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You’re so right. This is perhaps the ultimate axis of all spiritual struggle. But I think the dilemma was put most nakedly by Nagarjuna & the Madhyamikas. And what you’ve said here is right in line with that tradition. In ultimate terms, the conventional IS the absolute. Or you might say that to...

Ah, Catholic circles. Not another Popish plot, I hope! But that’s the glory of the Catholic tradition, isn’t it, that so much intellectual activity goes on even within orthodoxy? I stumbled across a book some time back that even brings Derrida-type deconstruction into the service of theology...

There’s quite a decent discussion of pantheism at the online Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pantheism/). One of its most important points is that the distinction between pantheism and theism shouldn’t be seen in terms of immanence/transcendence but simply...

You know it was a mystery to me what kind of music I liked until quite recently because I pretty much like it all. But I realized there’s a difference between stuff I can listen to and stuff that engages me emotionally. And it turns out that the engaging stuff for me could all be put under the...

Hi y'all. Lots of interesting thoughts here. I’d like to pick up on what SeattleGal is saying here. Rather than head/heart I see this as the contrast between localized/interdependent, or perhaps dualist/non-dualist. My feeling is on the side of those who look at this problem in a non-dualist...

Re: The Greatest Principle of Comparative Studies of Religions/Interfaith Dialogue Is this approach really all that open? Certainly, it's better than slamming other traditions or clinging to orthodoxy. And it may be useful way for some traditions to compare notes. On the other hand, framing...

Hello. Below I've listed five important modern Muslim thinkers/reformers that aren't that well known outside Muslim or academic circles. It would be interesting & informative to see a discussion of these figures regarding who they were, how they relate/compare to one another, what impact they...

Exactly. Switching from a clay statue to a book doesn't gurantee escape from idolatry. It's all in the use. The statue could point to God, and a book could be reduced to a shell. Sicerely, Devadatta

Oops! For all you New Testament scholars out there I've just noticed I cut off the first word of the above line in Greek, so here it is again: en arch hn o logoV, kai o logoV hn proV ton qeon, kai qeoV hn o logoV. In [the] beginning was the Word, and the Word was with _ God and God was the...

Well, I was a little obscure there. I was trying not to leave the wrong impression – my specialty! Of course I agree with you. But a few words on the word: arch hn o logoV, kai o logoV hn proV ton qeon, kai qeoV hn o logoV. In [the] beginning was the Word, and the Word was with _ God and...

That's the problem with all fundamentalist/literalist/inerrantist idolaters of mere words. Once something's on the books, no matter how absurd, they're stuck with it. The word is the last & perhaps most grievous idolatry. (Only love, this side of idolatry.) Sincerely, Devadatta

Thanks Taijasi. I appreciate your heat. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one driven a little over the top by the increasing insanity out there, and about the general complacency in the face of mounting irrationalities - especially the ancient irrationalities we can no longer afford. All...

Hi Dondi. The answers are further back in the thread, so perhaps that’s why no one has responded to you so far. But I’ll give you a resume, and Thipps I hope will correct me if I mislead you in anything I say below. There were two Muslim views expressed on the issue. The majority view...

Occidentalism is the name of a book or rather extended essay or pamphlet that identifies pathological hatred of the West as a worldwide phenomenon with many forms and a long history. It makes connections over a wide & diverse field, as cultural studies/history of ideas sorts of texts will do...

Below are some alternative voices within Islam that perhaps don't get enough publicity. Of course you can find much more on the Web, but here are the three sites represented here: http://www.pbm.org.uk/, http://www.feminismeislamic.org/eng/, http://pmuna.org/ Progressive British Muslims -...

Nice to speak with you again, Light. I looked up the reference you gave me (3:60-61). The context is a dispute with Christians over the nature of Jesus. The idea was for the families from both sides to pray together to God on the issue and for the "liars", i.e., the side with the wrong view of...

Hi Aidyl. Thanks for the correction. But in fact I don't know this Ali Sina. Who is he? On this blasphemy issue, please don't hold this to your heart. As I tried to explain, this only relates to my particular beliefs, peculiar to me and no one else. Islam has its own definitions of blasphemy...

Hi again. Well, you are aware as well as I that Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and others of various sects & practices, all purport to be means of reaching salvation. On the basis of their doctrines, and some of the fine people each of these traditions has produced, I take them at their...

Hi Light. Thanks light for your appreciation, and for your thoughtful response. You’re right that the moral/ethical standards of “Western Shariah”, if we allow there is such a thing, is far more open-ended than Islamic Shariah. But again I think the moral universe of the West may be more...

Point taken. The original intent was to argue on the basis of Qur'an and hadith, that is, a debate within the bounds of Islam. Unfortunately, my radically different take on things did overspill those confines just a bit. On the other hand, I know that the debates within Islam are far more...