Fed. appeals court upholds ‘under God’ in pledge By TERENCE CHEA Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court upheld the use of the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency, rejecting arguments Thursday that the phrases violate the separation of church and […]
Archives for March 2010
Learning about whom we visit in short-term mission
In January of 2009, I posted a blog on what we can learn from the poor. I talked about Fr. Alejandro Mesco and what he had taught me about sharing the good things that the Lord gives us. Just today, I read an article in Mission Frontiers which is a magazine of the US Center […]
Gossip and justifications
From Pithless Thoughts: Do you fast? Let the ears by not listening to evil talk and gossip. For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fishes, but bite and devour our brothers and sisters? (St. John Chrysostom). When my wife and I were married less than five years, we were asked to […]
… but not so little boys (and girls)
A dragon lives forever but not so little boys Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys. One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar. As I was listening to this Peter, Paul, and Mary song on Sunday, I found myself […]
Brain on Lent
As Father Orthoduck is writing this, he is very tired from a long Sunday of very worthwhile worship and service of the Lord. But, thanks to a fellow blogger, Father Orthoduck was introduced to the blog of a delightfully wacky fellow Orthodox blogger. And, so, Father Orthoduck recommends Steve of Pithless Thoughts. Particularly his current […]
MacArthur, Marshall, and the Middle East
What can we learn from the experiences of General MacArthur and Secretary of State Marshall on handling the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan? After all, both history and statistics show that both men were fully successful in turning former enemies into stable and reliable allies. Mind you, this does not mean that they never disagree […]
Some unpolished thoughts on the Middle East
Yesterday Father Orthoduck talked about the Marshall Plan and suggested that it may have some things to say to us about Iraq and Afghanistan. Father Orthoduck also suggested that some knowledge of history might be helpful in order to be able to understand why citizens of the Middle East might be less than excited about […]
Hearing ourselves through the ears of others
Yesterday Father Orthoduck posted on the fatwa that was announced against the jihadists by a prominent Islamic scholar. Sometimes we ask ourselves why did this not happen sooner. But, since Americans have very little tendency to listen, despite all the Oprah-like shows that emphasize learning to listen, and since Americans know very little history or […]
Fatwa pronounced against terrorists
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) — A fatwa, or religious ruling, issued this week is roiling theological waters after it took aim at those notorious for targeting others: terrorists. The anti-terrorism fatwa by renowned Muslim scholar Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri pulled no punches, declaring that terrorism was “haraam,” or forbidden by the Quran, and that suicide bombers would […]
Texas Issues Tim Cole, Who Died in Prison, Its First Posthumous Pardon – AOL News
Texas Issues Tim Cole, Who Died in Prison, Its First Posthumous Pardon – AOL News. Back in October of 2008, I blogged a series on the increasing failures of our national crime and prison policies. At that time I pointed out that states such as California were already spending 10% of their budget for prison […]
