Atheist, Naturalist, Secular humanist, Or None-of-the-above

PS. This is about the author, Mr. Christopher Hitchens. And, "Hitchens, one of our great political pugilists, delivers the best of the recent rash of atheist manifestos." Publishers Weekly, on his God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.

"I loved it when Mr. Hitchens, prosemaster, stuck it to the smug Western cult of the Dalai Lama. But that was in 1998. Now, as Max Blumenthal reports, he’s reduced to following in the footsteps of Dalai Lama groupie Sam Harris with How Religion Poisons Everything, which I guess is supposed to be shocking. From the cover of his earlier book Letters To A Young Contrarian, the idea seems to be that he’s not afraid to be the cigarette-smoking guy in a detective coat, giving you a steely look and leveling with you about how it is. “Join me in the League of Contrarians, if you can handle the flames.” source: Behind the contrarian curve, @ John Gorenfeld’s blog

         

"As a self-declared and proud "antitheist" whose most recent book carries the subtitle "How Religion Poisons Everything," Hitchens has no reason to view human beings as different from animals in any essential way. It is a stance that can lead to things like Princeton ethicist Peter Singer's support for killing severely disabled babies and the unconscious elderly. As Professor Singer has explained: "The life of a newborn is of less value than the life of a pig, a dog or a chimpanzee." If antitheist Hitchens asserts some inherent human special-ness, he is not only insufferable but inconsistent." Source: Jewish World Review June 4, 2007 / 18 Sivan, 5766, Man or beast? By Rabbi Avi Shafran

Ontario Multifaith Council: Web Analytics Series no. 5

Description: The Ontario Multifaith Council is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization representing the wide range of faith groups in the province of Ontario, Canada.

Thought for the day by Koans of the Zen Librarian

A patron asked the Zen Librarian to look on MapQuest to see whether a pick-your-own apple orchard was north or south of the interstate. The Zen Librarian answered, "Although people make distinctions between north and south, in buddha-nature and on the Web south and north do not exist." source

Religious leaders’ love advice -- Faithwise Review of the Week

By Jennifer Derryberry Mann If your friends-and-family plan for dating advice isn’t as helpful as it used to be, consider going to someone with better connections…namely, your religious leader. If you’re a tad too shy to ask for love-life tips from yours, let us help you with this roundtable with these experts representing Christian, Muslim and Jewish perspectives:

Father Albert Cutié, president of Miami-based PAX Catholic Communications and author of Real Life, Real Love: Seven Paths to a Strong and Lasting Relationship
Ameena Jandali, a founding member of the Islamic Networks Group
Rabbi Sue Laikin Shifron, the executive director of the Hillel Center at Indiana University Continue Reading

Faith and punishment:
In Islam, apostasy and faithlessness are sins, but they are not worldly crimes. Those who claim otherwise are making a mistake. There is a lot of confusion in the air regarding the thorny issue of conversion and "apostasy" in the Muslim world. From my secular position, freedom of conscience and belief are as close to sacred as my a-religious heart can muster. Despite what fanatical Muslims might claim, this is also the default Islamic position. To clear things up, Egypt's Grand Mufti, the country's second authority on Islam, Ali Goma'a, that Islam guarantees freedom of religion for its followers.

Toronto peace coalition brings together city & federal politicians, religious leaders & peace activist

Nanak looks Chinese in China-made idols

Spiritual Friendships and Angels Beliefnet: Beyond Blue - Therese J. Borchard

Does God Care About Politics? Should We? Neale Donald Walsch: Conversations with God - A blog by Neale Donald Walsch

Amnesty at Odds with Vatican - Current News On Beliefnet

Trail of Tears: History of Anti-God by reido @ Faith Commons
"Reading "Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation", the author John Ehle comments that in part the natives were drawn to the white man for his trinkets, weaponry, technology. They did not know the cost." continue reading

California State Senate to open with Hindu prayer Saturday, August 11, 2007

Gujarat riots at Modi's behest: BJP leader Joydeep Ray, August 13, 2007 (Ahmedabad)
In an indirect indictment for the first time, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's once trusted lieutenant Govardhan Zadaphia, home minister during the Gujarat riots, has told NDTV that he was following the chief minister's orders during the infamous riots of 2002.

Shshsh... Muslim! Sagarika Ghose, IBNLive

WITNESS - Japan "nuns for a day" mix religion and role-play

By Linda Sieg, Malaysia Star - 1 Jul 2007
KYOTO, Japan (Reuters) - No one seems to mind that I'm more familiar with Methodist hymns than Buddhist sutras when I arrive at Ryugenji temple in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto to sample their "Buddhist Nun for a Day" experience.

Ushered into a small room with tatami straw mat flooring, I pay about $65 for the six-hour course, write a prayer in Chinese characters on a wooden stick, and don a light-weight white kimono and tabi socks split at the toes to ease wearing sandals. continue

The End of Harry Potter

What Civilization Does Harry Potter Create?
By Orson Scott Card
Spoiler alert: This post reveals the ending of Book Seven.
So we’ve lived in J.K. Rowling’s moral universe for a decade now, seven volumes worth. Where did she take us, and to the degree that we have been reshaped (or reaffirmed) by that moral universe, what has she made of us?
What hath Harry Potter wrought?
Read this @ Beliefnet: Blogalogue - Debates About Faith

See also:

British School Justified In Reprimanding Teacher Who Told Children Harry Potter Author Was A Witch -- Faithwise Review of the Week

Indian police seize pirated Potter books