Are Humans "Hard-Wired" for God?
Mon Mar 05, 2007 at 09:39:03 AM PDT
This is the question explored in an excellent article by Robin Marantz Henig in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine.
My Letter to Virgil Goode
Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 08:03:39 AM PDT
Yesterday I sent a letter to my Congressman Virgil Goode in response to his letter to his constituents about the dangers of allowing Muslims into this country and electing Muslims to Congress. Thought y'all might enjoy taking a look:
US Denies Visa to Islamic Scholar
Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 04:55:54 PM PDT
The
American Academy of Religion is reporting that the United States government has denied a visa to renowned Islamic scholar
Tariq Ramadan, currently Professor of Islamic Studies and Senior Research Fellow at St. Antony's College (Oxford).
Catch-22
Wed Sep 27, 2006 at 08:17:21 PM PDT
I've been re-reading Joseph Heller's brilliant
Catch-22 this week. I haven't read it in at least 10 years, and it is blowing me away. I've been earmarking some pages with particularly relevant (I might also say
eerily relevant) passages, but one just hit me square in the gut.
Chaplain A. T. Tappman has just checked himself into the hospital with a case of "Wisconsin shingles" (which do not exist, of course), and he is thrilled with his powers of deception. In the passage that follows, Heller could be describing any number of Bush's inner circle.
Follow me below the fold for the passage and a question for discussion!
A Trench Around Baghdad
Fri Sep 15, 2006 at 04:22:07 PM PDT
According to the
New York Times, the Iraqi government is planning to seal off Baghdad next month. That's right - they are sealing off the entire city.
A series of trenches will be dug around the city and a series of 28 checkpoints will be erected along the main roads leading into the city. Smaller roads will be closed.
First Rabbis Ordained in Germany since WWII
Thu Sep 14, 2006 at 11:26:05 AM PDT
The
New York Times is reporting that the first rabbis have been ordained in Germany since 1942 when the Nazis destroyed Berlin's College of Jewish Studies.
The Scooter Libby Trial and False Memory
Tue Aug 29, 2006 at 03:34:09 PM PDT
It appears that Scooter Libby's research team has done its homework.
Libby's team has recently contacted Daniel L. Schacter, Professor of Psychology at Harvard and the nation's leading authority on the phenomenon of false memory.
Ask a Theologian
Wed Aug 02, 2006 at 08:43:18 AM PDT
I may regret doing this, but here goes!
Over at Street Prophets a few months ago we had a lot of fun with a series of "Ask a..." diaries (Ask a Quaker, Ask a UU, Ask a Wiccan, Ask a Lutheran, etc.), and I thought it might be interesting to start a similar conversation here at Daily Kos.
AU's Guide to the Religious Right
Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 11:00:32 AM PDT
The single greatest threat to church-state separation in America is the movement known as the Religious Right. Organizations and leaders representing this religio-political crusade seek to impose a fundamentalist Christian viewpoint on all Americans through government action. (AU's Guide to the Religious Right)
We are all aware of the continued threat to our secular democracy posed by the Religious Right, and now we have a new resource for education and activism. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has just published a guide to the Religious Right, a wonderful collection of online resources on the various movements and leaders of the radical Religious Right. The home page for this resource is available here.
This Would Be Hilarious If It Weren't Serious...
Fri Jul 28, 2006 at 08:20:41 AM PDT
Some of my most entertaining reading comes out of my hometown newspaper, especially the Editorial page, which usually serves as a message board for Kool-Aid drinkers.
Last week's paper arrived and I was not disappointed. Under the headline "President Deserves Our Support," I read one of the most hilarious LTEs I've ever seen. Unfortunately, this man is serious. For your reading pleasure, I give you... Cowboy-in-Chief!!
Deconstructing the Dominionists, Part VI
Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 04:18:32 PM PDT
Welcome to this sixth installment of my series on the Dominionists. As we have seen in the previous installments, the Dominionists desire nothing less than an American theocracy, the application of biblical law to every aspect of American society and government.
In this installment we will consider another essay by Thomas Wang, the editor of the booklet America, Return to God!. This essay, entitled "Ambush Alert: The Barbarians are Here" traces the history of America's spiritual decline through the great intellectual movements of the past 600 years, framed in the context of the cosmic battle between God and Satan.
Join me below the fold...
Church Leaders Address Israel-Lebanon Conflict
Mon Jul 24, 2006 at 09:46:12 AM PDT
[Originally posted at
Street Prophets]
We have all watched the unfolding violence in Israel and Lebanon with mingled horror and frustration. As people of faith we pray for peace, and as American citizens we call on the administration to work for a resolution to the escalating conflict. Sadly, President Bush has shown little interest in interceding for the sake of peace, preferring to stand by while innocent lives are lost. He is sending Secretary Rice to monitor the birth pangs of a new Middle East.
Meanwhile, religious leaders are calling for an immediate end to the violence. Read statements by a variety of Christian leaders in their entirety below the fold.
