In general, I think the whole freedom-of-religion clause applies in the sense you can believe whatever you want, as long as it does not infringe upon the rights of another. If my pharmacist decides that she does not believe in antihistamines, I think she should get another job, not sue me for wanting medicine. If [...]

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You’d never think that the Beastie Boys, of all groups, could produce thoughtful, meditative/religious tunes.  This one is god-free, but does pitch some supernatural Buddhist ideas: [wp_youtube]KtKhakSmwhA[/wp_youtube] I love to blast this and focus exclusively on the deep bass chanting. The following song is all about doubt and searching.  The imagery is pretty generic, so [...]

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The WordPress 2.5 upgrade is complete! As readers, you probably won’t notice any difference. As bloggers, xJane and I will experience huge differences in the admin/posting user interface. However, if you do encounter a problem, please let us know right away!

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I’ll be upgrading the site to the latest release of WordPress.  Unless things go terribly awry, MoF should be back in business by late tomorrow morning.

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[wp_youtube]k04KzgYRKrE[/wp_youtube] In place of the regularly scheduled Leaving the Garden series, I bring you Dr. King’s difficult journey that ultimately led to his acceptance of nonviolence and the rejection of American Christian political orthodoxy.  His Pilgrimage to Nonviolence is a fascinating and intimate revelation of his initial convictions, his questioning process, his doubts, and the [...]

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One thing that I miss about being a missionary were the ghost stories we shared. They had more power then, when I believed in the world of the spirits. The dead were constant companions. One night we were riding our bikes to a dinner appointment in the countryside, and the silhouettes of the forested hills [...]

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Scott Adams of Dilbert fame has this wise counsel: Allow me to give you some advice: If you ever decide to join a cult, the first thing you should ask about is the quality of their doomsday cave. A poorly constructed cave could kill you, and that would take most of the fun out of [...]

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Liminal states are not happy states. Take zombies. Zombies are transitional, miserable beings–not quite dead, not quite alive. They shuffle about–no standing still or purposeful striding. Instead of killing you with ninja stealth or a mighty barbarian beserker yell, they mumble and moan. “Nnnnnnn ggahhh brrrrrrrrrr aeeeeeeeeee nnnnnnnssss,” they say, and you’re tempted to stop [...]

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My new octopus desk.  Let me show you it.  No, you can’t has. The artist at work:

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It’s from a Vatican newspaper, so you know it has to be true. Monsignor Vittorio Formenti…that Catholics accounted for 17.4 percent of the world population — a stable percentage — while Muslims were at 19.2 percent. Spark is a new category for sharing links. No intense commentary, just a link & a brief reason you [...]

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