Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
NYT Mag: The Politics of God
Last Sunday's NYT Magazine must read: The Politics of God
Excerpt:
"Traditionally, political theology had interpreted a set of revealed divine commands and applied them to social life. In his great treatise “Leviathan” (1651), Hobbes simply ignored the substance of those commands and talked instead about how and why human beings believed God revealed them. He did the most revolutionary thing a thinker can ever do — he changed the subject, from God and his commands to man and his beliefs. If we do that, Hobbes reasoned, we can begin to understand why religious convictions so often lead to political conflicts and then perhaps find a way to contain the potential for violence.
"The contemporary crisis in Western Christendom created an audience for Hobbes and his ideas. In the midst of religious war, his view that the human mind was too weak and beset by passions to have any reliable knowledge of the divine seemed common-sensical. It also made sense to assume that when man speaks about God he is really referring to his own experience, which is all he knows. And what most characterizes his experience? According to Hobbes, fear."
Excerpt:
"Traditionally, political theology had interpreted a set of revealed divine commands and applied them to social life. In his great treatise “Leviathan” (1651), Hobbes simply ignored the substance of those commands and talked instead about how and why human beings believed God revealed them. He did the most revolutionary thing a thinker can ever do — he changed the subject, from God and his commands to man and his beliefs. If we do that, Hobbes reasoned, we can begin to understand why religious convictions so often lead to political conflicts and then perhaps find a way to contain the potential for violence.
"The contemporary crisis in Western Christendom created an audience for Hobbes and his ideas. In the midst of religious war, his view that the human mind was too weak and beset by passions to have any reliable knowledge of the divine seemed common-sensical. It also made sense to assume that when man speaks about God he is really referring to his own experience, which is all he knows. And what most characterizes his experience? According to Hobbes, fear."
Monday, August 20, 2007
As Anais Nin said “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are”
NYT: Symbol of Abu-Graib seeks to spare others his nightmare.
Will the Real Hooded Man please stand up?
NYT: Symbol of Abu-Graib seeks to spare others his nightmare.
Will the Real Hooded Man please stand up?
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Boston Review: Why are so many Americans in Prison?
"...the United States—with five percent of the world’s population—houses 25 percent of the world’s inmates. Our incarceration rate (714 per 100,000 residents) is almost 40 percent greater than those of our nearest competitors (the Bahamas, Belarus, and Russia)."
"...the United States—with five percent of the world’s population—houses 25 percent of the world’s inmates. Our incarceration rate (714 per 100,000 residents) is almost 40 percent greater than those of our nearest competitors (the Bahamas, Belarus, and Russia)."
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Looking down to the 16 Golden Stairs sign from near the summit of Pikes Peak
Saturday, August 11, 2007
The bluffer's guide to life, the universe and everything
Physicist Paul Callaghan explains why a few key scientific concepts can change your life.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
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