Tag Archives: religion
The World is Larger than the Sum of its Parts
As I stated up front – in so many words – I’m writing this primarily for myself in the attempt to figure out what the world is all about beyond the twists and turns that life can throw our way, … Continue reading
The Substance of the World
Baruch Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish extraction who lived from 1632-1677. Spinoza strongly rejected the notion of a providential God – the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, in complete control of all things; he claims that the … Continue reading
In Pursuit of a Greater Good
It is difficult not to get seriously depressed by the kind of news you get today, such as reports about the absolute savagery in the ongoing civil war in Syria by survivors of a deadly attack in Khan Sheikhoun describing chemical … Continue reading
The Scourge of Mankind
One continues to wonder why anyone would be willing to kill a fellow human being just because they don’t share your religious beliefs. But for any student of European history it is not too difficult to be reminded of such … Continue reading
Spiritual Beliefs
Existential writers such as Søren Kierkegaard claimed that proof of God cannot be the outcome of a logical argument, such that God’s existence can never be a public or objective truth. Belief in God, consequently, must always be a private … Continue reading
Religion
The suggestion that the human race is lost and absolutely hapless when it comes to understanding their place in the world has been expressed many times. In the mid 1600’s the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza wrote that people find themselves … Continue reading
Religion Kills Once Again
It was reported by the BBC today that a Bangladeshi publisher of secular books has been hacked to death in the capital Dhaka in the second attack of its kind on Saturday, police say. Faisal Arefin Dipon, 43, was killed … Continue reading
A Sad Day For Humanity
Salman Taseer – a senior member of the governing Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) – was assassinated by one of his bodyguards angered over the governor’s opposition to blasphemy laws. He had recently angered Islamists by appealing for a Christian woman, … Continue reading
The Gospel According to Teflon Tony
I have been amused – somewhat – by the recent encounter between former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and a frequent writer on atheism, Christopher Hitchens, on the resolution: “Be It Resolved that Religion is a Force for Good in … Continue reading
On the Use of Religious Symbols
Much has been made of the fact that the Swiss population rejected via a referendum the further propagation of religious symbols across the Swiss landscape in the form of minarets on mosques. Predictably, the politically correct have cried foul and … Continue reading