Religious pluralism and referential realism

Religious plurality is a fact of our time. It cannot be avoided. Neither can it be factually acknowledged then cognitively shunned, except by enacting a most obtuse denial. Religious plurality demands a cognitive response. The pressing question is how to comprehend both other religions in themselves and, of course, reflect on what they mean in respect of comprehending one’s own. If other religions are not to be denied, are they to be treated as equal? Do religions aspire to the same goal? Are they just varying paths with the same end? What is the nature of the reality embedded in the notion of religious plurality? It is in response to issues such as these that the paradigm of pluralism has emerged to challenge not only any narrow exclusivism, but also the more subtle inclusivism where one religion is perceived to function as the dominant paradigm to which all others, in some sense, are subsumed. In this paper I shall briefly review, and critically discuss, the paradigm of religious pluralism with particular reference to the work of Peter Byrne with respect to referential realism

Identifying the Charge Carriers of the Quark-Gluon Plasma

Charge correlations in lattice gauge calculations suggest that up, down and strange charges move independently in the QGP (quark-gluon plasma), and that the density of such charges is similar to what is expected from simple thermal arguments. Here, we show how specific elements of the charge-charge correlation matrix in the QGP survive hadronization and become manifest in final-state charge-charge correlation measurements.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Probing the dark matter profile of hot clusters and the M-T relation with XMM-Newton

We present results based on XMM-Newton observations of a small sample of hot galaxy clusters. Making a full use of XMM-Newton's spectro-imaging capabilities, we have extracted the radial temperature profile and gas density profile, and with this information, calculated the total mass profile of each cluster (under the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium and spherical symmetry). Comparing the individual scaled total mass profiles, we have probed the Universality of rich cluster mass profiles over a wide range of radii (from 0.01 to 0.7 the virial radius). We have also tested the shape of cluster mass profiles by comparing with the predicted profiles from numerical simulations of hierarchical structure formation. We also derived the local mass-temperature (M-T) scaling relation over a range of temperature going from 4 to 9 keV, that we compare with theoretical predictions.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, Advances in Space Research in press (proceedings of the COSPAR 2004 Assembly, Paris

Fundamentalism and terrorism: The contemporary religious challenge

For nearly a century the term ‘fundamentalism’ has referred primarily to a set of specific Christian beliefs and an allied ultra-conservative attitude. However, usage of the term has broadened: ‘fundamentalism’, as a term indicating the position of a ‘closed mind’ coupled with a negative – even hostile – stance toward the status quo, has migrated into political discourse and the wider religious realm. Fundamentalism broadly names a religio-political perspective found in most, if not all, major religions. Most disturbingly, it is now associated with variant forms of religious extremism and thus religiously-oriented terrorism. And it is Islamic modalities of terrorism that, rightly or wrongly, have come to take centre-stage in current world affairs. This lecture will argue that the religious fundamentalism with which Islamist extremism is associated follows an identifiable paradigm that has wider applicability. Religious ‘fundamentalism’ denotes, among other things, a paradigm that paves the way from the relative harmlessness of an idiosyncratic and dogmatic belief system, to the harmful reality of religiously driven and fanatically followed pathways to terrorist activity. The lecture will attempt to describe and analyse this paradigm with reference to contemporary concerns

Enemy at the gate? Models of response to contemporary religious plurality

Ours is age of plurality in all things. Yet, plurality has always been the case: difference, diversity, multiplicity – that which tends to disconnectedness in whatever sphere of human life – has ever been the lot of humanity. Religion is no exception. Yet while most religions would hold that unity – the uniformity and coherence suggestive of an inherent connectedness – is a sine qua non, the lived reality of religious people everywhere is often the context of, and contention with, a disconnectedness which is consequent upon difference of viewpoint, variety of experience, clash of interpretation, and competing claims for religious allegiance and identity. This can be the case both within any one major religious tradition as well as between them. Given the ubiquitous nature of religion and the pressing need for improved interreligious relations in many parts of the world, the question of how the fact of religious plurality is apprehended from within the religions themselves is critical. Naturally every religion proffers its own hermeneutic of the religiously ‘other’. Typically, this has included variations on the themes of exclusivity and inclusiveness

Beam Energy Evolution of HBT Systematics at the AGS

We present preliminary results of the first pion interferometry (HBT) excitation function at intermediate AGS energies. The beam energy evolution of the correlations' dependence on mT, centrality, and emission angle with respect to the reaction plane are discussed. Comparisons with predictions of the RQMD cascade model are made.Comment: to appear in proceedings of Quark Matter '9

Exclusivism and exclusivity: a contemporary theological challenge

The phenomenon of religious exclusivism increasingly confronts peoples of faith and goodwill who wish only for peaceful co-existence in equality and freedom with their religious neighbour. But there is more than one variety of religious exclusivism. This study will show that there are at least three variants of religious exclusivism, namely open, closed and extreme. Further, inasmuch as exclusivism indicates a positing of religious identity over against any “other”, then it will be argued that the variant exclusivisms themselves reflect a continuum of ideological and theological stance that is taken toward the concept of variety as represented by the religious “other” per se. This ranges through antithetical acknowledge-ment, enactive ignorance, and the intentional invalidation of variety. It is the issue of the invalidation of otherness which, I contend, constitutes the severe theological problem of religious exclusivism in extremis. It is here, in the modality of religious fundamentalism and extremism that theological ideology impinges most dramatically upon the public domain. Might it be possible to speak of a proper religious exclusivity without falling necessarily into the pit of exclusivist extremism? In addressing this question I shall briefly examine the views of Alvin Plantinga, Gavin D’Costa, and the declaration Nostra Aetate of Vatican II

Ideological containment: Islamic extremism and the option of theological dialogue

Islamic extremism is founded on a dualist worldview: the realm of truth and the sacred (dar al Islam) set in opposition to the realm of falsehood, chaos and war (dar al harb). An ideology of contestation underpins Islamist radicalisation. And Islamic political thought is inherently theological; any response to the political ideology that arises from the dualist worldview must necessarily address allied theological perspectives and presuppositions. In October 2007 an ‘Open Letter and Call from Muslim Religious Leaders’ emanating from Jordan, entitled A Common Word Between Us and You, was issued to the Christian Church worldwide. What is at the heart of this ‘call’? What does it suggest with regard to an Islamic theological counter to dualism? What might it portend for the future of relations with Islam? Does it signal a new era for theological dialogue with Islam and co-operative conjoining in the wider struggle against radicalisation and extremism? This paper will introduce the letter, review some representative responses to it thus far, note some issues and challenges that are raised and, by way of conclusion, offer a perspective on containing ideological extremism through interfaith theological dialogue. Can the dialogue option enable the addressing of theological factors inherent in the ideological underpinnings of Islamic extremism, thereby acting to contain it

Why dialogue? Christian engagement in interfaith relations

For nearly 2000 years the primary stance of Christianity and Christians towards other faiths and their peoples was to treat them as radically ‘other’ and the targets of evangelical mission. During the 20th century a sequence of dramatic changes occurred, principally through the ecclesial organs of the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches, even though many Christians (and others) are by no means adequately aware of them. In this paper I briefly review the nature of, and reasons for, this change and discuss some of the key issues and problems that have arisen