religion – Gus diZerega

Donald Trump, the Antchrist, and Power

Posted on September 12, 2024September 12, 2024 by Gus

I obviously do not believe Biblical prophecies have a divine source in any sense. At the same time, I am fascinated by the power coherent images and attitudes have to influence people’s perceptions and experiences, especially when shared by many … Read more

The Roots of Religious Nihilism

Posted on June 11, 2020June 11, 2020 by Gus

Medieval theologians wondered about the nature of Divinity as much as anyone. Arguing in opposition to St. Thomas Aquinas’s views that God did what was good because God was good, and so acted reasonably, the scholastic Duns Scotus claimed that … Read more

The Hypnosis of Texts

Posted on June 11, 2020June 11, 2020 by Gus

The medium we use for communication influences the nature of what we communicate. Because we communicate through these mediums, we are often unaware of how they shape what it is we communicate.

David Abram’s Spell of the Sensuous argued that … Read more

Strange Bedfellows: The Christian Right, Radical Islam, and the Hindu Right

Posted on June 1, 2020June 1, 2020 by Gus

Radical Islam easily finds common ground with the religious right on women’s issues. This point ultimately led Dinesh D’Souza to blame American cultural freedoms for the Islamic radicals’ legitimate dislike of us! D’Souza is an important conservative writer, biographer of … Read more

Looking Deeper: Kavanaugh, Women, the Culture War, and Us.

Posted on October 17, 2018October 17, 2018 by Gus

The controversy over appointing a ruthless political operative, perjurer, and probable sexual predator to the Supreme Court has led many people to put the blame on old White males and their culture of privilege. While there is some truth to … Read more

Why arguments against abortion fail

Posted on May 7, 2018March 17, 2022 by Gus

I am struck with how the debate over whether or not abortion is morally acceptable has become a battle of slogans rather than of reason. I think the major culprits are on the so-called ‘pro life’ side, but at this … Read more

Language, Power, Care and Childhood

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Gus

Changes in what words are dropped from the Oxford Junior Dictionary point to troubling shifts in the words that dominate not just adult life, but also that of children I discuss this worrisome trend in The Language of Power and … Read more

Before the Farm – and After

Posted on May 9, 2013May 9, 2020 by Gus

Based on reasonable extrapolations from both the historical evidence and surviving hunting and gathering societies, our earliest forbearers generally lived in relatively small usually mobile groups. This mobility was not universal. Permanent communities could exist where fish, game, and edible … Read more

Dixie: America’s First Counter Culture

Posted on May 8, 2013November 28, 2020 by Gus

Southern Baptists are the religious right’s most powerful component. Yet at one time Baptists were considered one of the most progressive Protestant denominations. Early in our history, when the principles of our Declaration still lived in the hearts of many, … Read more

Imposing Masculine Monotheism

Posted on May 8, 2013May 8, 2020 by Gus

Transcendental masculine monotheism did not come easily to the people whose descendents now practice exclusively monotheistic faiths. Describing the Divine in feminine terms has occurred in virtually every culture on every continent and in every civilization. Everywhere in the world … Read more