There’s a lot of interesting discussion happening in the comments of my post on More and martyrdom. Yesterday, I highlighted a question Kewois asked about the moral choices that we don’t notice, and today I found another interesting question about More’s act from Jubal DiGriz: Martyrdom in of itself is not a virtue. Moore’s unwillingness to bend and inability to transgress his own principles shouldn’t be what makes him a good man. What matters is what principles one is... Read more
— 1 — Any given week, there are usually enough interesting science stories in my Quick Takes folder to do an all-geek Takes, but usually I like to cover a range of topics. But this was an especially awesome week, apparently, and the science backlog is getting big, so let’s have the “I Love Charts” song lead us into a data-rich link roundup: But I’m compelled to point out that, if you want to raise your kids right, you’ll steer... Read more
In the discussion of St. Thomas More’s martydom, and how it helps me understand moral obligation, Kewois had a question about something I said, and I quite appreciate the chance to clarify and expand. I’m double blockquoted, and Kewois’s reply follows in normal blockquoting below: Morality might be natural, but most of us don’t think of it as easy. You said “morality” but you are talking about “moral dilemmas”. I mean, I think that for most of us is easy not... Read more
Two weeks ago, I had an absolutely lovely time reading A Man for All Seasons out loud in a coffee shop with a new group of friends. In what I hope was not type-casting, I read the part of Cromwell. (ok, it was probably type-casting). I greatly enjoyed the play (though I’m now going to have to put aside all the very nice spiritual reading people have recommended or lent me, so I can reread Wolf Hall), and there was... Read more
Some time ago, Hemant Mehta asked “Where are the atheist fiction books?” and I was kind of baffled by the question. There may not be many books where the atheism of the characters is a major plot point, but when I was growing up, most books I read had no reference to religion at all, so I tended to assume the characters were all atheists like me. Even in books where characters go to church, there were seldom theological influences... Read more
I quite enjoyed reading Logan Mehl-Laituri’s Reborn on the 4th of July for the Patheos Book Club this month. Mehl-Laituri was weakly religious, but, while serving in the US Army, he became more deeply engaged with Christianity and ultimately decided that his newfound faith was incompatible with his job shooting people. It’s obviously an emotional as well as an intellectual journey for Mehl-Laituri, but since I tend to be an unfeeling reader, wishing for a little less personality and a... Read more
— 1 — My next post is going to be a contribution to the Patheos Book Club for Reborn on the 4th of July, a memoir by a soldier turned conscientious objector. It’s been delayed a little, since I had a couple topics I wanted to cover, so instead of one post, you’re going to get enough to take us at least through Sunday. In the meantime, you might want to review some of the things I’ve written on radical forgiveness, since... Read more
Today, all over America (land of science enthusiasts) fireworks will be set off in remembrance of the many particle collisions that it took to bring our observations of the decay products of the Higgs up above a five sigma confidence interval. If you need a refresher or just haven’t followed all this very closely, you’ll definitely want to watch PhD Comics‘ animated explanation below (you’ll want to see it full screen). The best print coverage I’ve seen so far today is, unsurprisingly,... Read more
Rod Dreher is upset about a bill in California that would allow a child to have more than two parents in the eyes of the law. (The double indent is Dreher quoting an article, followed by his comment in normal blockquote formatting). State Sen. Mark Leno is pushing legislation to allow a child to have multiple parents. “The bill brings California into the 21st century, recognizing that there are more than Ozzie and Harriet families today,” the San Francisco Democrat... Read more
The power is trickling back on. Well, for now at any rate. There’s still a live utility pole a few blocks from my house that’s apparently teetering over a gas station. Sigh. So as I work through my backlog of comments and email and promised replies, I’ve got another reading recommendation. Because, speaking of promised replies, Camels with Hammers had a really nice essay up titled “How Ethics Is More Like Physics Than Faith.” I’m not really in agreement with... Read more
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