Religion Dispatches
…plugged-in lifestyle doesn’t really get at the heart of the issue. I think the Amish, of all people, have it right. It’s not so much about what you as an individual are doing or not doing, as the effect technology has on the community: Why not make life easier and just put [a phone] in the house? “What would that lead to?” another Amish man asked me. “We don’t want to be the kind of people who will interrupt a conversation at home to answer a tel…
Read More
…ability of cell phones to be used for impure activities, some Jewish cell-phone users have requested so-called “kosher” phones. The idea is to offer conservative Jews a phone that is free of “corrupting influences” of the sort that are already avoided by ultra-orthodox Jews through a ban on television and some radio. Reuters reported in February 2008 that Bezeq Israel Telecom launched a new “kosher” landline phone service, which will block calls…
Read More
…leaner and (usually) sober. Spielberg, as noted, positioned Jones in a pre-Vietnam America. The Duffer Brothers, however, hint that Hop fought in the war (recall the box marked “Vietnam” under the police chief’s cabin as well as his familiarity with PTSD). Finally, instead of traveling the world as a diplomat of white Christian hetero masculinity, Hop (at least before winding up in a Russian prison at the end of Stranger Things 3) is domestically…
Read More…slogans about immigration reform. On line I heard that parishes with large numbers of undocumented immigrants had received many tickets. No outside food or water, statues, gifts or selfie sticks were permitted. Despite 10,000 folding chairs, most of us would have no choice but to stand. Once in my appointed place behind the last row of seats, I found myself in a community of fellow pilgrims, lottery winners from local parishes, nearby colleges, an…
Read More
…of charred bodies of Tibetan monks immediately recalls the iconic photo of Vietnamese monk Thich Quang Duc who burnt himself in Saigon in 1963 to protest against persecution by a Catholic regime (the photographer Malcolm Browne got a Pulitzer Prize for the image). The media coverage of burning Tibetans, however, has been relatively muted. Recent coverage has been eclipsed by the reports of the war in Libya and the protests on the Wall Street; not…
Read More
…ualism is bad. Also, he notes but offers no explanation for the decreasing number of marriages in many countries. I am glad to see that in Section 34 he understands this basic fact of contemporary western culture: The ideal of marriage, marked by a commitment to exclusivity and stability, is swept aside whenever it proves inconvenient or tiresome. The fear of loneliness and the desire for stability and fidelity exist side by side with a growing fe…
Read More
…age. His 2012 book, The Buddha Walks into a Bar, has sold widely. Over the phone, I asked Rinzler why he and Burrows had chosen to establish the studio as a for-profit company. “We really wanted to make sure we had all the resources we need for supporting people who are trying meditation for the first time,” Rinzler explained. Because they’re a business, there’s more professionalism. The teachers they’ve hired show up on time, and, as Rinzler put…
Read More
…begun by one president and continued by his successors. Over the decades, Vietnam, too, faced growing opposition among the fighting ranks, as documented in the film Sir, No Sir. Most debates about both Iraq and Afghanistan have focused on whether or not they are winnable. The president’s speech in Oslo, however, raised the bar to moral grounds. He tried to defend his decision to escalate Afghanistan by contrasting the nonviolent principles of pre…
Read More
…ave failed to have a child for five years would be eligible for surrogacy. Vietnam: Hanoi hosts fifth Viet Pride Last Sunday, hundreds of people joined a bicycle parade through the streets of Hanoi as part of the fifth annual Viet Pride celebration. According to an IANS story, “LGBT rights are improving in Vietnam, with gay marriage tolerated by the state and a law passed last year allowing people who have undergone gender reassignment to register…
Read More
…ans would be attracted to, appreciate and consider careers in science (the number is decreasing annually). I bet we’d have more productive conversation among students and leaders of science and religion around the many profound issues in our nation that engage both: abortion, medical care, stem cells, homosexuality, and genomic research. The battle rhetoric would fade and, more than likely, movies like Expelled wouldn’t be made in the first place….
Read More