KtBlog
The Metaphysics of Anxiety
An insightful note came in today from one Michael Bush, referring to the first phrase of our Manifesto, “Killing the Buddha is a religion magazine for people made anxious by churches.” He writes: To paraphrase Mrs. Roosevelt, no one can make you anxious without your permission. You might consider changing your tag line: A religion…
You Said the N-word!
We knew that publishing Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou’s “Gays Are the New Niggers” would make some waves. It came to us, in fact, because others (perhaps rightly) were reluctant to run it with that title. But when we saw the essay’s call to the memory of Bayard Rustin, the civil rights movement’s master of nonviolence…
Pony Up, KtB!
Powell Holloway wrote to us late last night with some thoughts about my post on anti-cult press releases at the Dallas Morning News religion blog. Best to read that first before proceeding. I’ll bet you have “a soft spot” for the now defunct Wittenburg Door… But wait! Before we have the DMN “pony-up”, let’s talk…
Another “Dreadful Witchhunt”
In response to Robert Jensen’s “The Inquisition,” we just heard from Sherri Weinberg: Hello. As you can see my name is Sherri. I am an ordained minister with the Presbyterian Church in Aotearoa New Zealand. I have been forced into retirement at the age of 62 because my views did not line up with the…
Everyone’s a Bad Meditator, It Seems
Despite all our efforts to overcome our name, we can’t seem to help being a really good Buddhist magazine. The letters of appreciation for Ted Weinstein’s “Ways I Have Been a Bad Meditator” keep coming in. Carolyn Haun writes: Thank you Mr Weinstein,you have my eternal regard and affection. chaun Glenn writes: Thanks for this;…
the meaning of life, on this earth, for all of us
“larry hall – ganaraska think tank” (apparently a regular commenter on NYTimes blogs) wrote to us with an important revelation. The subject line was “deadline theology”—one of our rotating taglines on KtB. I guess that sparked something in him. Again another attempt to provide a map to salvation when we have already achieved it. It…
Wonderful
From: elizabeth murray Date: Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 2:10 PM Subject: why i am a bad meditator [sic] wonderful.
The (One, True) Way to Go
I stand corrected. Quince Mountain (whose racy memoir “Cowboy for Christ” appears in our forthcoming book Believer, Beware) wrote in with a note about my Memorial Day post from yesterday, in which I had made the mistake of calling biking and hitchiking the eminent forms of travel in the United States. I appreciate the Memorial…
Fairies or Princesses?
We recently received a delightful short essay from James Royce McGuire, writer of fiction and plays, called “The Fairy Land.” Let’s wander through it together! It’s extremely easy to lose our way spiritually. Tennessee Williams, in his play Suddenly Last Summer, compares the delicacy of a poet to that of a spider web. In a…
A Sigh of Relief
We just got a powerful letter from “Gabe.” Messages like this make all our Buddha killing feel worthwhile: I have just read the article, “[Shattered Faith in Two Parts],” and breathed a sigh of relief that this horrible story has made it to the news. I am so very sorry that this happened to those…
How Do We Know We’re Not in a Cult?
For those of you deathly concerned about this question, we just got a letter from “FutureChurch” (a.k.a. Thomas Hohstadt) that may help: Dear friends, How do we know we haven’t reduced or simplified faith to the point of distorting it? Let’s face it, most of us actually assume we can fit God into our tiny…
The Illustration Saga
My recent article for the Boston Globe included this unassuming concoction by way of illustration: Sure, it’s nice, but I would have thought no more of it but for a message from my dear friend Thinker Bill Hackett, Santa Barbaraño extraordinaire. He began: I was impressed with the Globe people who did that little illustration.…
A Poet’s Suggestions for the Pope
Quentin Kirk—who has been a Cold War spy and a schoolteacher but now literally wears a “poet” hat—sent us the following dispatch today. From Quentin Kirk, a poet living in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico A Poet’s Suggestions for the Pope He has not actually called for suggetions…but I want to be ready:…
Beyond Belief
We received a letter first thing this morning regarding Nathan‘s new article in the Boston Globe. To Nathan Schneider: Your commentary, “Beyond Belief” in today’s Boston Sunday Globe caught my attention. I read it with interest. Seminary was a late-in-life experience for me, my responding to a profound and undeniable spiritual “Call”. Ordained as a…
Happy JewBu Day
Today’s a big day. At sunset, Passover begins (stay tuned for a special piece publishing at that very moment!). And in Japan, it’s the Buddha’s birthday. What a wonderful coincidence (or dilemma?) for all the JewBus out there! I also know at least two people with birthdays today, and they’re both at least part Jewish…
Praise for Plante
A shout out for David Plante’s Holy Mother of God from Hartford Courant blogger, Susan Campbell. “I don’t know,” she writes. “I just loved this, on the web site Killing the Buddha.” Such is the mystery of words, the universe and God. We just don’t know.
the ineffable
H.S. Haid sent us a nice letter that’s worth sharing (note, however, that we’re not quite “brothers”—3/4 of the KtBniks are women these days!): Bless you my brothers, for I have just read your creed, and it pretty well jibes with mine. I am the son of a non-observant Jew and a lapsed Protestant. Studyting…
Catholic Condoms and Freeze Dried Glaciers
We just got a letter from Devi suggesting that we pass this on to you all: Taking a hint from the philosophy that made Seinfeld such an immense hit (a show about nothing), there’s a new store on the internet that’s selling nothing, but in a unique, clever, and colorful way. As the header on…
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