Well, I'm only a couple chapters in thus far, and have already been propelled through the possible emotions a reader of a new book enjoys/suffers: dread of reading another nearly incomprehensible passage, to utter amazement at the depth and character of some other passages.

An example of a passage that was very dismaying to read:

Agenbite of inwit. God, we'll simply have to dress the character. I want puce gloves and green boots. Contradiction. Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. Mercurial Malachi. A limp black missile flew out of his talking hands. -- And there's your Latin quarter hat, he said.

But then we see utter genius:

The void awaits surely all them that weave the wind: a menace, a disarming and worsting from those embattled angels of the church, Michael's host, who defend her ever in the hour of conflict with their lances and their shields.

And a creative look at determinism:

Had Pyrrhus not fallen by a beldam's hand in Argos or Julius Caeser not been knifed to death. They are not to be thought away. Time has branded them and fettered they are lodged in the room of the infinite possibilities they have ousted. But can those have been possible seeing that they never were? Or was that only possible which came to pass? Weave, weaver of the wind.

Well, I've finished one of my summer reading projects: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. It was a masterpiece and moved me in many ways, even though its message in the end was not a positive one. I'll have a more thorough review soon.

Now I'm reading Ulysses by James Joyce. I purchased this book over Christmas break, because I had heard that Joyce was one of the best authors in the English language and that Ulysses was one of its best novels. As I now am figuring out, I may have not known what I was getting myself into. My former roommate's dad, who happens to be one of the smartest people I know, said he had trouble with the book and eventually gave up on it, so I'm not completely certain I will master it. Thus far, I've completed only 1 page, and I see no reason to elevate my expectations of my abilities with this novel.

We will see

Well, its technically Monday now, so I'll remark on the day that was this Sunday. Most prominently, it featured the Indianapolis 500, an event I've attended every year since 1990. I'm a man of traditions, and as an Indy native, this tradition is top-dog.

Unfortunately the forecast called for scattered showers, and as a racefan would know, any sprinkles at all cause a rain-delay at an oval-track race. It rained in the morning, causing the "greatest spectacle in racing" to start 2 hours late. Then it got 27 laps in, with several laps under yellow for an accident, then it was red-flagged because of rain again. To make a long-story short, the race got back underway after a couple more hours, got nearly completed with some awesome and close open-wheeled racing, and then was called due to rain again with only 20 laps remaining. Luckily, it counted as a complete race at this point.

After the race, the real "fun" began. And by fun, I mean hellish weather and hellish basketball. A handful of tornadoes were reported in Indianapolis and its surrounding area, and we nearly drove into one heading south on I-65. We saw quite a bit of damage first-hand.

Then came the Pacers game. We stunk stunk stunk, losing by double digits to the Pistons and going down in the series 3-2 going back to Detroit for the next game. The ominous portent of the dark thunderclouds outside Conseco Fieldhouse enshrouded the Pacers' play, as everything went wrong.

Let me know what you think... good, bad, whatever

I changed the font to make it more readable, enlarged the post titles to emphasize them, made the comments look a lot better (single-spaced!), and added a small bi-line under the posts, possibly anticipating more guest bloggers in the future.

Also, I got rid of Trackback, because nobody uses Trackback, it seems. And I learned how to blockquote long sections of text taken from articles or wherever, thanks to Dan Pulliam, who is blogging more again this summer.

You'll probably see this here first. According to this article in The West Australian, some off-duty Australian cops got drunk and had a few altercations last night, most prominently with some Notre Dame students.

Allegedly, the cops were drunk and committed several incidents, the first harrassing a German bartender at a local hotel, giving him the Nazi salute. Also present at the hotel bar were some Notre Dame University students. Notre Dame University is a "spin-off" of the University of Notre Dame here in Indiana, located in Fremantle, Australia. American Notre Dame students can study abroad at Notre Dame in Australia for a semester.

From there, the next run-in occured at a night club called the Zanzibar. I'll let the article do the talking:

During that incident, one of the seven WA officers, who are all from the Fremantle district, was allegedly assaulted by one of the American Notre Dame students and had a tooth knocked out.

