Politics:

            The Much Exaggerated Death of Europe by First Things and Think Again: Europe by Foreign Policy take opposing positions on the future of the European Union.

            The Failed States Index 2007 takes a look at the worlds weakest nation states and the effects they have on global politics, trade, etc.

            The Hidden Pandemic examines rising global crime rates.

            The Return of Authoritarian Great Powers examines the future of democracy in the post-Cold War era.

            Campaign 2008:  Foreign Affairs begins their series of essays by the top presidential candidates, beginning with Renewing American Leadership by Barack Obama and Rising to a New Generation of Global Challenges by Mitt Romney.

Culture:

            Death and Politics  First Things tackles the subject of death and what it says about our culture.  “The deepest roots of a civilization are in its funerals and memorials.  The dead define culture.”

Religion:

            I am both Muslim and Christian The story of Rev. Ann Holmes Redding has been everywhere as of late but the fact that anyone would take a person making such a claim seriously just baffles me.  This, however, provides massive insights into our culture, namely that the law of non-contradiction is distinctively tied to modernity and thus postmodernity is freed from this burden and free to contradict itself at will.  As for my two cents, she is neither Muslim nor Christian and her claim trivializes both.

Ed Stetzer on the Gospel

Since the nature of the Gospel and how it should be presented has been the talk of late I was thrilled to read Ed Stetzer’s new post Beginning Conversation about Christ.

We Built this City

Sorry, about the reference to cheesy rock music but World Magazine has a good article up profiling “10 unique urban centers, the people who make them thrive, and those whose life calling is to make them better.” As the article, Street Smart, points out most of us live in cities and so the article should be of a particular interest to us all.

Bio Fueling Starvation

Foreign Affairs has an article addressing the possible ramification of pursuing biofuel as a gasoline alternative entitled How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor. Taking agriculture classes in college I was required to participate in a debate on this issue and all of the research that I found on the subject clearly presented biofuels as an unsustainable alternative to gasoline. This is due to both the land mass needed to create such fuels and their exorbitant production costs, so much so that tractors on ethanol farms use gasoline rather than ethanol. I had never thought of the possible effects such fuels could have on the world food market and this article presents us with those effects.

A German Critique of American Megachurches

Der Spiegel which has had a great string of articles on religion during the past months has another one and the title says it all Karaoke for the Lord: The Recipe for Success at American Megachurches.

From the article:

The megachurches mushrooming in the United States are mammoth feel-good temples providing entertainment for one and all. The ministers used to deliver weekly jeremiads excoriating homosexuality, feminism and abortion, but many — particularly younger evangelists — are now using the pulpit to preach about Africa and the environment.

Noting the rapid expanse of megachurches in America, doubling since the year 2000, the author exclaims:

Because Americans will switch churches when they find one that suits them better (even if it’s only the time of the service), the rapid growth rate indicates that these modern cathedrals are meeting a social need.

Anglicanism and Catholicism to Reunite?

Here is the interesting story from The Times on the subject.

A Book to Watch

After the success of Richard Dawkins’ book, The God Delusion, Victor J. Stenger’s provocatively titled God: The Failed Hypothesis How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist by is sure to make waves.

Question of the Day: Is Morality Nonsense?

The Puritans thought so.[1] “Civility is not purity, a man may be clothed with moral virtues — justice, prudence, temperance — and yet go to hell. If we want to be pure in heart, then we must not rest in outward purity.[2]” “Civility does but wash a man, grace changes him. . . . Civility is but strewing flowers on a dead corpse. A man may be wonderfully moralized, yet but a tame devil.[3]” “Nor indeed do I know of anything which doth more threaten the undermining of true Christianity . . . than the putting of moral virtues into legal dress.[4]”What do you think?

[1] I do acknowledge that there is a slight discrepancy between what the Puritans said and what they did, but their opinion on this subject stands nevertheless.
[2] Watson, Thomas. The Beatitudes
[3] Ibid.
[3] Willard, Samuel. Morality Not to Be Relied on for Life

Jesus in the Morning, Voodoo in the Evening
This is a short informatory article on the blending of Christianity or Islam with voodoo in Africa. This paradox is one that I have witnessed during oversees travel.

Islam and the West
This lengthy article looks at the political and ideological interaction between the West, the Middle East, Islam, and Christianity. What I found particularly interesting has little to do with the article. In the 6th paragraph the writer makes this comment: “Yet, given the current European propensity for viewing reason as a Christian legacy and themselves as sole heirs to the Enlightenment, it ill befits Europe’s residents to cast reason aside whenever their relationship with Islam and Muslims is at issue.” Most American “Christians” view Europe as a secularized and pagan society, but flowing out of the natural religion of liberal theology Europe, or at least this writer, views itself in line with a “Christian” tradition. While America lies in the Fundamentalist tradition, Europe lies in the Liberal tradition. This provides a vivid example that should serve as a word of caution toward over contextualization. While many would consider the rise of natural theology and emphasis on reason as a secular development, it was not. At its heart, it was a religious development. With the rise of modernity individuals sought to develop a “Christian” theology that had meaning and relevance within this newly emerging cultural context and what resulted was distinctly not Christian, namely philosophical naturalism. I frequently mention contextualization and this serves to illustrate the immanent danger that faces us all.