News items from the past week include problems understanding the difference between the concepts of 'public' and 'private,' some of the real goals of the anti-gay marriage crowd, how evolutionary adaptation can interfere with human happiness, how the evolution of the human mind might have occurred in order to signal a person's genetic fitness to prospective mates, and more.

Religious Affiliation and Nazi Party Support
An important subject of research about Nazi Germany is the relationship between people's religion and what they did to support the Nazis: voting for them, joining the party, and/or helping them achieve their goals. It's commonly thought that Nazi support came primarily from Protestants, but the whole truth is a bit more complex.

The Bible as Bush's Guidebook
Should an American president govern according to the secular standards and laws which define the office, or according to person religious beliefs and traditions? One would imagine that the former is correct, but at least in the case of President George W. Bush, the latter takes precedence. It's as if he's a minister and the American public is his own personal congregation.

Biblical Inerrancy as a Defense Against Social Change
Bibliolatry is a term used for the apparent worship of the Bible - the transformation of the Bible into an object of idolatrous worship. Many conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists seem to do it, but why? Generally speaking, they believe that a failure to properly venerate and follow the Bible is the source of all our social ills. They believe this today and they believed it 100 years ago.

Public and Private Religion
Misrepresenting the Difference

Evolution of the Human Mind
Sign of Genetic Fitness

Unpacking the Anti-Gay Marriage Agenda
What do they really want?

Homosexuality in Public and Private
Does it matter?

Is Racial Discrimination Always Wrong?
Affirmative Action vs. Terrorism

Christian Right and Civil Rights
Not much in common...

Evolutionary Adaptation vs. Human Happiness
One need not lead to the other

 

Recent Books:

1) Daoism: A Short Introduction
Aspects of Daoism (Taoism) have become increasingly popular in America over the past few decades. Who hasn't heard about the growth of things like tai chi and acupuncture - not to mention the money that some are making off of them? These bits and pieces are, however, divorced from the religious tradition in which they first developed, a religious tradition foreign and unfamiliar to most Americans.

2) Casualty of War: The Bush Administration's Assault on a Free Press
Press censorship is a standard feature of warfare - governments naturally don't want the enemy to obtain too much information, but they do want to prop up morale at home. Should the same be true of the "war on terrorism," which isn't a declared war at all? Under President Bush, the American government has become very ambivalent towards press freedom and journalistic independence.

3) God and the World: A Conversation With Peter Seewald
While still a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger gave three book-length interviews in which he was asked wide ranging questions about church history, his own life, politics, and Christian theology. He didn't know the questions in advance and at most only made minor adjustments to his answers after reading them in written form. These books therefore provide insight into the past thinking of Pope Benedict XVI which carefully prepared and edited books cannot.