Religious links
Review of a book that argues that religion is not, nor is it likely to, die out. Interview with the authors.
Post with lots of links about Scientology.
UK’s Chief Rabbi warns of virulent new strain of anti-Semitism.
George Galloway having a bit a problem on film of Islamic imans making violent statements.
A Rev. Fred Phelps exposure site.
Environmentalism does lapse into religious language: Observe an eco-sabbath. For one day or afternoon or even hour a week, don't buy anything, don't use any machines, don't switch on anything electric, don't cook, don't answer your phone, and, in general, don't use any resources. In other words, for this regular period, give yourself and the planet a break. Keep your regular eco-sabbath for a month. You'll find that the enforced downtime represents an improvement to your life.
Review of a book pessimistic about Islam’s future. A YouTube piece that is very worried about the vigour of Islam’s future.
The Iranian upheaval is, in part, the latest manifestation of a deep theological split within Iranian Shi’a: Opposing Na'ini was an ayatollah named Nuri. He dismissed democracy and the rule of law as inferior alternatives to the divine, eternal, atemporal, nonerrant wisdom embodied in the Koran and sharia. As Ayatollah Khomeini would declare more than once, his own ideas were nothing but an incarnation of Nuri's arguments. … Before coming to power, Khomeini argued that the most important duty, indeed the raison d'etre of an Islamic government, was to implement fully the tenets of sharia. But once in power and faced with the complexities of modern Iranian society, he subtly changed the very foundation of his theory. He introduced the concept of maslaha--interests of the regime--and declared, much to the consternation of nearly every other ayatollah, that these interests, as determined by him or his successor, would supersede even the fundamentals of Islam. In other words, the state was everything--and sharia was nothing but its legitimizing narrative, a narrative that could be suspended at the will of the leader.
Post with lots of links about Scientology.
UK’s Chief Rabbi warns of virulent new strain of anti-Semitism.
George Galloway having a bit a problem on film of Islamic imans making violent statements.
A Rev. Fred Phelps exposure site.
Environmentalism does lapse into religious language: Observe an eco-sabbath. For one day or afternoon or even hour a week, don't buy anything, don't use any machines, don't switch on anything electric, don't cook, don't answer your phone, and, in general, don't use any resources. In other words, for this regular period, give yourself and the planet a break. Keep your regular eco-sabbath for a month. You'll find that the enforced downtime represents an improvement to your life.
Review of a book pessimistic about Islam’s future. A YouTube piece that is very worried about the vigour of Islam’s future.
The Iranian upheaval is, in part, the latest manifestation of a deep theological split within Iranian Shi’a: Opposing Na'ini was an ayatollah named Nuri. He dismissed democracy and the rule of law as inferior alternatives to the divine, eternal, atemporal, nonerrant wisdom embodied in the Koran and sharia. As Ayatollah Khomeini would declare more than once, his own ideas were nothing but an incarnation of Nuri's arguments. … Before coming to power, Khomeini argued that the most important duty, indeed the raison d'etre of an Islamic government, was to implement fully the tenets of sharia. But once in power and faced with the complexities of modern Iranian society, he subtly changed the very foundation of his theory. He introduced the concept of maslaha--interests of the regime--and declared, much to the consternation of nearly every other ayatollah, that these interests, as determined by him or his successor, would supersede even the fundamentals of Islam. In other words, the state was everything--and sharia was nothing but its legitimizing narrative, a narrative that could be suspended at the will of the leader.