Currently I believe in Christ because of the aesthetics of the Christ event. That is, the who Christ was and is — the life that Jesus led as recorded in the Gospels, the things he taught, and ultimately his death that brought and end to all primitive religious sacrifice — is so compellingly beautiful that…
Diary
Money-Theism: Joerg Rieger Explains How Economics is an Odd Sort of Religion
Part of the problem with the current economic crisis is that economics is based on an odd sort of faith, expressed tongue in cheek by the term “money-theism,” which has been popularized by comedian Stephen Colbert. There are a few big faith claims, like the ideas that economic deregulation always promotes growth, that tax cuts for powerful corporations…
The Task of Interpretation: Tony Jones Answers the Questions That Haunt Christianity
So what’s left to us is the task of interpretation. Or, to frame it as a question, Can I reject the Bible’s metaphysics without rejecting its message? That’s a bridge too far for many of your fellow atheists (although they have no problem accepting Plato’s wisdom while rejecting platonic metaphysics). But it’s not a bridge…
Unemployment & Welfare: “Why can’t they just go out and find a job?”
“But you must just answer a last question. Two equally old trees are growing in a large garden. One of the trees grows in a sunny spot and has plenty of good soil and water. The other tree grows in poor soil in a dark spot. Which of the trees do you think is bigger?…
To Sell Art for Profit is to Deny It’s Worth: Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones & Pirates
“Others, like the label Records on Ribs, have developed a model of supporting artists and raising their profile (because, isn’t that sort of what a record label should be passionate about?) that allows anyone to download new music for free, and then offers them the chance to donate what they think is appropriate for it….
The Bible and Homosexuality
Recently I was involved in a long written correspondence with a friend about the Bible and homosexuality, initiated by the poster above which I posted on facebook. My friend, who is passionate about God’s written word, was upset that I was using the Bible to back up my personal opinion on homosexuality. We ended up…
Origianl Poem: Hope, Sorrow & True Love
The sorrow of true love is a great sorrow And true love parting blackens a bright tomorrow: Yet it is almost joy, since their despair Is but hope blinded by tears, and clear Above the storm the heavens wait to be seen. But greater sorrow from less love has never been, And to mistake lack…
Contemplation as Revolution | Art by Mark Waren Jacques
“[C]ontemplation represents a way to disengage from the toxicity of our current world order, not in terms of supporting violent revolution, but in an opposite move: by embracing a revolution of humility and love. We cannot beat the greedy, violent, unjust enemy-that-is-us with weapons or military might. Only by “dropping out” of the system can…
How the Chick-fil-A boycot is messing with American Capitalism
…this represents the great truth that democracy may not be be complicit with unethical forms of capitalism (if not capitalism itself). That is, if people are given the facts, and begin to care about how people are actually treated, and begin to care about equality of our citizens, business as usual cannot go on. There…
Domestication and the Divine
Domestication of animals radically changed our relationship to our environment, and the price we paid was high. Diseases from livestock killed many (and with the rise of BSE and avian and swine flus, still do) and only those who developed immunity survived. We can thus see these survivors developing a morbid attachment to these creatures…