Beliefs around damnation have always been in flux. Now the concept may be disappearing for good
Almost all major religions, monotheistic or otherwise, have featured some hierarchy of reward and penalty after death. The specifics are debated—some faiths describe endless torture, others a place for introspection—but the concept of consequences in the afterlife has been a constant. Is our waning attachment to hell, then, a momentary blip, or are believers finally ready for faith that isn’t tied to fear of everlasting agony?
Read more at at thewalrus.ca.
Illustration by Amrit Brar (amritbrarillustration.com).
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Khadr has become the prism through which many Canadian conservatives project their fear and loathing. He has taken on almost mystical or religious proportions in the eyes of the Right.
Some years ago, I wrote a column and recorded some television broadcasts in which I condemned Omar Khadr.
In the past four years I’ve changed my opinions and attitudes in any number of ways, but while I now believe that Khadr was appallingly treated — and that the government’s recent apology and compensation amounted to the correct response — there is certainly room for reasoned and informed disagreement on this subject.
Reason and information, however, have been glaringly absent from the current Conservative response to the situation.
I’ve lived in Canada for 30 years, written countless columns and hosted as many television and radio shows. In all that time I can’t recall another example of such a farrago of misinformation, anger, abuse, hatred and sheer propaganda about a public issue.
The last few days have revealed a political underbelly that is more Trump’s America than traditional Canada — and it’s deeply disturbing. It’s all the more disturbing because it’s being encouraged and empowered by Tory politicians who should know better — and probably do.
Thanks to my birthday gift cards, I'm adding quite a few titles this week, too! Both Redemption and Unicorn Playlist are books in series I am continuing. That Dark Infinity has been compared to The Last Unicorn, so I wasn't going to past that up! Creepy Cat, well - it has cats!
Trump threatened to deploy massive federal force to crack down on demonstrators.
Donald Trump had police fire tear gas and rubber bullets into a group of peaceful demonstrators so he could have a photo-op in front of a church while waving a Bible. It may be the first time he touched a Bible since taking the oath of office.
Rev. Michael Coren, an Anglican minister had this to say about Trump’s photo-op at St. John’s Episcopal Church:
I have no window into Donald Trump’s soul but it’s extraordinarily difficult to regard him as a Christian judging by his personal as well as public statements and actions. This latest circus, however, surely closes the theological door on any doubts or ambiguity. He made no attempt to pray, for the nation, for the Floyd family, for anyone or anything; he appeared to hold the Bible upside down, and nor was it his own but one provided for the scene; and I’ve seen more piety and humility in a dockside pub.
Trump used a damaged DC church for a photo op. The bishop is furious.
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[Free eBook] The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by Michael Coren [19th C Sherlock Holmes Creator Biography]
The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by British-Canadian author Michael Coren, a columnist and radio and TV show host, is an author biography, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.
This was originally published in 1995 by Bloomsbury.
This biography covers the many varied facets of 19th century British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, not only in terms of the personal and literary influences behind his best known creation, the seminal Victorian detective Sherlock Holmes, but also Conan Doyle's own real life experiences as a doctor, attempts at solving crimes and enacting political reforms, interest in spiritualism, and various other aspects of his adventurous life.
Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.
Free for a limited time @ Amazon (should be available worldwide).
Description
‘Here is Conan Doyle the doctor, Conan Doyle the adventurer, Conan Doyle the journalist and, above all, Conan Doyle the spiritualist. The intention of the present book is to describe Conan Doyle the man, the composite of all of these aspects and of many more.’
Michael Coren presents his portrayal of a renaissance man, using his memoir, fiction and the little biographical information we have about Conan Doyle to give as full a portrait as he is able.
Aged twenty-seven, his idea for a detective originally named Sherrinford comes to fruition as Sherlock Holmes, with his partner John Watson (‘a drab, quiet name for this unostentatious man’). Coren documents the reaction to the death of Sherlock, the reappearance in ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ and the other stories Conan Doyle wrote, such as Rodney Stone about boxing and stories starring Professor Challenger.
After qualifying as a doctor Conan Doyle had sent stories to magazines, then travelled for a while across Africa during the Boer War, in which service he was awarded his knighthood.
Coren also details Conan Doyle’s personal life: his wife Louise passed away from illness and he married his second wife Jean Leckie, the object of his true desire.
He suggested reforms to the armed forces and to divorce laws, and stood unsuccessfully as an MP. Most interestingly of all, he received letters from members of the public asking for his help in solving crimes which had happened to them.
