A snippet from philosopher Simon Blackburn about a forum on the world’s great religions: “First the Buddhist talked of the ways to calm, the mastery of desire, the path of enlightenment. “The panellists all said, ‘Wow, terrific, if that works for you that’s great.’ “Then the Hindu talked of the cycles of suffering and birth […]
Religious plurality or not? Amusing anecdote Read More »
In 1689 John Locke noted, wryly: the Church … is for the most part more apt to be influenced by the Court than the Court by the Church. How the Church was under the vicissitude of orthodox and Arian emperors is very well known. Or if those things be too remote, our modern English history
When Christians change their ethics to suit the political winds Read More »
Via the Library of Social Science a fascinating essay by anthropologist Carol Delaney (professor emerita, Stanford University), “Sacrificial Heroics: The Story of Abraham and its Use in the Justification of War” (pdf), which is an extended meditation on the meaning of Abraham’s willingness to kill his son because God asked. Delaney argues: The story has
Sacrificing sons — justifying war in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Read More »
Grégoire Canlorbe interviews Howard Bloom, who argues that Islamic religion is inherently violent. Gatestone Institute. Mustafa Akyol argues, by contrast, that politics has poisoned Islam. The New York Times. Virginia Murr provides an overview essay on the major theologian of Islamism, Sayyid Qutb. Rockford University. Ayaan Hirsi Ali argues that Islam needs a Reformation. The
Islam politicized — round-up of readings Read More »
[Text is below or in PDF.] The Grand Inquisitor By Fyodor Dostoyevsky [From The Brothers Karamazov (1880, II.v.5). Translated from the Russian by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. In this novel, Ivan and Alyosha are brothers; Ivan questions the possibility of a personal, benevolent God, and Alyosha is a novice monk. Aside from this background knowledge, the
Dostoyevsky’s “Grand Inquisitor” scene [text] Read More »
[This is a Portuguese translation of Part 7 of the Theist vs. Atheist series, originally published in English at EveryJoe. In the following final round of the debate, John Wright begins and Stephen Hicks replies.] De forma geral, a religião tem sido algo bom ou ruim para a humanidade? Por John C. Wright Tradução de
[This column is a part of the Theist vs. Atheist series debate between Stephen Hicks and John C. Wright. This is Hicks’s response to Wright’s column. Here are the links to other columns in the series.] To evaluate religion’s track record we need to specify our evaluative benchmarks and identify whether we are evaluating religion generically
Religion and the Verdict of History [Theist vs. Atheist series] Read More »
[This essay is a part of the Theist vs. Atheist debate series between Stephen Hicks and John C. Wright. Here Hicks responds to Wright’s previous column. Here are the links to other essays in the series.] We live in good times for religion and politics. The great majority of us are free to practice or not
Is Political Evil Built into Religion? [Theist vs. Atheist series] Read More »