Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
"In the interest of civility and electoral prudence, neither Obama nor Romney can initiate a conversation about what it means to be Mormon. The rest of us should, because the story is complicated, fascinating, and utterly American"
Evangelicals are making common cause with Romney because to do otherwise is to hand the election to Obama. In so doing, Mormonism comes closer to American mainstream. It's what Mormons want, but there may be unintended consequences
"Seen from the outside, feuds between Sunnis, who make up roughly 80% of the world’s Muslims, and the Shia minority (most of the rest), remain savage and are, in some ways, worsening." One reason may be the West pulling out of Iraq
Thought-provoking essay. "The notion that America was founded as a Christian nation is widespread. In the currency of ideas, it’s the ubiquitous penny. But like an actual penny, it doesn’t have a lot of value"
Richard Holloway used to be bishop of Edinburgh. But then he turned his back on the church and became what he calls a Christian agnostic. “700 men in pink frocks sharing student accommodation is not my idea of a great vacation”
Many presume that Christianity and science have always been at war. Little could be further from the truth. "The myth of a perennial conflict between science and religion is one to which no historian of science would subscribe"
"As world population peaks and begins to decline later in this century, the strongly religious will stand against the tide. In so doing, they will remake societies and wash away many of our certainties about secularization"
"'Militant secularism' makes as much logical sense as 'aggressive pacifism' or 'hardline tolerance'; it is an oxymoron, a cynical attempt to paint equality and fairness as infringing upon the religious"
Most think of Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama as intrepid explorers, bold and honourable men. Few realise their real motivation was to see a Christian reconquest of the Middle East, with all Muslims and Jews eradicated
"Khamenei, Jannati, and other fundamentalist clergymen realize as well as Ahmadinejad that the appeal of Islamist ideology is waning among Iran’s masses. The clergy senses that its loss of political authority may be close at hand"
Interview with human rights lawyer Sadakat Kadri, on origins and interpretation of Shari'a law. Widely misunderstood, by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Shia approach more flexible than Sunni. Iran even finances sex change operations
Former Anglican bishop discusses marriage. "Since the arrival of no-fault divorce without consent, is marriage even a contract any longer? What kind of contract is marriage if you can get out of it more easily than your mortgage?"
