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Monthly Archives: July 2010
Pentecostalism – Protestant Ethic or Cargo Cult?
On June 22, 2010, a crowd of some 35,000 Evangelical Christians gathered in a football stadium in Manaus, the Brazilian city located in the heart of the Amazonian rainforest. They met about two hours after Brazil beat Ivory Coast at … Continue reading
May One Joke About Religion?
A number of relatives and friends have followed my first forays into the strange country of Blogostan. One of them criticized the fact that my tone occasionally becomes flippant, implying that this is inappropriate when one is dealing with a … Continue reading
Democracy and Judaism in Israel
Israel was established as both a democratic and a Jewish state. Both qualities continue to be real enough. But there have been increasing tensions between these two definitions of the state, and some (in Israel and outside it) have questioned … Continue reading
Posted in Religion, Secularism
Sex and Schism in the Anglican Communion
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and symbolic (though in actuality rather powerless) leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, is by all accounts a very pleasant individual. He has been trying valiantly to keep within the sprawling Anglican fold, estimated … Continue reading
Who are “We”?
A Chinese sage defined a wise person as one who sees things together which others see as apart. Writing a blog implies the presumption of at least a measure of wisdom. So here we go: In an earlier effusion of … Continue reading
Posted in Religion, Secularism, Sociology
Who are the Belgians?
On June 27, 2010, Belgian police raided the offices of the Roman Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Brussels while a meeting of that organization was going on. The police was looking for evidence of cover-ups of crimes of child abuse by … Continue reading
Posted in Religion, Secularism
An Introduction
A Chinese sage wrote to an elderly scholar retired from official duties with two suggestions—to acquire a young concubine, or to learn how to paint dragons on red silk. I am an elderly scholar and I have now retired from … Continue reading