He gained much success in the United States, was an admirer of the baseball he had watched in Canada and was in demand as a writer of stories in England. Joseph Bell, Conan Doyle’s inspiration, praised prose which was ‘free from padding’.
He begun to develop an interest in spiritualism in the wake of the Great War, and Coren writes of the séances he attended and his short-lived friendship with Harry Houdini.
This biography is a brilliant illustration of the man behind the
[Free eBook] J. R. R. Tolkien: The Man Who Created The Lord of the Rings by Michael Coren [20th C Fantasy Author Literary Biography]
J. R. R. Tolkien: The Man Who Created The Lord of the Rings by British-Canadian author Michael Coren, a columnist and radio and TV show host, is a literary biography, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.
This was originally published in 2001 by Stoddart Publishing.
This accessibly-written literary biography, meant for a popular audience, covers the life and times influences of 20th century author J. R. R. Tolkien, from his early childhood to his friendships with the “Inklings” literary circle at Oxford and other formative experiences which would lead to the creation of his best-known works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy set in the classic fantasy realm of Middle-Earth.
Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.
Free for a limited time @ Amazon (should be available worldwide).
Description
Who is the most popular writer in the English language?
J. R. R. Tolkien keeps getting the nod in survey after survey with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings selling in huge numbers to generation after generation of enchanted readers.
In this engaging biography, Michael Coren paints a colourful, loving portrait of the man behind the writing.
Born in South Africa, Tolkien moved back to England at an early age because of his declining health.
After the death of his father, Tolkien’s mother, Mabel, worked hard to make ends meet and her discovery of the church of the Birmingham Oratory changed their lives.
With the help of Father Francis Xavier Morgan, Tolkien was moved to a good Grammar School due to his excellent academic capabilities.
Father Francis was to become the father-figure Tolkien didn’t have which would prove even more important when his mother died in his teens.
Tolkien married his childhood sweetheart, Edith, and she became his best friend and supported him through his endeavours and later, his fame.
Tolkien’s first poem was written at the start of the world war in 1914.
Illness brought his military career to an end making it possible for him to focus on his academic career and family.
By sheer chance, The Hobbit , a children’s story, came to the attention of publishers …
A sequel was requested … and The Lord of the Rings was born.
This biography of the world renowned author of high-fantasy stretches the twelve years it took for Tolkien to complete his masterpiece and reflects on the intricacies of his life.
[Free eBook] C. S. Lewis: The Man Who Created Narnia by Michael Coren [20th C Fantasy Author Literary Biography]
C. S. Lewis: The Man Who Created Narnia by British-Canadian author Michael Coren, a columnist and radio and TV show host, is a literary biography, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.
This was originally published in 2004 by Fitzhenry & Whiteside.
The biography covers the life and literary influences of 20th century British author C. S. Lewis from his childhood through to his formative years at Oxford and beyond as he forged enduring friendships with other prominent authors, with especial attention to the creation of his classic “Narnia” series of children's fantasy novels.
Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.
Free for a limited time @ Amazon (should be available worldwide).
Description
The Chronicles of Narnia are some of the best-known and well-loved classic children’s books in the English language, and C. S. Lewis, their creator, was a truly remarkable man.
Clive Staples Lewis liked to be known simply as Jack. Plain Jack Lewis, his friends called him, those men who also taught at the renowned British universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Lewis was described by some as looking a little like an ordinary working man or even a forester, with his ruddy complexion and plump face. Yet his words were not those of any forester, for here was the finest writer of children's stories and the most popular author of books about Christianity of his age.
Growing up, books filled Lewis’ house, piled in spare rooms, hallways, anywhere, everywhere. Lewis was allowed to read anything he liked, encouraged in this by his mother, very much the intellectual of the family.
When Lewis was still a child his beloved mother died and he was sent across the Irish Sea to boarding school in England — the strict and forbidding Wynyard House.
He missed his family, his home, and the freedom of his life in Northern Ireland. He was isolated and frightened. But one thing happened at the awful school that benefitted Lewis and changed his entire life: he began to embrace Christianity.
Coren tells of the fascinating details of the childhood and youth of Lewis, one that was, in Lewis' own words, full of “long corridors, attics explored in solitude, sunlit rooms and endless books”.
He continues with Lewis’ studies at Oxford, where his interest in the Christian religion grew, his subsequent celebrated teaching career with the same university, and his wonderful friendships with other great writers like J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, G. K. Chesterton and George Sayer.
Michael Coren, an expert on the life and writings of Lewis, presents an engrossing biography which especially focuses on how Lewis created his wonderful Narnia tales.
