Irenic Road

Cårven Der Pümpkîn

Ahh… this is so pleasantly dumb.

Secularism Considered

It’s always a delight to come across a piece by James Wood, whose subtle insight and lack of pretension is scarce among literary critics (a label that to me connotes the opposite). His review of The Joy of Secularism: 11 Essays for How We Live Now almost makes me want to buy the book. I’d certainly like to read it, but I hesitate to invest in a project I essentially oppose and which is clearly written for a “we” that doesn’t include me. I certainly share Wood’s view that in spite of the editor’s aim to look at what secularism affirms rather than denies, “the questions remain,” and the most fitting of secular worldviews is “fairly cold comfort in the middle of the night.” The review glances on the deep questions the subject naturally raises, and I feel compelled to offer some response. (I know the world is waiting to hear my opinion.) While I haven’t read the book, I have a little experience with living, so I’m going to discuss the meaning of life instead. Very humble of me, right? [Read more →]

YouTube Tuesday: Everything’s Amazing, and Nobody’s Happy

“…and we had to sit there, on the runway, for forty minutes!”

“Oh really? What happened next? Did you fly through the air, incredibly, like a bird? Did you partake in the miracle of human flight, you non-contributing zero? It’s amazing! Everybody on every plane should be constantly going OHMYGOD! WOW! You’re sitting in a chair… in the sky.“