by Sean Reilly | Aug 26, 2008
In August 2008, the prime minister of Japan broke with tradition by refusing to visit the controversial Yasukuni shrine, which honours two-and-a-half million Japanese war dead. Some of those commemorated had been found guilty of war crimes during the Second World War....
by Sean Reilly | Jun 27, 2008
Much religion is dripping in sacrificial language. The appeasement of the gods is a common theme in many traditions. What happens in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures is, say Rene Girard and others, quite surprising. Love that does justice becomes the core of a new...
by Sean Reilly | Mar 22, 2008
Somewhere in the Middle East, Jesus Christ is strapped to a bench, his head wrapped in clingfilm. He furiously sucks against the plastic. A hole is pierced, but only so that a filthy rag can be stuffed back into his mouth. He is turned upside down and water slowly...