Word: christiane
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2000
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...further evades adequate characterizations of the two men by assigning them pat philosophical summaries of everything from Kant to Huxley in lieu of giving them actual thoughts. It is not rare that one encounters such grand generalities as, "He was surprised at how miserable he felt. Far removed from Christian notions of grace and redemption, unfamiliar with the concepts of freedom and compassion, Michel's worldview had grown pitiless and mechanical." Such a statement flounders in the context of a work of fiction, and unfortunately is not redeemed by any breathtaking originality...
...Bush began work on the campaign. Though he was given no official title, he nonetheless played a crucial role as a trusted adviser and speechwriter. The campaign work also gave Bush the opportunity to establish himself as a talented speaker as well as a chief link to Christian conservatives...
Like almost all children growing up in the Christian tradition, I was lied to as a child. My parents perpetrated an extensive and premeditated campaign of misinformation aimed at getting me to believe in something that did not exist. They went so far as to manufacture physical evidence, to collude with other parents to present erroneous facts with a straight face, even to threaten punishment if I were to collect data that might jeopardize the believability of their prevarication. At an age before I knew to be ever vigilant and to mistrust paternalism in all forms, my parents were using...
...grew older, existential questions regarding Santa turned to existential questions regarding God. Unsurprisingly, given these previous experiences, the invisible, omniscient, moralistic father figure (in the Christian tradition) found his place on the mental ash-heap, right next to the jolly fat man. Thus now I face the problem that many atheists feel during the holidays. While enjoying the time with family and the bonanza of material exchanges, the holiday is undeniably built on foundations that I reject. For me the holiday will always be tied to questioning, to the evaluation of evidence, both of Santa and God, but more generally...
Christmas is about generosity, of course, and friendship and family and jolly old Saint Nick. But in its truest, most Christian sense, the holiday is about hope, and hope not in the midst of success and triumph, but hope in the midst of darkness and despair. It offers what has been termed a "sign of contradiction" to the world--a messiah who takes on the form of a weak, helpless infant and who brings light to the dark of the year...