Cris

LATEST ARTICLES ( 560 )

• Shadow Catching with Edward S. Curtis

  

  In the late 1990s I was introduced to Edward S. Curtis in what I suppose is the usual fashion: by collectors of his photogravures. Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION

• Xenu Meets Yakub

  

  Over at The New Republic, Eliza Gray covers the bizarre dalliance between Scientology and Nation of Islam. At first blush, Louis Farrakhan and David Miscavige... Read more

  Posted on 18 October 2012 DEBATE, RELIGION

• Indonesia (Islam) Rule

  

  In the past I’ve proposed that all evolutionary theories of religion need to be tested with the China Rule. I suspect that the need for such a rule stems from... Read more

  Posted on 16 October 2012 DEBATE, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Heaven May Be Real: Cortical Clouds

  

  During the past week I was asked several times about an article that just appeared in Newsweek. Because John Hawks was in town, I wasn’t able to get to it... Read more

  Posted on 15 October 2012 BIOLOGY, DEBATE, RELIGION

• Depicting Non-Progressive Evolution

  

  While working on the rhizomatic animism post the other day, I kept thinking about the old cliche that a picture is worth a thousand words. Read more

  Posted on 11 October 2012 BIOLOGY, HISTORY, RELIGION

• Rhizomatic Animism

  

  Last night I was reading Wooden Leg (1931), a classic ethnohistory about the famous Cheyenne warrior who fought at the Little Bighorn, and came across this... Read more

  Posted on 08 October 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Janus of Evolution: Chance Or Law?

  

  It shouldn’t surprise me any longer but somehow it still does. I’m talking about Darwin’s brilliance not simply as a naturalist but as one of the truly great... Read more

  Posted on 05 October 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION

• Darwin on Religion

  

  In keeping with my back to (foundational) basics reading programme, I have naturally been digging around Darwin’s writing on religion. Read more

  Posted on 02 October 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION

• If I Were a Horse

  

  Ever since Darwin there have been people who see evolution as essentially progressive — they explain the appearance of all traits and behaviors as adaptive. Read more

  Posted on 28 September 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY

• Back To (Foundational) Basics

  

  Over the past six weeks I’ve been writing what I hope will be a short book that I want to use in the future when teaching my anthropology of religion course.... Read more

  Posted on 27 September 2012 CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION

• Hitting & Missing

  

  After a week at the beach I’ve been catching up on blog relevant readings and thought I’d share. There are more hits than misses. Read more

  Posted on 19 September 2012 DEBATE

• Pleasing Theories & Reality

  

  Over the past several weeks, I’ve been getting the uneasy feeling that evolutionary models of what we today call “religion” aren’t really bringing us all that... Read more

  Posted on 09 September 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION

• Don’t Cheat Imaginary Alice

  

  Clint Eastwood’s rambling monolog with an empty chair has prompted Jesse Bering to think about imaginary friends — the kind who, if you believe they are real,... Read more

  Posted on 06 September 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION

• Moon-Shine

  

  The Reverend Sun Myung Moon has died of pneumonia, a natural cause, at the age of 92. This may be a bit shocking for church members, who might have gotten the... Read more

  Posted on 04 September 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION

• Right-Wrong: The Cheyenne Way

  

  Sooner or later, anyone studying Cheyenne ethnohistory will get round to reading George Bird Grinnell’s two volume work on this famous Plains tribe. Grinnell,... Read more

  Posted on 30 August 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY

• Sunday Sundries

  

  Several good reads for your Sunday morning. Here is a profile in courage — a former evangelical pastor in the bible belt loses faith and becomes a public... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION

• Deprivation & Despair: Consolations

  

  In the gut-wrenching tradition of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941), Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco traveled to America’s poorest places, areas that they... Read more

  Posted on 23 August 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY

• How “God” Sorta Evolved

  

  Over at Evo Anth, Adam Benton opines on How “god” Evolved. The first thing I have to do is congratulate Adam because his post was picked up by The Browser. Read more

  Posted on 19 August 2012 DEBATE, RELIGION

• From Pussy to Patriarchy Riot

  

  My Pussy Rioting Russian Orthodoxy post obviously struck some sensitive nerves. I’ve had a number of comments (all deleted) suggesting that the Pussy Rioters ar... Read more

  Posted on 19 August 2012 DEBATE

• Cosmology of Shark-Calling

  

  In a recently published book on sharks, Juliet Eilperin discusses the ancient practice of shark-calling in Papua New Guinea. It is on the one hand a practical... Read more

  Posted on 16 August 2012 OUTDOORS