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Faiths-and-Worldviews

Items on religions, ideologies, philosophies, and other ways people interpret the world

Anthropologist Foresees a Christian Renaissance: “French anthropologist René Girard, one of the most influential intellectuals of contemporary culture, thinks that a Christian Renaissance lies ahead. In a book published recently in Italian, "Verità o fede debole. Dialogo su cristianesimo e relativismo" (Truth or Weak Faith: Dialogue on Christianity and Relativism), the anthropologist states that 'we will live in a world that will seem and be as Christian as today it seems scientific.' ” (ZENIT news service)

Mon 18 Dec 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Deadly Atheism?: Speaking of atheism: “Take a look at Russia, however, and you see a country with decades more experience of atheism than Western Europe, and a far more advanced case of demographic decline. To be sure, there are plenty of confounding factors that need to be acknowledged and accounted for. But as a candidate for the case that atheism has serious real-world costs, Russia is at the top of the list.” There's a link to a 2003 National Interest article that may be of interest too. (Stanley Kurtz, The Corner on National Review Online)

Wed 06 Dec 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Losing the Enlightenment: A civilization that has lost confidence in itself cannot confront the Islamists. “Somehow Europeans have ever so insidiously given up the promise of the Enlightenment that welcomed free thought of all kinds, the more provocative the better.” (Victor Davis Hanson, The Claremont Institute, via WSJ)

Tue 05 Dec 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

On Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures: “With the dust settled after the Regensburg lecture, perhaps we can see that Pope Benedict . . . has for some time now been trying to give the world a precious gift: a vocabulary through which a serious, global discussion of both the crisis of technological civilization in the West and the crisis posed by jihadist ideology and its lethal expressions around the world can be engaged by believers and nonbelievers alike—the vocabulary of 'rationality' and 'irrationality.'” (George Weigel, Ethics and Public Policy Center)

Mon 27 Nov 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

The Church’s Great Malfunctions: “He was a ‘good Christian man,’ he even taught Sunday school, and yet he ended up presiding over one of the worst business frauds in history, involving thousands of people and billions of dollars. I could be referring to any number of executives in the business-page headlines of the past several years, from Enron to WorldCom and beyond. Why didn't their faith prevent their crimes? I suspect at least three factors were at work in their faith's spectacular failure.” (Miroslav Volf, Christian Vision Project, Christianity Today)

Thu 16 Nov 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Give us this day our daily organic loaf and forgive us our cheap flights: “The eco-religion has as many rituals as the old faiths, only more fashionably look-at-me. Not for the green faithful the privacy of the confessional box or the pew; we are supposed to show off our piety in the recycling box or the organic produce aisle. What’s more, it is a state religion, backed by all parties in our eco-theocracy, soon to be able to charge a modern tithe through new green taxes.” Don't miss the four horse-persons of the eco-apocalypse. (Mick Hume, Times Online)

Tue 14 Nov 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

How Bhagavad Gita has charmed US corporates: “Some Indian theorists have said their ultimate goal is to promote an entirely different theory of management—one that would replace shareholder capitalism with stakeholder capitalism.” (Rediff India Abroad, from BusinessWeek)

Mon 13 Nov 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Religion Digs in Its Heels: “[Peter] Berger jokes that his research projects should be subtitled ‘Max Weber is alive and well and living in Guatemala.’ Indeed, Guatemala has the largest share of new Protestants in the world. And just as Max Weber, author of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, would have predicted, this spiritual transformation is having profound cultural and economic effects on Guatemalan society. It may do more for modernization than the World Bank ever could.” (Jonah Goldberg, Tribune Media Services)

Wed 08 Nov 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Barr on Nagel on Dawkins: Physicist Stephen M. Barr comments on a review of Dawkins' new book: “Surfeited as I am with Dawkins’ highly polished put-downs and elegant sneering at his intellectual foes, I am happy to be able to experience his latest book (The God Delusion) at second hand through the philosopher Thomas Nagel’s incisive review in the New Republic. . . . Dawkins regards belief in God as a ‘delusion.’ In my judgment, physicalist reductionism such as his is not a delusion but an illusion caused by a trick of perspective.” (Stephen M. Barr in On the Square, the First Things blog)

Tue 24 Oct 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Danger ahead - there are good reasons why God created atheists: “In the perennial battle between our lowest and highest instincts, which is the human condition whether we are atheist or believer, people usually robe their most brutal acts in the mantle of high ideals. In this respect the history of religion, like the history of substitutes for religion, is all too human.” (Jonathan Sacks, The Times)

Mon 23 Oct 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Atheist gifts pontifical school in will: Speaking of atheists. “In one of her final interviews, Fallaci told The Wall Street Journal: ‘I am an atheist, and if an atheist and a pope think the same things, there must be something true.'” (Here's the WSJ link to an obit with the link to the interview) (Frances D’Emilio, Associated Press)

Mon 23 Oct 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Battle of the New Atheism: “I do call it prayer. Here is the atheist prayer: that our reason will subjugate our superstition, that our intelligence will check our illusions, that we will be able to hold at bay the evil temptation of faith.” Fascinating. Ultimately unsatisfying on any number of levels, but fascinating. We'll have something more to say about this eventually. (Gary Wolfe, Wired)

Mon 23 Oct 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

A Divine Conspirator: A nice piece on Dallas Willard. “'I thought the fashionable views were a disaster,' says Willard. 'I wouldn't have stayed in philosophy if it weren't for realism.'” (Christine A. Scheller, Christianity Today, September 2006)

Thu 19 Oct 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Recommendation: Judas and the Gospel of Jesus by NT Wright: “This book shows Wright at his best in answering a specific contemporary challenge to the traditional creedal view of Jesus. Wright gives a superb overview of gnosticism, gnostic Christianity and the gnostic scriptures. He covers how gnostic writings like the Gospel of Judas both challenge and confirm the church’s ancient and orthodox faith in Jesus.” (Michael Spencer, internetmonk.com)

Thu 19 Oct 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Debunking the Debunkers: “There should be more to scepticism than angry rants about stupid religious people or New Age mysticism.” (Ben Pile, Spiked)

Thu 19 Oct 2006 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments