Monthly Archives: January 2014

Economical with the Truth

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

Cross-posted on Ricochet: Religion News‘s David Gibson believes that the current pope’s crude and demagogic attacks (to be clear: that’s not exactly the way that Mr. Gibson appears to see them) on the free market have a useful supporter in … Continue reading →

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Schism!

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

I have, to put it mildly, my doubts about atheist “churches”, but not about the real need for many of those who struggle with the idea of a god for some sort of ritualized community. The “Sunday Assembly” was designed … Continue reading →

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The Devil Rides Out (2)

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

What to today’s Satanists believe? The Economist sets out to explain: Satanists are a rather fractious bunch, with many different organisations, beliefs and rituals. Many of these organisations are wholly or partly occult, with much hidden from non-adherents. Some are … Continue reading →

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The Devil Rides Out

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

Could some Satanic kitsch be about to descend upon Oklahoma City? The Daily News reports: A satanic group unveiled designs Monday for a 7-foot-tall statue of Satan it wants to put at the Oklahoma state Capitol, where a Ten Commandments … Continue reading →

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Church and States

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

Cross-posted on the Corner: Russia’s first modern ‘official’ ideology was developed in the early 19th Century, primarily as a response to the potential liberal challenge from both home and abroad, and was summed up in the words Orthodoxy, autocracy and … Continue reading →

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Devilry Afoot

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

The Devil (or, more accurately, fear of the old monster) has always been a good recruiting sergeant for clergy looking to fill their pews. It’s thus no great surprise to read that the Roman Catholic church is taking advantage of … Continue reading →

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On The Random Walk

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates has just been reading Tony Judt’s Postwar (which I have yet to tackle, but plan to) and cites that book, together with Tim Snyder’s Bloodlands (which I reviewed here) for a grander thesis about the failings … Continue reading →

Posted in philosophy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The decline of the humanities, the rise of the obscurities

Posted on January 5, 2014 by David Hume

From Heather, The Humanities Have Forgotten Their Humanity: Until 2011, students majoring in English at UCLA had to take one course in Chaucer, two in Shakespeare, and one in Milton —the cornerstones of English literature. Following a revolt of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia | Tagged | 3 Comments

A Bitter Pill?

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

This piece is from the Guardian and it comes with some of the paper’s usual irritating baggage, but it is still worth reading as an examination of the factual background to the Little Sisters HHS case: The ACA has a … Continue reading →

Posted in law | Tagged , , | 8 Comments