Religion Dispatches
…boredom? I wonder. Needless to say, to the extent that longevity research promotes ways to alleviate the suffering caused by debilitating diseases such as Altzheimer and Parkinson, they are all very beneficial. However, I also believe that all programs about extension of human life cannot be divorced from the deeper reflection about the purpose of human life. Such reflection seems to be missing from the transhumanist literature. One could object…
Read More
…ncluding emergency contraception, and including contraception that their abusers can’t sabotage in order to perpetuate the abuse? And that you naturally want to make it safer, easier, and less expensive for all families to keep children healthy and in good schools? And you’d probably also, for good measure, want to look like you care a lot about what John McCain found it so easy to put in snide air quotes: “the health of the mother”? And that mayb…
Read More
…ousness and proportion? The NAR doesn’t merit our considered attention because some of the leaders may sound nutty to those outside the movement, but because it’s driven by theocratic notions of total societal dominion, including the end of democracy as we’ve known it; and it deserves our attention because it’s developed the political capacities to make these ambitions a lot less of a pipe dream than they seemed even five years ago. This ought to…
Read More…or Ms. in English—Hajjah Naimah or Hajji Umar, for example. It can also be used alone, the way we say sir or ma’am. Occasionally it is used for an older person to show respect even if the person has not actually made the pilgrimage. But mostly, it is about a status. I think about this now, since I have actually waited almost 30 years since I tried to go the first time. If I had gone then, I would surely be less anxious to do it again at this age….
Read More
…ter”. As well as posters, the scheme also aims to tackle improper language use – such as “that’s so gay” – by showing children how to use other phrases to describe something negative. Wendy Francis – Queensland state director of the ACL – told the Brisbane Times: “No one should be bullied at school, including children grappling with same-sex attraction or gender confusion. “But this program goes way beyond an anti-bullying program…Children have th…
Read More
…e other church program is the worldwide creation of temples: those special-use limited-access buildings used for rituals (not the regular open-access church buildings used for Sunday services). In the pioneer period, temples were grand edifices that echoed Utah’s mountains in their architecture. Each was different. But since 1997 the Church has built or authorized the construction of one hundred “mini-temples,” most of them beyond the Mormon Cultu…
Read More…5 percent of all intended pregnancies every year, preventing abortion. The other 95 percent of unintended pregnancies happen to those who don’t use contraception, or use it incorrectly, the Institute said….
Read More…abies,” as Bray put it. He was careful to say that he did not advocate the use of violence, but morally approved of it in some instances. He was “pro-choice,” as he put it, regarding its use. Bray found support for his position in actions undertaken during the Nazi regime in Europe. His moral exemplar in this regard was the German theologian and Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who abruptly terminated his privileged research position at Union…
Read More…aging its effectiveness, is a technique that abusive partners are known to use in order to perpetuate the abuse, that makes good sense.) Of course, this mixed bag of news only hints at the central question, which is: What about those of us who have all the right ideas about how other people should use their bodies? Should we allow huge numbers of other people to do improper things with their bodies, especially when we might end up indirectly payin…
Read More
…ter use of the psychological mechanisms that [we] have and inevitably will use.” One problem, two maxims In our social universe, cause and effect occur across multiple scales. Individuals participate in groups, those groups create social structures like laws and values, and those social structures in turn affect individuals. Fault, too, travels in circuits. The violent protestor is to blame for his looting—however beleaguered his community—but the…
Read More