Enraged, some of the drunken officers tracked the American down to the university's student accommodation.

It was there that several American students, including some who had nothing to do with the clash at the Zanzibar, were made to kneel on the ground and were humiliated.

It is understood the taunting included comments such as "Yankies go home", "What are you doing in our country" and "What are you doing in Iraq".

Frightened students called the police.

Some detractors had suggested that my 25 Theses were mere theoretical constructs with little to no practical import on Christianity. I beg to differ, and humbly offer the following stories in regards to the Catholic Church of real Church problems with real solutions needed.

We begin with the Boston Archdiocese closing 65 of its 357 parishes. According to the article, Archbishop Sean O'Malley "said the reduction was needed because of declining Mass attendance, a shortage of priests and the inability of the archdiocese to support struggling parishes in the midst of a financial crisis caused in part by the abuse crisis." The priest shortage is a problem facing the Church all across America. Thesis number 18's recommendations would dramatically elevate the number of priests by allowing the thousands of devout women across the nation to become priests, should they so choose.

So now let's look at the reduction in Mass attendance. There could be multiple reasons for this: more work requirements on people's time, less strict rules on Mass attendance by the Church, and yes, growing secularism. I'll be not so bold and say that if people feel religion is less relevant to their lives, then they will be less inclined to go to Mass regularly. Thesis 22 and Thesis 23 both provide real teachings the Church can stress to fight the philosophy of secularism, and maybe stem disinterest in Mass. The Pope, himself, has recently openly worried that Americans are giving in to a "soulless vision of life." I think he should look at Europe also.

And finally the sexual abuse scandal. There are several theories on the root of this problem, and I will not address them here, but rather look at the Chuch's institutional method of dealing with the problem. I applauded the plan devised by the U.S. Catholic Bishops two years ago in Dallas, a plan drafted in part by Notre Dame priests. It gave very low tolerance to priest offenders, established lay oversight, and encouraged openness in numerous aspects of the process. Unfortunately, the Vatican has made a couple moves that work against this positive process. For one, they forced the U.S. Bishops to accept some changes in the plan which hinder its full effectiveness. Secondly, just recently the Pope elevated Cardinal Bernard Law (who hid sexual abuse in the Boston Archdiocese for several years) to archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, a fairly prestigious post. This move has further disillusioned direct and indirect victims of the sexual abuse.

As an Indy native, its imperative that I root for the Pacers versus the Pistons tonight.. that and I've been a Pacers fan my whole life. Afterall, basketball is a religion in this state. Down 2 games to 1 in the series, its almost put up or shut up time. On a more humorous note, has anyone else noted the striking similarity between Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle and actor Jim Carrey?

Called the "Go Active Meals," McDonalds is test-marketing the healthy alternatives in Indiana and other midwestern states.

I first let you know they were going to do this in a post way back on September 17. I then predicted that the meals would fail over time. And I still predict the same, though the meals might do well as a fad and boos the Golden Arches' profit short-term.

I do admit, some of the new salads they are offering sound good (even using Paul Newman dressing). I'll have to try one to put them to the test... But alas, I stick to my words on Sept. 17:

Personally, I'd prefer to have a Big Mac, some chicken nuggets, and a pint of Guiness in my adult Happy Meal-- but that wouldn't be very kosher would it? (pun intended)

I'm sorry, but I just don't like this idea of a gay-themed cable network, that MTV is planning.

I'm sure it will have some entertaining shows and all, but seriously, can you really dedicate an entire channel to homosexual themes... or for that matter heterosexual themes?

Now, I'm sure the channel's backers would argue that the gay channel would have more to cover then issues surrounding sex and/or sexual attraction; they would argue that there is an entire set of cultural issues unique to the gay community that the channel will cover.

And that's even more disturbing to me. I do not think it is smart for homosexuals to segregate themselves from the rest of society by synthesizing their "own culture." For instance, I do find "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" to be funny, but I dislike the stereotypes about both sides that the show presents. In fact, to my own chagrin, I've even played up some of these stereotypes in my own life.

