Religion – Page 9 – Stephen Hicks, Ph.D.

“No Reformation for Islam, Please” [CHURCH and STATE]

Leave a Comment / Philosophy, Religion / Stephen Hicks

My “No Reformation for Islam, Please” is now republished at Britain’s Church and State site: “Islam needs reforming but definitely not a Reformation. “The history matters here, so consider first what the Reformation activists were fighting against. During the Renaissance, the dominant Catholic religion had become worldly. Its thinkers read the naturalistic Greeks and Romans […]

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Martin Luther on Dancing

5 Comments / Religion / Stephen Hicks

Crossing Martin off my next party-invitation list. “As many paces as the man takes in his dance, so many steps he takes toward Hell.” Quoted here. I like to contrast Luther with John Locke who, in his thoughts on education, mentions dancing first as an essential element of a child’s formal instruction. My explication is

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“Is Religion Worth Arguing About?” [CHURCH and STATE]

Leave a Comment / Religion / Stephen Hicks

At Britain’s CHURCH and STATE site, my article “Is Religion Worth Arguing About?” has been republished. Thanks to Declan and Lola Heavey for selecting it. The article is followed by a series of video clips with me on postmodernism and real education. [Related: “How to Tame Religious Terrorists.” All of my articles at CHURCH and

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The Design Argument — six critical questions

5 Comments / Religion / Stephen Hicks

The core idea of the Design Argument is that to explain the cause-and-effect order of the natural world, we must appeal to a divine Designer: the complexity of reality cannot be the product of random chance, so there must be a powerful intelligence behind it all that brought order into existence and keeps the operation

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St. Benedict on monks sleeping together communally

2 Comments / Religion / Stephen Hicks

I’ve always smiled at the thoughtfulness of St. Benedict’s very detailed rules for monastic living. Chapter 22 of The Rule takes up “The Sleeping Arrangements of the Monks.” In keeping with the spirit of communalism, Benedict stipulates: “If possible, all are to sleep in one place, but should the size of the community preclude this,

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Why Spinoza was excommunicated

1 Comment / Philosophy, Religion / Stephen Hicks

When he was only 23, Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) was excommunicated from the Jewish community in Amsterdam. His precocious intellect has already formed and argued themes that were to be developed into his mature works, Theological-Political Treatise (published anonymously in 1670) and Ethics (1677). The excommunication document said, in part: “no one should communicate with him,

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This week in religion — three things to read

Leave a Comment / Religion / Stephen Hicks

“The Pope’s Four Big Mistakes About Libertarianism.” Co-written by María Marty and Stephen Hicks for PanAm Post. Also in Spanish: “Los Cuatro Errores del Papa Francisco Sobre el Liberalismo.” “What Good is Religious Freedom?” Tara Smith in Arkansas Law Review. “Which Religion is the World’s Best?” My thoughts on the best religion ever, at Savvy

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The Pope’s Four Big Mistakes About Libertarianism — article published

5 Comments / Politics, Religion / Stephen Hicks

My article, co-written with María Marty, was published in PanAm Post: The opening: “Pope Francis has given us several glimpses of his position on liberalism. His are criticisms are direct and sometimes crude. And while the Pontiff got some points sort-of right, his message revealed mostly a lack of knowledge—or an intentional denial—of the principled

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