Religion, SF, and Other Speculative Fictions.


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Entries from August 2008

Pretty Pictures?

February 16th, 2006 · by John · 15 Comments

I’m experimenting with different banner images. Please let me know what you think–be sure to let me know which banner you’re describing.
[Addendum: (written at 6:23 a.m. on 2/17, after Holly’s third comment)]
There are nine banner images, selected at random whenever the page is refreshed.

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Tags: Site-related

Overheard…

February 15th, 2006 · by John · 4 Comments

…at the interfaith luncheon I went to today (imperfectly paraphrased here by yours truly):
Rabbi: “I take great comfort in knowing that God will never become a man, even as my dear friend [an Anglican priest] takes comfort in knowing that God became a man.”
Muslim: “Jesus is a prophet, born miraculously. He lived a perfect […]

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Tags: Christianity · Islam · Judaism

Book Review: Exuberance!

February 13th, 2006 · by John · 2 Comments

On my monitor at work is a quote from Diderot: “Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.” In Exuberance: The Passion for Life, Kay Redfield Jamison, professor of psychology and MacArthur fellow, explores and even celebrates the our capacity for play, passion and enthusiasm.
And what a ride it is! […]

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Tags: Book Reviews

OC Pilgrimage, Station 02: OC Friends Meeting.

February 12th, 2006 · by John · 8 Comments

If you’re new to this topic, read the other posts in the OC Pilgrimage category.
Liberal Quakerism is in many ways the antithesis of modern Mormonism, which is probably why I like to escape to the local Meeting on occasion. Jana shares some of my sentiments‚Äîshe‚Äôs said many times that if she weren‚Äôt born into […]

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Tags: Christianity · OC Pilgrimage

OC Pilgrimage, possible stations:

February 10th, 2006 · by John · 3 Comments

Tomorrow I plan to write about my experience at Station 02 of my OC Pilgrimage: my visit last Sunday to the Orange County Society of Friends (the Quakers). I‚Äôm discovering that this Church-hopping is lots of fun, and I‚Äôm anticipating my next visits. Here‚Äôs a list of potential places to visit in OC […]

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Tags: OC Pilgrimage

Down and out…

February 8th, 2006 · by John · No Comments

Jana’s been downed by the stomach bug that’s making its rounds this season. If you have a moment, pay her a virtual bedside visit and leave a cheery message!

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Tags: Personal

Is there a place for feminist men in feminism?

February 7th, 2006 · by John · 21 Comments

I originally wrote this with a feminist audience in mind (I even asked, via email, a number of my friends with firm feminist credentials to respond to this), but it turned into a forum discussing the validity of feminism itself. While that conversation is definitely a necessary one, it didn’t respond to the questions […]

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Tags: Feminism

Is there a place for men in feminism?

February 7th, 2006 · by John · 18 Comments

This discussion has been restarted on the next post, where the discussion emphasis is less on the attack/defense of feminism in general and more on the place of male feminists within feminism (i. e., on topic).
I am a feminist. By this I mean that I believe that nationally and globally, there is de facto […]

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Tags: Feminism

Give me five!

February 6th, 2006 · by John · 1 Comment

Holly tagged me, so I’m “it.”
Instructions: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so.
1. Ultimate Writer
2. Golgotha_Tramp
3. FrankenGirl
4. Holly at Self-Portrait as
5. John at mindonfire.com
Next select five people to tag:
1. Jana
2. Dora
3. Josh
4. Amber
5. Caroline
What were […]

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Tags: Meme

Houses by the Side of the Road.

February 5th, 2006 · by John · 31 Comments

So how did I decide to spend a year visiting 2 dozen different churches, in addition to attending my own fairly regularly? Here are some possibilities:
You’re looking for the Truth. God’s got to be in one of them churches, right? Nope. Maybe God’s in none of them, or all of […]

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Tags: OC Pilgrimage