Category Archives: Religion
Marriage Against the Mob
Don’t let the mob insert discrimination into the California state constitution! California is a republic! Not an anarchistic mobocracy! Let’s defend our constitution! I attended a No on Prop 8 “visibility” activity at San Jose’s Diridon Station this morning, and was very disappointed in the turnout: three people, including me, and I’m not even gay! [...]
Who’s Behind Prop 8 (other than the Mormons)
It’s no secret that Mormons are a tremendous force behind funding for the Yes on 8 Campaign. According to Mormons for Proposition 8, 46% of contributions to the campaign (about $10 million) have come from Mormons. But there are other major players. Of the ten principal contributors to the Prop 8 campaign, two are based [...]
Prop 8: Making Government into God
The upcoming election will give Californians an opportunity to declare that we are dedicated to the core American principle of non-intervention of government in personal and spiritual affairs. My fellow Californians, let us not place spiritual vows in the domain of the state. This is not China or Soviet Russia. Strike down Proposition 8.
Bagel Elitism
If there’s one thing I cannot stand, it’s an East Coast bagel snob.
Yet Another Persian Word For Self-Preservation
This is a continuation of our discussion on ketman. I just read a well-timed feature article on Iran in the August 2008 issue of National Geographic Magazine, which emphasizes yet another social practice used by Persians for self-preservation through self-concealment: tárof: Tárof is an Arabic word, writes author Marguerite del Giudice, that represents a Persian [...]
Bipartisan Theocracy
As if the federal government weren’t already big enough. As if the moral domain of the federal government weren’t already broad enough. Federal government? More like Central government. We now have both so-called-liberals and so-called-conservatives supporting the use of tax dollars to fund religious organizations. I suppose this means I can save a check. Rather [...]
Daena
Verses celebrating Daena, that celestial maiden of ancient Iran; symbol of faith and conscience. … This is largely plagiarized from the Vendidad (Fargard 19) and Hadhokht Nask, employing some degree of arbitrary license. ♦—♦—♦ At the end of the third night, when the dawn appears, it seems to the soul of the faithful one as [...]
Got God?
Earthquake in China. Don’t tell me there’s no God. Cyclone in Myanmar. Don’t tell me there’s no God. Child falls ill to mystery disease. Don’t tell me there’s no God. Young mother dies in labor. Don’t tell me there’s no God. Got God? I do. He’s a malignant son-of-a-bitch And He’s all mine.
Consuming Christmas
Full size (at Flickr) Originally uploaded by positano Santa has had to live with a bad rap for as long as I can remember. In spite of the best of intentions and centuries of selfless service, he has been made into a symbol of rampant consumerism. Nevertheless, those of us who know him know that [...]
I am God, and so are you.
Agnostic Religion Only God exists; He is in all things, and all things are in Him. Sufi pantheism, as defined in a footnote to the Seven Valleys of Baha’u’llah We have previously considered that Islam’s strength is that it forbids idolatry, that is, associating partners with God, and that Islam’s weakness is that its object [...]