July 2003
The Archives
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Thus saith the prophet
07.31.03 | Permalink | 2 CommentsProphecy is the lifting up of a narrative ideal –say, global peace, or economic justice, or individual virtue– over against a person’s or community’s actually lived practice. The narrative ideal takes the form of an often unarticulated utopia, of the lion laying down with the lamb. Rhetorically, the biblical prophets often stage their prophecy as […]
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Joseph Smith the Maoist
07.30.03 | Permalink | Comments Off on Joseph Smith the MaoistLaura Miller closes a Salon article linking Mormanism to violence with these chilling words: Behind their exalted rhetoric and unusual doctrines, the early leaders of the Mormon Church were motivated by the same things that drive authoritarian leaders everywhere: the amassing of personal wealth, the ability to boss all the other men around, and the […]
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ET pray home
I just read an intriguing article in the September issue of The Atlantic by Aussie philosopher Paul Davies. (Don’t ask me why the September issue just arrived now in late July.) It’s called “E.T. and God: Could earthly religions survive the discovery of life elsewhere in the universe?” Since you’re no doubt holding your breath, […]
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Weblog wishes
07.28.03 | Permalink | 7 CommentsWishes for my fellow webloggers: Trackback (sometimes called FollowUp) for everyone, so we can trace the conversation path when it leaves a MovableType blog. Comments for everyone. RSS feeds for everyone, so I can keep up with Newz Crawler. Since I started using it, my blog reading time has plummeted, but the quality of my […]
