Team. We were still a September-to-May type of process. This is an interesting take on these issues:

Integrating a Systematic Catechesis with a Year-Round R.C.I.A. Process:

This presentation was given by Dino Durando and Stacy Phillips from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Modesto, CA at the Diocese of Sacramento’s Catechist Ministry Day on September 26, 2009 in Sacramento, California.



Read the whole thing.

(Via The Blog That's All About R.C.I.A..)

Saturday, February 20, 2010

What is the New Media?

I can see how blogging plays an important new role in trying to keep the MSM somewhat honest. (Hello, New York Times. Welcome to the Climategate controversy.) What other medium is part of that process? Or are we using the plural (-ia) as a singular? Maybe medium has confusing and irrelevant connotations in English. Let me check my crystal ball...

"Kate Zernike...are you in the room?":

Here is Part 1 of Andrew Brietbart 's speech upon receiving an Accuracy in Media award for his work as 'whistleblower' against mainstream media bias. At 6:05 find his comments about Zernike's venom spitting attack , posing as a NYT 'journalist'. You don't have to be conservative to be scandalized by obvious lying and proselytizing by bankrupt journalists, but it helps if you're not a liberal...


Read the whole thing.

(Via island breezes.)

Tuesday, February 02, 2010