David Layman

In response to a well-known examination of the historical problems of The Koran, written before 9-11 by Toby Lester in The Atlantic, Seyyed Hossein Nasr said The acceptance of the Koran as the word of God suggests that the so-called historical and textual study of the Koran is tantamount to . . . . Continue Reading »

One of the central tropes of Islamic responses to Christianity is that the Qur’an is not the Muslim equivalent of the Christian scriptures, but of Christ. Thus Mahmoud A. Ayoub says:The Qur’an is, for Muslims, the literal and timeless divine Word which entered our time. It became a book . . . . Continue Reading »

In James Davison Hunter’s To Change the World, Stanley Hauerwas is quoted as follows:It is alleged that by definition a pacifist must withdraw from political involvement. ...I refuse to accept such a characterization because it implies that all politics is finally but a cover for violence. . . . . Continue Reading »

Is it the teaching of Christianity that man has dignity? I outlined my problem with this claim from a philosophical perspective here. Then I was rereading Philippians 2:Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with . . . . Continue Reading »

Since Mr. Goldman has not done so, I’ll simply call everyone’s attention to a new Spengler column at http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LF15Ak01.html(for some reason dated June 15).Another entry in the long-running “Ask Spengler” series.D. . . . . Continue Reading »

I was planning to followup my critique of Kant with a parallel commentary on utilitarianism, but was waylaid by picking up some unread material sitting in my bookcase: an anthology of Aquinas’ thought On Law, Morality, and Politics, Hackett Press, Second Edition.  (I’ll quote from . . . . Continue Reading »

N.B. please note the change in by-line for this posting.It has always been a most curious matter. As an advocate of traditional Christian practices of respect for human dignity, I have always called the attention of my ethics students to Immanuel Kant’s argument for this dignity. Traditionally . . . . Continue Reading »

There’ll be nowhere to run from the new world government”There’ll be no place to hide.” It will come like “A Thief in the . . . . Continue Reading »

The congregation of which I am a part had completed the ritual of “foot-washing,” Sunday morning. We were reflecting together on John 13:1-17, and puzzling over the reaction of Peter—“Jesus, if you are going to wash me, then wash my head and hands too,”—and Jesus’ retort—“you are . . . . Continue Reading »

Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after youIn Jeremiah 28 http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Bible/Jeremiah28.html , we see a disturbing glimpse into the evolution of the Hebrew scriptures. Jeremiah has been predicting the destruction of Judah. . . . . Continue Reading »