Category Archives: Religion

Anchorites: The Search for Perfection

St. Benedict’s Rules (530 AD) were the first to be widely adopted by monasteries . These governed every aspect of a monk’s life. Intensely religious people, both men and women, wanted a purer religious experience without distractions. These people wanted … Continue reading

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Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

I’ll show you life, life in a single moment A moment of pain, of memory gone, night and day fading Embracing you, clinging, moulding your soul into the Passion. Mind and body focused, oozing happy expectation. Life in a single … Continue reading

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Religious fanaticism and the normality of ISIS (aka Daesh)

Religious fanaticism takes many forms sharing one thing: malevolence. War, theatrical brutality and a desire for religious conformity are part and parcel of religious fanaticism. ISIS is simply another example of the gruesome reality of intolerant certainty attempting to enforce … Continue reading

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British Military Interventions 2001-15

Beginning in 2001, the UK has been in continuous war and the current (2015) military commitment in Iraq and Syria is open-ended. The principal characteristics of the four major conflicts has been that they aren’t against countries. The 9/11 attacks … Continue reading

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Philosophy meets religion

Because there are many religions is it the case that there must be at least one god? (Chris)

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The British Government’s response to the Jewish refugee crisis 1933-9

British governments are not moral beacons when dealing with refugee crises. The current (2015) British government’s toxic position on Syria closely resembles the Jewish refugee crisis of 1933-9. Nazi efforts to make Germany ‘Jew free’ accelerated throughout those years. Despite … Continue reading

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Mathematics meets Religion

God can’t make 2 + 2 = 5 (Chris)

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Capital Punishment: British Style

              “And the executioner’s face is always well hidden.” (Bob Dylan A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall) (Chris)

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The Price of Virtue: Bailing out Slave-owners 1833

Slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1833. Key to abolition was the willingness of the British government to compensate slave-owners for their property. The government budgeted £20 million, supervised by the Slavery Compensation Commission. This huge amount of … Continue reading

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Three Investment Strategies

“Successful investing is anticipating the anticipation of others.” John Maynard Keynes (economist) “If you want to get rich start a religion. Ron Hubbard (Scientology Founder) “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” Nathan Rothschild (19th Century … Continue reading

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