Doubt
I’m increasingly sure that doubt, being not 100% certain that your beliefs (political, religious, economic, culinary) are correct, is an important part of what makes a pluralistic society run. More to come on this.
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Representation – the new wheelchair symbol.
I have this theory that representation matters. I wrote about my ideas here back in November, and will have a piece about gender and language coming out next week. So I like what New York City is doing with these new “handicapped” symbols. It’s a small thing, but many small things add up.
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Monarchy
Not long before the election of Pope Francis, Abi Sutherland, a blogger at Making Light, wrote about monarchy and myth. Sutherland worked through some thoughts based on recent movies and books, to discuss “monarch as catalyst,” and that the myth of the “true king” focused on transforming us to our better selves. Towards the end,…
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Francis’ Wager? – Or – Ignore the atheist thing, focus on encounter
I have a new essay up on The Atlantic. Money quote: Perhaps the focus on atheism, as breathtaking has this issue has proven to be for the media and the blogosphere, misses the more powerful concept at the core of Francis’ homily: the culture of encounter. In the documents from the Second Vatican Council, as…
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Pluralism
Today Pope Francis said the following: All people are called to do good and not evil, the pope said. Some would object, “‘but, Father, he isn’t Catholic so he can’t do good.’ Yes, he can. He must.” The idea that others cannot really be good and do good in the world creates “a wall that…
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Inspirations for the next essay on gender and pre-school
Yvonne Brill’s obituary. Deborah Kogan’s life in publishing. Or, why the publishers made her call her first book, “Shutterbabe.” Seanan McGuire’s response to being accused of too much self-promotion in regards to the Hugo Awards. She promoted herself once. But she’s a woman, so … What Disney Princesses really teach girls. Bratz. Underwear. Elizabeth Smart….
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Reactions – Seamless Garment/Consistent Life Ethic
John 19:23 Vulgate – Milites ergo cum crucifixissent eum, acceperunt vestimenta ejus (et fecerunt quatuor partes, unicuique militi partem) et tunicam. Erat autem tunica inconsutilis, desuper contexta per totum. NIV – When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This…
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New Essay on “The Atlantic” – The Cardinal, the Prime Minster, and Abortion Politics
I have a new essay up here. In it, I talk about the decision by Boston’s Archbishop, Cardinal O’Malley, to boycott the graduation of Boston College. BC is honoring Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who is sponsoring an abortion bill back home. I work through some of the reasoning and the potentially inconsistent (or at…
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Finding a public voice – An introduction to my writing and this blog
I’ve built this site for three reasons: 1. Publish pieces that I can’t publish somewhere else (particularly when needing to get a piece out before an event or news cycle). 2. Publish half-baked ideas that aren’t ready yet (and may never be ready), brainstorm on issues, organize and store data, and otherwise chat about interesting…
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American Theodicy
Theodicy is the theological practice of trying to make sense of why bad things happen to good people. It was coined by the famous German polymath Leibniz, but was a common practice throughout the history of medieval thought as well in various ways. I am working on an essay on the topic of American theodicy….