Bookworm Room

Tweet Few people have given more thought to evil than theologians.  Melissa Clouthier and Andrew Malcolm have posted an interview with Eugene Kennedy, former Catholic priest and current professor emeritus at Loyola University.  It’s well worth your time. (Broken link fixed.)

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Tweet I’m about to wade into theology here, so feel free to beat me around the head (politely, of course), if I’ve committed some egregious doctrinal sin.  Before you do, though, please follow my argument to its conclusion, to see whether I’m on the right track. I got to thinking about evil today. In my [...]

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Tweet Mom’s in the hospital again and suffering greatly, not in body, but in mind. She’s mildly delusional, and very paranoid, angry and anxious. I can’t imagine how grim it is to live in her head. I slipped away for an hour and had lunch with Don Quixote. Our conversation turned to evil. I believe [...]

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Tweet In the wake of the horrific child abuse scandal roiling Penn State, many have been trying to understand how Sandusky’s predatory behavior could have continued unchecked for so long.  The focal point of this “how could this happen” question is the fact that Mike McQueary actually witnessed an assault.  Rather than rearranging Sandusky’s face, [...]

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Tweet I took my daughter to the doctor today for what turned out to be a sinus infection.  The pediatrician is a lovely man — kind, skilled at his work, and (obviously) good with children.  I trust him as a doctor.  As a deep thinker, though, well . . . the jury won’t be out [...]

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Tweet While we were having lunch today, my dear friend Don Quixote asked “Do you think Barack Obama is evil?” I hedged.  “That’s an interesting question.  Why do you ask?” “I’m getting the feeling,” he answered, “that conservatives are starting to define Obama as being evil.  At least, that’s the impression I get from the [...]

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Tweet I’ve been traveling, so I missed the Saddleback conversation with the candidates.  Nevertheless, through emails and Mike Devx’s comments, I’ve become aware of the question Rick Warren posed to the two candidates about evil.  Here’s the transcript: REV. WARREN: Okay, we’ve got one last — I’ve got a bunch more, but let me just [...]

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Tweet Michael Ledeen has a written a wonderful article that uses the evil in the world’s recent past (Hitler, Stalin), as a springboard for discussing the West’s resolute refusal to see the evil in its midst. I think the following paragraphs are the core of his argument, but the whole article is well worth reading: [...]

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