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Entries Tagged as 'Judaism'

“Are you really an atheist?”

December 29th, 2008 · by xJane · 9 Comments

said the friend sitting next to me at Christmas Eve dinner, with a vague look of disgust on her face, like I’d just admitted to enjoying self-flagellation. I was in the company of a number of people who had escaped Western religion (all some form of Christianity) and landed firmly in Eastern religion (all some [...]

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Tags: Atheism · Belief · Buddhism · Christianity · Dialog · Doubt · Feminism · Gender · Getting over Religion · Gods · Humanism · Judaism · Law · Meditation & Prayer · Musings · Mysticism · Personal · Reason · Religion · Skeptic · Society · Spiritual Progressives · Spirituality

Book Review: the Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions

October 15th, 2008 · by xJane · 2 Comments

This was cross-posted from my account at GoodReads, where I gave it two stars (of five). I would like to note that I did not read the whole book—I got through the fifth chapter before it was due at the library (and I couldn’t renew it because someone else had a hold on it). I [...]

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Tags: Atheism · Book Reviews · Getting over Religion · Judaism · Reason · Religion · Science · Skeptic · Writing

Spark: Heavenly Mother & the Celestial Glass Ceiling

October 4th, 2008 · by xJane · No Comments

A fascinating discussion/speculation about the position of women on earth and how that mirrors their position in heaven. Includes speculation about what might have been the course of humanity if the Abrahamic God was a female. via.

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Tags: Belief · Christianity · Feminism · Folklore · Gender · Getting over Religion · Islam · Judaism · Pacifism · Peace; conflict resolution. · Religion · Society · Spark · Spiritual Progressives · Women

Theocracy

September 17th, 2008 · by xJane · 7 Comments

*desperately trying to avoid typing “theoCRAZY!”* I missed this discussion at school, but have been seeing flyers for a forum on asylum law that state: HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR FREEDOM OF RELIGION? [...] Come hear [asylum professionals] discuss asylum law and practice. In particular, they will discuss the plight of Christian converts in Iran and [...]

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Tags: Atheism · Belief · Charities · Christianity · Church and State · Depression · Ethics · Fiction · Getting over Religion · Gods · Islam · Judaism · Law · Musings · Personal · Politics · Reason · Religion · Skeptic · Society · Spiritual Progressives

Obama’s (Secret) Prayer

July 27th, 2008 · by xJane · 3 Comments

During Obama’s recent visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, according to tradition, he wrote a prayer on a piece of paper and left it there. However, since he is under media scrutiny right now, it was stolen by a young seminary student (who should have known better!). While I disagree completely with its theft, [...]

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Tags: Belief · Christianity · Church and State · Current Events · Dialog · Ethics · Gods · Judaism · Meditation & Prayer · News · Politics · Religion · Ritual · Spiritual Progressives

OC Pilgrimage, Station 10: Bat Mitvah at University Synagogue in Irvine

January 13th, 2008 · by John · 1 Comment

After a long hiatus, I am starting the popular OC Pilgrimage series back up. In these posts, I reflect on my visits to religious meetings and spiritual sites in Southern California from my perspective as an atheist and someone who is genuinely curious about religion. In 2008, I am going to try to visit one [...]

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Tags: Judaism · Media and Design · OC Pilgrimage · Photos

keeping up my end of the bargain

January 8th, 2008 · by xJane · 3 Comments

I don’t really feel that I’ve been pulling my feminist weight around here recently (and that big long post about American Gladiators really rose from my husband’s comment; I expanded it because I wasn’t certain all our dear readers knew what AG was). And that really also means I’ve not been pulling my blogging weight [...]

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Tags: Atheism · Blogging · Christianity · Church and State · Current Events · Doubt · Feminism · Gender · Islam · Jana · Judaism · Links · News · Politics · Religion · Science Fiction and Fantasy · Skeptic · Society · Spirituality · Sunstone · Women

Muslim Defends Jews in NYC Subway

December 19th, 2007 · by John · 7 Comments

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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Tags: Christianity · Current Events · Islam · Judaism · NYC

Religious ethics for the 21st Century

January 26th, 2007 · by Miko · 9 Comments

The three major monotheistic religions all have holy books that date to a minimum of 1400 years ago. This makes the relevance of these supposed Divine rules somewhat suspect. A Jewish cartoon that I enjoy reading has an interesting take on Jewish bioethics, including links under the cartoon to discussions of same. Among some of [...]

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Tags: Bible Study · Current Events · Doubt · Islam · Judaism · Mysticism · Queries · Science · Science Fiction and Fantasy · Spirituality

There but for the Grace of God…?

April 2nd, 2006 · by John · 27 Comments

I’m in the middle of Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. It’s a sordid read, full of the worst violences that humans can inflict on each other, but it’s compelling because: a) the author, Mark Juergensmeyer, interviews terrorists, those who follow them, and the religious leaders who provide theological [...]

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Tags: Christianity · Islam · Judaism · Mormonism