Category Archives: christianity

Rant: This “America is a Christian Nation” thesis is a load of crap, and potentially more dangerous than Birthers or Truthers

How Chris­t­ian were the Founders? (nytimes, and they’re way more gen­er­ous than I’m going to be; h/t LGF) I don’t want to spend too much time on this topic — the argu­ments for the Chris­tian­ity of Amer­ica as a whole depend on a lot of dis­hon­esty and cherry-picking. I real­ize for those of you sym­pa­thetic …

February 16, 2010 – 7:09 pm | By ashok | Posted in christianity, politics | Comments (7)

Rant: Some Atheist Bloggers Need to Watch Their Tone

Pas­cal, Pensees (244): “Why, do you not say your­self that the sky and the birds prove God?” — “No.” - “Does your reli­gion not say so?” — “No. For though it is true in a sense for some souls whom God has enlight­ened in this way, yet it is untrue for the major­ity.” — There are quite a …

October 7, 2009 – 8:22 am | By ashok | Posted in blogging, christianity, personal | Comments (6)

Establishment: On “As sad as the scent of smoked fish,” by Ario Farin

[“Jacob’s chil­dren”] (my title) Ario Farin As sad as the scent of smoked fish is up in the attic as lov­ing the chim­ney leans against a tight sky, an erratic lad­der seek­ing a gap in the stream of yel­low cloud. The wall holds up the sud­den drop of a branch, the flight of sweet cher­ries …

September 27, 2009 – 3:37 am | By ashok | Posted in christianity, poetry | Comments (5)

Holy Family: On Jane Kenyon’s “Mosaic of the Nativity: Serbia, Winter 1993″

Mosaic of the Nativ­ity: Ser­bia, Win­ter 1993 (from “The Writer’s Almanac”) Jane Kenyon On the domed ceil­ing God is think­ing: I made them my joy, and every­thing else I cre­ated I made to bless them. But see what they do! I know their hearts and argu­ments: “We’re descended from Cain. Evil is noth­ing new, so …

August 16, 2009 – 10:48 am | By ashok | Posted in christianity, poetry | Tagged | Comments (2)

On Hopkins’ “The Caged Skylark”

The Caged Sky­lark Ger­ard Man­ley Hop­kins (from bartleby.com) AS a dare-gale sky­lark scanted in a dull cage Man’s mount­ing spirit in his bone-house, mean house, dwells— That bird beyond the remem­ber­ing his free fells; This in drudgery, day-labouring-out life’s age. Though aloft on turf or perch or poor low stage, Both sing sometímes the sweet­est, …

April 12, 2009 – 12:53 am | By ashok | Posted in christianity, poetry | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)