The Antidote by Oliver Burkeman – review
Do you see a glass that is half-full, half-empty, or that simply contains enough liquid to throw over the idiot asking you to make the choice?
ReadAuthor: Julian Baggini
It’s not the Dalai Lama’s job to break the silence
Looking for good, wise political leadership from the Dalai Lama, or any other religious leader, is like looking for the next Jimi Hendrix on Britain’s Got Talent: you might just succeed, but you’d be a fool to expect it.
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TEN BOOKS THAT CHANGED THE WAY I THINK
ReadWould a message from God pass these Catholic rules on revelation?
Herein contains what we might call the paradox of revelation. As its meaning makes clear, you can’t have a “revelation” that tells everyone what they already know. However, having established a religion on those revelations, the teachings revealed through them become non-negotiable, and the ecclesiastical authorities become the arbiters of their interpretation. And so that means no further revelation is admissible if it contradicts what is already believed. Revelation of radical new truths, if accepted as real, thus makes future revelation of radical new truths impossible. To put it another way, what was absolutely valid for the establishing of a religion becomes by necessity invalid once it already exists.
ReadAre we addicted to addiction?
Addiction is a vague term and professionals usually prefer to talk about dependence. Still, whatever word you use, somewhere between champagne truffles and crack cocaine a line is crossed. But where?. Whether we have free will or not, there is an important difference between choosing to have a coffee and being consumed by the need to shoot heroin.
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