Can We Dialogue with Islam?

What 38 Muslim scholars said to the pope in a little-known open letter.
By J. Dudley Woodberry

The New Intolerance

Fear mongering among elite atheists is not a pretty sight.
A Christianity Today editorial

Talking Ourselves into Defeat

Profligate self-doubt can exact a price.
By Daniel Henninger

Compassionate Conservatives

Study: Religious people give more than secular, even to nonreligious charities.
By Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

Poor Hillary

Poor Hillary. She's played by the rules, but she is no longer the media darling and presumptive Democatic nominee for president. This weekend, in a strangely anticlimactic moment, she did what political junkies have expected her to do since 1993: She announced her intent to run for president. While she didn't "stay home and bake cookies," Hillary did whatever else it took to get to this moment.

First she pushed her husband into national prominence, attempted to commandeer the national health care system (one-seventh of the American economy), stood by her philandering man and his humiliations, and attempted to carve a new identity for herself as a senator from New York (okay, she's not exactly from New York).

But instead of being lionized as the next president by a formerly compliant media, Hillary has seen the spotlight trained on Barack Obama, a telegenic, well-spoken, and completely inexperienced senator from Hillary's native Illinois.

While no one will say so openly, one of Obama's key selling points is his ethnicity. If you don't think so, just try to imagine a white with such a thin resume receiving the attention Obama has. Obama makes Dan Quayle look like an elder stateman. Expect the Democratic campaign to get nasty.

A former Hillary supporter who has decided to back Obama told a television journalist that Hillary is "too much of a politician." And what is Obama? In any case, the Hillary bandwagon appears to have hit a major pothole, and I'm almost tempted to feel sorry for her.

I said almost.

Blinding Us With Science

Pro-embryonic stem cell activists have given science something of a messianic role in human affairs, casting it as a deliverer from our moral plight.
By Jonah Goldberg

Don't Mess with Missions

Paradigms in Conflict argues against changing missionary theories and practice.
By Jim Reapsome

An Upside-Down World

Distinguishing between home and mission field no longer makes sense.
By Christopher J.H. Wright

Creation or Evolution? Yes!

Francis Collins issues a call to stand on the middle ground.

False Hope Isn't Hope At All

You don't need religion to tremble at the thought of unrestricted embryo research. You simply have to have a healthy respect for the human capacity for doing evil in pursuit of the good.
By Charles Krauthammer

Why Florida Won

Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Troy Smith probably cost himself several million dollars in draft position in Ohio State's 41-14 trouncing at the hands (and feet) of the underdog Florida Gators on Monday night. Big Ten aficionados say Ohio State's long layoff (about 50 days between games) was a major factor in the blowout to the battle-tested SEC champs. Perhaps it played a minor role, but Florida also had over a month's wait, or a little over two weeks less. Does that difference account for the shocker in Arizona? I doubt it.

Also, Florida had a ready-made excuse, too: All the teams that played conference championship games lost their bowl games. Florida overcame what is arguably a bigger disadvantage–playing in a brutal and draining SEC contest just to get to the BCS championship game. And won.

Florida was, as nearly everyone predicted, faster than the Buckeyes. What no one foresaw was how much smarter they were. Other than sheer talent, here are a layman's suggestions on why Florida dominated (disclosure: I'm a proud Florida alum):

1. Coaching: Ohio State's Jim Tressel is supposedly a big-game coach, but he looked completely unprepared. Ohio State looked confused by Florida's motion and sets. Florida coach Urban Meyer prepared his schemes to perfection, once he was out of the SEC meat-grinder. There was so much green around the Gators every time they got the ball, I thought they were playing in a bank.

2. Motivation: Told they didn't belong and weren't as good for a month, the Gators were angry. Ohio State, meanwhile, after 50 days of being told they were the best, let it go to their heads.

3. Pressure: The Gators, as the underdog, had no burden of expectations. I wasn't even nervous for them, because I didn't expect them to win (although I thought they would make a good game of it). The Buckeyes had all the pressure, plus the Heisman Trophy winner. They didn't respond well, to put it mildly.

Landscape of the Week

Truth matters. But, hey, so does beauty. Now StanGuthrie.com gives you both.

The aim of this website is to draw you closer to truth through the fearless advancement of ideas. Today StanGuthrie.com starts a new feature that we hope will provide you with a touch of beauty, as well. I say "we" because accomplished landscape photographer David Dix has agreed to post a Landscape of the Week on the left-hand column of this page (usually on Sundays).

I interviewed David for this site about a year ago. Click here to see David's thoughts about his work.

We hope you'll enjoy the Landscape of the Week and will check David's Creation's Witness site often.