tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59078132011-04-21T17:50:11.581-04:00Occasional Essays of <a href="mailto:scmooney@parakrisis.com">S. C. Mooney</a>S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-971518298207768842008-10-31T23:34:00.002-04:002008-10-31T23:38:14.352-04:00

Below is the text of an address I delivered to a small family gathering on Reformation Day, October 31, 2008. It is titled, "The Reformation of Statecraft."Reformation day this year comes just four days before a national, presidential election. It is quite a fitting occasion to consider the impact of the Reformation on the theory and practice of Statecraft. By Statecraft I mean the organization

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-8750295884099114032008-04-11T21:46:00.001-04:002008-04-11T21:52:59.369-04:00

When it comes to intolerance, our world today is quite different from the world of fifty years ago, which can be illustrated in the two dramatic examples of abortion and homosexuality. In that day abortion was illegal in most states; today every large city from coast to coast has facilities where abortions are performed on demand. Fifty years ago homosexuals led secret lives; today they parade

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-69602020613670855902007-12-10T21:45:00.000-05:002007-12-10T21:48:39.732-05:00

The following interesting item was printed in the Cooperstown, New York newspaper titled “The Watch-Tower,” August 10, 1815. Those were the good-old-days!American RiflesIt is a fact creditable to our manufactures, that American rifles have obtained a preference among British officers, to those manufactured in Europe. Several have been purchased in this city, of Albany manufacture, by officers

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-37514917254865783022007-10-31T23:54:00.000-04:002007-11-01T00:16:58.601-04:00

Deuteronomy 6:4-7, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1140931936169859842006-02-26T00:25:00.000-05:002006-03-02T22:20:23.363-05:00

The “Celtic Woman” concert is a marvelous celebration of Irish ethnicity. Premiering as a PBS Television special in March of 2005, it has gone on to become a live touring production. The program was conceived and arranged by Irish prodigy David Downes, who also conducts the concert performances. The audience is treated to breathtaking beauty of both sights and sounds. The featured women not only

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1130732787363696202005-10-30T23:19:00.000-05:002005-10-30T23:27:52.360-05:00

below is the text of an informal address I gave at a small family gathering October 30, 2005, in observance of Reformation DayOn October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed a document to the door of the Cathedral at Wittenberg for public consideration and comment. The document consisted of 95 Theses, or a series of statements, that formed his argument opposing the practice of selling indulgences. The

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1112551945621690622005-04-03T14:08:00.000-04:002005-04-03T14:12:25.626-04:00

As the American population ages, the ratio of workers paying taxes into Social Security to retirees drawing money out of the system decreases. It is a simple matter of demographics. In 1950 there were more than 16 workers contributing to the support of each retiree. Currently, the ratio is about 3 workers per retiree. It is projected that in another 30 years the ratio will have dropped to less

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1106716890834070262005-01-26T01:18:00.000-05:002005-01-26T00:21:30.836-05:00

In the course of his second inaugural address President Bush described the power of “freedom” as…”a fire in the minds of men.” The phrase is dated by its now “politically incorrect” usage of the term men, and in fact is the title of a book by James H. Billington, published 25 years ago [James H. Billington, Fire in the Minds of Men (New York: Basic Books, 1980), 677 pages ]. We may imagine that

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1104155126024940042004-12-27T08:44:00.000-05:002005-04-03T15:13:00.506-04:00

My son and I went out for coffee and donuts to a new franchise of a large and popular chain that just opened in our small town. We watched them build it from the ground up. The site lay on the route to school and every morning as we drove by we would assess their progress. It only took them about three months to transform bare land into a bright new establishment. After they got the building

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1099449086205634452004-11-02T21:29:00.000-05:002004-11-02T21:31:26.206-05:00

There is a lot to be said for living in a remote, rural area of Ohio. Ohio has been in the "news" lately as a "battleground state" in the Presidential Election. But my voting experience was dramatically unlike many reports. The only way in which my experience could be considered dramatic at all is in contrast to all the chaos that seems to be the order of the day in many places. Compared with all

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1093394472085051112004-08-24T20:36:00.000-04:002004-08-24T20:41:12.086-04:00

Our Lord taught us to pray: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread…" (Mat. 6:9-11) In the first place God is "hallowed," which means God is honored as God for His Holiness. The Holiness of God consists not only in the eternal perfection of His attributes, but also consists in the

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1088987275890585612004-07-04T20:26:00.000-04:002004-07-04T20:27:55.890-04:00

Simmering for decades, the social issue of homosexuality now comes to a boiling point with the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts legally sanctioning the marriage of homosexual couples. This predictably has raised considerable alarm among "conservatives." It is said that legalizing the marriage of two people of the same gender amounts to "redefining marriage," and there is great urgency in the

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1080701544460331342004-03-30T21:52:00.000-05:002004-03-30T21:56:00.466-05:00

Recently my daughter interviewed with a talent agency (she is an Audrey Hepburn look-alike - quite stunning actually). In keeping with their practice of cataloging the features of a potential asset, she was asked to make full disclosure of all body-piercings and tattoos. When she answered, "None," the agent reacted with genuine surprise. "My, you are a strange one," he said. Perhaps I am too

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1078983245250803372004-03-11T00:34:00.000-05:002005-04-03T13:27:37.703-04:00

Mel Gibson's motion picture, "The Passion of the Christ," has engendered a controversy concerning the question, "Who killed Jesus Christ?" We have seen in various forms in recent weeks a variety of attempts to suggest an answer. However, sound and biblical clarity has not emerged from any of this.Maurice Gordon, pastor of Lovingway United Pentecostal Church, Denver, CO, posted on the Church's

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1077487830447914022004-02-22T17:10:00.000-05:002004-02-24T06:41:34.700-05:00

Some scientists probe the deepest recesses of outer space hoping to solve the riddle of existence: the origin and meaning of the universe and, indeed, of life. Other scientists probe deeper and deeper into sub-atomic matter in search of these same insights. The nobility of their struggle and the great expertise required to pursue it seem to mask the absurdity of theory in search of its own

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1069762872382373052003-11-25T07:21:00.000-05:002003-12-02T07:03:16.066-05:00

Now and then one still may see commercial advertising that appeals to the "discriminating consumer." We may be assured that marketers in these cases are not suggesting that their products are likely to appeal only to those who harbor a non-rational dislike of Black people. No one would seriously suggest that this is what is meant, and the true meaning of "discriminating consumer" easily is

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1067227712169726372003-10-26T23:08:00.000-05:002003-12-02T07:04:03.613-05:00

The seminal distinction between the Eastern mind and the Western mind is that the Eastern mind assumes the essential oneness of all things - indeed, that there is no reality to "things" - and that any experience of individual human consciousness must be understood as somehow an aspect of this Universal, whereas the Western mind insists that the human consciousness has a real and separate

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907813.post-1065494468194951322003-10-06T22:41:00.000-04:002003-10-07T07:06:55.896-04:00

I find it quite amusing that when the Washington area snipings were ongoing and when the creator of the Blaster Computer Worm was unknown, "news" commentators thought nothing of simply referring to the unknown culprits as "he." There was none of the "he or she," or "him or her" grammatical gymnastics we hear in most other cases. This tells me that the whole gymnastics thing is quite unnatural

S. C. Mooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01187552937153490680noreply@blogger.com0