I ran across an interesting interview with Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute in the US version of “The Office”) in which he discusses Hollywood, his family and his Baha’i faith. (I saw this on The Dude Abides)
Here is Rainn’s answer to what it was like to grow up in the Baha’i faith.
When you grow up with a spiritual foundation that asks you to be conscious of the fact that all races are created equal, that men and women are equal and that all religions worship the same (God), it helps you see the world as one family and not get lost in the traps of political, social, and economic belief systems that can lead you astray. I always think of myself as a world citizen. It’s a powerful thing.
Rainn left the faith in his twenties but then a personal spiritual investigation led him back to it. You can read the whole interview here.
Posted in General Conversation | 5 Comments »Karen, a regular commenter and occasional guest poster here, has posted her deconversion story over on our ebay atheist blog.
Check out how Karen went all the way from Bible-believing Christian to atheist.
Posted in General Conversation | Comments OffAbout a week ago I used my credit card to pay for the orthodontist, then about half an hour later it was denied at the grocery store.
I know from experience that our credit card company locks the account the moment they suspect fraud. This is good since our card number has been stolen a couple of times.
I knew from past experience they would have called me right after it happened and sure enough I had a voice-mail message by the time I got home.
So they blocked it because my husband used it in Mexico City, once, to buy a couple of T-shirts for the children while he was briefly there on business.
What fascinates me is, they’ve never blocked it on his brief, frequent business trips to other parts of the US, or Europe or Japan. Only Mexico City. Somehow there seems to be a presupposition in there about where legitimate card users and illegitimate users would be. Am I reading too much into this?
Posted in General Conversation | 5 Comments »My husband looked through the new issue of Scientific American and helpfully pointed out it included an article about the benefits of blogging. Quoting from the article
Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.
That paragraph applies to any expressive writing, but the article ends with an application specifically using blogs
Posted in General Conversation | 2 Comments »Some hospitals have started hosting patient-authored blogs on their Web sites as clinicians begin to recognize the therapeutic value. Unlike a bedside journal, blogging offers the added benefit of receptive readers in similar situations, Morgan explains: “Individuals are connecting to one another and witnessing each other’s expressions—the basis for forming a community.”
Today is Memorial Day in the US. Yesterday the Chicago Tribune included War, Round by Round, a powerful article written by Army Capt. Daniel Possley about his experiences in hospitals last year (part of his Army training). (I saw this on The Dude Abides)
Posted in General Conversation | 5 Comments »Bedside tables look like those in a dorm room—stacked with Gatorade bottles, cookie wrappers, Doritos bags, protein drinks and Skittles. Crammed amid the detritus are Purple Heart medals, usually still in their cases.
Some soldiers and Marines have pictures of their wives and children. Some have so many cards and balloons that you would think it was a high school graduation party.
When I asked these patients what happened, many responded with short sentences.
“I got shot.”
Or simply, “IED” (improvised explosive device).
Then, silence as tears welled up. Some patients just stared into the distance, and I didn’t know if they were trying to find the words or just couldn’t answer. I didn’t know what to say.
There is a lot I would have to know before I could begin to understand what they saw.
These young men and women now know in a powerful way that their world stretches far beyond their neighborhood. No one will ever have to tell them what Baghdad or Mosul or Fallujah is like because they have a permanent copy of it in their minds.
These mistakes by interviewees were listed on a survey taken by careerbuilder.com last year. (I read them here.)
Yesterday I went to a lunch organized by my friend John Armstrong as part of his ACT 3 ministry.
The speaker was Jason Byassee and his topic was “The Christian and Film: Does God delight us or entertain us?” Jason has been an editor for Christian Century but is wrapping that up to take up a professorship at Duke University in the fall.
Until recently I would have said that listening to a written talk being read was an uninspiring experience. But listening to Jason Byassee (and Ken Trainor) have convinced me otherwise. Jason’s talk was eloquent with an undercurrent of humor – two things I always enjoy.
Read the rest of this news item »
Do you remember Josh and Karlene’s request for atheist conversation partners that I posted a few months ago?
Elizabeth is a classmate of Josh and Karlene. She teamed up with Amy, one of the respondents to Josh and Karlene’s request, to do the same project Josh and Karlene were doing. I just interviewed Amy and Elizabeth over on our ebay atheist blog about how the project went. Go check it out!
Posted in General Conversation | Comments Off