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Insert Comma • A Portfolio of Leigh E. Rich
Categories: Books, History, Politics, Religion, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on Scientology as case study

What the ethical and legal history of Scientology can teach us about religion By Leigh E. Rich Though in many ways still shrouded in secrecy, Scientology could be said to be one of the most “accessible” religions in the world—that is, in terms of documenting and understanding its origins. Part of this has to do with its young age, […]

Categories: Books, Religion, Social Science, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on On demons and doctors

What does horror have to do with public health? By Leigh E. Rich American sportswriter Red Smith once said, “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and open a vein.” Two Denver-based horror novelists have done away with the metaphor and are literally mixing their blood with ink, selling […]

Categories: Health, Politics, Religion, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on Splitting babies or splitting hairs?

Colorado has yet to weigh in on stem cell debate By Leigh E. Rich “He tried to be Solomonic,” Deborah Price Nagler said last week of President George W. Bush’s 2001 policy limiting federal funding for embryonic stem cell research to a handful of existing cell lines. But like the ancient king who threatened to […]

Categories: Books, People, Religion, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on Disorganized ‘Wisdom’ tries to enlighten

Latest book by His Holiness erratic, flighty By Leigh E. Rich The Wisdom of Forgiveness: Intimate Conversations and Journeys By His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Victor Chan Riverhead Books August 2004 256 pages $24.95 ($36 CAN) It might seem odd to have a Chinese writer interview the Dalai Lama. After all, the great Buddhist […]

Categories: Books, Religion, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on Wit, candor highlight tale of nuns

A glimpse into the lives of the Poor Clares By Leigh E. Rich Stalking the Divine: Contemplating Faith With the Poor Clares By Kristin Ohlson Theia August 2003 272 pages 23.95 When she was alive, my 98-year-old Jewish grandmother used to say that though she never doubted the existence of God, she was sure he’s […]

Categories: Books, History, Religion, Social Science, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on A mystery of biblical heft

The (now discredited) story of the first archaeological link to Jesus By Leigh E. Rich The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story and Significance of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus and His Family By Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington III HarperSanFrancisco April 2003 254 pages $24.95 Physicist Saul Perlmutter, upon discovering in 1998 that […]

Categories: Books, People, Politics, Religion, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on A timely tale of revenge

Giving peace a chance By Leigh E. Rich Kalandia, West Bank. “‘That’s him,’ the woman said, pointing over her grandchildren’s heads. I followed her finger to the wall, to the shooter’s photograph, saw his face for the first time, and sank into the couch. ‘He tried to kill someone,’ she said in an easy voice. […]

Categories: Editorials, Religion, Social Science, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on Rethinking responses

Our downfall is in ‘crusades,’ ‘holy wars’ By Leigh E. Rich Religiosity. The “quality of being religious,” so says Webster’s New World Dictionary (1970), “especially being excessively, ostentatiously, or mawkishly religious.” This one “explanation” for the terrorist attacks that took their toll on the United States—and the world—last September. But is it the whole story? […]

Categories: Books, Health, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Enlightenment through immunology

An interdisciplinary romp with a professor of pathology By Leigh E. Rich Faith, Madness and Spontaneous Human Combustion: What Immunology Can Teach Us About Self-Perception By Gerald N. Callahan, Ph.D. A Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin’s Press January 2002 256 pages $23.95 Who came first, the pathologist or the poet? The world may never […]

Categories: Health, Religion, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on Bearing arms

Article distorted pediatricians’ statement on children in war By Leigh E. Rich An article written by Tom Tugend of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (“60,000 US pediatricians oppose use of children in battle,” May 11, 2001, IJN) “does not accurately reflect” the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recent statement reaffirming the UN Convention on the Rights of […]

Categories: Politics, Religion, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

Rep. Tom Tancredo promotes embassy move By Leigh E. Rich Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado’s congressman for the Sixth District, introduced a resolution in the House Tuesday for the immediate relocation of the US embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem—Israel’s capital—noting that the move is a “proposition whose time has come.” “Relocation of the American Embassy […]

Categories: Health, Religion, Social Science, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on Warning sign

CHAI targets teens in new abuse prevention program By Leigh E. Rich “We want zero tolerance in our community,” states Elaine Asarch, a founding board member of Community Help & Abuse Information (CHAI), a Jewish nonprofit aiding victims of domestic violence. Focusing on education and prevention, CHAI’s latest program targets the younger crowd, particularly teenagers, […]