His writing resembled the private language of some brilliant but eccentric rabbi. … Read the rest
Wot’s ‘Cultural Competencies’?
Jul 19th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIt has to do with the pleasure of interpretation.… Read the rest
Interview With Katha Pollitt
Jul 18th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSo, what about that stupid Wonkette review? Well, it was stupid.… Read the rest
What it Takes to Teach Literature at University
Jul 18th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonA decade or more of immersion in a highly politicized and anti-literary academic culture.… Read the rest
Inayat Bunglawala on Bright and the MCB
Jul 18th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonLook for Sunny’s comments.… Read the rest
Sunny Hundal on Identity Games
Jul 18th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe Hindu Council UK decided to lob their own grenade in the identity politics debate last week.… Read the rest
Meet the Deity
Jul 18th, 2006 | By Ophelia BensonAnna was standing on a high bluff admiring the sunset – a particularly spectacular one full of gilded clouds – thinking blissfully of God and gratitude and the beauty of the world, when suddenly the sun seemed to swell and pulse, the sky turned every shade of purple and silver, there was ethereal music, and then an angel appeared next to her. “Beloved servant,” remarked the angel pleasantly, “for that thou art our dedicated and humble servant, and the first woman minister of thy parish, we have chosen thee to have an audience with the deity.”
Anna stared, coloured; the earth seemed to tilt and rock all around her; she planted her feet wide apart and hoped not to fall … Read the rest
‘Hadiths are serious stuff’
Jul 18th, 2006 2:19 am | By Ophelia BensonThis is a piece of really very good news. The author says it hasn’t had much attention in the West – or elsewhere either. So let’s pay attention.
… Read the restIn a bold but little-noticed step toward reforming Islamic tradition, Turkey’s religious authorities recently declared that they will remove these statements [such as “If a husband’s body is covered with pus and his wife licks it clean, she still wouldn’t have paid her dues.” – OB] , and more like them, from the hadiths – the non-Koranic commentary on the words and deeds of the prophet Muhammad…Hadiths are serious stuff. More than 90 percent of the sharia (Islamic law) is based on them rather than the Koran, and the most infamous measures
‘Women are [not] Imperfect in Intellect and Religion’
Jul 17th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonTurkey’s religious authorities declare they will remove sexist statements from the hadiths.… Read the rest
Shelley’s Mishap at Oxford
Jul 17th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonPoet writes atheist pamphlet shock.… Read the rest
Jeremy Waldron on Incoherent Ideas of Free Speech
Jul 17th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonNazis can disrupt the streets of Skokie, but those who disrupt Rumsfeld’s message will be dragged away. … Read the rest
Kent Hovind Busted on Federal Charges
Jul 17th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonDr. Dino claims he is employed by God, receives no income, has no expenses and owns no property.… Read the rest
No Continuum Between Science and Non-science
Jul 17th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonYou can’t practice methodological naturalism 99% of the time and still claim to be a scientist. … Read the rest
An Analogy That Isn’t
Jul 16th, 2006 10:26 pm | By Ophelia BensonHere’s something I don’t get. Or maybe I do get it and just think it’s silly. One of those. It’s from an article by Michael Ruse in Robert Pennock’s collection Intelligent Design Creationism and its Critics, “Methodological Naturalism under Attack,” page 365. Ruse is making the distinction (which featured heavily in the Kitzmiller trial) between metaphysical naturalism and methodological naturalism; he’s making the distinction and explaining it and arguing for it.
… Read the restThis is not to say that God did not have a role in the creation, but simply that, qua science, that is qua an enterprise formed through the practice of methodological naturalism, science has no place for talk of God. Just as, for instance, if one were to
Atheists in America
Jul 16th, 2006 6:38 pm | By Ophelia BensonSometimes I think I should keep a suitcase packed at all times, ready to grab when I hear the sirens approaching.
Penny Edgell, Doug Hartmann and I published a paper in the American Sociological Review called “Atheists As ‘Other’: Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society.” In a national survey, part of a broader project on multiculturalism and solidarity in American life that we call the American Mosaic Project, we found that one group stood out from all others in terms of the level of rejection they received from the general public. That was atheists. And not by a small margin, either.
That’s not in the least a surprise, but it’s a useful sharpening.
… Read the restHow does such a
Atheists as ‘Other’
Jul 16th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Atheists’ serves as catch-all word for ‘bad people.’… Read the rest
It’s ‘Crop Circle Season’
Jul 16th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonVictoria Coren on alien holiday planning; James Randi comments.… Read the rest
Prayers Save People From Death
Jul 16th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThere was this guy who was very ill, see, and people prayed for him, and he didn’t die. So.… Read the rest
Nick Cohen on the Selling of Honours
Jul 16th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHonours Act says you can’t buy them, you can’t sell them and if you do either you can go to prison.… Read the rest
Sarfraz Manzoor on ‘Faith Schools’
Jul 16th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘How do we avoid, in Trevor Phillips’s phrase, sleepwalking into segregation?’… Read the rest