To make my point even more clear, the headline of the CNN article reads: "MTV to launch gay network in 2005/ Experts believe the new network will help advertisers target gay and lesbian consumers." To which I must ask: 'What products are unique to homosexuals, so that advertizers will want to target them?' No snide answers please.

While some of my predictions do go awry, many others show amazing prescience; I won't deny it :-)

Its now May of 2004 and everyone is raving about Apple's iTunes Music Store and the iPod music player. Before this happened, not everyone was so sure. Many said Apple's early success would be short-lived and the store would not make the crossover to Windows successfully. Now, we all know better. IPod sales are absolutely booming, iTunes song sales are nearing 100 million, and the music industry is now even predicting a rise in overallmusic sales next year, because of legal digital song downloads.

So let's rewind...

I owned an iPod two years ago, right after it came out, and before owning an iPod was so cool. On September 3, 2003, I wrote about Apple's rumored release of iTunes for Windows and said the following:

Steve Jobs, according to this MacCentral article, has made it no secret that Apple is going to release a version of the iTunes Music Store for the Windows market. When this happens, the music industry's will have crossed over a watershed, from an era of free digital downloads to that of pay downloads. Not everyone will accept the change, but as colleges clamp down on file sharing, the iTunes Store will become an instant hit on the PC side as well, attracting millions of new users-- each of whom will have incentive to buy a new iPod and many of whom will be introduced to an Apple product for the first time.

Lovely, just lovely.

Mike Romano's Enchiridion deserves some proper commentary, and I will provide it in installments, so as to leave room for other topics on DC.

I envision three installments: one on points that Mike and I agree on, one on points that we disagree on still, and one on points where I believe Mike has made some convincing changes/clarifications to a particular thesis.

I'll begin today with points on which we agree.

Mike Romano on the Bible: (see my Thesis #7)

I have no dispute with Sayre here, he is right. It is Selderane's point that is gravely mistaken. By what standard can we uphold the Bible as the only source of Christian truth? It was humans that decided the content of the Bible in the first place, rejecting certain books and including others. If the Bible is the ONLY source of Christian truth, and tradition and the Church have no say, then by what standard do we accept the four Gospels and reject the Gospels of Thomas, Peter, or Mary Magdalene? By what standard do Catholics accept and most Protestants reject the apocrypha? Certainly nothing in the Bible itself indicates that these books ought be included or excluded. We would not even know that the Bible was a source of God's revelation were it not for the Church.

Furthermore, any literary text, especially one of such depth and complexity as the Bible, demands interpretation. Reading the Bible does not automatically grant the reader the Holy Spirit's intervention. This is plainly obvious from the fact that God's truth is one, yet the offered interpretations of the Bible are many. Finally, the Bible itself points beyond itself to other sources of revelation, as in the Gospel of John which says that Jesus performed other miracles and taught the apostles other things that are not recorded within the Gospel. Also, Jesus says, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now (John 16:12).

I'll let that speak for itself, for it supports my point quite thoroughly. Romano on justification: (see my Thesis #10)

In examining Selderane's response, I find it indicative of the debate between Catholics and Protestants. Sayre, as a Catholic, understands works to have some basis in obtaining salvation. Seldrane, as a Protestant, denies this. I do not know that all Protestants hold this view, but Seldrane avowedly does.

The issue is less clear, however, than Seldrane would admit. He asserts that the Bible rejects any kind of doctrine of salvation by works as opposed to by grace alone, then cites Romans 3, in particular Romans 3:28. Now, it is a very Protestant practice to cite one verse of the Bible alone, but of course one verse in isolation can convey little, as it is lifted entirely out of context. In the case of Romans 3, the laws at issue were those required to be a Jew; specifically, laws requiring circumcision of males. Paul was engaging in the debate as to whether the Gentiles had to observe Jewish law in order to be considered Christian, and resoundingly claimed that this was not the case. The claims made by Paul in this letter may be interpreted as more global in scope than the circumcision debate and applying to the law or to works generally. He also might be confining his remarks to that issue alone.

