This is a very interesting discussion of may issues, including our distinction between the "secular" and "religious". It's a great introduction to both subjects. CBC "Ideas" On The Myth of the Secular Here are a few things I took from the discussion ... Use of the term "religion" as a noun, referring to a body of dogma, a bright line between "believers" and "non-believers" etc. is relatively modern. It comes from Europe in the 16th century and accounts for a lot of misunderstanding. Motivation behind being a "religious" Muslim and how it's quite different from what we imagine. "Religious" communities as global alternatives to the modern moral view which has it's moral horizon at a national border A fascinating discussion of fundamentalism in general Discussion of nationalism as a religion, especially when it comes to sacrifice, such as our willingness to die to defend a transcendental concept Co...

Me: Master, what is the meaning of life? Master: Rephrase the question I will .. Me: umm ... Master: Just a little ... Me: ok .. Master: Ask what is a meaningful life, you must. Me: ( Not sure how that's different, suspecting a trick ) Master: The hero of your own autobiography, you must be . Me: So Hitler would have lead a meaningful life ( I've got him! ) Master: Yes. Me: OMG! I see the trick now! I asked for THE meaning of life and you changed the subject entirely! OF COURSE Hitler would be the hero in his OWN autobiography! Master: Sorry. ask you a question, I will. If you wrote your autobiography now,  the hero would you be? Me: I have no idea. Probably not ( Damn, he keeps changing the subject ) Master: So, either your life has no meaning or you have not found the meaning. Perhaps both :) Me: Which is why I asked the question. Please, sir. Stop changing the subject. Master: OK. So what kind of a person would you LIKE to be so that you WOULD be the hero of your own autobi...

I have arrived at Alasdair MacIntyre by a rather circuitous route. This is the book I'm reading now: http://www.amazon.ca/After-Virtue-Theory-Second-Edition/dp/0268006113 Sadly, I took it out of the library, so I'm unable to underline and yellow-mark the passages that strike me as memorable and profound. On the other hand, if I could use a yellow marker, the pages would wind up almost entirely yellow. MacIntyre has useful things to say about so many issues, I can hardly do more than commend him to your attention. He puts forward a consistent and intelligible philosophy that makes it possible to to discuss many issues in sensible and productive ways. These issues include: The bankruptcy of philosophy, bureaucracy, democracy, capitalism, communism and just about any other "ism" that you may be familiar with. The mis-reading of the history of philosophy in general. What it means to be a "person" and  the meaning of life in general. The hopeless attem...

Let me tell you about  Alexander The Great According to the ancient Greek biographer  Plutarch , Olympias, on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip, dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunder bolt, causing a flame that spread "far and wide" before dying away. Some time after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wife's womb with a  seal  engraved with a lion's image. [11]  Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of these dreams: that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Alexander's father was  Zeus . Ancient commentators were divided about whether the ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Alexander's divine parentage, variously claiming that she had told Alexander, or that she dismissed the suggestion as impious. [11] In short, Alexander's birth was miraculous and the circumstances faintly echo what we read in Matthew. The s...

A friend writes ... You know that I am an atheist, or at best, an agnostic, ... I should like to go back to the simple belief I had in childhood, ... I am a product of a 'church' primary school, and the knowledge base, plus the experience of ritual is there. Nevertheless, I find that my mind has rejected Christianity, along with organised religion en mass Because I place myself in what I call the "Christian Tradition", my readers often assume that I'm obligated to defend "Christianity" and they expect me to attempt to "convert" them. This is very far from the case. I was born into this tradition. I cannot change that any more than I can transform myself into a zebra. The Christian Tradition goes back at least 3,500 years. We find ourselves at one particular point in its unfolding history. Because it is the very nature of "religion" to pretend that it is the guardian of eternal truth, the historical nature of its dogma is routinely swe...

(This originally version of this post appeared in my Skeptical Christian's Bible Blog) Irshad Manji  can teach proud Skeptics a thing or two about moral courage. Irshad illustrates one of my pet theories. When push comes to shove, there is not much light between a Skep Irshad is a bit unusual -- A lesbian Muslim who openly challenges Muslims to think for themselves. She questions the entire foundation and history of Islam  from the inside . This gets her into a lot of hot water. When I went to see her talk last night at the Calgary Public Library, she had a uniformed police guard sitting very prominently in the front row. Enlightened Skepticism flows from this lady like a fire hose.  Among many of her ideas (read her books!) are: The Arabs have colonized the Muslim world , hijacking the very soul of the religion.  Most Muslims are not Arabs, but they follow the Arab interpretation of Islam blindly, which includes the "meme" that what the Arabs say should be accepted...

The Monkey Boy Jesus : Fresco of Jesus famously "fixed"  " About the only thing the original fresco shares with Cecilia Jimenez’s touch-up is the wall it is painted on. The work, called Ecce Homo, or Behold the Man in English, is now referred to as the Monkey Boy of Borja. At first church officials and townsfolk were horrified. " -- PRI, The World We started touching up the image of Jesus as soon as He appeared in person in Galilee 2,000 years ago. The process got under way in earnest after He was executed by the Romans. Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepuchre is a must-see if you are on a tour of the Holy Land. Jesus was born here, or perhaps died here.  Depending on the brochure you read, you can picture the simple stable or the wooden cross that once stood here. This is what I picture when I'm thinking about how we encrust precious things with layer after layer of our own artistry. Discovering traces of the real Jesus beneath all thi...

As a Christian Skeptic, I'm concerned about issues of Justice. I've recently audited an excellent on-line Harvard  course on the subject. Michael Sandel introduces philosophy to an online audience I think Christianity calls us to do more than just follow the rules about how we treat each other. We are called to challenge the assumptions of our culture and to take a very broad view of what is the right way to behave. It follows that we should take a serious interest in what is right. We are surrounded by bad assumptions about Justice and the right way is not at all obvious. To me, Jesus was remarkable in that he seemed to have an instinct for what made sense (although you might think this was more than instinct). For example, he rejected the moral value of following the rules and rituals of the Judaism of his time. He spoke to women in public and counted them as his friends. He spoke highly of the moral character of non-Jews. Most importantly, he urged his followers to start ch...

Of course, I'd heard all about God and Jesus at an early age. From the age of 5, I filed it away with Santa and the Easter Bunny. Thinking back, it's so fitting that the person of Jesus should come to me in my early twenties via the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas: These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote.   1. And he said, "Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.   2. Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all.  3. Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, ...

Of course, I'd heard all about God and Jesus at an early age. From the age of 5, I filed it away with Santa and the Easter Bunny. Thinking back, it's so fitting that the person of Jesus should come to me in my early twenties via the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas: These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote.   1. And he said, "Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.   2. Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all.  3. Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will b...