A Theological View of ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Alain de Botton: My rules for Atheists are based on virtues. Alain de Botton, 43, has written several books popularising philosophy.
His latest is Religion For Atheists – a manifesto for non-believers. What are your ten commandments for atheists? They’re not commandments, they’re a list of virtues. The basic idea is that in the modern world, if you say you want to improve how your body works you’ll go to a gym and it’s considered normal. Whereas, if you say you want to be a better person people look at you as if you’re mad.
What’s in it for people to behave better? What are the main virtues people should adopt? Why should people behave virtuously when most workplaces reward people who are morally bankrupt? What are you proudest of achieving? Are you bothered by the negative reviews you’ve received? Are you friends with Harry from One Direction? Did you have much in common? Religion For Atheists (Penguin) is out now in paperback.
Belief and Commitment. The last of the Molokans: Preserved in all its Soviet glory. Putin and the monk. ©Igor Starkov/Salt Images Father Tikhon Shevkunov Father Tikhon Shevkunov looks a little too polished to fit the image of the Orthodox Christian monk branded into the western imagination by Dostoevsky.
The beard is just unkempt enough, but his chin is a bit too sculpted, his mane of shoulder-length hair too full and flowing, and his TV delivery too flawless to belong to any crazed, self-flagellating anchorite from The Brothers Karamazov. Father Tikhon is a picture of movie-star self-assurance – with a passing resemblance to Russell Crowe. While Dostoevsky’s monks stuck to their unheated monastic cells, Tikhon is no recluse. Call the monastery, for example, and you will get a switchboard operator. Father Tikhon wields influence in the church far above his modest rank of Archimandrite, or abbot, due primarily to his contacts in the Kremlin. Whatever the truth of the dukhovnik question, it is something that the Kremlin finds it useful not to deny. Today, much has changed. Trickster and Tricked. Ancient idols unearthed - The Hindu: Mobile Edition. Little did the villagers in Kattupalli near Minjur, some 40 km north of Chennai, realise that digging a pit to earn Rs. 180 a day would lead to an important archaeological discovery and the unearthing of a 1,200-year-old Pallava period structure — the first such finding within city limits in recent times.
On Thursday evening when the labourers were hard at work on a construction site, their crowbars hit stone. After carefully displacing the earth around it, they found a small, open brick structure, within which was a granite Shiva lingam and idols of goddess Parvathy and Chandikeswarar, Lord Shiva’s attendant. State department archaeologists, who arrived at the site, said the idols were found at a depth of eight feet.
They added that the idols were possibly part of an ancient temple, built during the late Pallava era in 8th century CE. Up until now, only Chola-era structures have been found in and around the city, in places such as Thirupalivanam, Minjur and Pulicat. KENRO IZU PHOTOGRAPHY. Archbishop-Elect of Canterbury: Virtue, Vice and Banks. Late one night 20 years ago, when I was an oil executive rather than an Anglican bishop, I had run out of steam and patience toward the end of a complex multinational acquisition.
We came to yet another bit of box ticking and I suggested we skip it, because we knew the material was accurate. “Justin,” our wise investment-bank director said quietly, “you know that’s not how we do it.” Under pressure, everyone is prone to make bad decisions and that story remains in my mind as I sit on the U.K.’s Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, listening to people talk about banks, bankers and their failures.
It is blindingly obvious that the banking system we had a few years ago has more or less collapsed. I’m reluctant to cast blame -- being a bishop, I tend to look to the Bible, and am reminded that Jesus said, “Whoever is without sin, let them throw the first stone.” Libor Response Our commission was set up in July to review the culture and standards of banking in the U.K. Common Good. Trickster and Tricked.