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Jan 13, 2025 | 
freethinker.co.uk | Brian Victoria
As readers of Part One of this article will recall, one question that has long troubled students of Buddhism is whether or not Buddhism should be considered a ‘religion’ on par with other world religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, etc. Inasmuch as Buddhism does not affirm the existence of an almighty creator deity, it can be argued that Buddhism is not a religion but merely an ethical system, a spiritual practice, or a way of life.
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Dec 17, 2024 | 
freethinker.co.uk | Brian Victoria
IntroductionAs many readers will recall, the phrase ‘canary in a coal mine’ originated from a literal practice used by miners in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in which canaries and other small birds were used to detect dangerous gases like carbon monoxide in coal mines. Since then the phrase has evolved to signal the importance of paying attention to early signs of emerging problems, including ones social and political in nature.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
freethinker.co.uk | Brian Victoria
One of the questions that has long troubled students of Buddhism is whether or not it should be considered a ‘religion’ on par with other world religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, etc. If, as adherents of the three Abrahamic religions believe, religion consists of belief in an almighty God who is the sole creator of the universe, then Buddhism is clearly not a religion, for Buddhism has no such belief.
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Oct 22, 2024 | 
countercurrents.org | Marwan Asmar |Akbar E. Torbat |Alex Lantier |Brian Victoria
Finally, and after nearly three weeks of trying Israeli tanks, Monday, managed to enter Ayta Al Shaab, the little town, one kilometer away across the border into southern Lebanon. Ever since 1 October, 2024, Israeli ground troops have been trying to enter from the south and south-west of the country but to no avail.
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Oct 22, 2024 | 
countercurrents.org | Akbar E. Torbat |Alex Lantier |Brian Victoria |Hiren Gohain
On October 8, 2023, Israel invaded Gaza Strip in retaliation to Palestinian Hamas’s attack on occupied lands the day before. Israelis have since brutally massacred Palestinians and, more recently, the Lebanese, forcing them out of their homelands, which most Western leaders have supported. This is not only apartheid ethnic cleansing, but it is also stealing the lands of Palestinians. As of this writing, about 42,500 Palestinians have been killed and about 100,000 critically injured.
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Oct 21, 2024 | 
countercurrents.org | Alex Lantier |Brian Victoria |Hiren Gohain |Ranjan Solomon
Israeli forces struck targets in northern Gaza and Lebanon this weekend, after US, German, British and French officials met in Berlin on Friday to discuss Israeli plans for a massive bombing of Iran. Israel killed at least 87 people in a bombing of Beit Lahiya yesterday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and wounded at least 40, many of them critically.
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Oct 21, 2024 | 
countercurrents.org | Arun Mitra |Vikas Meshram |Brian Victoria |Bhabani Nayak
Probably we could not perceive that the moral crisis in our society has deepened to alarming levels until we heard the news of rape and gruesome murder of a young female doctor in Kolkata. The Junior doctors in West Bengal are continuing their movement largely demanding proper Inquiry and rapid trial of suspects, safety and security at hospitals, updating infrastructure at Govt. hospitals and thus improving the quality of patient care.
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Oct 21, 2024 | 
countercurrents.org | Brian Victoria |Hiren Gohain |Ranjan Solomon |Gideon Polya
In an increasingly secular world, calling someone or something “evil” will seem to many as an anachronistic label, conjuring up as it does a reddish figure featuring a fiendish face and horns, pitchfork in hand, with wings and a tail. A truly dreadful and fearsome sight indeed!Christians have traditionally viewed evil as a rebellion against God, embodied in the figure of “Satan” (aka Devil). Satan was identified as the cause of all suffering in the world.
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Aug 2, 2024 | 
freethinker.co.uk | Brian Victoria
Read Part One here. Readers may recall that during the Vietnam War, US soldiers were wont to justify their presence in that country by claiming they were there to ‘kill a Commie for Christ’. Before attempting to unpack this phrase, let me suggest that it encapsulates the very essence of the relationship between religion and war. I also suggest that it offers at least a sliver of hope that the historically deeply intertwined relationship between the two might one day be severed.
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Jul 19, 2024 | 
freethinker.co.uk | Brian Victoria
As a past and present adherent of two major religions—initially, I was a Christian missionary and now I am a Buddhist priest—I have long pondered the meaning and significance of religion. However, while Buddhism has answered far more of my spiritual questions than Christianity once did, it was only as a result of my encounter with the Shinto faith that my remaining spiritual questions were resolved.
