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	<title>The Defense of Rationalism</title>
	<link>http://www3.joshreif.com</link>
	<description>Welcome to JoshReif.com</description>
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		<title>Inaugurations and Freedom</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Dr. Milton Friedman on one of the more famous inaugural speeches of the twentieth century:
&#8220;In a much quoted passage in his inaugural address, President Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you &#8211; ask what you can do for your country.” Neither half of the statement expresses a relation between the citizen [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www3.joshreif.com/2009/01/inaugurations-and-freedom/</link>
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		<title>Welfare Church or Welfare State?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Among the more continuous themes throughout Scripture is a passionate concern for the poor. The Old Testament is replete with ethical and legal mandates that benefit the poor and Jesus himself preaches justice for the poor in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the vast majority of prophetic indictments against ancient Israelite society included [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www3.joshreif.com/2008/07/welfare-church-or-welfare-state/</link>
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		<title>Letter to Senator Sessions RE: Gas Prices</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear Senator Sessions and Staff,
As full or part time residents of Washington, DC I&#8217;m sure you are aware that oil and gasoline prices are getting well out of hand. Their effects on diesel prices are especially troubling due to their seemingly inescapable effect on the prices of groceries and other necessary items. It seems that [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www3.joshreif.com/2008/05/letter-to-senator-sessions-re-gas-prices/</link>
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		<title>The Oil Crisis as a Matter of Justice</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Gas prices are setting new records on an almost daily basis; the price for a barrel of crude oil has trounced anything the world has ever seen as it continues to climb; and the world’s supply of accessible oil reserves is decreasing while demand continues to skyrocket. Nearly all Americans are feeling the “pinch at [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www3.joshreif.com/2008/05/the-oil-crisis-as-a-matter-of-justice/</link>
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		<title>Politics and the Kingdom of God: Why I am (sort of) a Libertarian</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Today’s western governments have been charged with an unprecedented array of responsibilities. As Christians in a western country, we’re charged with the task of understanding what responsibilities we attribute to our government in light of Scripture. This is not to say that we necessarily advocate the legislation of morality or the establishment of biblical law [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www3.joshreif.com/2007/11/politics-and-the-kingdom-of-god-why-i-am-sort-of-a-libertarian/</link>
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		<title>Tradition: the Living Faith of the Dead</title>
		<description><![CDATA[	What prompted the early church fathers to consider Christianity as a continuation of the events and promises of the Old Testament in the earliest decades after Christ’s ascension? To what extent did classical philosophy influence the development of Christian doctrine? Where did modern Christian doctrine come from and who decided what it was? Do you [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www3.joshreif.com/2007/10/tradition-the-living-faith-of-the-dead/</link>
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		<title>Abortion, Christian Conscience, and American Politics</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I find it interesting that conservatives (in the American sense of the word) claim, in one breath, to be strict constructionists of the Constitution and at the same time tolerate, even mandate the federal legislation of morality. The Constitution clearly prohibits federal legislation of morality as it is a &#8220;power not delegated to the United [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www3.joshreif.com/2007/04/abortion-christian-conscience-and-american-politics/</link>
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		<title>On the ideological origins of the American Revolution</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Doesn&#8217;t that title make me sound astoundingly intellectual? It certainly does. 
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution by Prof. Bernard Bailyn is an incredibly engaging work of history arguing that the American Revolution was primarily an intellectual, politically oriented struggle that began in the early 1760s. The work encourages students of history (and everyone [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www3.joshreif.com/2005/04/on-the-ideological-origins-of-the-american-revolution/</link>
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		<title>Neverland</title>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Finding Neverland&#8221; starring Johnny Depp, Dustin Hoffman, Kate Winslett, and many other talented individuals is perhaps the best movie I&#8217;ve seen in my life. Ostensibly, the film was about the renowned playwright J.M. Barrie, the creator of the Peter Pan universe. Inostensibly, however, it is a touching film about a troubled, imaginative man&#8217;s impact on [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www3.joshreif.com/2005/03/neverland/</link>
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		<title>An Easter Thought</title>
		<description><![CDATA[An Easter thought&#8230;
The term &#8220;Easter&#8221; is an anglicized derivative of &#8220;Inanna&#8221; (also called Ishtar), the Akkadian goddess of love, fertility and war. Supposedly, rabbits were sacrificed in her name and eggs (symbolizing fertility) were painted/decorated in the dead animal&#8217;s blood. In light of this, however, we use the term &#8220;Easter&#8221; to symbolize (what should be) [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www3.joshreif.com/2005/03/easter-break-and-an-easter-thought/</link>
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