Believers and Their Disbelief

Several recent Roman Catholics who were known for their devotion have left accounts of their troubled faith. I consider three of these: St. Therese of Lisieux, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Then I tell of the troubled atheism of Jean‐Paul Sartre. Finally, I use texts of Sartre and Teilhard to understand the unsettled nature of belief.     

柏拉图作为真诗人

柏拉图主要从两个方面批判通常所谓的"诗"和"诗人":就主观方面而言,诗人缺乏对于真实存在的知识;因此,就客观方面而言,诗人的作品在伦常、政治、教育等领域带来了恶劣的影响.柏拉图希望表明,以智慧、真善美为目标的哲学才是诗的典范,才是真正意义上的"诗".所以,"哲学家"和"诗人"这两个角色在柏拉图那里是一种完美的融合,而不是一种分裂.     

Intercession as Political Ministry: Re‐Interpreting the Priesthood of All Believers

This paper seeks to develop a distinctly civic understanding of ‘the priesthood of all believers’ by highlighting its intercessory character. First, in conversation with Christof Gestrich and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I will draw out the vicarious and representative dimensions of a priestly ministry that is rooted in Christ's atoning intercession. I will then show how this understanding of the general priesthood opens up interesting opportunities for dialogue with Danielle Allen's account of ‘sacrifice’ as a core democratic practice. Not only will her proposal help me refine my account of Christian priestly existence, but the latter will also amplify some Christological resonances in Allen's proposal.     

伪科学信徒的心理状态分析

伪科学现象的泛滥给社会造成极大危害。而各种伪科学的兴起均有众多信陡做为基础。是什么心理状态使许多人陷入其中,从俯仰危机、文化素质低下、精神病态心理、获益心理、利欲驱动、显示与控制欲等诸方面对伪科学信陡进行心理分析,以利于其迷知返,铲除伪科学现象,净化社会环境。     

Diverse Cognitive Profiles of Religious Believers and Nonbelievers

The factors that make people religious or atheistic are currently much debated, and empirical evidence is limited. Further, the possibility that both religious believers and nonbelievers comprise diverse subtypes with different characteristics has seldom been considered. In this study, characteristics of religious believers (N = 984) and nonbelievers (N = 1,000) were analyzed with latent class analyses. These analyses identified five religious subgroups and five nonbeliever subgroups that differed in analytical thinking, empathizing, mechanistic cognition (i.e., systemizing), and autistic and schizotypal traits. The results highlight the strengths and limitations of current theoretical arguments about religious beliefs.     

侵华战争中的日本佛教徒

自明治以来,日本佛教中不少宗派相继沦为军国主义的帮凶。为了蒙骗佛教徒去充当侵略战争的炮灰,便挖空心思阉割佛教经典,炮制侵略有理、杀戮无罪的歪理。其中净土真宗和日莲宗表现得尤为恶劣。日莲宗和尚田中智学(1861—1939,东京人)早在中日甲午战争时就组织佛教徒为日军念经祈祷。战后又倡议不尊佛祖而改尊天照大神,鼓吹“必须让日本去统一宇内,让日本最终地永远地成为宇宙人类灵魂之巨镇,世界万邦朝仪的大戒坛,王佛冥合的理想世界。”其狂热的征服世界的邪说,引起了日本右翼政客和少壮派军人的极大兴趣,即由山梨县身延山久远寺的和尚井上…     

Patients as Teaching Tools: Merely Informed or True Consent

Using patients as teaching tools raise many ethical issues like informed consent, privacy, confidentiality and beneficence. The current study highlights issues on respecting patient’s choice and acquiring informed consent with its spirit rather than as mere formality. The study was conducted in out-patient department of The Kidney Center Postgraduate Training Institute Karachi Pakistan in May 2008 to July 2008. All patients who had come for the first time to see the author were included in the study. The said study explored the willingness of patients to allow medical students to be present during history taking and physical examination by the consultant. There were 18 male and 03 female patients. Age ranging from 22 to 73 years with mean age of 53.5 ± 13.7 years. There were total of 21 patient–students encounters out of which two encounters were with male students only and two with female students only. So in 17 Patient–students encounters, students of both genders were present. All patients permitted history taking in the presence of medical students except one who had a history of extramarital sexual contact and signs and symptoms suggestive of sexually transmitted disease. Of the male patients 50% (9/18) did not allow intimate examination before medical students. Out of these nine patients who refused, four consented earlier but when enquired again about their true willingness, they expressed their preference not to have medical students in the room while undergoing digital rectal and external genital examinations. Physicians need to develop sensitivity to acquire informed consent in its true essence rather than just as a formality by exploring actual willingness of the patient. One should refrain from being judgmental on the basis of gender, looks, religion or norms.     

True Simplicity

ABSTRACT

The goal of this bibliography is to present a carefully selected bibliography of source material designed to introduce both scholars and casual researchers to all facets of the Shaker experience. Following the examination of a broad array of reference works, monographs, journal articles, and Websites which discuss the Shakers, a subset of high-quality works was selected to represent the history, culture, theology, and art of this important American religious movement. This bibliography can serve as a gateway into the Shaker universe for researchers while also assisting librarians interested in building a collection of Shaker-related materials. Popular and scholarly interest in the Shakers continues to grow even as the movement itself slowly disappears from the scene. This bibliography makes a unique contribution by guiding readers to the best sources on all aspects of Shakerism, not just their history and beliefs but also the architecture and handcrafts that have proven so inspirational to contemporary American art. The curious can start by exploring the reference works included here, while scholars can use the handpicked scholarly works as a foundation for further research.     

假做真来真亦假

偶翻<白居易集>,有五言诗<梦仙>一首,读来颇发人深省.白氏诗风浅易通俗,<梦仙>明白如话:     

The True Wilkomirski

The paper considers whether it matters that Binjamin Wilkomirski's Fragments is not, as he presented it, a genuine survivor account, but rather a fabrication or fiction. It matters in one way and it doesn't in another. It matters because the truth is important: both in general and with regard specifically to the Holocaust. However, that Fragments is a fiction also doesn't matter, for it can be read independently of its author's identity; can be read as being, indeed, fiction. Read thus, the book retains much of its power and quality as a narrative of what the memories of a child survivor might be. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.