Bill Maher is on the loose with his new film Religulous. Proving yet again that within the breast of every dime-store atheist beats the heart of a Christian fundamentalist crank, the latest pop paladin of Truly True Scientific Atheist Thought sallies forth to combat the ravages of faithheads like Louis Pasteur who promote irrational superstitious … Read more
Two weeks ago, I promised to lay out for you, one week at a time, the "seven key areas of life where Jesus ruins our fun." By this I mean the categories of normal human experience that make up the bulk of our lives — where our instincts, habits, and egos have patched together perfectly … Read more
“I would exhort people to say the rosary every day for life and for the success of the election.” These are the words of Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, the retired archbishop of Philadelphia. When I spoke to him yesterday, the cardinal emphasized that he neither spoke officially for the archdiocese nor was he endorsing any specific … Read more
The following is a tongue-in-cheek reply to Nick Cafardi’s article, “I’m Catholic, Staunchly Anti-Abortion, and Support Obama.” I believe racism is an unspeakable evil, yet I support David Duke, who is pro-racism. I do not support him because he is pro-racism, but in spite of it. Is that a proper choice for a committed Catholic? … Read more
The verb “to lead” means to be out in front. But it also has the implication of knowing where the group that one leads is to go. The image of the lead mountain climber mistakenly guiding the troupe over a cliff comes to mind. The leader is supposed to know the way and to know … Read more
I don’t know if Bill Maher would call himself a comedian these days, but it’s fair to say that his roots are in comedy. Religulous, his new film, features at least a couple clips from his stand-up days, including one from The Tonight Show back in the Carson era. A young Maher is riffing on … Read more
Rebellion has long been a popular theme in film — particularly that which arises out of the struggle between the working classes and the elites. Unfortunately, the specific details of these stories often lead one straight to controversy. Take, for example, the recently acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth: Guillermo del Toro’s fairytale is overwhelmed by the struggle … Read more
Fancy calendars and datebooks are all alike. Every fall, at the fresh start of a new academic year, they get to me. Irresistibly coy in their cloth-bound covers, they call to me from bookstore shelves. “Buy meeee!” they whisper alluringly as I pretend to be perusing the fitness section. “I have all the answers! I … Read more
When a Kennedy scion publishes a book about Catholicism in the final stretch of a hotly contested presidential campaign, skeptics might assume the well-publicized literary event is just a political tactic. Read this motley collection of personal testimonials, and the skepticism deepens. Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans Talk About Change in the Church and the … Read more
Just when this presidential election could not get any stranger, David Brody reports the launching of a “Pro-Life Pro-Obama” Web site. When is the “John McCain, Pacifist” Web site going to show up? The effort to sell Obama as a pro-life candidate is being spearheaded by a group called the Matthew 25 Network, a PAC … Read more
I recently watched a strange movie recommended on InsideCatholic. Ushpizin, or The Holy Guests, is about a middle-aged Chasidic couple whose faith is tested by longstanding infertility. The plot is archetypally Jewish, a charming spin on the story of Abraham and Sarah. There’s nothing strange there. What’s really odd is that it turns out that … Read more
Although a Democrat, I have no intention of voting for Sen. Barack Obama in November. My primary objection has to do with his position on abortion, an extreme leftwing position. Not only does he have a 100 percent pro-choice voting record in the U.S. Senate, but when he was in the Illinois Senate he voted … Read more
I think G. K. Chesterton is onto something profound when he says that when you abandon the big laws, you don’t get freedom and you don’t even get anarchy: You get the small laws. In other words, the paradoxical effect of attempting to be lawless is to become more and more legalistic, to parse words … Read more
At the annual fundraising dinner of the Morley Institute, the sponsor of InsideCatholic and the late Crisis magazine, I have sometimes been asked by polite guests if my work as a music critic is full-time. I have smiled painfully and said, “No,” usually without revealing my day job as a warmonger at the Defense Department. … Read more
I know that I promised last week to continue my analysis of “Seven Key Aspects of Life Where Jesus Spoils Our Fun.” And I will get back to it — in fact, I’ll do so relentlessly, seven times, until I’ve essentially written the core of my upcoming book on InsideCatholic’s dime. I look forward to … Read more
The message was terse and professionally uninformative: “This is Chandler Regional Hospital. Your son is here. You will need to come over.” A message from my son’s roommate gave me a few more details. “Gus spent all night vomiting, and this morning he was deaf. I had to take him to the ER.” I couldn’t … Read more
A few days ago Rev. Ray Schroth, S.J., posted “Why This Priest Votes for Obama” on the NJ Voice blog. Father Schroth teaches humanities at St. Peter’s College and is presently working on a book about Rev. Robert Drinan, S.J. Father was careful in making his endorsement: “I do not say this from a pulpit. I … Read more
The Pulitzer Prize winning play August: Osage County tells the story of a family gathering at its homestead in rural Oklahoma following the sudden disappearance of the pater familias. The three daughters of the dispersed Weston family gather about their fully distracted and less than distraught (but almost certifiable) mother to determine what, if anything, … Read more
This year marks the pseudo-centennial of G. K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday. (First published as a pilot edition in 1907, the work was published in wider numbers the following year.) Journals as divergent as The New Yorker and The National Review have honored the anniversary with positive assessments of the book, which — … Read more
I cycle past the house often. It stands at the end of the street, next to what was once, long ago, the village green — still a pleasant area in busy suburbia. It’s a solid Victorian house, one of several in a row. They look out across the road to the grounds of a large, … Read more