Category Archives: culture

Ghosts & Machines

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Andrew Stuttaford

One New York Times journalist seemed surprised by this: Those who might have predicted a few decades ago that the rise of science and technology would eventually blot out Thailand’s longstanding preoccupation with the supernatural can walk into one of … Continue reading →

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More God please!

Posted on December 11, 2010 by David Hume

Obama Doesn’t Mention God Enough, Says Prayer Caucus: President Obama doesn’t mention God frequently enough in his speeches, a group of religious House Republicans said in an open letter to the president, chastising him for skipping over mention of the … Continue reading →

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Israel’s demographic future

Posted on December 11, 2010 by David Hume

As I noted in my review of Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth (also see John Derbyshire’s review) “In 1960 15 percent of elementary age students in Israel were Arab or Haredi. In 2010 ~50%….” Additionally, while the Arab Israel … Continue reading →

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Aslan Slandered?

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Cross-posted over at the Corner: Via the Daily Telegraph: Liam Neeson has caused controversy by suggesting that Aslan, the Christlike character in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books, could represent the prophet Mohammed or Buddha. The actor who voices the lion in … Continue reading →

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Cranks Without Power

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Bradlaugh

Mr. Hume:  I saw your post about John West’s ISI article “Darwin, Scientism, and the Misguided Quest for Darwinian conservatism” just as I finished reading the two new biographies of Galileo. (For review in the New Criterion. The biographies are here and … Continue reading →

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Darwin and intellectual conservatism

Posted on November 29, 2010 by David Hume

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has a webjournal called First Principles. Here’s a bit about ISI: In 1953, Frank Chodorov founded ISI as the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists, with a young Yale University graduate William F. Buckley, Jr. as president. E. … Continue reading →

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“Ultra-Orthodox Welfare Kings”

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

The problem that the Ultra-Orthodox pose for Israel is not a new topic, either here or elsewhere, but this WSJ piece by Evan Goldstein is worth reading, not least for the insight into the way that welfare handouts have (for … Continue reading →

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Neither Hobgoblin nor Foul Fiend (2)

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

It’s not just the Poles who are holding a conference on exorcism. The New York Times reports that American bishops are doing the same in Baltimore. The report is pretty fair-minded and two snippets in particular caught my attention: [T]o … Continue reading →

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Neither Hobgoblin nor Foul Fiend

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Here via the Daily Telegraph, a little reminder of what lies beneath: Polish exorcists are gathering in Warsaw for their national congress confident in the knowledge that their numbers are increasing as more and more Poles struggle with Satanic possession. … Continue reading →

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It’s hard out there being a secular conservative

Posted on November 11, 2010 by David Hume

A personal note. People often ask me if I’m really a conservative. Old friends, some of them not particularly liberal themselves. The reason is in large part my sociodemographic profile. I’m an atheist. I’m scientifically educated and inclined. I don’t … Continue reading →

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