National Review Online By now, the oft-recurring negative portrayals of Christianity in major Hollywood movies have become hackneyed and predictable. The recent rendition of Beowulf only reinforced this trend. The same subtle depictions and motifs present in movies from decades past were once again present, a favorite being the attempt to try to depict pagans as "open-minded" … [Read more...]
Jesus and Mohammad, Version 2.0
National Review Online Few things are more demonstrative of the sad state of affairs of modern academia than the increasingly fictionalized portrayals of the founders of the two largest religions in the world: Jesus and Mohammad. Though the same dubious methods are used for both — ignore the most historically valid texts and documents, build ponderous theories atop evidence of … [Read more...]
Faith and Altruism
The cases of Pope Benedict and Osama bin Laden Private Papers After being accused of having a special vendetta against Muslims, Pope Benedict XVI is back in the spotlight for offending Jews, Protestants, and the Orthodox. In back to back moves, he formally removed restrictions from annually celebrating an old Latin Mass which includes prayers calling on God to "lift the veil … [Read more...]
Wanted: Coptic Minorities Fleeing Religious Persecution in Egypt
Private Papers Lest you think that the U.S. court system has made humanitarian considerations its first priority, as evidenced by the recent court ruling to release from military custody Ali Saleh al Marri — an al-Qaeda sleeper agent who was trained in Osama bin Laden's training camps — one need look no further than to the equally recent court decision to deport Sameh Khouzam, … [Read more...]
Fair or Foul Play?
The reasonable concerns of the U.S. in WMD diplomacy Private Papers As is common to our age, reality has taken a second-seat to rhetoric. Wherever and whenever talk of Weapons of Mass Destruction and non-proliferation occur, the question arises: is it not hypocritical for the U.S., who is armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons, to bully Iran and North Korea in order that the … [Read more...]