Deconstructing the Dominionists, Part V
Thu Jul 20, 2006 at 02:27:59 PM PDT
Welcome to this fifth installment of my series, Deconstructing the Dominionists, a critical analysis of several essays in the booklet
America, Return to God. As we have seen in the previous installments, Dominionism rests on a particular approach to the Bible, American history, and politics. The unifying theme underlying these essays is the myth that America is a Christian nation that must be reclaimed for Christ if it is to survive. Modernism, liberalism, and religious pluralism are to blame for America's moral and spiritual decline, and the essays in this booklet are nothing short of a call to arms, a declaration of war against the liberal foundations of American democracy.
Please join me below the fold for a discussion of Carl F. H. Henry's essay, The Fight of the Day.
Deconstructing the Dominionists, Part IV
Thu Jul 13, 2006 at 03:40:02 PM PDT
What is at stake here are two very different understandings of the Bible, American history, and Christianity itself, specifically what it means to be a Christian in a cosmopolitan society. The Dominionists claim absolute validity and exclusivity for Christians, relegating adherents of any other religion to second-class status (or worse), they place the blame for America's failings and problems squarely at the feet of the political and social left, whom they regard as dangerous anti-Christian radicals. The Christian left, on the other hand, celebrates the diversity of the world's religions while affirming our own commitment to the Christian tradition, we value and affirm the religious experience of our fellow Americans as well as their right to worship (or not worship) according to their own conscience, and we reaffirm our commitment to the principles of the Enlightenment and of the Founders - reason, tolerance, respect for science, personal liberty, and religious freedom.
Join me below the fold for the fourth installment...
Dominionism in Action. Reminder: America is NOT a Christian Nation!
Tue Jul 11, 2006 at 10:44:48 AM PDT
We've all heard about the
controversy surrounding San Diego's Korean War memorial, a 29-foot tall cross on a hill above the city. A citizen of San Diego - a Vietnam War veteran and an atheist - has sued the city to remove the cross, on the basis of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The
ACLU is involved in the case, fighting for the First Amendment rights of
all Americans, not just Christians.
Thousands of miles away, in a rural central Pennsylvania county, my hometown newspaper has entered the debate, sparked by an astonishing letter to the editor. Copyright law prohibits posting the letter in its entirety, and the newspaper's website does not publish the opinion page. So I will reproduce only the most interesting tidbits from this shocking letter and fill in the gaps with my own response. The letter is entitled, "ACLU is Guilty of Unholy Alliances Supporting Our Enemies."
Follow me below the fold to discuss...
Deconstructing the Dominionists, Part III
Thu Jul 06, 2006 at 03:52:31 PM PDT
What is at stake here are two very different understandings of the Bible, American history, and Christianity itself, specifically what it means to be a Christian in a cosmopolitan society. The Dominionists claim absolute validity and exclusivity for Christians, relegating adherents of any other religion to second-class status (or worse), they place the blame for America's failings and problems squarely at the feet of the political and social left, whom they regard as dangerous anti-Christian radicals. The Christian left, on the other hand, celebrates the diversity of the world's religions while affirming our own commitment to the Christian tradition, we value and affirm the religious experience of our fellow Americans as well as their right to worship (or not worship) according to their own conscience, and we reaffirm our commitment to the principles of the Enlightenment and of the Founders - reason, tolerance, respect for science, personal liberty, and religious freedom.
Join me below the fold for the third installment of this series...
Deconstructing the Dominionists, Part II
Thu Jun 29, 2006 at 03:39:19 PM PDT
Welcome to this second installment of my critical review of the recently published booklet
America, Return to God, edited by Thomas Wang.
What is at stake here are two very different understandings of the Bible, American history, and Christianity itself, specifically what it means to be a Christian in a cosmopolitan society. The Dominionists claim absolute validity and exclusivity for Christians, relegating adherents of any other religion to second-class status (or worse), they place the blame for America's failings and problems squarely at the feet of the political and social left, whom they regard as dangerous anti-Christian radicals. The Christian left, on the other hand, celebrates the diversity of the world's religions while affirming our own commitment to the Christian tradition, we value and affirm the religious experience of our fellow Americans as well as their right to worship (or not worship) according to their own conscience, and we reaffirm our commitment to the principles of the Enlightenment and of the Founders - reason, tolerance, respect for science, personal liberty, and religious freedom.
Deconstructing the Dominionists, Part I
Wed Jun 21, 2006 at 01:02:30 PM PDT
Welcome to this multi-part critical review of the recently published booklet,
America, Return to God, edited by "The Chinese Billy Graham," Thomas Wang. This collection of essays by prominent leaders of the far Christian right has one simple thesis: America must return to its Christian roots or die. In the forthcoming installments of this series, we will work our way through the essays in this booklet, critique them, and offer a progressive Christian alternative.
Join me after the flip...
