I never thought I’d say this, but America might be better off if it had more prominent Fascist and Communist parties. In most European countries there are more than two parties that have a serious chance of having someone represented to parliament or an equivalent representative body, and the prime minister is usually the representative of the party with the most seats. In most European countries, the major “conservative” and “liberal” parties are aware not only that they are to... Read more

In discussing Philip Kitcher’s book with other faculty, one colleague referred to the ‘core of Christianity’. When I asked what the core consisted of, the two things he mentioned were incarnation and resurrection. To many, these might seem like absolute essentials, without which one is not dealing with anything that could be called “Christianity”. This initial impression may well be wrong. In this post, I will focus only on the first mentioned ‘core component’, namely a doctrine of incarnation. The... Read more

What is the role of an author’s intent in the interpretation of texts? As J. K. Rowling has weighed in on the details of the latest Harry Potter film (currently in production), this has been used to illustrate the broader interpretative issue, from the Constitution to the Bible. Let me also share the Free Rice web site, which will donate a tiny amount of food to the poor via the UN for each word you can correctly define. Thanks to... Read more

Why blog? This is a question I am sure that many bloggers’ spouses ask them and/or themselves. In the case of academic bloggers there can be a further question: Why not spend this time writing a book. I have never seen the two as antithetical to one another (and still don’t). On the contrary, I think one can flow naturally into the other. Nevertheless, having heard the question asked, I thought it might be useful to answer the question “Why... Read more

Perhaps the meaning in life is its syntax. The meaning of DNA comes not from the four letters of its ‘alphabet’, but from their interpretations in longer ‘sentences’. Likewise our words take on precision and depth when joined with other words. Syntax is not something added to the words, but something that arises from their being placed together in frameworks of meaning. Perhaps the same is true in our relationships to one another. There isn’t another substance added to the... Read more

I have just finished reading what I would go so far as to say is one of the most helpful books I’ve read in recent years: Dangerous Words: Talking About God in the Age of Fundamentalism by Gary Eberle. Perhaps the unique contribution it makes is due to the fact that it was written by an English professor rather than a scholar of religion, theology, philosophy, history or any of the other topics that authors of books on religion are... Read more

What verse in the Bible do you find most amusing? It doesn’t have to be intended to be amusing – no need to restrict the question in that way. I’m just asking what verse you find most amusing, humorous or entertaining. For me, for a long time it has been Hebrews 13:22, where, at the end of thirteen chapters of some of the densest and most complex theological discourse in the whole Bible, the author says “Brothers, I urge you... Read more

What is the meaning of life? I finally feel I can answer this question, even if only partially, in the plural: life has multiple meanings. The meanings of life include… …the feeling you get in your soul (even if you aren’t sure you have one) when listening to Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony.…the joy you experience when you see your child’s smile.…the filling of the cathedral with the sounds of the choir.…the taste of acacia honey and butter on freshly-baked bread.…the expression... Read more

The Uncommon Descent blog posted a link to a page that the author of the post thought was worth looking at as an illustration of the problems with evolution. If you visit the original site, you will see that it is clearly an attempt at humor, not a critique of science. Apparently even some proponents of Intelligent Design cannot tell attempts at humor from their own attempts at “science”. Does this prove beyond reasonable doubt that this form of ID... Read more

Given my penchant for discussing Biblical literalism on this blog, I must share this piece of news. Apparently a book has recently come out about the experiences of one man who tried to take the whole Bible completely literally – in every detail – for a year. I simply must read this book! It is by A. J. Jacobs, and the title is The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible.... Read more