The Bible itself, however, explicitly reveals that works are absolutely necessary for salvation, thus the Bible cannot be said to reject such a doctrine. James writes on this very issue, explicitly (as opposed to Paul's ambiguous meaning) in James 2:14-26. On top of this, Jesus himself offers a parable for salvation in which only works, without faith, leads to salvation! See Matthew 25:31-46. Those people attaining salvation did not know they were serving Christ, and likewise those condemned did not know they were denying. This is not to say that one can earn salvation; none of us can, as we are all broken. But it speaks well to ideas of faith merely as assent to a set of propositions as opposed to a way of living one's life. If one claims not to believe in the law of gravity but then refuses to walk off a cliff, would one believe him? So it is with faith in Christ. Furthermore, for the non-believers, the parable offered by Christ indicates that non-believers might serve Christ without knowing that they are doing so; in this case, faith in the explicit, creedal sense might not be necessary.

In my original set of Theses, I chose not to delve into the Biblical foundation for justification, though I was familiar with the argument that Romano sets forth here, as well as famous Catholic theologians in the past. To date, I have NEVER heard an effective counter-argument from the Protestant perspective. So, let this be a challenge to my evangelical Protestant readers (you know who you are): either explain away the Biblical support for works in salvation, or abandon this theological heresy of justification by faith alone! :-)

[Installment two in a few days...]

To follow the form of the Luther v. Eck debates, my ex-roommate and fellow upcoming law school attendee, Mike Romano, has drafted an Enchiridion in response to my 25 Theses on the Modern State of Christianity. Perhaps I am biased, but I dare say this is the most thorough and compelling set of responses yet.

I do not have time tonight to post excerpts and reactions tonight (this morning actually), but rest assured I will later on shortly. So, without further adue:

Michael Romano: The Enchiridion of Commonplaces Against Sayre and Selderane

Monday of this week, after packing the last few of my possessions into my overstuffed car, I walked across campus to the Grotto to light a devotional candle and to say a few prayers. Just the day before I had been with my parents, brothers, and fellow graduates of the Notre Dame class of 2004 to celebrate graduation festivities.

The Grotto, to explain to all you readers unfamiliar with ND and its landmarks, is an area hollowed out of rocks that forms a cave-like concave recess. In the recess are devotional candles that burn all-year round (a Catholic tradition) and along the front are a prayer rail and a long bench. Fashioned after the famous Grotto in Lourdes, France, the Notre Dame Grotto is a favorite place for students, parents, and alumni to pray.

But on this final day on campus, I was all-alone at the Grotto. After saying the usually perfunctory prayers regarding the future-- which took on a fresh and strong new significance at this point in the journey of life-- I focused on Notre Dame and its place in my life the last 4 years. I had said numerous goodbyes to friends and professors this weekend, and now it was time to say one final goodbye to Notre Dame itself, in the only way truly befitting the school's spirit-- a prayer.

I will not bore you with an exhaustive list of every high (and low) point of my four years at ND, but I will mention a few events and features that truly reserve for ND a special place in my heart, a few of the things flowing through my head as I said my goodbye to ND as an undergrad that day.

The first is when I came out of the closet first semester freshman year. This is naturally a very nerve-racking experience for most people; I was even more worried because ND had a reputation for being a conservative and Catholic place. But when I told my friends and roommate that I am gay, I received nothing but love and support-- an experience echoed by a couple of my underclassman friends in the dorm who came out just this year.

This is but a particular indication of a larger reality at ND. The students, faculty, alumni, and families of the ND family are filled with a pervasive respect of the human dignity of every person. Perhaps this is because of Notre Dame's strong Catholic character; perhaps it is a reflection of a mutual understanding of the challenges met and undertaken for us to be members of the ND family. Most likely, it is both.

