Is the Mind More than the Brain (Again): NDEs and Scientists I wonder how many people know about the University of Virginia’s Division for Perceptual Studies? Watch this video on Youtube for scientists discussing research they believe strongly indicates that the mind is more than the brain and that there is some kind of conscious life after physical death: “Is There Life after Death? Fifty Years of Research at UVA.” A panel of four highly credentialed scientists who work in... Read more

Did God Command Israel to “Show Them No Mercy?” I have visited this issue before, but it still intrigues me. I’m a strong believer in the inspiration of the Bible even if not in its absolute, technical inerrancy (mainly due to all the qualifications one has to make). I prefer “infallibility” to describe my view of the Bible’s accuracy and authority: “Perfection with respect to purpose.” Every once in a while I come across another book about the “texts of... Read more

Facts vs. Faith? Last evening I watched a few episodes of the TV series “Young Sheldon.” I have always guiltily enjoyed “The Big Bang Theory” in spite of the hedonism of some of its characters. I was talked into watching “Young Sheldon” because I had shied away from it, suspecting the writers would, as they indeed did, pit religion against science. In one scene, in a church, probably Southern Baptist (because of where Sheldon and his TV family lived then),... Read more

The Most Basic Problem in America Today What an audacious thing to dare to say! What is the most basic problem in America today? I’ve lived in America my whole live, with the exception of one year in Germany, and I have seen it change so dramatically that it is almost unrecognizable. When I sit back and wonder what is the most basic problem facing America today and causing so much chaos and confusion in America today, I cannot help... Read more

Truth and Trump I recently viewed and listened to a fascinating interview, conducted in Toronto, Canada, with Bob Woodward. For those of you who don’t know who he is, please “Google” him. I have followed his career since his days as an almost cub reporter for the Washington Post when, together with Carl Bernstein, he exposed President Richard Nixon’s crimes in the so-called “Watergate Affair.” The video I am recommending is on Youtube and is titled “Truth and Trump: An... Read more

About “Dogmas” and Closed-Mindedness What is a “dogma?” Dictionary definitions don’t always help. Words mean how people, especially scholars and experts, use them. A “dogma” is any idea or belief that is considered basic and is somehow required within a community. (Remember, these days “community” is a pretty broad concept.) If anyone within a community faces sanctions, formal or informal, for denying a widely held belief of the community, that makes it a dogma of that community. In the above... Read more

Are UFOs Real? Back to the Claim of “Scientific Dogmas” A few weeks ago here I suggested that my readers watch two Youtube videos. One was an episode of “Science Friday” in which a well-known physicist stated unequivocally that he is a “materialist” and that only atoms and molecules exist. What I found shocking was not so much that he said that but that Ira Flatow didn’t challenge it. The second video was by biologist Rupert Sheldrake about “dogmas of... Read more