Tag Archives: crucifixion

Let the 30-Year-Old Die!: The Christianist Party Shouts for Crucifixion

This is a must-see. It’s the Republican audience’s reaction to a debate question directed last night to Ron Paul by Wolf Blitzer. The gist of the question was the following: Should society let an employed 30-year-old experiencing a catastrophic health crisis, but lacking insurance, die? … Continue reading

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Two Paths to Self-Control: The Buddha and Jesus vs. Ulysses and Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor

Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology at Duke University, has an interesting recent blog post on self-control, which he frames as a dual dilemma: should we intensively train ourselves to be serene Buddhas, indifferent in the presence of immediate pleasures that might undermine our larger … Continue reading

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Is Love, Beauty, and Ecstatic Vision Just a Higher Form of Pain?

The swoon, obsession, and agony of the heart after a visionary epiphany in Badfinger’s “Day After Day” (1971). And notice the role of memory in the haunting and heightening of longing for what is not, in fact, present:

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Jesse Ventura v. Elisabeth Hasselbeck: Speaking Truth to Stupidity

Jesse Ventura has a clear head on torture. And I thought Elisabeth Hasselbeck was a “Christian.” Isn’t a Christian someone who follows gentle Jesus, meek and mild—a man who was tortured? Wouldn’t Jesus regard the phrase “Christian torturer” to be an oxymoron? … Continue reading

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Bush Era Torture: Were Top Officials Really Flying Blind?

George Santayana famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” According to the New York Times this week, Bush era torture was being authorized by officials who hadn’t even bothered to investigate, historically, the methods they … Continue reading

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