The second is attending Notre Dame football games. Even though our team never was awesome during my undergrad tenure, it still carried forth the immensity of its tradition. Participating in the grandeur of ND football with your fellow students and alumni-- from the tailgating before the game, to the band's march into the stadium, to the actual game on the field-- is truly an awesome opportunity, especially considering that Notre Dame's football team is the best college program of all time. The last-second victory over Purdue my freshman year and the upset of Michigan my junior year, both times when the students stormed the field afterwards, are particularly fond memories.

The third is dorm mass. Each residence hall at ND offers Catholic mass every Sunday. Even though attendance is optional, the masses are always packed. The closeness of the dorm community in prayer and worship at ND is astounding. Simple acts, such as singing the Our Father or giving the sign of peace, take on new significance when performed in the community of your dormmates and friends.

The final thing I will mention is the academic prowess of Notre Dame. Usually when people attempt to measure an institution's academic merit, they look at numbers and stats such as SAT scores and GPA. Certainly ND stacks up very well in this manner, but I like to think of its academic merit in a more organic fashion-- namely the intellectual zeal of my fellow students. I have learned immeasurable amounts of information not only in the classrooms of ND but also in the casual (and sometimes not so casual) conversations with friends from around the dorm and around campus. I have spoken with students from several other universities from around the country, and rarely have I been as intellectually engaged as in conversations with other ND students.

These things are but a fraction of what makes Notre Dame so special-- that form its soul, but they stood out to me. For when I was saying my goodbye prayer at the Grotto, I was comforted by the fact that this goodbye would be like most other goodbyes: fleeting. Indeed, just as I plan on always staying in touch with my best friends, I also know that I will forever keep much that ND has taught me, and I will be able to give back as an alumnus.

God knows they will be asking me to give back monetarily :-)

Some weeks ago, I don't care to find the exact date, I predicted that the Kings would beat the Pacers in game 7 of the NBA finals. Well, now that the Kings are out of the playoffs, losing to the Timberwolves, that prediction is shot. Now its time for the Pacers to play the Pistons in the semi's.

GO Pacers!!!

Well, my Notre Dame webspace is set to expire in a little over a month, so I thought I'd go ahead and set up my Indiana Law webspace. So, as of now, DC is now served from the IU server and not the ND one. As I had figured, the transition was dirt simple. I think my blog set-up has proven its flexibility. Hopefully, all will run smoothly.

Important! Make sure that your bookmark to DC is http://www.dailycontentions.com and NOT the direct URL to the ND server, which was http://www.nd.edu/~lsayre

On Monday, more than 1000 same-sex couples received their official and legal marriage licenses in Massachusetts, and the U.S. took one more step forward.

And gay couples will continue to get married, until that state may choose to stop them with an ammendment to their constitution, possibly forcing the couples into the second-class institution of civil union.

Until that time, the following will inevitably occur... 1. At least one gay married couple will leave Massachusetts and attempt to have their new state recognize their license. 2. That state will deny the validity of that license under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which says that no state must recognize a gay marriage or civil union from another state. 3. That couple, who probably have moved to a liberal region of the country such as the west where the 9th Circuit court resides, will then sue their new state of residence in a federal court. 4. Their suit will challenge the constitutionality of the DOMA using an argument based on the Full Faith and Credit Clause. 5. That suit will work its way up, maybe all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where they will rule to some degree on gay marriage.

This is an exciting time to watch the wheels of justice in motion.

While searching for posts that link to DC on the internet, I ran across this post by Kelly on her blog, "Everybody's Got One." Her post takes contention with Thesis 21: "Secularism, today, is the largest threat ever to Christianity..." I don't know the inside scoop on the name of her blog, and she refers to me as "Lucas Sayle" but she makes some good points, nonetheless. Here is her power quote:

Humanism, for all its claims to be an evolutionary outgrowth, really is an internal development; it only grows in soil where Christianity is decaying.


This is somewhat similar to the point David Blue was attempting to make under the comments, which are still active, btw. I think we have a case of the chicken or the egg going on here. They say that decaying Christianity causes secular humanism to grow. I say that secular humanism causes the decay of Christianity. The difference is that I provide an explanation for the growth of secularism, and they do not provide a reason for the decay of Christianity in certain areas.

