Writings, Reviews, Cultural Criticism
The category, Head, is for posts that make us think.
Clear Heart Open Mind is a reflection on the Tibetan meditative practice of Chenresig. Those who follow my blog or are aware of my sometimes hyper-rational predilections may wonder why I’m reviewing a book about mystical practices. I beg your indulgence.
The United Church of Canada has responded to the atheist bus ad campaign by launching a campaign all its own.
The British Humanist Association has funded the atheist bus ad campaign in London: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
The election of Barack Obama has been accompanied by a mood of optimism: America (and the whole world for that matter) might at last enjoy some respite from the reactionary politics of George W. Bush and his caterwauling coterie on the extreme right.
A popular target of liberal religious criticism is the “literal interpretation.” This is an idea which is easy enough to dispose of—“literal interpretation” is incoherent since, by definition, if something is interpreted, then it’s not literal.
Something I try to ignore is business writing. However, I stumbled upon the American Express Open Forum with the tagline: “A wealth of resources for savvy business owners.” In particular, I stumbled upon a short piece by Guy Kawasaki called “Literature and Narrative Management.”
In the November issue of The Atlantic, Andrew Sullivan offers us “Why I Blog”, an extended meditation upon this still-emerging form. Although Sullivan cut his teeth in the world of print, he knows what he’s talking about. He made the leap in 2000 and is the personality behind The Daily Dish.
In 2000, I began discernment. Within the United Church of Canada, discernment is a formalized process that potential ministers engage to “listen to the will of God.” I should have known right from the start that I’d be in trouble. For me, “the will of God” is kind of an inside joke.
This year, at least in Canada, Yom Kippur almost coincides with Thanksgiving. In English, Yom Kippur is referred to as the Day of Atonement and involves repentance for sins committed in the previous year.
Remember the opening words to every episode of the original Star Trek series? William Shatner would say: “Space: the final frontier …” Then the theme music: a series of fourths: dut, da da. And the backup singers: Ah, Ahhhhh …. Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah.
Google has entered the browser wars with Chrome available as a beta version for Windows – which explains why I haven’t been too excited about it. Chrome is a simple browser based on the same base code as Safari and, interestingly, it’s open source.
On Sunday July 27th, 2008, Pastor John Mahaffey of the West Highland Baptist Church in Hamilton, ON preached a sermon about the woes of the United Church of Canada. Evidently, he was raised within the UCC…
While in Edinburgh, I visited the Scottish Storytelling Centre and met with its director, Donald Smith, who gave me a tour and, fittingly, recounted something of the Centre’s story.
t seems fitting at today’s convocation that my theology degree should have been conferred on me by Norman Jewison, the director of such movies as Rollerball and Fiddler on the Roof.
How could we have been so insightful as to articulate a universal ethic that has stood without revision for more than 2000 years, and yet have failed so miserably when articulating a reasonable theology? Or is it possible that the Golden Rule doesn’t stand on such a sure footing after all?