Month: October 2010

Good things here for the Orthodox too.

Roman Catholic Apb. Chaput

You may know the name of John Courtney Murray. He’s worth remembering. Father Murray was the American Jesuit who helped craft the Second Vatican Council’s landmark Declaration on Religious Liberty.

A year after World War II ended, with millions dead and Europe and Japan in ruins, Murray wrote that “those who deny the sovereignty of God over human society are the most dangerous enemies of human liberty.”

He wasn ‘t speaking about National Socialism or Communism. He was talking about European Liberalism. That’s Liberalism with a capital “L,” the system of ideas; the kind of secularism that preached individual freedom while pushing religion out of the public square.

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Over at his Theology and Society blog, George Patsourakos, an occasional commentator on the AOI blog writes on the effort by the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR – apologists for jihad actually) to combat “Islamophobia,” a term they borrowed and adapted from the homosexual rights movement that is used to silence the criticism of detractors. Patsourakos writes, sure, we’re afraid, but not of Muslims as much as we are of Muslim terrorism. Stop the terror and “Islamophobia” will disappear overnight. (One consolation: The spell checker still does not recognize the word. “Homophobia,” however, passes muster. This shows how when you say something nonsensical long and loud enough, people think it really means something.) Essay follows.

This past week, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) decided to establish a branch to deal with Islamophobia (the fear of Islam and Muslims).

There is no denying that many Americans have had a negative attitude toward Islam and Muslims since September 11, 2001, when about two dozen Muslim men were responsible for crashing four airplanes, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 innocent people.
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Source: CNN

Brothers Christopher and Peter Hitchens squared off Tuesday in a debate over whether civilization can survive without God. Christopher, the older of the two, is a renowned atheist thinker and author. Peter, the lesser known of the two, is a practicing Christian and also a well-regarded author.

Christopher Hitchens is going through a very public battle with cancer, a subject that came up often during the debate. Michael Cromartie from the Ethics and Public Policy Center, moderated the debate and mentioned Christopher, who lives in the District of Columbia, was attending in between doctor appointments. Peter Hitchens had flown in from England specifically for the lunchtime debate.

Christopher Hitchens arrived with a white straw Panama hat. Beneath the hat he has no hair, lost from cancer treatments. Though noticeably thinner, Hitchens did not seem to suffer any intellectual consequences from his treatment.

Read the entire article on the CNN website.