Before doing a presentation on Bourdieu for my advisor, I asked Jana to talk to me a little about Bourdieu’s concept of habitus. In five minutes, she not only clarified the idea, she accomplished this task by situating Bourdieu in conversation with Althusser, Lacan, Foucault, Derrida and others. I was completely thralled–I know […]

[Read more →]

I sometimes engage in mantra meditation or rote prayer. I pick a set prayer, poem, or scripture from a religious tradition, and recite it, out loud or quietly, seated or walking, over and over. One of my absolute favorites is this Buddhist prayer:
May I become at all times,
Both now and forever
A protector for […]

[Read more →]

The dummy is me.
Pierre Bourdieu is my kind of academic–the anti-intellectual intellectual, the eminent theoretician who was opposed to theory for theory’s sake, someone who translated his ideas into political action. Scholars are often condemned for their addiction to mental masturbation. While I think a little mental self-abuse is a healthy thing, I […]

[Read more →]

For once, they’re not my confessions. I went with a friend to see the Steven Fales play in West Hollywood yesterday. We got off the freeway on Santa Monica Boulevard, driving past the massive angel-topped temple through Beverly Hills and finally to the tiny venue with “MORMON BOY” shouting from the marquee. […]

[Read more →]

Jeff has completed his commentary on the Conclusion of Bart Ehrman’s Misquoting Jesus at his site. In case you missed it, we broke with the order a couple posts back, but each chapter stands on its own and is meaty enough to be handled separately. Also, it’s not a thriller, so there’s […]

[Read more →]

This is an abbreviated and imperfect introduction to a problem that sends learned Biblical scholars into heated exchanges. Consider this a place to begin, but not to finish, the study of the synoptic problem.
From the earliest times, Christian scholars realized that the Gospels attributed to Matthew, Mark and Luke had a lot in common […]

[Read more →]

We are enveloped by arbitrary rules that dictate our perceptions and interactions with the world. For example, what determines that in the United States pigs, cows and chickens are food and that hamsters, dogs, and parakeets are pets? (I remember learning in Japan that the main ingredient in the cheap canned corned beef […]

[Read more →]

When I was a missionary proselytizing Mormonism door to door in Japan, I sometimes used the following story to preach the benefits of religious obedience (tithing, sex only in marriage and the prohibition of tea, alcohol and tobacco were tough to sell):
A kite cannot soar without its string. Likewise, God’s children cannot ascend to […]

[Read more →]

This is about the greatest thing since The End of Faith. The Rational Response Squad (which also operates the War on Christmas website; I guess there really is a war on Christmas! and an “internet radio show” that’s not podcast sadness) has put up a Blasphemy Challenge website encouraging atheists to damn themselves to […]

[Read more →]

Living Green Below Your Means has a great article up on how to save money and resources on Valentine’s Day. Aside from supporting SAD or V-Day, both of which are very good ways to spend what has become a Hallmark Holiday at best, regardless of what it used to be.
I encourage everyone interested in a […]

[Read more →]