Category Archives: Religion

The Progress of Christian Nationalism

Posted on Thursday 1 October 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Items about Trump campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime, how Project 2025 is succeeding better than Trump himself, how Hegseth is instilling his personal religion into the military, and how Disney World solved a basic infrastructure problem. (Items from 1 Oct, … Continue reading →

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Conservatives and Empathy

Posted on Wednesday 30 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Conservatives against empathy: excuses for selfishness; Another piece about boarding houses, once banned, perhaps now more appropriate than ever; Recalling a 50-year-old thesis about how human stupidity drags societies down; Quotes from Thomas L. Friedman and Paul Krugman about Donald … Continue reading →

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Dicey Claims

Posted on Saturday 26 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

No, Noah’s Ark has not been found, again; Evidence suggests Trump wanted the Kennedy Center to fall into ruin; Lenders around the world don’t trust the US; An example of how AI is making things worse, by claiming credit for … Continue reading →

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It’s Not Just MAGA

Posted on Monday 21 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

There’s right-wing rejection of modern values in Europe, too; The end of American exceptionalism, which has been going on for some time; Who does Trump want to shoot with snipers on his Triumphal Arch? A study about children exposed to … Continue reading →

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Which Core Education?

Posted on Thursday 17 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Conservatives want to install a particular kind of core education in universities; Now Trump threatens to tear down the Kennedy Center, if he can’t get his name on it; Brief items about praying for political success; Trump delusionally thinks the … Continue reading →

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How the Terrorists Won, in a Sense

Posted on Saturday 12 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Passing through airport security is an example of how the terrorists won, and maybe what led to MAGA and Trump; Jonathan V. Last on how terrorism sometimes works; (And how terrorists are motivated by religion); The reflecting pool contractor admits … Continue reading →

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Alain de Botton: RELIGION FOR ATHEISTS

Posted on Monday 7 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: A Non-believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion (Pantheon, March 2012, 320pp, including 8pp acknowledgements, picture credits, and index.) This is a book by the pop-philosopher (I don’t think that’s an unfair term) and writer best know for HOW … Continue reading →

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A Defense of Evangelicalism?

Posted on Sunday 6 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items about an evangelist defending her faith; Mahler’s 3rd. – – – Two pieces about an evangelist who is defending her ‘culture.’ Reading them now. What is she defending exactly? Anything about her actual religion? First, from the evangelist … Continue reading →

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C.S. Lewis: MERE CHRISTIANITY

Posted on Friday 4 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

(First published 1952. This edition: HarperOne, trade paperback, 2001, xx + 227pp) This is famous as one of the most popular ‘apologetics’ for Christianity. (Coincidentally, I did recently see a poll of the most popular books about Christianity of the … Continue reading →

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Christian Nationalism, and the Dissipation of Science Fiction Into Popular Culture

Posted on Saturday 29 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The arrogance of Christian Nationalism; How some of science fiction has become absorbed into even literary culture. – – – From a few days ago. NY Times, David French, 20 Aug 2026: JD Vance Has a Mind-Bending Vision for America … Continue reading →

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