Here’s a feel good story for today: a skinny Muslim student from Bangladesh intervened as a gang yelling anti-Semitic slogans was pummeling three Jews.  His involvement cost him two black eyes, stitches and what I’m sure must have been considerable pain, but it gained one of the other victims enough time to call the police. [...]

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God’s (i.e. Google’s) view of Biblical events (including the Crucifixion, the crossing of the Red Sea, and Adam and Eve frolicking in the Garden of Eden) as imagined by the Glue Society.  Via Creative Review.

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There is a place within atheism for mystical experience.  By this I mean those sublime moments in which we feel a deep awe and a sense of connection to humanity and the universe.  I’ve had a number of such instances throughout my life, and I treasure the lasting sense of inspiration, peace and sense of [...]

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I ran across this article today about how religion shapes language shapes attitude. It relates to the Arabic word/phrase “inshallah“, which my coworker explained as “if God wills it” but which can be used for many things. This article discusses how it is seeping into American consciousness &, perhaps, changing our attitude. I know I’ve [...]

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The same folks who brought you the bad-ass bible verses have posted a more serious article on the Ten Things Christians and Atheists Can (and Must) Agree On. (thanks John White, for the link!)  Much of the article speaks perfectly to what Mind on Fire is all about: Celebrating the death of somebody you disagreed [...]

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Here’s a fun headline: Japanese Buddhist monks try to lure believers with fashion, rap music A Google search for “rapping Buddhist” led me to these Dharma Rap Masters. Their site also has the lyrics to the Heart Sutra Rap, which begins: Avora… master of compassion His mind no longer thrashin’ Did some hard time lookin’ [...]

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In case you missed it, the House took a break from insuring children, subsidizing farmers and stopping torture to officially recognize the importance of Christmas and Christianity. Here are some excerpts from the non-binding resolution, which passed with 372 yeas and 9 nays: Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity [...]

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ugh, I’ve been hanging onto this link for days & haven’t posted it, but a principal in NYC is facing sanctions for okaying (and paying for) a Santeria ritual at her school. Not as part of a learning experience for her kids but as a cleansing of negative energy. Now, what would’ve happened if she’d [...]

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Continuing in our theme of technology & religion, this was driven home recently. At work, we have to have passwords that are exactly 8 digits long. At my old job, it was 6. The number doesn’t matter, it’s the exactness that drives me crazy. I can come up with a password that’s more than or [...]

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I was talking to one of my sisters on the phone the other day and we started discussing our religious beads (she has rosaries & I mala) and how some are just too nice to use, how olive wood feels so right in your hand, &c. And she asked me what I say when I [...]

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