Word: seculare
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...bereft of these encouragements," he concludes, "how much more horrific the history of these last 2,000 years must have been!" Given Johnson's grim recital of human frailty, that may seem more like faith than history. But, as he disturbingly observes, the first glimpses of a deChristianized secular future are most dismal indeed...
...Church-related colleges, most of which are small, are worse off than secular institutions. Only 1.6% of Catholic colleges and 4.2% of Protestant colleges are in the top two groups, compared to 56.8% of secular schools...
...current champion author is Billy Graham, whose most recent book, Angels, has sold a phenomenal 1.4 million copies in hardcover. While Preacher Graham helps a secular publisher (Doubleday) hit the Evangelical market, Jimmy Carter and Johnny Cash have turned to Evangelical houses to print their autobiographies (Why Not the Best? and Man in Black). Many best-selling authors, though, are virtually unknown outside the Evangelical circuit. Hal Lindsey, a onetime Jesus Movement leader, has sold more than 15 million books since 1970. His favorite theme: interpretation of Bible prophecies to prove that Jesus will soon return, most likely...
Religion is not only certainty, but a confused striving for truth; not only the imposition of dogma, but the open, undiscriminating act of mercy. And certainly secular societies have not managed to avoid war or cruelty. Yet the paradox of religion-at-war remains shocking...
There are some satisfactory reasons for going to war. Self-defense - and even survival - are the most compelling. But religion, with its ancient, emotional connotations, shows up in these wars like a tribal ghost of Hamlet's father, urging revenge. Religion, especially when it blends with the secular religion of nationalism, fetches back to timeless grievances and can find in them that nasty, righteous "Gott mil Uns" that wants no truck with the enterprise of peace - which in this world is always temporal and temporary...