I have an old draft of a post I was working on about conspiracy theories. I started writing it some time ago, but too many other concrete matters demanded my attention for me to be as eloquent as I wanted to be. Unfortunately, the stories hitting the media in the past week resurrected my need to post on the issue ( Read more... )

Does Satan Exist? I grabbed this link from imanotalone and watched the debate this morning online. It was hardly a neutral venue for the discussion as it was held at Mars Hill Church where one of the panelists, Mark Driscoll, is the pastor. He and Annie Lobert, founder of Hookers for Jesus, argued for the affirmative, that the devil does indeed exist, ( Read more... )

The motivations for marginalizing and persecuting an individual or group range from scapegoating as a diversionary tactic to the potential for lucrative income. Whether we're discussing persecution due to ethnicity, sexuality or religion, the tactics are similar. Bullies generally target those least able to defend themselves in any given situation ( Read more... )

Yesterday's rebroadcast of This American Life included a timely piece called "Life After Death." No, we're not talking near death experience here, but, in the last piece at least, something similar. The show presents three stories of guilt following the death of another. Innocence is not really in question for the first story, is somewhat ( Read more... )

Modern day witch hunts abound. These persecutions, burnings and other tortures , which have seen a dramatic increase in Africa, corresponding with an increase in fundamentalist faiths, are becoming problems worldwide. Cases of abuse, torture and killings via exorcism are on the rise in countries such as the United States, Canada, the UK and ( Read more... )