Mystical belief Kabbalah. Gnosticism. Sufism. These are all disciplines which are known as the 'mystical' sects of their religions. What does it mean for a set of beliefs to be 'mystical'? In one sense, these beliefs are religious in the typical way: they posit the existence of God, they make a distinction between the sacred… Continue reading Sufism: the God of the mystics
When it comes to gender and presidential candidates, my position is simple: genitalia should be a minor factor at best. In an ideal world, people would create the necessary distinction between gender and competency, judging a man and a woman’s merits equally. But for many Americans, part of a woman candidate’s appeal is precisely her genitalia. They… Continue reading The unique challenge of being a woman president
The Phaedo is the most famous curtain call in all of philosophy. It documents the final days of Socrates' life, spent in rigorous dialogues with his friends and fellow thinkers. It is a testament to his own conviction that the contemplative life, dedicated to the pursuit of truth, is the highest good—even in the face… Continue reading The soul in Plato’s Phaedo and in the Quran
What does it mean to be privileged? This question has dominated American politics. Democrats call for higher taxes on the basis that the rich should pay their fair share — a measure they hope will even out the gap between the "haves and the have-nots". And for young liberals particularly, rallying against privilege in all… Continue reading Privilege, power, and Steven Crowder’s ‘Change my mind’ segment
The distinction between the human and the divine is fundamental to religion. In the Abrahamic tradition, man is fashioned from clay and infused with the breath of divine spirit. In ancient Chinese mythology, heaven and earth once intermixed: it took the work of the mother-goddess Nüwa to repair the cosmos and provide a stable inhabitance… Continue reading God as particular form
After Steve King's horribly-phrased remarks on white supremacy, an overwhelming majority of conservatives have come out against him. He was promptly removed from his assignments, and the House of Representatives even passed a resolution disavowing his comments. But this incident has raised an important question: how complicit are fundamental conservative talking points in the phenomenon… Continue reading The rise of soft-supremacy on the political right
The source: Futuhat al-Makkiyah Sufi scholar and mystic Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi's life can be divided into two eras; the first spent in his birthplace Andalusia, and the second spent traveling around the East. His major work Futuhat al-Makkiyah, or the Meccan revelations, is a culmination of thought influenced by his Eastern tour, where he performed the Islamic pilgrimage… Continue reading Ibn Arabi on free will
In a now-infamous moment on The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert coined the term 'truthiness' to describe what he perceived as gut-level appeals to intuitions on the political right, especially with regards to President Bush's rhetoric surrounding the Iraq invasion. More than a decade later, it's the left that has entrenched itself thoroughly in the realm of truthiness.… Continue reading The rise of truthiness on the political left
Last week, we analyzed surah al-Qadr and came to some conclusions about the nature of revelation and predestination. We asked the question: how could it be that in the Islamic tradition, two separate events comprise the 'initial revelation' of the Quran? Our answer was that the commands of the Quran, in the sense of the… Continue reading The Preserved Tablet
Ben Shapiro has become a hugely influential figure in the conservative movement. His online publication The Daily Wire has grown into a considerable outlet after only a few years of his leadership, and his podcast The Ben Shapiro Show offers decisive commentary on the latest political topics to a large and primarily young audience. Shapiro's vocal remarks on social issues… Continue reading What Ben Shapiro gets wrong about gender pronouns
