Category Archives: Religion

Faith, Consolation, Reality

Posted on Saturday 4 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

A couple weeks ago I noted, without any kind of deep analysis, a David Brooks essay about his experience of faith, and how it involved random emotional feelings of transcendence and nothing about perceiving the actual nature of reality. OnlySky, … Continue reading →

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Muddling Through Somehow

Posted on Tuesday 24 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Since today is Christmas Eve, yesterday must have been Christmas Adam, right? (First I’ve heard about this.) NY Times, 22 Dec 2024: Behold! ‘Christmas Adam’ Is Born., subtitled “First there was Christmas Eve … and then a new celebration was … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Religion, Social Progress | Comments Off on Muddling Through Somehow

The Certitude of the Religious

Posted on Monday 23 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

David French asks and tries to explain why Christians are so cruel; David Brooks writes about his experience of faith; And Kurt Gray about misunderstanding human nature. – – – Of course I’m sure they would deny this. Passing the … Continue reading →

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Children, Adults Who Think Like Children, and Adults Who Don’t

Posted on Saturday 21 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump doesn’t need to keep his promises because he’ll just claim that he has, and blame his enemies when it’s obvious he has not; How the threat of government shutdown reveals the Republicans as the party of “no”, recalling William … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Children, Adults Who Think Like Children, and Adults Who Don’t

So Are We to Live in an Authoritarian Oligarchy?

Posted on Friday 20 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

The un-elected Elon Musk seems to be running the country this week; How the Drone Panic reveals a need to believe, in *something*. So not only is our incipient administration authoritarian, it’s authoritarian and being run by an oligarch! NY … Continue reading →

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Institutions, Tribes, and Faith

Posted on Monday 9 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman’s last NYT column, in part about what has changed in the past 25 years, including the collapse of trust in the elites; Helen Lewis echoes Fareed Zakaria yesterday: the mainstream media is part of the “elite” system that … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Epistemology, Religion, Science, Social Progress | Comments Off on Institutions, Tribes, and Faith

People Would Rather Believe Than Know

Posted on Monday 2 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How conservatives distrust science because it does not accommodate “moral and religious values”, thus missing the point of science; Mark Lilla on the allure of ignorance; Dinesh D’Souza admits 2000 Mules was flawed; Heather Cox Richardson on how government institutions … Continue reading →

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Perspectives on the World

Posted on Saturday 30 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How Republicans are suddenly optimistic about the economy; David Brooks on how Trumpism reflects shifts in America’s basic morality; How Americans believe things about the rival party, especially Democrats, that simply aren’t true; Robert Reich’s personal sources of truth; And … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Perspectives on the World

False Realities

Posted on Monday 25 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts, as we’ve long heard; Historian Heather Cox Richardson dismantles claims of Trump’s “mandate”; Short items about MTG and NPR; Fox News personalities becoming America’s scientists and doctors; … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Religion, Science | Comments Off on False Realities

Here’s a New One: Terrain Theory

Posted on Sunday 17 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Busy day today so just one item. We’ve had the flat-earthers, the chem-trailers, the vaccine deniers, and now there are those who deny the germ theory of disease. Boing Boing, Jennifer Sandlin, 10 Nov 2024: Germ theory denial is dangerous … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Lunacy, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Here’s a New One: Terrain Theory