DC's "march" through the rankings continues. It now is amongst Zookle's top 100 news & opinion (personal) websites. I wish I knew how these lists were compiled, so I knew who to thank.

Well, one large milestone passed in my life: graduation from Notre Dame undergrad. Back home to Indy today, and then I'll have a tribute to Notre Dame, either tonight or tomorrow. There is a lot I need to say on this.

I've added a permalink to the post on the '25 Theses on the Modern State of Christian Faith'

Some new comments were added, and the discussion was still going, so I didn't want the post to drop off the bottom of the page out of convenient reach.

This will probably be my last post in the next several days, as graduation activities here at ND begin in earnest, so here goes... Three interesting media-related stories on tap.

The first is a Wired News article about the effect of text messaging on the mainstream news media in Spain. A group of editors and publishers met to analyze the trend, pointing to the latest example of the recent terrorist act in Spain. Apparently, numerous people first learned of the event via text messaging on their cell phones rather than from any mainstream media source, and often the source of the text message was information released from the government of the time. The editors and publishers are worrying that their place in spreading news is being eroded.

The second is an interesting opinion piece by Jay Rosen over at the PressThink quasi-blog. He argues that the mainstream press blew it in regards to reporting on terrorist activity before 9/11. Its a good point. Everyone, including many in the press, blame certain people or organizations for not doing enough with the information they had, but what was the press dedicating their reporting on? Hint, it was Gary Condit, not Usama bin Laden. The column quotes Tom Bettag, senior executive producer in charge of Nightline:

"If there were warnings throughout government about al Qaeda, let the record show that on the three network evening news broadcasts that summer and Nightline, the name "al Qaeda" wasn't spoken--not a single time. The record will show that on the week of August 20, three weeks before the attacks, the story most covered on the three network evening news broadcasts was Gary Condit. It got twice as much coverage as the next story...

People were even trying to point us in the right direction. Consider the words of Paul Bremer, then speaking as former chairman of the National Commission on Terrorism. At a journalism conference in February, 2001, after the attack on the Cole and six months before 9/11, he said: 'The new administration seems to be paying no attention to the problem of terrorism. What they will do is stagger along until there is a major incident... Maybe the folks in the press ought to be pushing a little bit."


I agree with this point, but is it realistic to expect the newsmedia to report on stories that the populace do not seem as interested in? Is it a professional obligation to push important issues into the national awareness? I think so.

Finally, I'm going to give myself another pat on the back for coining the term "presster." The concept is gaining ground, even among weathered journalists such as L.A. Times Editor John Carroll. In a lecture before a crowd at the University of Oregon School of Journalism, he said:

"All over the country there are offices that look like newsrooms and there are people in those offices that look for all the world just like journalists, but they are not practicing journalism... They regard the audience with a cold cynicism. They are practicing something I call a pseudo-journalism, and they view their audience as something to be manipulated."


'Pseudo-journalist' eh? How clumsy and long... Presster ... much more eloquent. I should call up Mr. Carroll.

Ok, Blogger has added some nice (and much-needed) new features such as remote posting via e-mail and commenting. In fact, I'm writing this post via e-mail right now. To be honest, I cannot think of an occasion where posting this way would be necessary as opposed to simply going to the Blogger website... maybe on a cell phone or something.

I'm going to keep Haloscan as the host of my comments for now, until I've had a chance to preview the Blogger commenting system. Haloscan is very powerful, but it would be nice to have one less third party to worry about in maintaining my blog.

Well, the debate has picked up a bit in the 'reader contentions' under the original 25 Theses post. I may or may not have time to join it.

Also, a reader J.D. Whitlock had the following insight (via e-mail):

Enjoyed your 25 theses, esp. # 1,7,8,10, & 17

I agree philosophically with #25 but am skeptical about much coming of it ... I think it is all about the "emerging church" (or whatever label you want to give to culturally relevant worship). Churches of whatever denomination that "get it" will survive, those that don't will die a slow death as all the blue-hairs keel over in the pews singing old hymns. I suppose AFTER this happens there will be some more opportunity for reconciliation between denominations ...

