Recently, I had a chance to dialog with skeptic Michael Shermer. I hope it does not harm Professor Shermer’s standing in the atheist community to say that my wife and I enjoyed meeting him. Hope had a chance to see him at breakfast and enjoyed talking to him about his family. Watch the dialog and you will see why theists and reasonable people should give two cheers to Shermer. First, Shermer has strong views and argues for them boldly. There... Read more
Liberty is rare in human history if you are not rich, powerful, or in the right group. That’s a very sad truth, because for a Christian, the more liberty a society can maintain, the closer we have gotten to God . . . who is the author of liberty. Ideally, morality would be each person’s job, the laws would be written on our heart, and government could be tiny. That is not the world we have inherited or the world... Read more
When I want to say “I love you,” I often give a gift. Why? Saying “I love you” seems like what everyone says, what I have said before now, and not big enough for the feelings I have inside me. How do I get the experience out of me using words? Even a tiny experience makes this hard: my shoulder hurts. That is true right now, but the grinding, dull ache is hard to convey with the weakness that comes along aside.... Read more
Dante did not love Beatrice, not the way he believed he loved Beatrice. For a romantic like I am, that is a hard sentence to write. If you haven’t read the whole Divine Comedy, just the Inferno, you might believe that Beatrice was Dante’s real love. Isn’t he constantly talking about her all through Hell? Doesn’t she help save him from suicide? She was not his real love and we know, because she says so: Some time did I sustain him with my... Read more
Dear Bob Sorge, A long time ago you wrote a song that said this: An army had arisen against Israel the Moabites and Ammonites of Edom the Spirit of the Lord spoke through His prophet “the battle is not yours but it is God’s” This was, of course, based on this Bible verse: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.... Read more
Silly people say silly things. Recently, I heard someone ranting (there is no better term) that theists view logical positivism as “dead” when they still use arguments from Aquinas. Since Aquinas predates the logical positivists how stupid is that? Of course, it would be very stupid if there is someone who says all forms of logical positivism are dead, just as it would be foolish to simply quote Thomas and assume one has said all there is to say about Thomism.... Read more
Growing up there was a certain sort of Christian scientist who would blame Plato or Platonism for anti-science attitudes. Karl Giberson, by all accounts a fine scientist, blamed Plato, Platonism, or neo-Platonism for anti-science views of Christian leaders in “the dark ages.” Take this example from many: We will look briefly at some of the important leaders of the Early Church and see how their particular worldviews were based on the Bible, interpreted within the context of the reigning philosophical... Read more
On a day like today when I am with the perfectly-named Hope, thinking about God and life, then Christianity is happy. There is great evil in the world, but reason and experience, part of my Faith, assure me that this goodness is more fundamental. While righting the world is complicated (!) and long, justice will win. When I sit with my colleagues at The Saint Constantine School and we share laughter and purpose, because we are helping kids and adults learn, then it... Read more
Is matter or ideas the stuff of reality? Or are both equally basic? Since all our experiences are “in our heads,” some thinkers believe mind and ideas must come first. Let’s call this “idealism.”* Still stuff, matter and energy, seem to be out there and capable of being studied by multiple minds. Maybe our experiences and the stuff in us (mostly our brains) produce mind. Let’s use the term “materialism” for the idea that matter and energy are the basic substance of the universe.... Read more
A Prophet to America: Old Elizabeth In 1863, Old Elizabeth (the pen name she chose) published her life story. You can read it for free, it is not very long, blunt, and full of the Holy Ghost. If you wonder why many of us rejoice that monuments celebrating rebellion and slavery are being taken down at last, you owe this woman a few minutes of your time. Imagine having pious parents teach you about Jesus, love you, teach you wisdom,... Read more
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