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Archive: Mathew N. Schmalz
Bishops should proceed with caution
U. S. Catholic Bishops and other religious leaders are justified in their involvement in congressional discussions of health care reform. But they should proceed with caution.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | November 17, 2009; 09:19 PM ET | Comments (1)
The divisiveness of Christian unity
Pope Benedict's bold move to embrace disaffected Anglicans paradoxically opens a path for Christian unity while also reemphasizing the doctrinal difficulties in bringing Christian denominations closer together.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | October 21, 2009; 08:53 AM ET | Comments (6)
Crime is Crime is Crime. Not.
It is most helpful to see hate crimes legislation as a reflection of changing social boundaries and mores. For this reason, the debate should be joined over more substantive consideration of which ethical or ideological system is most appropriate for the society we wish to create and protect.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | October 19, 2009; 07:36 PM ET | Comments (0)
Catholic Arachnophobia
How to describe my discomfort at seeing viral videos of a spider crawling across Pope Benedict's cassock.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | October 1, 2009; 06:21 PM ET | Comments (9)
A Seamless Garment
Nuclear disarmament is a clear moral imperative and we should pray for it. I would argue that prayer is in fact more effective than UN Security Council resolutions that amount to nothing more than a moralizing patina created by the corrosive dynamics of international politics.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | September 29, 2009; 03:22 PM ET | Comments (0)
Texas Should Start Over
The Texas Board of Education should start over. It could begin by replacing consultants who are overly enamored with "emphasizing the roles of the Bible, Christianity, and the civic virtue of religion."
By Mathew N. Schmalz | September 1, 2009; 09:46 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Limit of Mercy
The limit of mercy is the limit of faith.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | August 25, 2009; 12:53 PM ET | Comments (2)
Tweeting Gods
A tweeting God? In cyberspace things aren't necessary what they appear to be
By Mathew N. Schmalz | August 11, 2009; 12:56 PM ET | Comments (4)
Carter's Fundamentalism
Carter has a fundamentalism of his own. As I read his letter, it strikes me that Carter still wishes to affirm the inviolability of scripture.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | July 20, 2009; 06:08 PM ET | Comments (30)
Calcutta Calling New York City
If Mayor Bloomberg would exchange places with his counter-part in Calcutta, he'd probably reconsider his position.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | July 8, 2009; 12:48 PM ET | Comments (7)
The Wages of Pandering
The difference between penitence and pandering is reflected in the acknowledgment that letting go is not the same as running away.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | July 1, 2009; 12:34 PM ET | Comments (3)
The Veil in Context
If Western civil societies seek to affirm religious liberty and self-expression, there can be a place for the veil for those Muslim women who feel religiously or personally inclined to wear it.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | June 25, 2009; 10:41 AM ET | Comments (1)
In Defense of Celibacy
Celibacy is an admission of our own human limitations, of our own very human need for a continuity and completeness that only God can give.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | May 14, 2009; 10:34 PM ET | Comments (6)
Obama's Post-Modernism
The President's proclamation of a National Day of Prayer, without a White House function, reflects the tensions and inconsistencies of our age. But it is better to recognize those tensions and inconsistencies than it is to repress them through the exercise of power.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | May 6, 2009; 01:19 PM ET | Comments (7)
A Papal Cry of Pain
The personal quality of the Pope's apology is stunning, and a broad call for tolerance and reconciliation.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | April 7, 2009; 08:46 AM ET | Comments (8)
Cults or Alternative Religions?
Making a distinction between a "cult" and a "religion" does nothing to help us to respond to the death of Javon Thompson or to understand One Mind Ministries. .
By Mathew N. Schmalz | March 31, 2009; 05:33 PM ET | Comments (9)
The Devil's Greatest Trick
I always thought that we should abandon the concept of Satan entirely: no Devil, no devil-making. Then I got the point: Devil's greatest trick is that you're damned if you believe in him and damned if you don't.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | March 24, 2009; 01:01 PM ET | Comments (3)
Faith, Fashion, and Fabric
Some observe that religious taste has become fashion--changeable according to the season or to the whims of personal taste. Others argue that lack of fashion sense is the problem, especially given the drab social garb preferred by many Protestant and Catholic denominations.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | March 17, 2009; 12:23 PM ET | Comments (0)
Obama's Stem Cell Temptations
In marginalizing religiously informed critiques of public policy, including stem cell research, Obama is unintentionally spinning a kind of religious narrative of his own that has equally sectarian implications.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | March 7, 2009; 01:12 PM ET | Comments (14)
A Tale of Two Brothers, and a Sister
Economic crisis is about all of us. We are all connected.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | March 5, 2009; 12:52 AM ET | Comments (7)
Don't Go It Alone
When approaching a sacred text, there is a space between authoritative interpreters and our own isolated selves.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | February 20, 2009; 01:31 AM ET | Comments (9)
Yes. No. Probably.
The Obama administration should probably let faith-based programs that receive government grants discriminate against those they hire or serve: apparent discrimination might be understandable discernment that could eventually lead to dialogue.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | February 17, 2009; 05:36 AM ET | Comments (5)
Confrontation not Conciliation
The Holy Father's initial failure to confront Williamson's anti-Semitism had the unintended effect of amplifying the schismatic Bishop's most extreme pronouncements much in the way that sound echoes and reverberates in the quiet of an empty building.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | February 9, 2009; 04:51 AM ET | Comments (5)
