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Left Behind

I read the book Left Behind a few months ago, and was quite taken by it. I’m intrigued by how other people view their own faiths, and theological texts are often not the best way to do so; I much prefer things like literature or autobiography, things that give me a greater sense of the lived tradition. I was doing some research on the No Child Left Behind Act, and something occurred to me. According the Left Behind series children will experience the Rapture for two reasons, they have not consciously sinned and they are ignorant of the world. The…

Conferences, Conferences

As you all know, next weekend is the Progressive Faith Blog Con. I’ll be there, and I hope to you meet you there as well. This weekend, I’m in Copenhagen for a conference called Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (although they don’t have a website today). The press release is here. No outlets for laptops, so no live blogging, but I’ll try to put summary of the sessions and my thoughts on them as I can. Technorati Tags: MLT, progfaithblogcon

Transformations

Is everything Islamic correct? Do you always believe that the Mullahs, Sheikhs and Imams have a “pure” agenda when they teach the various interpretations of Islam. This article from the NYT’s Magazine provides a view into the transformation of Salafi Imam –> from a conservative, fire-bombing, radical Islamist to a liberal thinker. There is still hope. Here is a small passage: For all the thousands of children who have memorized the holy book at Koranic schools, it can make for a wonderful companion to carry through life. But it’s also a dangerous tool. The emotional power of those divine lyrics,…