In my last post on the subject I introduced Advaita Vedanta (Hindu) ontology and the three categories of reality: necessary existence (sat), impossible existence (asat), and world-appearance (mithya). So where does God fit into this ontology? The Western concept of God is not something that can be projected onto the Vedanta system. For now, forget … Vedanta Philosophy – Part 2

There’s a little kerfuffle in the blogosphere recently about Dawkins. No, not the Haggard video. As the LifeSite story reports, and several fringe abortion blogs have picked up and elaborated, Dawkins “advocates eugenics” and “says Nazi regime’s genocidal project ‘may not be bad’”. The article goes on to quote other geneticists in a negative fashion … Dawkins Supports Genocide?

Over time I’d like to say a few things about important points in Vedanta (Hindu) philosophy. This is a neglected area not just among Western philosophers of religion but also among nonbelievers who are naturally curious and interested in what other religions have to say. And hopefully it will be something a little different and … Vedanta Philosophy

In the wake of yesterday’s election, conservative Andrew Sullivan reprints a letter from a far-right conservative reader whose views have evolved [link]. Here’s the last paragraph: I believe in smaller government. I believe in efficient government. I believe in honest government. I believe in reason informed by faith. I believe in politics, informed by faith, … Return to Enlightenment Ideals?

First TBN President Paul Crouch and now New Life Church’s Ted Haggard? What is it with evangelical pastors both being gay and denouncing gays and lesbians? Was Sigmund Freud right after all? Update: Haggard steps down.

Jerry Sutton, pastor of Two Rivers Baptist Church said at a political rally in Nashville yesterday: “‘We have every intention of out-praying, out-thinking, out-working, out-serving and out-loving our opponents,’ Sutton said. ‘And we will by the grace of God make this a Christian nation.’” [link] Dominionism is alive and well…

The news about Mark Foley is over a week old now. And unless you’ve been up on Mars wandering around with the rover, you know that Foley was the Congressman from Florida who recently resigned after news broke that he had been sexually harrassing 16-year old boys. It’s a fact of life that sexual predators … James Dobson Shrugs It Off

Teenagers abandoning evangelical churches in droves? So say many church leaders according to the New York Times. For those outside the subscription wall, here’s the money quote: “I’m looking at the data,” said Ron Luce, who organized the meetings and founded Teen Mania, a 20-year-old youth ministry, “and we’ve become post-Christian America, like post-Christian Europe. … Teen Spirit

The New York Times is reporting that the evolutionary biology major has been dropped from the U.S. Department of Education’s list of eligible majors for educational grants. So if you’re a low-income student applying for a Pell or other federal grant and you want to study evolutionary biology, the feds won’t pay for it. When … Evolutionary Biology Major Dropped From DOE Approved List

Jesus famously said: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24) In the previous post with the video about selling everything a reader interpreted this to mean that the “rich man can enter heaven (with … The Needle’s Eye