"Deuterocanonicals or 'Apocrypha'?"

A fine blog on the canon of the Old Testament, by Oswald Sobrino at Catholic Analysis the other day:

In recently skimming an evangelical Protestant work on apologetics, I was disappointed to see, in an otherwise welcome defense of traditional Christian belief, an unbalanced excursion on the issue of the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament. The "deuterocanonicals" are those books of the Old Testament that Roman Catholics possess in addition to the Old Testament books found in Protestant bibles. The Greek term means literally "second canon." Among Protestants, these books are known as "apocrypha" with the unfortunate inference that these Old Testament books are somehow defective or of lower quality. The Eastern Orthodox also recognize the same deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament as Roman Catholics. At the same time, the Eastern Orthodox further recognize some additional Old Testament material not found in Catholic bibles. A good guide to this confusing situation is found in the introductory pages to The New Oxford Annotated Bible ("NOAB"), pp. xxi-xxiii (Oxford University Press 1991).

Thus, Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox accept, while Protestants reject, the following books (or additions to books) as part of the Old Testament canon: Tobit, Judith, additions to the Book of Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, The Letter of Jeremiah in Baruch Chapter 6, additions to the Book of Daniel, and 1 & 2 Maccabees (see listing in NOAB, pp. xxv-xxvi). Now, my intent is not to attack the Protestant position, but rather to give the Catholic side of the issue which was absent from the evangelical work I mentioned earlier. In a time when both Catholics and evangelical Protestants must stand together against those who are undermining traditional Christian beliefs about the birth, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, a polemical "fight" about the deuterocanonicals is not a priority. Yet, both sides of the issue should be presented so that readers do not get the impression that the Roman Catholic Church somehow arbitrarily decided to add these books to the Old Testament as another instance of "papist" corruption of Christianity. No one should be kept from approaching with interest the doors of the Catholic Church as an inquirer or potential convert because of an unbalanced presentation of the Catholic position on the deuterocanonical books....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 05/10/03 02:51:13 PM
Categorized as Religious.

When the Minority Rules

Some good articles on the current filibuster crisis in the US Senate:

• Minority Rules: Filibustering the Constitution
• How to End the Senate Filibusters
• Justice Held Hostage

Others are listed here.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 05/10/03 02:17:47 PM
Categorized as Political.

"Abortion On The Air"

A good column the other day by Brent Bozell at MRC:

The Hollywood take on constitutional rights usually begins not with the words "We the people," but with "If it feels good, do it." Its centralized location is the dropping zipper. In the vast majority of occasions that Hollywood’s dramatists take up the celebrated right to "choose" abortion, the air is thick with propaganda.

Abortion has never been a major topic on the small screen, but when it does bubble up to the surface, the libertine left’s urge to sermonize is as hard to resist as the urges that caused the unwanted pregnancies in the first place. The 1989 TV movie "Roe v. Wade" celebrated the lawyers and plaintiffs who wanted abortion to have the same moral weight as an appendectomy. Hollywood never bothered with a bio-pic on Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" of the case, who later confessed her sins and converted to Catholicism. Why ruin a good plot with the historical truth?...

The column was sparked by Monday's episode of WB's "Everwood", which The Mighty Barrister has been covering at his newly refurbished digs.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 05/10/03 01:20:07 PM
Categorized as Media.

Luskin vs. Krugman Redux

Vide here and here.

And see Luskin vs. Krugman.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 05/10/03 10:36:16 AM
Categorized as Media.

Spam III

I have received 30 e-mail messages so far today. Every one of them spam.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 05/10/03 06:49:32 AM
Categorized as Other.