He also has a blog located here, and his spiritual manifesto of sorts here.

A couple bloggers have written eloquent responses to the 25 Theses on the Modern State of Christian Faith.

One is at a blog called History's End. (I love his catch-line, btw: "History will end only when Man does"). The blogger, FH, spells out with more depth and clarity the point I was trying to make in Theses 1 and 2. Also, he analyzes the threat of Islamicism to Christianity, rather brilliantly I might add, ultimately arguing that secularism remains the larger threat.

Another is at a blog called The Right Spin: The Rantings of a Christian Conservative Gamer. The blogger, Kevin D., addresses each thesis one-by-one, from a decidedly Protestant perspective. He criticizes my stance on the source of authority and Truth, the Bible, homosexuality, justification and a few other items. He also supports positions on the other theses. Anyways, give his list a look. I might make a thorough counter-list this weekend, if I feel so motivated. Check out my comment on his post, to see the basis for my counter-criticism.

The recent photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse are disgusting. I am ashamed that any of our soldiers were capable of doing such things, even though I know that our military as a whole is professional and courageous-- doing a very tough job. These are the good soldiers.

Specialist Sabrina D. Harman appears to be one of the bad soldiers. Read this article on MSNBC.com to read about her defense. I don't buy it for one minute. And to illustrate a point about the reality, or rather lack thereof, of photos and other media descriptions, I provide the following two photographs in juxtaposition of each other.

...Harman pretends to be a good soldier

...Harman showing her true self

... photos thanks to MSNBC.com

My point about photos and the truth. The first photo seems like it is portraying reality. Yes, the soldier really was hugging that Iraqi child. But, ultimately the photo is a lie because it provides us with a conception of Harman which is false. I'm sure this was not on purpose by the photographer. Its just one of the limitations of trying to convey reality through words and photos which represent a snapshot only.

How many times did we see photos of U.S. soldiers hugging Iraqis and see the jubilance of their liberation? How many times did we wonder about some of the horrors that are inherent to war, and to the soldiers fighting in war?

When perusing the pile of bloggable links that had collected on my desktop, I noticed a couple common themes amongst them: changing international arenas and changing abilities of the common person to receive the news. Rather than blogging each of these stories separately, I think it will be more intuitive and efficient to blog them together in a flowing and cohesive post. Some other bloggers do this a lot, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. So, lets roll!

More than ever we live in a globalized world; changes in the economy or politics in one spot affect to varying degrees every other spot in the world. This reality behooves the aspiring political scientist or government official to acquaint him or herself with the areas in the world undergoing the most change and that have the most weight. Amongst these are China, Russia, the EU, and the Middle East.

The EU has recently added 10 new members, which will dramatically affect its labor market and economy. Watch the tension in Europe, as experienced EU bureaucrats try to dispel it, and watch the nationalistic tendencies in Britain and France against the EU. A unified Europe is better able to counter the U.S.'s position; an internally divided Europe is not.

The growing U.S. / U.N. tensions are another important theme of the beginning of the 21st century. Some conservative voices are calling for the U.S. either to pull out of the U.N. or to ignore it. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I am not one of those voices. But, examples such as this story where Sudan (a sponsor of ethnic cleansing) was elected to chair the U.N. Human Rights Commission, show the large need for reform of the U.N. The question is: how do we get others to support that reform?

And now to Iran, one of Bush's "axis of evil," which still poses a threat to middle east and world security with its Islamicist government and attempts to buy WMDs. Realizing that military intervention would be too bloody and lacking a strong reason to engage in such intervention, the U.S. has elected to influence and allow for reform from within. Stories such as this one, where an Iranian film mocking clerics was allowed to be shown, show that cracks in the ice are forming.

