The Nomad and the Olive Branch

I didn't know what to expect when reading a book composed by one of the most prominent Muslim intellectuals of the 21st Century. For a second, I thought I was gonna read a book about the traditional tropes of radicals in the 3 Abrahamic faiths being rooted in a minority of their respective followers. The shocking thesis of Reza Aslan portrayed in this book describes a much more endemic problem: the idea of a "cosmic war" between what each radical group perceives as "good" and "evil", and how that differs and at the same time finds common ground between the 3 faiths. The backdrop of globalization further emphasizes the de-nationalization of identity and the construction of a new identity that transcends geographical and racial boundaries, whether he talks of the radical groups such as Al Qaeda, the Christian right-wing extremists in the USA, or the Zionist settler groups in the West Bank. He asserts that such a history goes back to some of the ear...

You know the phrase "Cut off the head of the snake and the body dies"? I'm sure that applies to every living creature out there... except for maybe starfish because those guys don't even have heads. Anyways, I'm writing on this topic because I've come across countless cases where brain-dead patients are forced to suffer untreatable and progressive end-organ damage in a slow, agonizing death because family members and MPOA's cling to the delusional hope that, somehow, a brain that has been literally killed by anoxic injury will receive the same blessing Jesus gave to Saint Lazarus of Bethany and somehow flicker to life.  Futility  is defined by many scholars as a less than 1% chance of management success. One such scholar, Griffin Trotter, defined it as occurring in the following setting: 1. There is a goal 2. There is an action and activity aimed at achieving this goal 3. There is virtual certainty that the action will fail in achieving this goal ...

It is not the most rosy topic, sure, but at least one group in every major era of history has come out with End-Times theological ramblings. From the Sumerians and Mayans to the terrorist groups and evangelical zealots of today, the Apocalypse has become a subject of controversy, satire, and foreboding. The Mahdis and Messiahs of prophecies passed on long ago are starting to look more and more wanting. Ultimately, it is the battle between "Good" and "Evil", "Order" and "Chaos", or what-have-you that will decide the fate of this world in the years to come. Wolves in sheepskin and other Anti-Christ-like figures have surfaced to the forefront of political discussion. Demons and Demon-worship have become topics of popular culture, even to the extent of glorification. Clerics espouse ideologies centered on hate and discord, at the same time warning of an impending slaughter that will spare no home, school, or hospital. Dishonesty is becoming the way...