• Lingering in Limbo: Dante’s Inferno

    Limbo, it turns out, isn’t so bad, even if is found in the first level of Dante Alighieri’s hell. As Dante’s allegory of the journey of the soul continues, it will take him to a beautiful castle inhabited by the good and the great. Far from suffering the tortures of hell, although they can never leave, they are surrounded by meadows and hang out in erudite splendour. But before Dante gets there he has more adventures. Beatrice sends Virgil to the Rescue The ghost of Virgil, a long dead Roman poet, has shown up just in time to take on the job as Dante’s guide. But what’s in it for…

  • harmony of science and religion

    Harmony of Science and Religion: History of an Idea

    A Baha’i principle is that of harmony of science and religion.  The use of “harmony” to express the relationship between science and religion is apt – as it captures the idea that each is incomplete without the other. Like notes in music, we don’t experience the beauty of the whole until we hear them together. Thus, as we have seen in previous articles, science is a means of freeing religion of superstition, prejudice and fanaticism and religion is a means of fostering the dedication of science to peace and human welfare. It is helpful to think about these concepts within the broader context of how the relationship between science and religion has been…