But Iran has also clamped down on a lot of newspapers in the nation, so alternative media may have to fill the void. Speaking of which, even in America where the mainstream media is quite strong and free, alternative media is growing in strength. The growth of internet publishing and digital cameras give the individual never seen before power to push information and news. In Iraq, for instance, soldiers and contractors using digital cameras have provided some of the most graphic and telling photos of the Iraqi prisoner abuse-- not the mainstream media.

And how could I forget the rise of the blog. Educated and dedicated bloggers are having an effect on almost every sector now, including the media, government, and now even the judiciary. A blog called Patterico's Pontifications recently forced an amendment to a high-profile 9th Circuit Court opinion.

Ok, that's it for now... I'm spent!

Its been over 5 days since I've updated DC. I wanted to let the 25 Theses simmer a bit and collect reader contentions. Also, this previous week was finals week for me, so I've been kindof busy with stuff, as have a majority of my readers.

Anyways, as you might imagine, I have a large backload of topics to blog on, lots of cool stuff. This week is senior week for us ND graduating seniors, so starting today, I'll catch up on the blog. Stay tuned...

Preface:

The following are 25 theses on the modern state of Christian faith. That is, they deal with specific teachings in the several Christian denominations as well as the larger societal context in which Christianity currently resides. While I am a practicing Catholic, these theses are not intended as a criticism of either Catholicism or Protestantism alone. None of them are written to be complete and conclusive arguments in and of themselves, but rather shall act in conjunction with one another as starting points in the continuing confessional dialog that must continue to maintain the strength of Christianity in the changing world. [click on each one for a short explanation]


Theses:

1. Catholicism and Protestantism are both necessary for a vibrant Christianity...

2. Continued splintering of Christianity into smaller and more narrow denominations threatens the purity and unity of all Christianity...

3. The Catholic Church's hierarchical structure does not ensure that it is possesses God's Truth...

4. Purely individualized practice of faith is inferior to communal practice of faith with an historical basis...

5. The Catholic doctrine of ex cathedra Papal infallibility is illogical and should be disposed of...

6. We cannot assume that God has revealed to us the completeness of His Truth...

7. Groups that refer to the Bible as the only source of Christian Truth, do so at the expense of the fullness of God's revelation...

8. In the Bible, theological truths must be separated from the cultural, historical, and scientific understandings of the time...

9. Growing fundamentalism threatens all of Christianity by polarizing people into two camps: those who agree with the particular fundamentals being espoused and those who do not...

10. Justification by faith alone is a broken doctrine in its pure form...

11. Predestination, from a divine perspective, is a reality; but from the human perspective, predestination is often taught with the false conclusion that humans lack free will...

12. The "born-again" theology, in some instances of its teaching, is a corruption of the understanding of God's grace...

13. The idea that the mere participation in certain sacraments, such as Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick, cleanses one of sin is patently false...

14. Selfish pragmatism has invaded and corrupted the idea of salvation for too many Christians...

15. Primacy of conscience is abused by relativists to mean that any choice one makes is okay, and thus distorted, weakens the authority of Christian beliefs to guide behavior...

16. Primacy of conscience is ignored by fundamentalists who too often ostracize individuals for a moral decision differing from the church's stance...

17. Positive belief that members of other faiths, including non-Christian faiths, will not attain salvation, is self-centered, arrogant, and not theologically sound...

18. The unequal treatment of women in any Christian denomination is abhorrent, and without merit...

19. The current support of discrimination against homosexuals by most Christians is deplorable and also without merit...

20. The prohibition of the use of prophylactics, even by married couples, in the Catholic Church is anachronistic, and inconsistent with that Church's general position on sexuality...

21. Secularism, today, is the largest threat ever to Christianity...

22. Christians must face their secular antagonists by stressing the role of salvation...

23. Christians must face the secular humanists by showing that humanist values, devoid of a Christian foundation, can only be pragmatically based and thus condemn the weakest of our society...

24. In attempting to influence the morals of the society through the political process, the Christian denominations must not allow themselves to be politicized...

25. The continued isolation of the members of the several Christian denominations in their worship and education should be ended...