The American pope: What does the election of Pope Leo XIV mean?

The Roman Catholic Church has a new pope, and it didn’t take the papal conclave long to make it happen. On the fourth ballot, taken in the grandeur of...

June 9, 2025

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The Dark Side of Faith? Here We Go Again

Last week I looked at the false argument behind Ruth Gledhill's article in The Times [London] purporting to show that nations with a higher commitment to Christianity also experienced higher rates of various social pathologies. As I argued then, Gled ...

October 3, 2005

Homosexuality in Theological Perspective, Part One

In every age the Church is confronted with cultural and ethical challenges which test both the conviction and the compassion of the Body of Christ. Since World War II, American Christians have struggled with issues of racism, war, abortion, and sexua ...

October 3, 2005

Dutch to Sanction Euthanasia of Infants — ‘Guidelines’ to Be Established

Last year, doctors at the Groningen Academic Hospital in the Netherlands applied for permission to perform euthanasia on babies -- even as they admitted they were already doing so. In 2003, the Dutch Medical Society appealed to the government to crea ...

October 2, 2005

The Truth Behind the Television Show — NBC’s ‘Fertility Clinic Soap Opera’

In what must look like an exercise in self-parody, NBC plans to broadcast a new prime-time soap opera entitled "Inconceivable," which is fictionally located within a fertility clinic. Honest. Here's the scoop from NBC's Web site: This delightful ense ...

October 2, 2005

Christianity Vanishes in Europe — America, Too?

William Murchison takes a good look at the tragic collapse of Christian belief in Europe, describing Europe's vanishing faith in poetic terms: "Centuries of Christian belief swept away in a great cosmic sorting-out; history stood on its head." The ev ...

September 30, 2005

First Three-Person Civil Union in The Netherlands — As Predicted, Polygamy Follows Same-Sex Unions

Brussels Journal is reporting the formalization of the first three-person civil union in The Netherlands. Victor de Bruijn of Roosendaal (a 46-year old man) "married" two women, Bianca (31) and Mirjam (35). The report: "I love both Bianca and Mirjam, ...

September 29, 2005

The Ultimate in Artificiality? British Women Choosing IVF Over Natural Conception

Think you've seen it all? Look at this report from The Telegraph [London]: Women are increasingly seeking inappropriate IVF treatment because they do not have the time or inclination for a sex life and want to "diarise" their busy lives. Wealthy care ...

September 29, 2005

The Ties That Bind — James Q. Wilson on Marriage

Sociologist James Q. Wilson -- one of the most influential public policy analysts of our times -- considers our culture's conflicted state of mind on the issue of marriage. As always, his ideas are worthy of serious attention. Wilson's article, "The ...

September 29, 2005

Is Christianity Dangerous to Society?

Here's how to stack a deck for a false argument. Collect unrelated statistics and pass them off as proving causation. A decline in steel production may be an item of interest, but it doesn't have anything to do with a rise in asparagus eating among r ...

September 28, 2005

Say it Isn’t So — FEMA to Reimburse Churches for Aid?

The Washington Post and other papers are reporting that the Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to use taxpayer money to reimburse churches and other religious groups for aid suppied in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This is a ho ...

September 28, 2005