Even the most fervent believers acknowledge doubt as a virtue (in others)–if it takes you in the right direction.¬† From my own experience as a missionary, I was pretty happy when I encountered a potential convert to Mormonism who had profound doubts concerning their childhood belief system. Every major religious founder had the impact they [...]

[Read more →]

Mind on Fire now has it’s very own podcast! I christened it An Atheist’s Prayer (the title is loosely taken from a talk I gave at Sunstone a couple of years ago called “A Skeptic’s Prayer” (Adobe PDF link)). I decided to create the podcast when I had a difficult time finding ones that fit [...]

[Read more →]

I just gave mind on fire a new set of insides–it’s now running on WordPress two point something. This is progress, because before it was running on hamsters feasting on my old tea leaves. Seriously, though, I would never subject hamsters to running a blog or eating soggy bitter greens. And I don’t think I’d [...]

[Read more →]

This is an edited version of a response to an email query about feminism: As a historian and as comparative social scientist, I had problems with three thoughts: the nuclear family is “traditional.” The nuclear family is in many ways a fairly modern construction. The extended family was the primary family unit in many pre-industrial/urban-era [...]

[Read more →]

I playfully tossed together this list of Top Ten Spiritual Left Exemplars : Jesus. Buddha. Gandhi. St. Francis. Mohammed. St. Paul. Martin Luther. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dorothy Day. The Dalai Lama. I put Jesus on top, because within his historical context, he was a religious revolutionary. He advocated pacifism, feminism and radical egalitarianism (all [...]

[Read more →]

In Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality I encountered the term “Spiritual Left.” It is presented by the author as the counterbalance to claims of moral superiority by the “Religious Right.” I have mixed feelings about language that encourages polemic polarization (instead of dialogue), but I think that it has some uses. It highlights [...]

[Read more →]

If you didn’t think I was crazy before, this will leave you with little doubt: *drum roll* Introducing…my summer reading list! Since my favorite variety of voyeurism is sneaking peeks at people’s bookshelves, I guess this is the online booklist equivalent of throwing my trenchcoat open to you. Please don’t pursue the metaphor any further. [...]

[Read more →]

I’m a city boy. I like people, and I’m happier when there are a lot more of them around me. Tokyo’s one of my favorite cities, partly because there are so. many. people. I like Manhattan, too, because it can be pouring rain at 3 am and you still have to fight for a taxi. [...]

[Read more →]

My passion for blogging kind of bottomed out a couple of months ago–I can trace it back to my “There but for the Grace of God… post and the emotional exhaustion I experienced dealing with the ironic violence that resulted. Sunstone West and end of semester projects depleted the rest of my energy. The past [...]

[Read more →]