What do you see as the pro's and con's of #documentaries? I'm often not a fan, but want to be. My issues with them, and mostly it comes from I love to learn and want docs to be a starting point, not the end:
Credentials of the experts can be spotty
No sources given
No way to ask follow-up questions
Too much theatrics / reenactment
Not as detailed as a book
Often don't cover the topics I want (social science, #religion, #history, etc)
@theotherotherone@histodons you’re right, you have to invest all your faith in the documentary editor. They have total control over the impression portrayed.
@peterbrown@histodons To be fair, the same can basically be said about a single book, too. But it just seems with books, especially scholarly or academic, we're more willing to put some time into researching the author, their biases, and criticisms of the book. With a documentary, people tend to just accept it without any verification.
Conversations with Robert Bellah and Christian Smith
More often than not it's a class in the social sciences that challenges the faith of students, not a class in biology. Does critical understanding of our religious traditions, institutions, and convictions undercut them? Or can a modern social scientific approach deepen faith's commitments, making us full participants in today's intellectual culture?
Now that's exactly what I have always believed... My moral code in a nutshell, simple and to the point,with religion having nothing to do with it:
"What have I always believed?
That on the whole, and by and large, if a man lived properly, not according to what any priests said, but according to what seemed decent and honest inside, then it would, at the end, more or less, turn out all right." #SmallGods by #terrypratchett#discworld#discworldquotes@bookstodon#reading#religion#morality
I find myself not understanding the concept of atheism. Who wants to explain it to me in a coherent way for a beginner? With a metaphysical substantiation please, if that is at all possible.
@ber@cbontenbal@dingodog19@philosophy There’s an apophatic tradition in the Orthodox tradition (Christian, not Jewish), though I’ve pushed the definition a bit. Also related, the distinction between weak and strong agnosticism.
I feel privileged to be invited back on ABC #Radio National/ #Religion & #Ethics to celebrate 💯 year anniversary of Khalil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’ — a #book I encountered as a young teenager & which shaped the person/ #writer I am, today.
(My section begins at 18 minute mark).
Big Thanks, to sensitive host Meredith Lake of Soul Search for this gift 🙏🏼✨
Our latest published issue is a special issue on social histories of #religion across the world. Although it is in French, two articles are already available in English:
Penitential #truth or judicial truth? Examining through manuals the sentencing practices of the #SpanishInquisition, Jean-Pierre Dedieu and Gunnar W. Knutsen explore the inner workings of the institution, and uncover the tension between repression and salvation at its heart, opening new questions about the history of #justice in early-modern Europe.
A new book on #US#religion, 'The Great Dechurching', has a survey of “dechurched #evangelicals”, of whom 68% said their #parents played a role in their decision to stop attending #church. The top 5 issues:
I have to wonder how congregants drifted that way. If they came to the idea from what their pastors said, it’s quite the indictment of the latter. If it’s from social media, it’s an indictment of the community (some might think this sentiment is harsh, but it’s reality), but the megaphone of contempt is well funded. They started with greed is good and then made vilification (false witness) a business model. We’re all living in that world.
@GhostOnTheHalfShell@theologidons@theology as has been pointed out, these parents are often people are in church an hour per week, but watching Fox News and scrolling Facebook for hours more. Many decent pastors have, understandably, given up the struggle
"For so long my practice of faith was marked by creating in groups and out groups. It started with “Believers” and “Non-believers”. Within the “Believers” there were the “Committed” and “Nominal”. Within the “Committed there were the “Faithful, Available, and Teachable” and their counterparts.
I certainly was not practicing religion. My practice of faith simply functioned to divide and separate.”
@danielmrose@religion 100% I wrote it. I didn't write it because of my disappointments with monotheism, but more in reaction to the groundswell of hurt I see every day from people who have been hurt, usually by American Christianity.
When you think of religion what comes into your mind?
For many of us it's probably something like, “man's pursuit of the divine,” or “a system of beliefs,” or “the crutch of humanity,” or “the worst thing that's ever happened to humanity.” Whatever our understanding or definition it's typically tinged with a bit of negativity.
How many folks do you know say something like, “I'm spiritual not religious”? In
many of my circles that saying goes like this, “Christianity is a relationship not a religion.”
Religion is apparently not a very popular thing...
Very interesting observation about the "world without religion" actually being the everyday world, the world with broken connections.
I always saw the "reconnection" meaning being applied to the relationship between humanity and God, but I liked your applying to the relationships between people, and indeed it is very much in line with the message of Jesus. @theology@religion@christianity
Lately, I have felt called to pray on the behalf of people who feel like they could use a little spiritual support.
If you would like me to pray for you, please comment your name or nickname below.
If you wish, you can also add some context if you'd like me to pray for you for a specific reason. Otherwise, it'll be a generic prayer for prosperity, wellbeing, happiness, and spiritual guidance. I'll pray for you once a day from today until next Tuesday. 💕
@khthoniaa@religion I could certainly use some prayerful support in the way of improving and maintaining health. I’m going through a process with a bunch of medical people checking me for possible issues that might require some future intervention. If that’s needed, then so be it, but the process can be wearing and energy draining. So, a little boost in healing and support would help a great deal, thank you! ~~fran