“unnatural selection”

Some challenging thoughts “from brokenstones”:

Hitler’s Story

Historians are story-tellers. Telling stories about events that took place in the past always involves interpretation. A single event may be recounted in a variety of ways.

Wake Up!

Dilip D’Souza’s wife teaches French to grade 10 students in a private school in Mumbai, India.

The Challenge of Institutions

I have been told it is not good form to reply to a blog comment with a post of its own. I have also been told that blog posts over a thousand words are ill-advised. But, there are times when it seems necessary to abandon all blog etiquette. What follows is a vastly over-long response to a comment on yesterday’s “The Problem With Religion.”

Chris,

I understand that your comment on “The Problem With Religion” is not a purely dispassionate, intellectual argument. The issues you raise are deeply important and I know your struggle is heartfelt. This struggle has profound implications for how we live out our faith and should not be taken lightly. But I want to try to respond simply to the idea you put forth, leaving aside for another forum the important and legitimate feelings behind your thoughts.

It seems to me that, if we are to survive in any institution, we are always going to be caught performing a delicate balancing act. We will always face a fundamental question – do the benefits I receive from participating in this institution, and the contribution I can make by my participation in this institution, outweigh the failures I perceive in this institution’s processes?