On HHDL and the ironic practice of religion
Dalai Lama, London, 1996. Photograph by Steve Pyke. Used with permission of the photographer Back in early September, His Holiness the Dalai Lama shared the following via Facebook: All the world’s religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance and forgiveness, can and do promote inner values. But the reality of the world today [...]
On depression and “Buddhist science”
Not depressed: HHDL’s call for “Buddhist science” may make sense. Image source: buddhachannel.tv Several years ago I went on antidepressants. It was one of the most difficult, drawn-out, painful decisions I have ever made. When I finally did, though, there was very little pain and a lot of relief. Several days before my first prescription [...]
Buddha’s back
Image source: introductionbuddhism.info Pray allow me me a little self-disclosure. I am Christian in faith and practice. Nine hundred ninety-nine days out of a thousand, I don’t give serious thought to religions outside my own. I have had several opportunities to learn about Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc., some of them firsthand, but my understanding of [...]
The only way out is through
Madelene Purdie, Stations of the Cross. Purdie, an Australian aboriginal artist, follows the minority convention of placing a resurrected Christ in a 15th panel When in seminary I had a New Testament professor who said something I will always remember. He said that of all the world’s religions he preferred Buddhism and Christianity because these [...]
Meet good interatheist Chris Stedman
An inverted Chris Stedman and his “awful giraffe,” which I find rather endearing. Stedman is a humanist interfaith activist. Yes, you read that correctly. Image taken from NonProphet Status, Stedman’s blog Read Stedman’s shirt (in a mirror). It says “Good (Without God).” This particular atheist cliché always makes my head hurt. On one hand, as [...]
Negative theology and the foolishness of progressive postmodern Christians
The Tetragrammaton in Paleo-Hebrew, which today is often written YHWH or Yahweh. Its origin is thought by many to be Exodus 3, in which Moses is instructed to tell the people that “I Am” sent him. In Christian scripture it is translated “The Lord,” written in small caps. Observant Jews write but do not speak [...]
On Hanukkah and the miraculous
Anonymous, Hanukkah, 18th century. Source: Wikimedia Commons Sometimes I wish all the miracles in the Bible would just go away. Except maybe the Incarnation and Resurrection. The bigger and flashier the miracle the more I wish it would disappear. But there they all are, from Noah to Daniel to the loaves and fishes. So I [...]
