- jader3rd on Delighting in bloodshed: “Very good article. There are so many active members of the church who make covenants whose attached blessings are that they may have eyes that they can see; yet refuse to see this. Why? Can’t the covenants made with God fix this?” Dec 14, 11:19
- on Delighting in bloodshed: “BLOG POST: We shouldn’t delight in bloodshed. CRACKPOTS: THE HELL WE SHOULDN”T!!” Dec 14, 09:06
- on The Catholic Integralism and the Constitution: “Thanks for the input, Stephen. I guess my particular interest is what looks to me like increasing rhetoric on the right of at least giving lip service to getting around law and the constitution for a greater religious good. And having “Catholicism as the official church like the Church of England is in the UK” is, of course, a total violation of the constitution, bringing up the question of is that simply a pie-in-the-sky fantasy or a political objective some are working toward? I get the sense that Bannon and Fuentes wouldn’t mind pushing that objective, and Cosper claiming to see a rise a such thinking among young Christian conservatives seems alarming.” Dec 14, 08:57
- on Delighting in bloodshed: “If the charge against Trump is “delighting in bloodshed”, then the very attempt at forging peace, however unsuccessful, is evidence against it. If the Navy’s missiles had missed, I suspect you would still accuse Trump of attempted murder. Yet he gets no credit for attempted peace. That’s a poor dodge. The United States has arrested members of ISIS on American soil. Does that invalidate Obama’s drone strikes because they could have waited until they came to the U.S. to arrest them? The U.S. isn’t being attacked by the Houthi – just our ships are – should we issue warrants for their arrest instead of Tomahawks? No, I don’t think you would say that, because arresting drug boats and drone striking ISIS are both an ordinary course of action. Why should it always be so? This whole argument relies on an overly precious conception of national security v. domestic spheres of policy – drugs are a domestic criminal matter and terrorism is not. And I think that distinction is pretty arbitrary.” Dec 14, 08:53
- on The Catholic Integralism and the Constitution: “For what it’s worth, I know two Catholic integrationalists, but in both cases it’s not that they believe we should be a Catholic theocracy where political power is out in the hands of the bishops, but rather that the state should have Catholicism as the official church like the Church of England is in the UK. I’m obviously against both forms, but the latter version isn’t limited to people with crusader tattoos. Also, Bannon, IIRC, is a Straussian, so my bet would be that his Catholicism stems from him seeing Catholicism as a necessary myth for the masses more than any actual spiritual beliefs.” Dec 14, 06:00
- on Snorkeling in Scripture: Joshua Sears on Why Latter-day Saints Need Study Bibles: “I wondered the same thing. I think the reason the SBL one is recommended is that it is new enough to use the NRSVUE instead of the older NRSV.” Dec 13, 23:26
- on Delighting in bloodshed: “Curtis, those peace agreements have not amounted to much. The Rwandan-aided insurgency in Congo continues. The conflict between Thailand and Cambodia escalated sharply this week and is ongoing. India disputes the claim that Trump brokered a peace deal. Israel had finished bombing Iran, and Iran no longer had the capability to respond. Nothing has changed in the tense relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But murder continues to be bad, and releasing propaganda videos is a way of inviting U.S. citizens to delight in bloodshed and other forms of cruelty. An individual may not have much power to stop what the government does, but they always have the choice of what they will applaud.” Dec 13, 21:47
- on Snorkeling in Scripture: Joshua Sears on Why Latter-day Saints Need Study Bibles: “Curious I’ve been reading the new oxford annotated study bible for about 8 years and love it. Wonder why this didn’t make the recommended list, the LDS KJV adapted a prior version for its Bible dictionary. Is SBL really a step up?” Dec 13, 20:47
- on Delighting in bloodshed: “Interesting. A post titled “Delighting in bloodshed” critiques an administration that, in less than a year, helped negotiate peace agreements between: * India and Pakistan * Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo * Israel and Iran * Thailand and Cambodia * Armenia and Azerbaijan There may be others I’ve forgotten. And of course while the efforts haven’t succeeded yet, Trump and his administration have been trying to get a deal between Russia and Ukraine. While it’s certainly not a slam dunk, and I do have some reservations, it’s possible to argue that the administration’s immigration policies and what’s happening with Venezuela will lead to less total bloodshed in the future than than if other alternatives were pursued. I don’t think I have enough knowledge or wisdom to make that call one way or another. I really don’t think you can accurately describe the current administration as “delighting in bloodshed.”” Dec 13, 19:10
