Happy St. JP Day everyone. As noted, this is in honor of Irish/Italian mutts, combining St. Joseph's (3/19, Italians) with St. Patrick's (3/17, Irish) without quite the Catholic guilt. The ideal meal is pasta and beer, though pizza and beer will do in a pinch. Our target today is Justice Antonin Scalia, whose duck hunting excursion with Vice President Cheney was troubling for the activity alone, but the controversy is more a matter of him not being impartial or appearing not to be. The latter is probably the clearest problem, and I don't think his refutation quite works. Not that my opinion ultimately matters ... recusal somewhat surprisingly is in the hand of the individual. Weird way to deal with alleged impartiality in a way, isn't it?

Since today is nominally a saint day, perhaps it would be timely for me to comment on something that The Close by Rev. Breyer [see 3/13] inspired. On some level, I clearly think it limiting to base one's religious faith largely on one work, especially the latter half of it (aka The Bible/New Testament). All the same, putting aside the fact Rev. Breyer also studied its context and other traditions, there is value in this focused technique. The human brain can only process so much, so it is useful to narrow one's focus when considering the basics. For instance, The Constitution is brief, but out from it springs broad tentacles, even when single words ("liberty") are at stake. Our "constitution" is much broader than the document by that name, which we must interpret and reflect upon.

The same with The Bible. Christianity is not merely the words of the New Testament, but an interpretation of them as well as a matter of broad themes and values that rises above it. The books of the Bible are there to guide believers, but belief is not limited by its words. Both Jews and Christians have spent lifetimes interpreting it, providing analysis, and setting forth doctrine growing from it. The books, even individual passages (as in many homilies in church services), provide a starting point for reflection, one surely in some way limited by the source, but truly complex and open ended enough to provide expansive opportunities for study and thought. Perhaps, it isn't so bad that in some way some basis of agreement, some agreed upon starting point is used by the society at large.