A contemporary of Galileo’s in reply to his 1610 discovery of Jupiter’s moons: “There are seven windows given to animals in the domicile of the head. From this and many other similarities in nature, such as the seven metals, etc., which were tedious to enumerate, we gather that the number of planets is necessarily seven. […]
Why there can be only seven planets Read More »
Defeating an enemy such as politicized Islam is a multi-front battle—police, military, diplomatic, cultural, and philosophical. Any fight is triggered by short-term, local disagreements. But long-term, generalized conflicts are always about abstract principles in collision. As with neo-Nazis, Communist revolutionaries, violent environmentalists, bomb-the-government anarchists, and others—our conflicts with them are intellectual in origin. Terrorism is
How to Tame Religious Terrorists [Good Life series] Read More »
One-minute video clip: “If my sister rejected Islam, I would reject her. She MUST believe in God.” The #ExMuslim reality, with a sparkling smile. pic.twitter.com/HpxeFzMfva — ExMuslim TV (@ExMuslim_TV) January 29, 2017 As hinted in the clip, honor killings are not far from this. But on the family values issues, Ms. Azariya reminds me of
Muslims, Christians, and family — not so different? Read More »
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 »