Author Archives: Andrew Stuttaford

A Guide to Getting Your Saints Recognized

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

US Catholic has a report on Pope Francis’s efforts to clean up the Vatican Bank. It comments that “Francis has repeatedly railed against corruption, and his reforms at the bank are quickly becoming a test case for those efforts”. Fair … Continue reading →

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Everywhere is Nowhere

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

In an admiring review for The Week of theologian David Bentley Hart’s new book, The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss, Damon Lineker writes that it “demolishes” the “straw man Atheism” of those who treat “God as if he were … Continue reading →

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Satanic Versus

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

Joseph Laycock of Religion Dispatches talks here to (and about) “Lucien Greaves”, who is, apparently, the man behind the piece of Satanic kitsch now planned for Oklahoma. Disappointingly, Greaves turns out to be a rather wishy-washy devil worshiper: In 2005, … Continue reading →

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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 →

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