“When facts fail you, words come in handy.” — Goethe Frankly, I deplore most of the “talking heads” garbage (yes, I call it that deliberately) I’ve seen or read recently. Simplistic framing of complex issues into “us vs. them” is damned stupid, and I’m tired of having my intelligence insulted so. It’s gotten to the…
What is the form this mental organization takes? Dr. Lakoff believes our personal morality is framed by our family structure as children. There are two rough types or classes of family: the “strict father” paradigm and the “nurturing parents” paradigm. The “strict father” is a definite patriarch of his family, in control of his dependents…
Originally posted November 2004 Credits: To Bob, of course, due to his irritating (but this time helpful) habit of always leaving the radio on! ;) The emotional quality of what we moderns call our thought produces an extreme violence of conviction combined with extreme incoherence in our arguments. — Jacques Ellul I don’t like politics….
Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit Another critic I found on the web saw double standards in Wills’ book — a desire within Wills to dispense with ritual even as he promoted it. However, the critic’s examples of this which I read demonstrated a double standard only if the “Church” is equated to the current ritual-bound,…
Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit Why compelling? So why is the book so riveting? There are several reasons I found it so. Firstly, it’s always fascinating to read the thoughts of the religiously devout — who can also see the terrible attrition of belief due to the lure of secular power. I have to admire…
A fascinating, eye-opening review of biblical & ancient textual exegesis concerning current papal “hot button” issues.
Understanding ourselves For completeness, let’s look at a dictionary definition for spirituality as well. Doing so helped clarify religiosity; let’s see if it helps here too: Spirituality: concern with things of the spirit, which is defined as: a fundamental emotional and activating principle determining one’s character; any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or…
Two modern-day examples of the secularity of organized religion: President Bush recently asked the Pope (the leader of another nation) to put pressure on Catholic bishops in the United States to support Bush’s presidential campaign by speaking out against same-sex marriage and encouraging a Constitutional amendment on marriage. Will Bush be asking the leaders of…
(Originally posted October 2004) First a few quick notes I’m very happy about. This is my One Year Anniversary Firestarter article — yay! I’m very excited about that. Also, October is my birthday month, which is another reason I’m happy, as I really enjoy celebrating birthdays and holidays — wish me a wonderful upcoming year,…
Why is the Journey that denotes active individualism and physical maturity always coded male? Why is the one that connotes life’s wisdom cooperatively rooted within relational community invariably gendered as female? Why can’t we bring ourselves to say what they really are: steps in the progress of an ultimately human life? If the first steps…