A Momentary Taste of Being

The longevity and power of the KJV What we often forget is that the KJV is the truncated version of the Authorized Version that included the deuterocanonical books and fragments.  The article includes a snippet/reference to Adam Nicholson's magisterial and readable God's Secretaries , one of my very favorite books of recent years.

Literature and literalism, finding the happy medium in the interpretation of Scripture.

Christians are gaining in numbers, not atheists (and I ask, is it really a numbers game?  Who cares how many?  If someone is wrong, they are no more right with many people agreeing, and if right, they are right if they are the only one to hold the view. Not that this really has anything to do with a very interesting article--just seemed a place to say it.) Ignorance of C.S. Lewis Ayers's near death experience

The lovely antiphon for the Ambrosian Rite Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Today)

Marilynne Robinson on William James

Answering the question--Patheos--"God Speaks in the Fire of Pain and Pride"

A consideration of the Christian elements of Harry Potter. Not to put too fine a point on it--both the supporters and the detractors, it strikes me, are grievously misled.  To say that there are Christian elements in the book is about as astounding as saying that there are Christian elements out and about in Great Britain.  To contend that these are a retelling of the Gospel story is about as meaningful as saying that they are a retelling of the Isis and Osiris tale. When you get down to it--Rowling spun a fine tale over a span of seven books.  Much could be said about the need for improvement in several elements of the writing--but I know that I waited for each new book and I enjoyed each, whether Christian or otherwise.  And I think we should not spend too much time worrying those elements.  As with Tolkien, one can read and enjoy the works whether or not there is anything deliberate about the Christianity in them.

Religious Literacy on audio reviewed My primary problem with Religious Literacy is that much of it struck me as a definitive outsider's point of view.  That is the point of view of one who studies religion as though it were some sort of insect.  I don't think he made clear some of the faiths he was seeking to describe (I had this feeling particularly in the sections regarding Buddhism).  But,  I have to back off and say that the work is intended as an introduction to a wider audience, and that isn't necessarily the place to load in all of the nuance that makes a faith a faith.  So, to be fair, as a broad introduction, I thought the book served well.

I read broadly in matters religious and find much to admire in the faiths of the world.  Most particularly, I find the convergence of certain themes in faith quite provocative.  I draw these reflections from one of a very nice series on world religions.  This one Sikhism by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh provides an overview of a faith much misunderstood, and perhaps not even on everyone's radar. I excerpt parts of a discussion regarding the ideals of Sikhism. from Sikhism Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh Worship of the One Ultimate Reality-- Sikhs worship what is to them the Ultimate Reality, the timeless, formless force that is above all things and present in all things. . . many Sikhs feel that at dawn and dusk they can more easily focus their minds on the Ultimate One. Morning and evening prayers are offered in the gurdwara , or Sikh house of worship. Dignity of labor-- Earning one's living by honest work and working hard for one's livelihood are good deeds that earn m...

Of some of the first of these , I'm concerned that the arguments may degenerate into ad hominem and cease to have credibility or validity.  We'll have to see.  Regardless, we must regard atheism as a system of belief--a religion (it's claims are no more "provable" than those of religion) and as a system of belief subject to the same abuses and delusional behaviors one sees in some of the fringe elements of any religion.  One must attack the inconsistency in thought and argument--never the person. atheistdelusion.net Investigating Atheism Science and Religion Aren't Friends Walls of Mush: Science and Religion Aren't Friends:rebuttal

Sam Harris tells us how science can define morals Typical non-sequitur questions about values—about meaning, morality, and life’s larger purpose—are really questions about the well-being of conscious creatures. Throughout the book I make reference to a hypothetical space that I call “the moral landscape”—a space of real and potential outcomes whose peaks correspond to the heights of potential well-being and whose valleys represent the deepest possible suffering. Different ways of thinking and behaving—different cultural practices, ethical codes, modes of government, etc.—will translate into movements across this landscape and, therefore, into different degrees of human flourishing. I’m not suggesting that we will necessarily discover one right answer to every moral question, or a single best way for human beings to live. Some questions may admit of many answers, each more or less equivalent. However, the existence of multiple peaks on the moral landscape does not make ...

Because I circle in a group that tends to have intense religious interests, I can say that if I were to pose the same quiz, it would look more like this: (1) What are Halacha? (please pardon transliteration) How many?  How do they (if they do) compare to Shari'a law? (2) What is the word for the dietary laws observed by Muslims and from what source are they derived? (3) Name the most famous avatar of Vishnu. (4) What are Jains? (5) What are the towers of silence, what is their significance,  and to which religion do they belong? (6) What is the tao and who are the two most famous teachers? (7) What is the difference between a Mughal and a Muslim? (8) Of which branch of Islam was Rumi a teacher? (9) Who is Moses Maimonides, what is his best known written work,  and by which name is he better known in the west? (10) What are conversos? Which prominent Saint is thought to have come from a converso family? (11) What is Mohism? Who was its founder?  ...

via Maverick Philosopher Test your religious knowledge Scored 15 out of 15--however, I'd argue that at least three of the questions are less about religion and more about history/civics/demographics.  And these questions don't come anywhere near being a torture test of religious knowledge.  Now, if one were to ask the exact nature of the Albigensian heresy and how it was similar to and different from the Manicheean heresy--or the nature or even the names of the two great divisions in the Buddhist religion or the nature and meaning of a Bodhisatva--there you're getting into true religious knowledge.  As it stands, anyone who has been paying attention to news and general culture should do fairly well on this test. Here are the demographics on the test.   And I must admit to being shocked at the relatively low scores.  And I'm ashamed to say that my demographic scored only middling, while other practitioners of my faith were dead last.  But perhaps ...

An interesting, but it seems, flawed arguement at A Commonplace Blog.  Or perhaps it is only my reading of it that is flawed.  The passage I take exception to: Toleration, though, is always from a position of power. Religious opinions that differ from the established view (from my own religious commitment, that is) are granted the freedom to express and spread themselves, because they are not a threat. They are not a threat precisely because their arguments, spilling out from within a different circle, cannot serenade me with any degree of persuasion. What I read here is that if one is not secure in one's religious conviction then no tolerance should be practiced because one COULD be wooed by the siren song of that other faith.  Having been a practitioner, or attempted to be a practitioner of a great many faiths, I can say, that I am wooed by reason and by the siren song of the truth that is central to the revealed faiths.  I would argue that toleration does...

Freedom of Relgion and Freedom of Worship and the enlightenment worldview And thanks to Tea at Trianon for the link.

Please keep Mr. Hitchens in your thoughts and prayers as he undergoes treatment for his cancer. As a way of keeping him in mind, I offer this, found at Books Inq.  The Atheist and the Rabbi: Arguing about God with Christopher Hitchens

(See the last line of the article referenced below)  Or does it demand deep thinking? Where have all the Christian Writers gone?