Archive for the ‘Worldview’ Category:
The Seminarian Wager
We have seen discussed on several different blogs Pascal’s Wager. The contemporary atheist/agnostic response has been to generate their own version, or a “De-Conversion Wager” (it’s on the side-bar, scroll down a bit to read it). In each of these Wagers there are strong points and weak points to the logic behind them. So in our desire to affirm the strengths and challenge the weaknesses, we have come up with our very own “Seminarian Wager.” While this is far from a final product (the language of it may get massaged around a bit), at the very least the concept should come through. Without further ado, our wager: Read more »
the paper of record, the living of faith
The New York Times published an article in its June 1, 2008 edition titled “Taking Their Faith, But Not Their Politics, To The People” It’s a notable piece that highlights a church in the St. Louis area that is an example of what seems to be a larger trend: some of the younger generation of evangelical American Christians are desiring to re-focus what being ‘evangelical’ means. Read more »
Why I Do Care
In response to the article I wrote called “Why Do I Care,” it became clear that for many, a generic answer to why someone should follow God left out a crucial aspect: Love.
This was truly a keen observation, as the logical chain I constructed focused primarily on God as creator and enforcer. Yet that is not all.
Read more »
Practical Epistemology
I know what you’re thinking.
“How can a post on epistemology be practical?” After all, isn’t philosophy only useful in ivory towers? I think this has been a major flaw in philosophical thought for many people. Philosophy has no value if it is not lived out; if it does not affect the way we live our lives. And let’s face it, a lot of us like to make statements in papers, in posts, or commenting on blogs that just aren’t livable.
A philosophy must be lived out. If I argue that no knowledge is possible, I need to live that idea out (otherwise I am a hypocrite). If I believe there is a God who made the world, but that God has stepped back and is no longer involved, I need to live that out. If I believe there is a God who is involved in the world, I should probably figure out how he is involved and act upon that.
Seven New Deadly Sins???
According to the Vatican, there are now seven more deadly sins. The first seven were updated due to the modern world being one of globalization where many modern practices were ambiguously sinful in the minds of Catholic followers. See the CNN interview here. The seven new sins are: Read more »
Why Do I Care?
In a conversation on De-Conversion, Pat (comment #15) said
“I would like to see a post on your blog as to why someone would follow God.”
This is a very good question and one that needs to be asked by Christians and non-Christians alike, but often goes unaddressed in Christian circles. I will endeavor to provide a generic answer to the question here. However, before we can start to answer why someone would follow God, there are a lot of underlying assumptions about God and our knowledge of Him that we must first address. By doing so not only will we all be on the same page regarding certain terms and concepts, but we will be able to follow the logic used (hopefully) in answering this question from start to finish. Read more »
The Gospel and “Religious Experiences”
During chapel recently on my campus, I witnessed something truly religious.
Our speaker sculpted a head of Jesus while telling of his betrayal (with a little bit of theatrics and exaggerations). Then he explained how Jesus was beaten and crucified. He thrust a crown of thorns on the clay Jesus’ head and sprinkled it fake blood. It was meant to evoke a highly emotional response, and it did. As he brought up a pianist to play some music in the background as he made the altar call. One young female briskly strode to the front of the auditorium and began uncontrollably weeping. The speaker continued to call people forth to have an experience. Then this young woman started screaming, at the top of her lungs. I could not make out exactly what she was saying. She continued for a few minutes saying the same two or three words over and over again. The speaker was pleased, and affirmed her experience as true.
