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Enlightenment
Many Westerners’ impressions of Eastern spirituality have been shaped by gazing at puzzling statues of Buddha or by hearing George Harrison sing “My Sweet Lord” to Krishna. Those impressions can range from something unproductive to plain weird to strangely attractive …Read More
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Eastern Idolatry
C.S. Lewis gets many things right. Years ago, he concluded that there were only two possible answers to the religious search: either Hinduism or Christianity, which are ultimate, contradictory expressions of religion—that is, either One-ist pantheism or Two-ist theism …Read More
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Why Are Eastern Religions So Attractive to So Many?
Recently, I was talking to a Buddhist nun. Originally from Hanover, Germany, she had studied Buddhism in a course on religions, read a few more books, and left home and family to join an order in Taiwan. I asked her …Read More
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The Son Rising in the East
The early church faced at least two distinct and competing enemies. While Jesus walked the earth and after, the great challenge to the kingdom of God was found both in the Roman Empire and in Judaism. An armed force that …Read More
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Eastern Bankruptcy
My son, Danny, came home from his Japanese baseball practice exclaiming, “Dad, coach is making us worship the ground.” The coach had required them to bow toward the ground in worship. I called a Japanese pastor who said that this …Read More
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Where East Meets West
I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard, “I believe there’s a little bad in all that’s good and a little good in all that’s bad.” The problem is not the number of times I …Read More
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Philosophical Taoism
Philosophical Taoism, often represented by the yin-yang symbol, originated in China with the teacher Lao Tzu (604–517 BC ). Although we do not know much about his life, he left his teachings behind for posterity in a brief work called Tao …Read More
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A Brave New World
On September 14, 2001, as the United States was still coming to grips with al Qaeda’s assault on New York and Washington, D.C., dignitaries gathered in the national cathedral to memorialize the dead and show forth the country’s resolve …Read More
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A Rose Is a Rose
A rose is a rose is a rose. This dictum reinforces the adage that a rose by any other name is still a rose. The idea is that the essence of the rose is not conditioned by what name is …Read More
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The Temptation of Idolatry
The temptation to pursue a new way of salvation, a new path down the road to righteousness, is an eternal struggle. The Puritans experienced it and warned us of the vanity and shear arrogance of creating our own custom-fit cult …Read More