Atheism: a secularized theism—Jakob de Roover
1: Atheism is a phenomenon that came into being in the western culture at around the time of the so-called Enlightenment. The West claims that it liberated itself from the…
Read moreWhat makes Christianity a religion? The structure of Christianity as a religion
The logical steps that inevitably make the claim that God revealed His Will in Jesus Christ into an unconditional and exclusive truth claim are fairly simple: (a) Christianity says that…
Read moreProfessional Competence
The ascription of professional competence to oneself when one does not have that. Each is in a position to say what ‘the Caste System’ is, what ‘ethics’ is, what ‘corruption’…
Read moreRationality and Rhetoric
1. It is in the nature of a rhetorical text that the author uses linguistic ‘tropes’ (metaphors, similes, analogies, imagery, etc) to persuade a reader about the reasonableness of a…
Read moreOn Patrick Hogan’s ‘Why Hindus should be grateful to Wendy Doniger’—S.N.Balagangadhara
Dear Patrick Hogan, It is jolly good of you, as the British say, to contribute to the ‘literary landscapes’ column in Sulekha at this particular juncture. I am glad too…
Read morePresumption of Knowledge—S.N.Balagangadhara
The first striking thing is their presumption of knowledge at several levels. Yet, they display abysmal ignorance. (a) Christianity has not just had a two thousand years’ history. It has…
Read moreHow to produce knowledge about “Who is a Christian”—S.N.Balagangadhara
Imagine that I were to say the following: Christ and Ganesha are manifestations of the same divinity; Christ came about 2000 years ago in the Middle East, whereas Ganesha is…
Read moreCriticism: you are spreading hate
Criticism: You are spreading hate by citing Deschner’s work– Kriminalgeschichte des Christentums and ANY idiot knows even the title is stupid. I have not cited a single atrocity that Christianity has committed…
Read moreLegislations against proselytization: a weakness of Indian culture –S.N. Balagangadhara
Question: One thing that Balu says is that propping up legislations against tricky proselytizations reflects the weaknesses of Indian culture needs to be explained though. How is it a weakness?…
Read moreMeanings and Historical Context: the arguments from Indian scholars –S.N.Balagangadhara
1. Consider the thought that ‘meanings’ (leave aside the distinction between words and sentences on the one hand and concepts and categories on the other) do not exist outside historical…
Read more