By all accounts the annual Eurovision song contest is a campy, kitschy, trashy spectacle that reasonable people can tolerate only when accompanied by the caustic commentary of the BBC’s Terry Wogan, who unfortunately stopped covering it years ago. It’s enough to make one think European culture must have been on … Continue reading
Vernon On Robinson On Demythologized Christianity
Former Anglican priest Mark Vernon discusses the impact of Honest to God, a book by Anglican bishop John Robinson, when it was first published in 1963. For Robinson, the problem was the belief that we are “down here” and God is “up there”, as if sitting on a cloud. Science … Continue reading
The Virgilian Lottery
One thing I neglected to mention in my previous post on the Aeneid was the curious, superstitious tradition of the Virgilian Lottery or Sortes Virgilianae, which involves opening the Aeneid to a random passage and interpreting it more or less as one would a note in a fortune cookie (I … Continue reading
Ex Libris: Virgil, “The Aeneid”
Even back when I was doing my half-hearted best to be a good Christian, I never really believed that the Gospels were “the greatest story ever told“. Somewhat in the spirit of John Lennon’s famous declaration that Ringo Starr wasn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles, however, I’m now … Continue reading
Thou Shalt Not Commit Sociology
Stephen Harper is so relentlessly disciplined and careful with his words that he’s far less prone to verbal slips than, say, former U. S. President George W. Bush. However, he recently said something pretty strange in the course of answering a question about when it would be appropriate to address … Continue reading
Islam’s Apologists Leave Out The Not-So-Fine Print
The National Post and the Toronto Star don’t agree on much, but the apparently pressing need to convince the public that Islam could not possibly have anything to do with terrorist attacks either planned or committed by highly religious Muslims has brought them together like circling celestial bodies that come … Continue reading
Homegrown And Imported
In America, surviving Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (it’s probably a sign of immaturity that I keep wanting to pronounce his first name as “Joker”) is reportedly answering interrogators’ questions in ways that suggest that he and his older, seemingly more zealous brother Tamerlan were motivated by what the BBC calls … Continue reading
Fifty Thousand Shades Of Grey
I haven’t read E. L. James’ bestselling erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey, and it’s not exactly on my list, but I have to admit I find the title evocative. Shades of grey are important in my perception of reality, and talking to people who like to draw sharp distinctions … Continue reading
The Effects Of Simulated Divine Revelation
In the unlikely event that I become overlord of an intergalactic empire, I will order a whimsical (though potentially rather destructive) experiment to be carried out. First, I will have my intelligence service secretly identify a planet inhabited by clever but scientifically unsophisticated human-like life forms who are psychologically susceptible … Continue reading
A Different J & M
As religious commentators go, Raymond J. de Souza isn’t bad. He seems reasonably broad-minded and well-informed, and his columns in the National Post often discuss interesting issues. His latest piece concerns a fictional conversation set in Renaissance Italy: Michelangelo’s ceiling was dedicated 500 years ago last All Saints Day. But … Continue reading