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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Fresh from our October issue and available now for free online is “Fighting For Life”—the personal story of Lila Rose, incognito investigator of Planned Parenthood. Be sure to read it here . . . . . Continue Reading »
When aliens invade our planet, will the first person they meet be an obscure UN representative? The United Nations, tackling head-on the problem of what to do if an alien says take me to your leader, is poised to designate a specific individual for the task. Some would argue that the . . . . Continue Reading »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »