Taking Rites Seriously is about how religious beliefs and religious believers are assessed by judges and legal scholars and are sometimes mischaracterized and misunderstood by those who are critical of the influence of religion in politics or in the formation of law. Covering three general topics - reason and motive; dignity and personhood; nature and sex - philosopher and legal theorist Francis J. Beckwith carefully addresses several contentious legal and cultural questions over which religious and non-religious citizens often disagree: the rationality of religious belief; religiously motivated legislation; human dignity in bioethics; abortion and embryonic stem cell research; reproductive rights and religious liberty; evolutionary theory; and the nature of marriage. In the process; he responds to some well-known critics of public faith - including Brian Leiter; Steven Pinker; Suzanna Sherry; Ronald Dworkin; John Rawls; and Richard Dawkins - as well as to some religiously conservative critics of secularism such as the advocates for intelligent design
#8105416 in Books Inge William Ralph 2009-02-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.14 x .69 x 9.21l; 1.29 #File Name: 1103247492292 pagesLight Life and Love Selections from the German Mystics of the Middle Ages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Muddled and Confused Discussion of German MysticismBy Phil CalandraThe theme of this book is the exploration of the world of "German Mysticism". Included; among other things; are examples of the writings of the 14th century Dominicans and Mystics including Meister Eckhart; Johannes Tauler; and Henry Suso who were the major proponents of this theology. Although the chapters on Meister Eckhart are very informative and interesting; the rest of this book does little to add to the discussion and overall topic. The author fails to discuss the lives the lives and philosophies of the aforementioned mystics in any depth and there are chapters on the Seven Words from the Cross which don't appear to have any relation to the "German Mysticism Movement. All in all; this book seems to be a hodgepodge of mysticism mixed in with religion and perhaps the author's own views and the overall focus of this book seems to have been lost.
