Daily Archives: Dec. 26, 2005

Who needs faith when you have proof?

Dec. 26, 200512:05 a.m.

Eugene Robinson, in this commentary for The Washington Post, argues that intelligent design is actually anti-faith, in that it seeks to prove there is a God.
He writes:
“There is no need to have faith in something that can be touched, measured, quantified, predicted; no need for faith in something that can be seen if only we build a big enough telescope or a sensitive enough electron microscope.
“What would be the posture of a believer toward a God who could be seen? It might be adoration, I suppose, or obeisance, but it wouldn’t be faith as believers since St. Paul have understood it. Faith requires mystery. Faith requires a leap.”
Posted by Melissa Cooley

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (7)

Limits on payday loans make sense

Dec. 26, 200512:03 a.m.

There’s a place for payday loan companies, which typically serve credit-challenged customers who can’t get conventional bank loans. But as Eagle reporter Deb Gruver’s articles on these flourishing operations showed, it’s easy for some Kansans to get caught in a vicious cycle of juggling multiple loans — sometimes as many as 15 at once.
That’s why it’s good that state Rep. Steve Brunk, R-Wichita, and other state lawmakers will look next session at revising payday loan regulations with an eye to limiting how many total loans a customer can have at one time.
This would ensure reasonable protections of consumers who are in an especially vulnerable financial spot.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (176)

Still dreaming of big-name arena acts for Wichita

Dec. 26, 200512:01 a.m.

The photo credit for Time magazine’s spread on Persons of the Year Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono invited a double take: The photo shoot occurred not in New York or even Seattle but in Omaha, where Bono’s U2 had performed the night before to a sellout crowd at the Qwest Center. The top-selling tour of 2005 — at least until the Rolling Stones’ figures are in — U2’s booking was a reminder that this heartland venue ranked eighth in the world in concert sales for the first half of this year. It also was a depressing reminder of how few such blockbuster concerts Wichita draws these days. Others we missed this year included the aforementioned Stones, the Eagles, Kenny Chesney, Neil Diamond and Paul McCartney. Surely the concert scene — and Wichitans’ willingness to buy tickets — will improve dramatically once a bright, shiny downtown arena opens. We can’t get much worse in either category.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (23)