Over at HuffPo Religion, Cynthia Boaz has written an earnest piece that implores Americans to think harder about Islam and not simply demonize it. I agree with much of what she says but the unfortunate fact is that her plea will fall on few or deaf ears. Not many religious or political extremists are reading [...]
Entries Tagged as 'fear'
The Hydra Head of Islam
July 22nd, 2010 · 2 Comments · Axial Age, Globalization, History, Philosophy
Tags:authenticity·authorial intent·Christopher Hitchens·Cynthia Boaz·fear·interpretation·interpretive communities·Islam·jahiliyya·jihadist·John Calvert·Koran·madrassa·Milestones·misconceptions about Islam·multiplicities of Islam·Muslims·oppression of women·Pakistan·political extremism·reader response·religions of the book·religious extremism·religious writings·Sam Harris·Saudi Arabia·Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism·singular Islam·Stanley Fish·truth·truths about Islam·violence·zealotry
Tea Parties and “Monkey Gods”
May 20th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Axial Age, Daily Devolutions, Emotions, History
Avoiding politics and political arguments is a passion of mine, but total avoidance would require something like a monastic life (which at times sounds fairly appealing, given the vacuity of American politics). Add a bit of religion to the mix and the results are positively toxic.
While I do not know much about Tea Partiers other [...]
Tags:animals of Allah·fear·Islam·Mark Williams·monkey god·Muslims·religious right·Tea Party
“Fear of Spiders Can Develop Before Birth”
February 19th, 2010 · No Comments · Emotions
I must admit that when I saw the title of this article over at LiveScience, I was a bit skeptical and prematurely concluded the contents would be goofy. The picture in my head was something like this: “scientists show fetuses ultrasonic images of spiders and then image their brain activity using fMRI — the amygdala [...]
