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Category Archives: Religion

The Devil Is In The Details.

02-Nov-14

http://cathedral-lonavala.org/sec-gen/ “Opinions,” said T.E. Lawrence in one of his more clear-sighted, depressive moods, “are arguable, but convictions need shooting to be cured.”  Reason is not one of the more obvious human capacities, and as we know well, a certain amount of unreason lends tenor and piquancy to belief.  But as a plantsman I found the screenshot […]

Scholarly Orthodoxy.

25-Apr-14

aesthetically I found this on Andrew Sullivan’s blog today, and thought it was worth commenting on: The truths of this book that only the neurotic or defensive Christian will deny are the following: Jesus was not the only first-century figure who was deemed to have a virgin birth, martyrdom and resurrection. In fact, these were quite […]

Francis.

30-Jan-14

It’s sometimes hard to believe that the good news from the Vatican just keeps on coming.

The Problem & the Contradiction.

27-Dec-13

A nice little meditation in the Guardian about a phenomenon we’ve all observed: that people who are comfortable, rational, and thoughtful find themselves somehow above religion – sometimes proudly above it, sometimes wistfully – whereas people who are poor and suffering find religion central to their lives. Takeesha and the other homeless addicts are brutalized […]

Talk at NYU.

17-Nov-13

I’ll be speaking this Wednesday, November 20th at NYU on the topic Religion, Spirituality, and Healing.  I was on a similar panel last year and the students liked what I had to say, so now I’m one of the presenters. 9:30 a.m. to noon or thereabouts.  Silver Hall, 31 Washington Place, room 414.

God.

07-Nov-13

Everything godlike is weak and defenseless.

Luther Hadn’t Seen Nothing Yet.

17-Jul-13

Every time I read about indulgences, I become a Lutheran for at least an hour.  You have to give Catholic hierarchs some credit I suppose for never, ever admitting they’re wrong, even if it means turning their religion into a neverending Onion article: Salvation – or at least a shorter stay in Purgatory – might […]

Alice Von Hildebrand and the Genders.

14-Jun-13

We all know the stereotypes about men and women. Women cook, take care of children, are emotional and faithful and put flowers on things; men make money, seek power, build things, never cry and are emotionless beasts when it comes to sex and food. To some extent we all have these stereotypes in our head […]

Easter 2013 and New Hope.

01-Apr-13

I went to Easter Mass at the church of Saint Francis Xavier in Brooklyn, a pretty church in Park Slope which does not, despite its name, appear to have any formal connection with the Jesuits. Some years ago it might have been difficult for me to feel the joy the holiday seemingly required – often […]

A Visit to the Jehovah’s Witnesses World Headquarters, Brooklyn Heights.

01-Apr-13

Last month, after having lunch with a friend in Dumbo, I decided spontaneously to take a tour of the Watchtower buildings – the Jehovah’s Witnesses World Headquarters in Brooklyn Heights. It’s one of the things you grow up with in New York City – you tell the time and the temperature by it whenever you’re […]