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Obama and Aristotle

Cross-posted from First ThoughtsMy students and I have been discussing Aristotle’s political thought recently. Yesterday, our discussion centered around Aristotle’s insistence that the political association must be about more than the protection of rights (in essence a mutual defense . . . . Continue Reading »

Obama and Aristotle

My students and I have been discussing Aristotle’s political thought recently. Yesterday, our discussion centered around Aristotle’s insistence that the political association must be about more than the protection of rights (in essence a mutual defense alliance). Aristotle instead . . . . Continue Reading »

Americans are Religiously Illiterate

Did you know that Mother Teresa is Catholic, Maimonides was Jewish, and Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation? Congratulations! You’re more religiously literate than most Americans : On average, people who took the survey answered half the questions incorrectly, and many flubbed even . . . . Continue Reading »

Contrastic!

In her explosively intelligent book Empress and Handmaid , Sarah Jane Boss contrasts medieval images of the Virgin with contemporary pornography: Whereas the worshipper before the Virgin in Majesty is the servant of the Lord and Lady whose presence the statue conveys, the actors in the pornographic . . . . Continue Reading »

Sufficient Please!

I don’t know whether to blame fairy tales or Oliver Twist. I was reading Exodus 16 and ran into the passage where God commanded the people of Israel to go gather manna. Immediately childhood images from David C. Cook’s Pix and Uncle Arthur came into my head.I knew the lesson I should . . . . Continue Reading »

Defining “Christianist”

The Atlantic ‘s Megan McArdle is attempting to narrow down the definition of a term created by her colleague Andrew Sullivan: A number of my commenters are arguing about the meaning of the word “Christianist”. All I can come up with is something along the lines of . . . . Continue Reading »

Bored or Confused?

Like me , Caspar Melville is bored with New Atheism . It has been good for some things, Melville writes, like creating copy for journalists and arguing against odious “Christian religious fundamentalism.” Regarding the latter: The origins of the New Atheists’ impulse, according to . . . . Continue Reading »

Footprints, Buddhist Version

This guy makes Brother Lawrence look like a slacker: 70 year-old Buddhist monk Hua Chi has been praying in the same spot at his temple in Tongren, China for over 20 years. His footprints, which are up to 1.2 inches deep in some areas, are the result of performing his prayers up to 3000 times a day. . . . . Continue Reading »

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